Easter egg treasure hunt...

In my household, Easter isn't simply a time for devouring copious eggs (although that in itself is a perfect treat). My young niece and nephew come to stay for the spring term break and we like to organise an Easter egg hunt for them. Various clues will be dotted in and outside the house, encouraging teamwork and problem-solving as they work through the trail. The final prize will be the much coveted eggs but they will acquire Easter inspired lollipops, biscuits and toys/activities along the way. It's become a bit of a tradition and one that the adults love creating and the young ones enjoy participating in.

This year I've bought most of the items from the department store John Lewis (the ones in this picture were purchased there).

Stripe hype...

I adore the over-sized shirts that have popped up all over the place. I like to button this stripey black and white one to the top and accessorize with a statement necklace.The shirt also has a curved back hem which is something else I love. The Capri trousers that I go back to again and again stop above the ankle so I'm able to don these cute boots too. The boots and shirt are from H&M.

Happy WORLD BOOK DAY!

    Books, beautiful books.
     Where on earth would we be without them? They submerge us in other worlds without requiring us to leave our seats. They get inside our heads and hearts. They unite us and divide us. They come alive without the flick of a switch. They are Joy.
 
    Our school celebrated World Book Day in a big way. We gave students book tokens, there was a book sale, every single lesson in the day began with the teacher reading an excerpt from a short story (the story was divided into parts and each successive part was read as the day went on) AND we dressed up as book characters. 

    I decided to channel Alice in Wonderland. Among the plethora of characters were Lady Galadriel, Daenerys Targaryen, Little Red Riding Hood, Cruella de Vil, Daisy Buchanan, Snow White, Captain America, Lady Macbeth and a whole host of others. It was a joy-inducing spectacle!
    We should never stop making a big deal out of books. They teach things we couldn't possibly fathom otherwise and nurture literacy explicitly and implicitly. Above all, they make us feel. 
    Let's hear it for books!

Little black dress...

I wanted a dress that would keep me warm during these cold months and this little number from ASOS ticked all the right boxes. It has three-quarter length sleeves and is made from thick cotton. As well as this, the sweet doily style collar gives it a pretty twist. I pair it with coloured tights and ballet pumps. The pumps are from Dorothy Perkins and I have three pairs in different colours!

Trials and tribulations...

"I have LOVE in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and RAGE the likes of which you would not believe.

If I cannot satisfy one, I will INDULGE the other."

Crikey. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein certainly raises interesting questions about human nature and whether the pursuit of knowledge is always desirable. Regardless of these conundrums, I have reached the end of teaching my Frankenstein unit (entitled 'Monsters of Men'). It went down a storm with my students who were repulsed, intrigued and fascinated by the dark tale.

So I decided to go out with a bang and attempted something quite ambitious with my top band Year 8 group. To challenge them, I decided to facilitate a whole class courtroom trial. Our defendant was Frankenstein’s monster, who was being charged with multiple murders. After some research, I narrowed down the courtroom roles so that every child/groups of children had to contribute something different to the trial. This is what I ended up with:

The Judge (played by two students)
Clerk (played by one student)
Usher (played by one student)
The defendant (played by one student)
Prosecution lawyer (played by two students who took it in turns to examine)
Defence lawyer (played by two students who took it in turns to examine)
Prosecution witnesses: Victor Frankenstein and Robert Walton
Defence witnesses: DeLacey and the young girl who almost drowned
The Jury (played by twelve students)
Courtroom artist (can be played by more than one student)
Courtroom journalists (can be played by more than one student)

I gave the students a couple of lessons to prepare their roles and strengthen their knowledge of the story. There are manuals on how to run mock trials on-line so if you are able to book computers/ laptops/iPads, I suggest you direct students to this. You can also find a running order so the trial runs as smoothly as possible.

I must say, my learners attacked this challenge with gusto and the final trial itself was a sight to behold. I even went as far as providing Judge’s wigs, gavels, ‘Press’ lanyards and spectacles (for the lawyers) and a mask for the monster himself! This activity proves that impeccable planning enables learning to happen independently, as enough scaffolds have been provided to allow for autonomy.

 This can be adapted to cross-examine characters in many stories and I thoroughly recommend that you give it a go.