Reflective_Account

Reflective Account On Wednesday afternoon before the children arrived back from lunch Mrs Bell briefed me on what she wanted me to do with the class. She wanted me to support the children with their chair project for technology. Once they had cut the wood into 3 sticks (one 10cm and two 9cm pieces) with Mrs Hallam they were to sit on my table and glue them to the base of the chair, which we made the previously the week before. Then when they had finished go to her table and finish a superhero project for literacy. She then asked me to get the table ready for the children to work on. I covered the table in newspaper and put the glue, glue sticks and green paper triangles for the sides of the chair onto the table so I was prepared for the children to do this task. When the children started gluing the wood they were starting to get disheartened because the glue wasn’t sticking. They were saying “I cant do it” and “ Its too hard” I reassured the children that they can do it and to remember when we were calm and patient the week before that it worked and will work this time. They agreed and carried on. A couple of children were getting over excited and were starting to get very noisy so I asked them to be quiet and Mrs Bell asked them to use their “inside voices”. We carried on gluing but still the same children kept being noisy and disrupting the others so I told Mrs Bell who then removed them and sat them at her table. I apologised to her and the other children for the interruption and we proceeded with our work. As the children were finishing the chairs I asked them “If they were proud of them”. They said “they were” and I replied I am too. “Well done”. Then I sent them to Mrs Bell’s table to finish their superhero literacy work. After the children had left to go home I discussed the day’s events with Mrs Bell in particular the chair project. I said it was chaotic especially when the boys were getting noisy and had to be removed but really enjoyable. She said she was impressed with the children worked (apart from the disruption) and this group was the fastest in completing that part of the project. And thanked me for my help. Evaluation Before the children came back to class from lunch Mrs Bell spoke to me about what she wanted me to do during the afternoon. I was to supervise the children whilst they continued with their chair projects. I was informed on what equipment to use so I was prepared. It was important to plan ahead so I knew what the learning objective was for the lesson. I knew what I was meant to be doing as we started it the previous week. I also knew what materials I needed and who to support. In the school’s inclusion policy it states “The school is fully committed to nurturing a climate of mutual respect and ensuring that all pupils are given equal help and encouragement....” I reflected on this statement as some of the children started getting very noisy and disrupt the other pupils who were working hard. I asked them to be quiet and continued helping them. The noise continued to get louder from the same children who were asked to be quiet so I informed Mrs Bell (who was working on another table) about it. She then removed the children and they worked with her. I apologised for the disruption. Some children were getting frustrated that the glue wasn’t sticking the wood together and were saying “it was too hard” but I reassured them to be patient and it will. The children continued to work well and a lot of them finished making their chairs. I praised the children for their effort and hard work. On page 15 in The Teaching Assistants Handbook 2nd Edition S/NVQ Level 2 it states under Keys to Good Practise “Give positive praise where possible” and “Reassure those who are less confident about their ideas. The strategies I used to support the pupils learning was to ensure the children had the right equipment, understood what they were doing and help them produce their chairs independently. After the children went home Mrs Bell and I discussed the lesson apologised again for interrupting her whilst she was working with another group because of the children that were making to much noise. She said it was fine and glad that I did so she could remove them and I could continue with what I had to do. I said both the children and I enjoyed the task even though they struggle with the glue at times. As most as the children completed the task I felt that the learning objective was achieved and understood. She thanked me for my help and feedback. Bibliography School Inclusion Policy The Teaching Assistants Handbook 2nd Edition Level 2