Dragons at Parkhead Woods

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The day the dragons came!

On Friday morning I was lucky enough to be working with a fantastic group of Y3 children in Parkhead Woods. When I told them that dragons had been sighted in the woods, it resulted in a flurry of excitement and much discussion about where the dragons had come from and where they might be hiding. The children discussed the fact that, as it was second hand evidence, there was a possibility that it might not be the case that a real dragon had been seen. They decided that it would be a good idea to search the woods for further evidence, so that they could decide for themselves. 20150515_130731

The evidence they found and the language they used during this activity was impressive. They returned to the fire circle with sticks covered in dragon drool, dragon scales, claw marks in bark and a whole host of other fantastically imaginative evidence! Many children were even convinced that they’d seen dragons, peeking from behind trees. Their eagerness and enthusiasm was infectious!

Having examined and discussed the evidence, they decided that the best idea would be to make dragon traps to try and catch one. They set to work in teams of four using ropes, tarpaulin and camouflage nets to make their traps. 20150515_13282020150515_135239

Away from the woods, back at school, I worked with a smaller group of boys who had been involved in the dragon hunt. Blindfolded, they were encouraged to use their other senses to describe the different parts of a dragon. I used natural materials from the woods to represent the parts, and encouraged the children to use lots of language during this. A stone dipped in PVA glue to make a particularly slimy, sticky eyeball, unsurprisingly caused the strongest reaction!20150515_095139-1

The boys created a big thought map together, and couldn’t wait to get writing. The ideas flowed, and following this, they each produced a wonderful piece of descriptive writing, rich with fantastic description stemming from their experiences.20150515_093828

Following the session, many of the children told me that they were going to go straight home and write about dragons. I can’t wait to read what they produce!

 

2 Comments:

  1. Katie Valentine

    Thank you so much for this truly inspirational post. This is what children love. This what children remember. I actually felt their excitement in your words and would love to try this with my class of Year 2 children. I look forward to reading your future posts and would love to read a sample of the children’s work.

  2. Katie,
    Thank you so much for leaving the very first comment on Literacy in the Leaves! It’s great to hear from you.
    I would love to hear about any outdoor literacy that you do with your Year 2s.

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