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Good Practice > Resource discovery > Houses and Homes

Houses and Homes

Main foci: DTaAfL,
Secondary foci: Literacy Skills, Curriculum Cymreig, Peer Assessment,

How was it used?

The resource was used as a tool for discussing and planning a series of lessons for History with a particular focus on the Victorians.

The other areas to be studied are; The 20th Century, 1850 – 1950, Tudors and Stuarts, Age of the Princes and The Celts. There are plenty of opportunities for developing thinking throughout the resource.

The task gave the teacher the opportunity to develop an understanding of the style of Victorian Houses that existed in that period. It also gave an opportunity for pupils to discuss their ideas with a thinking partner in order to feedback to others in the class.

Discussion focused on why certain styles were relevant to that time period and why the The teacher managed to address popular misconceptions about the Victorians and the houses that they lived in.

The resource gave lots of opportunity to develop reasoning and literacy skills by engaging the pupils in both oral and written feedback.

Pupils were encouraged to develop their literacy and historical enquiry skills. The lesson also had an artistic focus that complemented the Historical enquiry task.

Impact and Outcomes

  • Pupils were engaged by the images and used the resource effectively.
  • The nature of the resource engaged the pupils from the very beginning and they were keen to develop their ideas in their pairs and the vocabulary that the teacher used
  • Because of the nature of the resource, the pupils felt very comfortable about discussing and guessing answers.
  • Many opportunities are available for the teacher to question the pupils using varying approaches using lower and higher order thinking skills.

Learner Feedback

  • The pupils enjoyed the activity and agreed that it helped them to discuss the topic.
  • They were able to question each other effectively and develop their thinking skills.
  • Pupils agreed that they were able to develop their drawing easier by selecting detailed, relevant information from the presentation and research that they undertook.

Other Resources

IWB, computer suite, note making materials, e.g. mini whiteboards and pens.

Lessons Learnt

That pupils respond well to visual stimulus in order to engage in developing thinking tasks.