The story so far.
The class had created a tree, inhabited it with squirrels and helped it to survive a storm. During that storm, Ben's (aka Scaredy Squirrel) tree was destroyed and he went missing. Knowing he was not very brave and possibly very lost, the team planned and carried out a search and rescue mission, bringing him to live in the King of the Oaks.
A problem
As the year 1 children came in they saw that our tree had been cordoned off. They worked out the sign and were suitably upset and concerned. "What about Ben? Where will he live" and other such comments were made. I suggested we wait for the rest of the team (The year 2 children) to come in and think about the problem while we waited. We did phonics and spellings during which time some of the concern fizzled away. I think perhaps I needed to make the sign more mysterious so there was more 'wondering' and then build on that when the year 2 children came in. Perhaps just the image rather than the note as well. A good learning point.
Later we discussed the problem with the year 2 children and there was a serious lack of concern for the tree. They did not seem bothered that their tree was going to be cut down, saying things like 'we can just make another one'. I've been pondering this for a day or so and I think two things were going on: one, they were not as invested in their tree as they once had been and two, the sign was all wrong. I'd made it too final and the children felt powerless to stop the tree being cut down.
However, with a bit of time to chat in groups and process the information the children became more animated. There was a time when I watched Luke Abbott, Master of MoE at work and I remember noting that the children gradually warmed up to the fiction - this session felt similar.
We discussed the problem, with more contributions than before and at one point one child said: "What about the wildlife?"
In a discussing rather than praising way, I said something like:
"I hadn't thought of that... I wonder what might be living in our tree?" which led to a good discussion and some group work I'd prepared around the habitat of an oak tree. This also gave children the opportunity to practice working in teams as they had to discuss animals and words and other such things.
When the children came back it was time for a break. During this I discussed with my colleague what to do next. I was torn between some art work to go into the tree, and some dramatic action to save the tree. I chose the latter and the children spent 45 minutes building walls and fences to keep people away from the unsafe tree; they had decided this would be a first step towards stopping the tree from being cut down. During this session I kept reminding myself that it was about process, not outcome. There were children exploring materials as they tried to make cememt from mud and water; children cutting and joining cardboard bricks, children making phones and role playing talking to the council; and other such playful-but-serious activities.
One particular aspect I want to work on is the children's response to the person coming to cut down the tree:
"We should make a jail for them!"
"We need to make a trap to trap them!"
"If we make this potion it will make them go away!"
"Let's have some guns to scare them off!"
These are, of course, very natural reactions from a group of 5-7 year olds. It reminded me the importance of hearing different viewpoints and of giving characters a back story. During the most recent training weekend we'd spoken about the importance of the grace element - if there is too much guile in a character, both they and the fiction will lack depth. I am, therefore, going to introduce the tree surgeon from the council so the children can hear their side of the story.
Notes and thoughts
- A good use of secondary role - I haven't really thought about this much so far (the tree surgeon/council person being referred to but not present)
- The importance of warming the children up before any dramatic action
- Still not convinced by the level of concern - something isn't quite right. Maybe it's time to move on to a new mantle or find a better way in.
- Curriculum outcome ticked - but were the children that bothered about the purpose? I think some were and others weren't.
- I definitely need to work on the 'what sort of team do we want to be' factor (i.e. not one that throws people in jail and scares them with guns....)
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