Crafting the ‘wow’ factor in your classroom

Following on from the idea of beginning every session with a ‘wow’ factor or a key question to get them involved is thinking about how real experiences can launch a project or topic area.

What could be better when starting a study on ‘Living Things and their Habitats’ than beginning the first session with a trip to a Wetland Centre, City Farm or a small holding?

Seeing the animals in their natural habitat will have a bigger impact on student engagement compared to sat in the classroom looking at a textbook.

It will also allow you the time and opportunity to get to know the children outside of their usual learning space. Chatting with them on the journey, observing their confidence on public transport and their friendship choices as well as their interest in the opportunity they are experiencing.

The return to school is a further opportunity to develop a ‘Habitat’ corner in the classroom.

A fun learning idea is to designate an area and some time away from the curriculum to:

• Create a space specifically for Habitats; include books, posters, articles and children’s work to begin the engagement
• Install a wormery and an ant house
• Ask the children to bring anything they have at home – a bird’s nest, photographs of anthills, foxes’ dens, rabbit holes and mole hills if they have any
• Use it as a teaching space for an activity; it could be observational drawings, using the books and articles as research and also a gallery for the work produced on the trip.

Be creative and use your knowledge of museums, galleries, zoos and safari parks that you may have visited to inspire you to inspire them with the displays!

A fun and exciting way to engage and get to know your class of 30 individuals.