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Citizenship at key stages 1 and 2 (Year 1-6)
Unit 06: Developing our school grounds
Section 2: What do we think of our school grounds?
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Objectives |
| Children should learn: |
- to reflect on and talk about what they like and dislike
- to record key geographical features on an outline map
- to consult with the school community, working in groups
- about the importance of consultation and listening to other people's views
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Activities |
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Outcomes |
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Children: |
- The children think about the playground, and what they like and dislike about it. Younger children could do a 'draw and write' activity: 'things that make me feel happy in the playground and things that make me feel unhappy'. Older children could record on an outline map of the school grounds the key existing physical features, eg play equipment, trees, benches, hard playing surface, school garden. They mark on the map where and how they play. They could add green to record areas of the playground that make them feel happy, and red to show areas that make them feel sad. They also consider whether/how their play changes in the summer, winter, morning, afternoon and on different days of the week. The children should give reasons for their changed play activities.
- Use circle time or class discussion to talk about the issues raised, eg What do you like doing at playtime? What makes you happy at playtime? What makes you sad? What sort of problems do you or others have to deal with at playtime? How is our playground used throughout the year, both during and after school? What are the positive/negative features of the playground? How can we make sure that everyone who uses the playground is well catered for? List and record the points made.
- In addition, the class could devise a simple questionnaire about existing play provision to use with a range of groups in the school community, eg children in other classes, teaching staff, meal supervisors, parents. The children conduct the survey in small groups and collect views in a variety of ways.
- The children could display their findings publicly, comparing them with the results of other classes/year groups/key stages if they have also been involved in the survey. As a class, reflect on the need to consult with different members of the school community on issues that affect them.
- The views expressed could also be presented to the school grounds committee. This could be done during a special assembly, to help support inclusion of these wider viewpoints into the project's overall strategy.
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- assess the suitability of current outdoor and play facilities through observing and recording
- recognise how the playground is used differently at different times by different users
- communicate their views on issues they investigate
- devise questions to be used in a questionnaire for members of the school community
- recognise the importance of consulting with different members of the school community
- offer reasons for some of their observations and judgements
- use skills and evidence when responding to a range of questions
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Points to note |
- This section could be linked with unit 1 'Taking part - developing skills of communication and participation'.
- Link with geography: 1c, 2b, 2c, 2e in the key stage 1 programme of study; 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e, 2c, 2e, 3a, 3d in the key stage 2 programme of study;
unit 1 'Around our school - the local area',
unit 8 'Improving the environment',
unit 21 'How can we improve the area we can see from our window?' in the scheme of work.
- If a questionnaire is developed, questions could include:
- What are the most popular games/activities, and what facilities are available for them?
- What playground markings are there, and are these suitable/effective/well used?
- How could the toilet facilities in the playground be improved?
- Are the drinking water fountains adequate?
- Are parts of the playground dominated by certain year groups?
- How safe do you feel in the playground?
- Who looks after the playground, and should children be involved in this?
- Can everyone use the playground?
- What rules do we have for using the playground, and should these be changed/improved?
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This unit is divided into sections. Each section contains a sequence of
activities with related objectives and outcomes. You can view this unit by
moving through the sections or print/download the whole unit.
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