One of the highlights of my week is teaching My Year 7 maths class.  In fact I am lucky enough to teach them twice a week.

The students have an insatiable thirst for knowledge which is excellent to see and their regular questions keep me on my toes at all times.

As with all students in all subjects, individuals understand concepts and progress at different rates, which means that within any classroom, there are usually several ‘mini-lessons’ taking place at the same time.  This means that the teacher and learning assistants have to work hard to support all learners, but is also makes things very exciting.

The video shows Kaya explaining how to work out the area of a compound shape to the class.  As you can see, he does a fantastic job.  Not only did his short spell as teacher help cement his understanding of the topic, but it also allowed him to improve many additional life skills.  Having the confidence as an 11 year old to stand up in front of 30 peers and explain something is fantastic!

The photos show a group of seven students who had progressed onto the ‘Challenge Question’.  This required much discussion within pairs or small groups to decide on the best course of action and work with others to solve the problem.  They therefore stepped outside the classroom to work in the corridor.  As a teacher, is is lovely to see students not only eager to learn, but mature enough to be trusted to work outside without me having to watch them.  They were a real credit to the class.