Remembrance Day

After what seems like a longer summer than usual here in the UK, the rain has finally started to pour, a cool wind has finally arrived and as always, people are building up to Halloween! What that also means is that it is around a month until Remembrance Day, which is on the 11th November.

We are so pleased to say that we have created a FREE Thinking Kit activity for this. More details about the activity are below, but for those of you who just want to get on and try it as soon as possible:

1. If you haven’t already, then download the FREE Thinking Kit App on the App Store (iPads only). Search Thinking Kit App on the App Store or click here.

2. Go to Educator or Learner > New Session > Download Task

3. Enter the Task Code 8386

This is all you have to do to get the activity onto iPads!

The task gives (primary/elementary/middle) school children 24 cards that have pictures, facts and story-based snippets on them. They are asked to read these together and answer the main question, ‘Why is Sarah attending the remembrance service?’ There are also suggested sub-questions too!

Sarah is a young schoolgirl herself and the cards tell a story about her link to Remembrance Day - in answering the question and sorting through the cards, children learn lots about the topic but also develop skills of collaboration, higher level thinking and discussion.

Here’s an example of how a task may go…

The activity opens with all of the cards in the ‘icon’ size, then children start working together to read some:

They could then use the Group tool to sort the cards into named groups, as well as the fun Sticky Tape to show connections - both excellent contributors to making thinking visible, which in turn is a great formative assessment tool:

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email info@reflectivethinking.com. In the meantime, remember, to use this task completely FREE (and you can keep it free of charge forever):

1. If you haven’t already, then download the FREE Thinking Kit App on the App Store (iPads only). Search Thinking Kit App on the App Store or click here.

2. Go to Educator or Learner > New Session > Download Task

3. Enter the Task Code 8386

Helping primary age children learn about Remembrance Day

It’s that time of year… waking up to darker mornings, thick coats and scarves coming out plus pumpkins (and snowmen) adorning the shelves of the shops. Half term is nearly here, and before long, poppies will be all around us – many will wear them, whether at home, school or on the television.

Students will even sell poppies themselves to raise money. Remembrance Day is on the horizon, but how much do young people know about the real story behind it?

With the topic fresh in people’s minds, it makes it an ideal topic to teach students about ‘events beyond living memory that are significant nationally or globally’ or relatable ‘significant historical events, people and places in their own locality’. What better way to teach history than a topic that is bound to have a direct link to many of the students in the room – whether that’s in their current day or their grandparents’?

Our classic mystery 'Remembrance' by an excellent teacher has been made into a FREE iPad app (usually £1.49) - search 'KS2 Remembrance' on the App Store to download or click here. It is a relevant, story-based task consisting of 24 illustrated slips which pairs or threes work through together. It has the key dates of the world wars and hints at how they link to our lives now, but all through the eyes of a young person like them, Sarah.

 

Get this iPad app FREE - click here or search 'KS2 Remembrance' on the App Store

Students read through the slips, create groups and give them names (to drag and drop slips into), add sticky tape to link similar slips together or use the note tool to add thoughts they have along the way. They do all of this, with the goal of answering "Why did Sarah attend the Remembrance Service?"

The process involved in this free app, and the fact that there is no one right answer, lends itself to helping students develop key skills of collaboration, higher level thinking and retention of information.

For more information, please go to the information page on our website OR download the app now.

Edited re-post from November 2014 (last year's was about our Windows version)