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[Rachel Huskisson Participant]

Update on the project

Hi Folks,

I thought I would just update you all on how this project has been going. I ran it first time when I was doing library lessons on my own so it was difficult to really collaborate but I did use the FOSIL framework to simplify it as suggested above. I put together a dashboard on my LMS with a few websites, all of the books and a podcast. The question I settled on was “Is it a pirate’s life for me?” using a great video from the rmg to introduce the project, it really got the students engaged. Because of time constraints, we did the Connect stage verbally, I asked them what they already knew about pirates before sending them off to consider questions they might want to ask in order to decide whether it was a pirate’s life for them. I got them to read the pirate books for the rest of this lesson. The next lesson, I introduced the dashboard, and using the investigative journals  https://fosil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/LS-001100-Investigative-Journal-Print.pdf, they began to investigate and record their findings. The Construct phase was harder to include, time limits meant we did have to move onto the Express stage, they were tasked with creating either an advert for people to join a pirate crew or a warning leaflet on the dangers depending on how they finally answered the original question. They had to include the facts they had found including citing sources. They created some really creative work and seemed to really enjoy it. My reflections are, that the Construct phase needed some attention, and there was no real reflection on their part. This year, I was working with English teachers, some of whom got it and some who didn’t. With time always being an issue, I find that research for English teachers can be a case of “have a quick look on Google and see what you can find”. The challenge is slowing the process down in order for it to be a meaningful learning experience. The graphic organisers were a hit with one teacher and she has made use of them in further research based lessons.

Please feel free to add comments or feedback! This is all pretty new to me and I know there are definitely ways to improve it. One thing I will definitely do next time is just limit them to one really good website, time is just wasted when they have too many websites/resources.

[Rachel Huskisson Participant]

Hi Jenny,

Great to hear what you are doing, it sounds brilliant. I started using Todist for myself about 4 months ago and love it. It is very easy to use the free version, you can have several projects on the go and there are some good functions like tagging and priorities. I like the simplicity of it but I do go through it every Friday to reschedule tasks, otherwise it can get a bit overwhelming when the “overdue tasks” mount up, could add stress to a certain type of student! I read a great book that goes into managing time in more detail which is what convinced me to use it GRIP – The Art of Working Smart (gripbook.com)

best wishes,

Rachel

 

 

[Rachel Huskisson Participant]

Wow, Jenny I am blown away, these are amazing ideas! I am so excited by this and will definitely share it with the English team. I’m looking long term for redesigning but if I can start sowing some seeds this next term I reckon for next year we can really get into some interesting inquiry.

[Rachel Huskisson Participant]

Hi all,

Thanks for the input, it’s great to get some other thoughts on this! So, a bit more context. It is a year 8 project that runs over 4/5 weeks in the library with each weekly lesson being 35 mins. What has been done previously is work sheets given out with questions about Shakespeares life, simple short answers. They have to use the books to look up the answers. There also seems to be a sheet on looking at the Globe theatre. There is a page of links which I think some are out of date now. When I asked the head of English what the learning objectives are, she just said background context about Shakespeare so not much to go on. The plays they are studying are either Taming of the Shrew or Merchant of Venice depending on their teachers preference.  I did briefly speak to one of the teachers today and she said finding out about the British Jews (merchant of venice group) would be helpful.

Hope this helps!

Thanks,

Rachel

[Rachel Huskisson Participant]

Thanks, this is a big help. I will keep you posted!

[Rachel Huskisson Participant]

Thank you Elizabeth, this is a real help. I did wonder if there was a bit too much to look at. I had a thought about playing the song “Its a pirates life for me” (I think its called that!) and getting them to think about if a pirates life would be for them so “What would your life be like if you were a pirate?” might be a good one to go with.

[Rachel Huskisson Participant]

Thanks for sharing the q and a. I’ve just got round to watching it and lots of food for thought. I was really interested in what was said about using fiction as a way in as I had been pondering using the carnegie books we are reading with our year 8s to do a bit of inquiry using fosil and whether it could work in the very same way Barbara mentioned about “real life issues” so this has encouraged me to give it more thought. I would also be very interested in learning more about the delivery of fosil as you discussed since I am so new to all this.

Thanks again

[Rachel Huskisson Participant]

I’ve been following this discussion with interest. Having started a new job in Sept, I am slowly learning a bit more about our curriculum and SOW’s whilst trying to fill my knowledge gaps (hence me being here) I can see opportunities where as Elizabeth says earlier “I can work my way in to” it just requires a bit of bravery on my part but I am gaining confidence and am working on an idea to introduce some FOSIL to a library lesson plan next term. This thread has made me realize that it’s important for me to carve a niche in this area in order to stay relevant and advocate what the library is and does.

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