Oak Hill Academy

Oak Hill Academy (April 19th): (Reception - Year 6)

Year 3 & Year 5 (Grade 2 & 4)

Year 3

• Students started their morning with 5 a Day- a government sponsored get up and move program on the computer, (similar to GoNoodle).
• Students were learning multiplication.
• Each student had a mini-rubric glued in their notebook for self assessment. The rubric contained standards and learning intentions. Students and teachers could rate their performance 😀😐☹️ 
• Differentiated groups by table seats- students each got problems sets for their level
• Math vocabulary: inverse, input, function, output
• Technology

• teacherled.com - online dice
• Clever Touch Board with ActivInspire
• Laptop Cart in the classroom
• Teacher used technology during instruction- the function machine was used during math class.
• Writing through movement 
• Students act out stories and create symbols to practice writing that story.
• Students work from a model text which they review, direct and practice
• Social and emotional learning

Year 5- English

• worked from a model text, students used hand signals and movement/sounds to act out grammar
• video about the topic their were learning about- the sun: prepped students for writing with a discussion about the video 
• Why is the sun essential for life?
• Students answered questions and discussed ideas from the video. This was also a time for them to ask questions.
• Model text was on the sheet students were using to practice their writing
• To differentiate, some students were using iPads to do research of their own about the topic. They were a more self guided group.
• Students self assessed using a rubric with the learning objectives on them. Students self-assessed and had to explain to peers their learning knowledge, then peers would also assess them. 😀😐☹️

Reflections:

Oak Hill was the second school we visited while in London. There was a definite sense of  a high regard for academic excellence and for students working hard. There was also a clear sense that students had a voice at this school. The students were part of a student government of sorts, where there were representatives from each grade. These students are ambassadors for the school and represent the voice of their year teams. In this school, I did notice that there was more technology available to both students and teachers. From the Smart Touch Boards, to Chromebook carts and iPads, technology was utilized to the fullest. I was particularly intrigued by the social and emotional skills being taught in the year 3 class. This was something that, although I didn't get to see it being taught, it was definitely present in the room. From posters about feelings and identifying how you are feeling, to a "take a break" spot where students were provided a place to reflect on their behaviors in writing and make a plan of action for coming back to the group. I also noticed that there was a student on an incentive plan for staying focused. I noticed these things in particular, because my action research is focusing on social and emotional skills and student engagement.