So what am I going to do differently?

Task: Write a reflection in which you summarise your main learning about your teaching and next steps. This will prepare you to design an intervention next time.

Hypothesis: A focus on critical thinking and causal reasoning when responding to texts will support increased levels of critical thinking and ability to create causal links in online written interactions with others for year 5 children reading between 10 and 12 years.



1. Choose a text - image or story with no words OR story read aloud.
2. At the start of the instructional time, provide a provocation/dilemma for the concept of this text.
3. Let children discuss, encouraging use of causal reasoning.
4. Move onto guided reading session.
5. Children go off and create a video diary entry, in pairs, responding to the provocation. Each person to take a difference stance - agree or disagree.

I feel that this will be a great introduction to new texts to get the children thinking and engaged. It will also provide the children an opportunity to practice their critical thinking. The video diary task at the end will give the children a chance to draw on the new ideas from their peers and share their learning on their blog.

Texts to support me with this:
- See links above
- Once upon an if: The storythinking handbook by Peter Worley
- The Philosophy Shop: Ideas, activities and questions to get people, young and old, thinking philosophically - edited by Peter Worley
- The Numberverse by Andrew Day
- Bloomsbury: Conversations and Controversies

Activity ideas:
- Bloomsbury - The If Machine

Once Upon an If by Peter Worley:

This text explains the use of stories to get children thinking deeply/critically. It teaches questioning. It also touches on The Concept Box.

There are different types of stories to consider. This will help me in forming a provocation or dilemma for particular texts.
- Myths/Legends: jump between fiction and non fiction. Explaining why things are as they are.
- Fables/ Parables: Teach a lesson or moral.
- Fairy tales: passed down through generations
- Anecdotes: short stories about things/events that have happened
- Humour stories: Jokes
- Tales with a twist: Not what you expect.
- 'What if' stories

The Concept Box (page 78-79, Once Upon an If by Peter Worley)
1. Read the text/story/poem OR could look at an image.
2. Comprehension Stage
     a) Talk with neighbour
     b) Free response to text (statement/question) - important for children to lead - sit back / observe.
3. Concept Fishing
     a) Talk with neighbour - what is the text about?
     b) Talk with neighbour - 1 word
     c) Share 1 word (key word) - each child to share.
4. Concept Funnelling
     a) Look at key words
     b) Choose best word to describe the text.
     c) Share both strongest word justifications and weakest word justifications.
     d) Get down to list of around 5 key words
5. Exploring central concepts
     a) Debate