UKED Magazine Jul 2016

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July 2016

Issue 31

Putting Our Best Foot Forward With

Active

Learning 4 Infant to Junior Transition

8

6

Maverick Pupils

Olympic Ideas

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Issue 31: July 2016

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From the Editor

4 Infant to Junior Transition

Roy Souter explores a range of issues and ideas to keep the transition from infant and junior school as stress free for everyone as possible.

5 Finding the Right Questions

Martin Burrett shares a great primary resource with questions and more for English, maths and science lessons.

6 Maverick Pupils

Aaliya Khan discusses how to identify maverick pupils and argues that these pupils should be encouraged and nurtured.

8 Olympic Ideas

Sarah Bedwell shares a range of Olympic ideas from her own subject of English, as well as many other cross-curricular activities.

10 The changing face of P.E. in schools

Michelle Johnston argues that the theory driven direction of the PE curriculum is wrong and needs to change.

12 User’s guide to the UKEdChat App 15 ICTmagic Edtech Resources 16 Courageous Leadership and Rock Climbing

Bukky Yusuf explores the leadership lessons she has learnt and takes us with her on a journey to become a courageous leader.

19 Bookshelf Doing research in education – Theory and practice Review written by Nicole Brown

20 Base Rounders

Rounders is a much loved game, but Liam Murphy explains a unique take on this classic summer time pursuit.

23 Active Tech

Martin Burrett discusses ways in which technology can improve learning opportunities in PE keeping pupils motivated and engaged.

24 Assessing Without Levels: 12 Months On

Andrew Byrne describes his school’s journey to assess after the abolition of levels in England with lessons for all of us.

25 UKEd Resource

Great Expectations Knowledge Organiser

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Some people live for it. Others loath it. It has the power to inspire millions of people and can put fear in the hearts of those who feel they cannot participate. It unifies us and divides us. It is, of course, sport.

With the Olympics in Rio starting soon, schools across the UK and around the world will celebrate ‘the greatest show on Earth’ with their own sporting triumphs, their own traditions, and national stereotype filled opening ceremonies which should make the inclusion coordinator blush... but it’s all part of the fun.

In this edition of UKEd Magazine we share ideas to get your class moving, to celebrate sport and the Olympics across the curriculum, and a few ideas about how to engage your reluctant sports people.

So lace up your trainers and let’s get going!

Martin Burrett @ICTmagic - Editor

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Contributors

Roy Souter @Exe_Head Aaliya Khan @Miss_Khan868 Sarah Bedwell @FlyMyGeekFlag Michelle Johnston Bukky Yusuf @rondelle10_b @naeemullahswat Nicole Brown @ncjbrown Liam Murphy @ThisIsLiamM @PrimaryIdeas Ian Eagleton @ieconsultancy Julie Hunter @MsHMFL @MsGlynn2014 Paul Kesselring @kesselpa @ArtyTeach79 Nina Williams @MissNina1983 Andrew Byrne @musingsofmrb @JSchwartz100

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The publishers accepts no responsibility for any claims made in any advertisement appearing in this publication. Whilst every effort is made to ensure accuracy, the publishers accept no responsibility for errors, inaccuracies or omissions.

Many images have been source under a Commercial Creative Commons License. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0 hhttps://pixabay.com/en/shoes-sports-shoes-running-shoes-1260815/ - Image is in the public domain.

Infant to Junior Transition

By Roy Souter I work in a three form entry Junior School. We work really hard to make the transition from our partner infant school a positive and enjoyable process for families and children, and have refined our practice over the years to design an approach that we get very positive feedback about. A group of staff from across both schools came up with our Transition Plan – this is what we do and the order we do things in: We keep everyone informed about what is happening, including all the key dates. We have a calendar of transition activities that is shared with the staff of both schools as early in the year as possible.

The dates are put into the school diary and don’t change – all the other things that happen in a busy school are planned around them. The dates are shared repeatedly with parents and carers so that they know what to expect.

We make transition booklets for targeted children. These include pictures and information about the school and key people. They are made with the children, who often make repeated visits to take photos, meet staff and become familiar with the setting.

Our SENCo meets the parents and carers of SEN children to discuss how we will make the transition process work for them.

Face to face handovers. We allocate two staff meetings for teachers to spend time talking to the teacher of their new class – one to listen and one to tell. This happens across the whole school, and includes sharing any information about EAL and low level safeguarding issues.

Our Year 3 teachers spend a morning in the Year 2 classes observing the provision for SEN children, and to meet with all relevant staff.

Year 2 children have an afternoon orientation visit. They come up to the Junior School to learn where everything is and what the routines are. At the same time the Year 3 children return to the Infant School for Memory Lane visit. They make a ‘Welcome to the Junior School’ booklet to leave for the Y2 children to read when they return to their class.

Sampling Day. All children spend the whole day in their new class. We have a shared assembly with all the children from both schools (quite an experience) where we sing our Federation Song. The children spend a playtime together, and then the Infant School children go back down the hill. We then carry out the same shared activities during the day: Share the timetable for the day Share a video that the current class have made to introduce the children to their new year group Share pen portraits of all adults that work in the class and year group Complete English and maths focussed activities that link to the curriculum for the new year group Have a circle time to share aspirations and to allow the teacher to et to know the children Following this plan has made sure the children, staff and families are all ready for the new school year.

04 UKED Magazine

Roy Souter has been a headteacher in Devon since 1996, and in his current school since 2000. He has supported other schools as a LLE and new head teacher mentor. Find him on Twitter @Exe_Head.

Image credits: flickr.com/photos/wildreturn/9438023791 by Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren used under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License.

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Finding

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As a primary school teacher, I know that finding the right questions is just as important as discovering the right answers. A question has the power to unlock a child’s understanding, create awe and wonder, and help someone push into new and uncharted knowledge and thinking.

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Now Rising Stars has produced an online bank of cross-curricular questions for the whole school to use in lessons and beyond. With a growing collection of over 5,200 questions for every aspect of grammar, punctuation, spelling, maths and science, plus ready-made test, there is something for everyone. The questions are designed not just for Year 6 as they brush up on their exam technique. There are questions for Years 1 to 6, each easily searchable by suggested age group, topic and keywords. You can even search by the widely used Rising Stars Progression Framework statements.

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In my own class, I have been using the questions as starters to my lessons by displaying a main question on the class whiteboard, while setting up some extension questions at ‘stations’ around the class on tablets or printed out from the bank. This has been a wonderful way to push forward my most able children as semi-independent learners while I give additional support to those who need it. The questions are designed so they appear large on the screen, meaning that they are easy to annotate using my whiteboard software.

Building and sharing more substantial tests and quizzes is easy. Simply search for your desired questions, preview them and then add them by clicking the plus button. You can choose to organise and reorder the questions. One great feature is that similar questions automatically merge together to reduce the amount of explanation text the children have to read and to use less space. Once completed, just press ‘Save and Share’ to name the document and then choose how to share it. You can download your question booklet as a PDF or Word document and customise the cover to add or remove your school logo, a place for the child’s name, and more. You can share the booklet with your colleagues in the digital storage bank, or share the document with anyone using a web link, complete with a custom countdown timer.

Each question shows the number of marks available and a Progression Framework Statement describing where the question fits into the curriculum. You can also access the mark scheme below each of the questions, but hidden from view as a drop-down section to keep answers secret, yet close at hand. This is ideal if you are sharing questions with independent learners, support staff or parents who may be unsure of the correct answer.

Using Rising Stars Assessment Bank has made testing so much easier for me, and made our class ‘quizzes’ more engaging and accessible for pupils and for those who support them.

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Maverick Pupils

by Aaliya Khan

When I say Maverick, I’m not talking about Tom Cruise’s character in Top Gun, although elements of that personality will be evident in what I will go on to discuss.

I’ve heard a lot recently about maverick teachers being ones that innovate and don’t follow the same traditions as the “average teacher”, (although I believe there’s no such thing as an average teacher). Well, what about the maverick student? If Ofsted’s chief Sir Michael Wilshaw is saying we need more maverick teachers to breathe life into the education system, why are we so afraid of those pupils who embody that? These are the ones who drive you crazy at times. Their unorthodox ways can often result in them being sanctioned or labelled as “challenging” or “disobedient”. I’m challenging teachers to pay more attention to those types of pupils.

I’m not talking about the “naughty” attention-seeking ones who just do something silly for a laugh or who can’t be bothered to complete class or homework. I’m talking about the ones who challenge the norm, come up with ideas that may not necessarily be what you want or expect, but are, nonetheless, smart... clever... entertaining, outside the box thinkers.

How to spot and deal with Mavericks Maverick pupils are a bit more difficult to spot than maverick teachers; there are a whole mix of personalities in any one class. How do you distinguish between the maverick pupil and the disobedient one?

Let me give you an example; a pupil in a class about acids and alkalis takes out some bottled water to test against tap water or takes out some of their lunch.

Normally that would be frowned upon; health and safety, but look at what they’re doing.

They’ve taken what you’ve told them and extended 06 UKED Magazine

it. Testing something else and contrasting, working further up Bloom’s thinking. Another example would be in electricity, the pupil who doesn’t make that 2-bulb parallel circuit, but instead constructs a huge and complicated circuit that still, by some miracle, works. They may not be able to explain it yet but give them some time and maybe they will; or the pupil who, instead of making a poster about Hooke’s law, has actually made a video presentation and wants to present it. That’s a Maverick; unorthodox, unafraid to challenge the work they’ve been given and extend it, or change elements of it. They may even change the outcomes of the task.

This is in contrast to pupils who aren’t learning or engaging with the content in any meaningful way.

We as teachers shouldn’t be afraid of maverick students. To me, they show higher level thinking and may even be gifted and talented. It shows a passion for a subject.

Don’t get me wrong, the pupils who do everything by the book, can produce some amazing work and make excellent progress. I’m not knocking them, as they’re brilliant! I just think there is scope to look at pupils who are a bit unorthodox, not view them as trouble makers, but encourage and nurture their talents within the boundaries of your time and lesson.

Engage with such pupils, ask them to explain, use Socratic questioning techniques to probe out their thinking behind what they’ve done. Ask them to question themselves!

Foster an atmosphere of engagement and those ‘Eureka’ moments by letting them have a bit more freedom to explore those thought processes themselves.

Final thoughts We as teachers can be cuckolded into thinking all our students must be silently learning and engaged all the time, when all we need to do is look at a an end of day staff meeting or inset day and watch us transform into children. It’s natural human behaviour to want to talk and interact, test boundaries and explore things we’re curious about. I don’t believe in silent learning for a whole lesson (parts of it, yes, but not a whole lesson).

We need to move away from the fear, discipline and classroom management is easier when pupils know what they’re doing and feel comfortable. We also need to feel comfortable enough to let them breathe a little more than perhaps we do sometimes. Test our boundaries too, if something doesn’t work, come back to the drawing board.

So if we are now encouraging maverick teachers then we should also welcome maverick pupils. Surely at the end of the day they help us improve our practice, and hey, if they shake up pedagogy and make us better teachers, even better!

Aaliya Khan is a science teacher at St Anne’s Catholic School for Girls, after graduating from Imperial College London, she embarked into a teaching career. She loves bringing fresh ideas into the classroom and has presented at #TMEnfield. @Miss_Khan868 follow on Twitter and read her blog at staffrm.io/@misskhan.

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Olympic Ideas

By Sarah Bedwell

There’s a certain feeling that creeps around every four years, a feeling of inevitability when you’re told to ‘do the Olympics’. If you’re a PE teacher, you’re probably celebrating the chance to bring a little new competition into your lessons and play a bit more sport.

If you’re a Geography teacher, you might be relishing the idea of using the Opening Ceremony as a lesson in obscure flags and national dress. If you’re an English teacher… oh dear!

Trying to fit global events such as the Olympics into a specific curriculum area can be like trying to teach bottom set Year 9 on the last Friday of school: not impossible, but there are certainly easier things in life. It’s one thing to tell staff to ‘do the Olympics’, and quite another to successfully integrate that into existing plans across all subjects.

At my school both Year 7 and Year 8 students are doing units on Shakespeare in English. He wasn’t exactly renowned for his sporting prowess, and, having lived before the modern era Olympics, isn’t easy to link to Rio 2016. Short of channelling my inner Hywel Roberts (@Hywel_Roberts) and launching into an imagineering task (which would be something I’d attempt if I didn’t have my students for an hour at a time with several days between lessons), or simply dumping the Shakespeare unit in favour of non-fiction writing so that we could do tasks such as writing to the International Olympic Committee to persuade them to bring the Games back to England, nothing obvious springs to mind.

Luckily I’ve done the thinking in advance, so here’s a few non-traditional (not so obvious?) ideas to allow you to ‘do the Olympics’ with ease: • Write a sonnet describing one of the events or describing the fans. For bonus points, write it in iambic pentameter.

• Translate a few scenes from one of Shakespeare’s plays to make it about an event.

For example, “A shuttlecock! A shuttlecock! My kingdom for a shuttlecock!”

• Given the Greek origins of the Olympics, write a play that sees the events undertaken by various Greek gods and goddesses. Up the competition by adding in the Romans.

• Hold a debate on any number of topics: the inclusion or exclusion of various events (if I’d known that BMX racing would become an Olympic event, I’d have taken it much more seriously back in the days of being a BMX Bandit); athlete match ups (for example, who would be the better rhythmic gymnast - a cyclist or a tennis player?); or who has the best national costume.

08 UKED Magazine

• Use images from the Games as writing prompts for stories, diary entries etc. For example, this image of Derek Redmond from the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona bit.ly/uked16jul01.

There’s plenty for other subjects to sink their teeth into as well: • Study the different diets and training programmes of athletes in various disciplines.

• Examine the effects on the body of various drugs used to enhance performance.

• Study various training methods, such as altitude training and ice baths, focusing on their impact on the body and why they are used.

• Take an in-depth look at the zika virus - what it is, how it spreads, and why it’s of such concern for Rio 2016.

• Look at the issue of child poverty, and link it to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

• How religion can impact on athletes - for example, when the Games coincide with Ramadan or how uniforms reflect different religious requirements.

• A discussion on the ethics of displacing people from their homes in order to build infrastructure for the Olympics.

• Sponsorship - is it right that a sporting event is sponsored by junk food companies such as Coca Cola and McDonald’s?

• Should the Olympics and Paralympics be one event? There could be a range of writing tasks around this, including campaign materials or a debate.

• Examine how technology has changed the world of sport - from kit such as the full bodysuits that swimmers wear and new materials for making equipment lighter, such as in cycling, to how it’s impacted refereeing and judging.

It’s not an exhaustive list, clearly, but with luck some of these ideas might help to move you away from the usual timelines, word searches and posters.

Sarah Bedwell @FlyMyGeekFlag is an Aussie teaching English and other things in North West England. She loves using technology in new ways to engage and excite learning - though pedagogy will always come before technology. Sarah is currently Lead Learner for using New Technologies to Enhance Teaching and Learning.

Read her blog at flyingmygeekflag.wordpress.com.

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The changing face of

P.E. in schools

10 UKED Magazine

By Michelle Johnston The changes to the subject are, to some extent, understandable. It has struggled to achieve the status of more 'academic' subjects in schools and take pride of place on the podium of school priorities. By its very nature it is a subject which often appeals to the students who prefer moving and doing over those who are suited to sitting and studying, but these students are equally deserving I have been fortunate to work in a school which of experiences which enthuse them and promote a values Physical Education, the facilities are excellent love of learning. and students are offered a wide breadth of sports, We are also constantly battling against the age of such as climbing and trampolining, which were technology – with lessons fighting to compete with not offered when I was studying. There seems to the excitement of computer games, where students be greater opportunity for innovation in lessons, are constantly bombarded with changing images, including exciting technology and sporting sound effects, backing tracks and constant action. experiences which I would have valued as a student. They are hyper-alert when playing their console However, examination courses in P.E are busy giving in their leisure time, where they cannot lose focus it a facelift whilst setting the subject up to become without facing the in game consequences, sometimes more biased towards theory and cognitive skills as severe as death or injury to their character, and with changes to the GCSE which mean that students this level of stimulation is hard to reproduce in practical performance is less weighted than their a classroom environment. In the meantime, the ability to write about it. In our own school, GCSE PE team in school continue to strive to provide a students timetables include more classroom lessons breadth of sporting experiences, remembering than practical ones, where, despite the best efforts their own priorities for physical education. Firstly of their teachers to engage and motivate them, they to introduce students to sports, offering them the dream of football glory and the chance to take part chance to develop the skills and concepts involved in participation. Secondly to capitalise on the in the sports they love.

This emphasis has an impact which cascades down wider social, mental and physical benefits of sport into KS3 - where we are already preparing them for and exercise, including the ever important skills of the knowledge, skills and understanding needed for teamwork, problem solving, communication and a qualification in three years time. There is always a leadership, and finally to nurture sporting talent pressure to perform at Ks4 and this means students and encourage life long participation.

'On your marks, get set, go!' As the students race to record their answers to the exam style questions, their PE teacher glances wistfully out of the window at the empty school field. Instead of recording personal best track times, the students are being timed completing questions about the muscular contractions they would be using if there were more time on the course for practical sport.

In my own experience, it is the teachers who inspired me, who were my role models and whose lessons I remember, rather than the exams I studied for and therefore I remain positive that it is the teachers of today who will make a student's experiences memorable and enjoyable and hopefully ignite a life long passion for sport and exercise, regardless of the expectations set upon schools through examination Other changes to GCSE courses include a narrowing courses. of the sports which can be offered as part of the Michelle trained as a teacher of Physical Education practical element. Popular school sports such at Brunel University and has been teaching the as Rounders, which has long been a part of the subject for eight years. She completed her Masters curriculum in English Schools, will no longer be an in Education in 2015. She is now teaching Physical option. Whether or not this will affect the curriculum Education and English in a secondary comprehensive time it is given lower down the school is yet to be in Kent. seen. need to be equipped at the earliest stage possible, from the moment they walk into the sports hall on their first day and are questioned about their knowledge of fitness components. In an age where 1 in 3 year six children are categorised as obese or overweight (Public Health, 2015) this shift away from active learning and sporting performance is a concerning and confusing one.

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With each passing academic year, preparing students for the globally connected world is becoming more and more important. Providing students with the necessary 21st century skills to be active, responsible members of the online community has become the responsibility of schools, and responding to that need is Petra’s Planet Share, the online cross curricular teaching and learning platform for schools.

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The course provides lesson plans on how to teach safety aspects behind online profiles, writing for an online audience and dealing with cyberbullying – all of which is completely free for schools. Teachers simply complete the course with their class, then they are given a digital e-safety badge for their website to celebrate the school’s collective achievement.

Teaching children how to navigate the diverse online world in a safe and responsible way is becoming increasingly important, as online activities continues As part of their mission to continually find new ways to play an ever more significant role in 21st century to engage children in their learning journey, Petra’s life.

Planet Share has just launched a new interactive online magazine for children, free to any schools that To find out more and see how Petra’s Planet can signs up for a trial of the innovative online platform enhance your classroom experience... for schools. visit The magazine delivers high quality, educational content, designed to spark children’s interest and curiosity to learn and read more, with fun and interactive content about countries and cultures across the world.

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Courageous Leadership and rock climbing.

by Bukky Yusuf During this academic year, I was fortunate enough to sign on to a Courageous Leadership Programme which was devised by Diana Osagie via the National College of School Leadership. It was co-organised with the educational consultant Ankhara Lloyd Hunte and head teachers, Nicola Haynes and Chinye Jibunoh. It is the second year of the programme, which has been designed to develop more Black Minority Ethnic women into leadership roles.

The course took place between October 2015 to June 2016 and was primarily ran as a series of twilight or weekend sessions which covered a number of different aspects to develop our collective leadership qualities.

What I loved most about the programme was the practical nature of it. Everything we explored was then carried out in practice. This included mock interview practices, presentation developments and games to identify how we would operate as leaders.

One of the most significant experiences during the programme was the 2 day residential in October. At the time, I was distracted by a number of events outside of school. This meant that I neglected to ask the myriad of questions which I usually do and just turned up at the designated location. In my mind, I assumed that being a ‘leadership residential’ meant that the most we would do is stand outside on the grass playing team games…

How wrong I was! We did play team games on the grass but that was only to warm up us during the afternoon of the first day.

Demonstrating leadership courage.

Susan describes this as ‘communicating when you don’t have all the answers since this kind of behaviour fosters trust and sets a crucial example for others to follow’ during challenging times. I relate this to one particular group activity that I chose to lead even though I didn’t have any of the answers to help the group. It was an ‘avoid the river fire’ version of the farmer, chicken, fox and grain puzzle. I stepped forward in order to challenge myself and think out of the box.

One group member was a whizz at solving these type of puzzles. So I left her in charge of noting what we had to do in order to get safely across the ‘burning river’. It was an uncomfortable feeling as I was the leader with a specific outcome yet no answers to achieve it. However, this allowed me to manage the team as they generated ideas of how we could collectively solve the puzzle. This experience shifted my paradigm, of having to be the one with all the answers. Later on, I recognised that this presented an opportunity for me to develop more of my own problem solving and analytical skills so that I can gain more confidence in this regard.

Key learning: listen, use the talents within your team and keep up regular communications to chart progress even when you don’t have all the answers.

Seek feedback and listen.

This brings me to the rock climbing experience. To put this into context, I have absolutely no head for heights.

All my previous rock wall climbing experiences have I wasn’t forewarned about any activity. Perhaps that failed miserably! was the best approach since I have a fear of heights, a dislike of trekking in the dark and can lose patience I managed to keep the sheer panic from my face as when I am not sure what is going on. What I did not we were shown how to remain safe as we climbed. realise, was that I would repeatedly experience all of However internally, the doubts were setting in. these things.

None the less, I decided to give it a go and push my own boundaries.

To highlight the leadership qualities that were developed during the residential, I will review some of What became immediately clear was that my trainers the ’10 traits of Courageous Leaders’ bit.ly/uked16jul10 were unsuitable for rock climbing as they lacked the

by Susan Tardanico (@susantardanico) to outline the necessary grip required to secure my footing. The significant aspects that I had learnt during the weekend. higher I climbed up the rocks, the harder it became to Bukky Yusuf @rondelle10_b is a London based Associate see where I should place my hands and feet in order Assistant Head Teacher in charge of the NQT/ITT to continue. This is where the rest of the group were development programme and IT to enhance teaching invaluable. Initially I could not focus as I was focusing & learning. She is also a Secondary Science Consultant, on what I needed to do and trying to avoid being qualified coach and registered as a leadership coach as overwhelmed with panic. Team members who were part of a pilot run by the Department for Education.

closest to me got my attention by calling my name, and then provided one piece of feedback that helped me progress onto the next steps. There was one part of the rock face in which there seemed to be no way forward. After several minutes of wondering what to do then placing my hands and feet in different positions, it was with sheer grit, determinations and shouting that I hauled myself out of the crevice. By this point, Ankhara had walked to the summit and was calling out encouragement from above. This helped as a guiding voice and provided the motivation I needed to complete the climb. I felt ridiculously pleased until I looked down and then felt shaken. However, with the collective support of my team, I had successfully completed a rock climb for the first time in my life.

Key learning: avoid being put off by previous failures, use the correct equipment to reach your goal, get team members to give you feedback, act on the feedback and have someone in place to give you encouragement.

Say what needs to be said.

We all took turns to lead different activities and demonstrated different leadership styles.

I remember one activity where we had to use ropes as levers to place a small container of liquid into a larger container and then move it to a ‘secure area’. That was a tough challenge for a variety of reasons. Many of us had different ideas about what should be done and sometimes simultaneously shared our ideas! However it was important to remember who was actually leading the challenge and should therefore direct us all. This particular activity helped me voice what I felt should be said so that we could successfully complete the challenge.

Key learning: Choose the right moment to say what needs to be said and say it clearly enough for all to hear.

Make decisions and move forward.

Give credit to others.

I think that this is what helped to mould the group as a unit by the end of the residential.

We were able to recognise strengths in each other that were previously unknown.

Praise allowed us to openly acknowledge the skills we each brought to the team.

Key Learning: never underestimate the impact of genuine praise.

Another key learning point as a leader is that people watch you. Sometimes it is done to gauge how they themselves should respond to an event. This was demonstrated when others within my group watched me as a measure of how well they could do the high rope walking challenge. I am not ashamed to admit that I cried, squealed and yelped as I approached each part of the seemingly never ending challenge. In spite of this, I managed my anxiety levels with positive thoughts running through my mind, slowly tackling each part of the course and managing my breathing.

The experience of such acute levels of anxiety made me able to immediately emphasise when one team member was too scared to cross one part of the same course. Everyone was shouting suggestions which made her even more panicked. Eventually, I was able to calmly and clearly explain what she should do as I guided her through the same techniques that I had used. When she froze, I suggested for her to return to the wooden post, gather her thoughts and take her time. I recognised that when a person is feeling anxious or scared, they can not hear any of the advice that is being shared. It is just one thing too many to deal with.

The experience was a humbling one and I came back a different person.

My colleagues and I were given many challenges to help us face our fears, which included rock climbing, low rope walking (with ropes and beams 10 feet above the ground) and high rope climbing activities approximately 30 feet in the air. I learnt that not being forewarned about any of activities until it was time to do them was the best course of action. I now think as a leader, not knowing everything in advance is not a hindrance as I would have over-thought the situation and not been as receptive as I was.

Time constraints for all activities gave us the impetus to complete each challenge as quickly as we could.

Whenever we experienced any issues that were holding us back, it was up to us as a team to resolve it and then move on. This sometimes meant that we had to look at things from different perspectives. For example, once we have navigated our way around a low rope walking assault course, we then had to resolve how we would all I am still scared of heights however, I was astounded carry a tray of water from one end to the other without to see how many of my self limiting beliefs were broken that weekend. In turn, has helped me to view challenges spilling a single drop… in a different way.

Key Learning: assign roles on the course we felt most comfortable with, remember we are all dependent It highlighted that in many cases, the clichés are true. upon each other and occasionally we have to work It is a case of ‘mind over matter’ and ‘what we believe collaboratively to cross the most challenging parts of we achieve’. the course.

I think that I can now call myself a courageous leader.

In Brief

Terrorism And Girls Education Education plays a vital role in the socioeconomic development of a nation.

Education can change the fate of a nation and it is one of the most important means to the intellectual, spiritual, economic, cultural and moral advancement of a nation. Education is the need and demand of the modern age. Access to education is a fundamental human right and a developmental necessity.

It is obvious that education is necessary for female as much as for male.

@naeemullahswat Secondary school teacher in science - North-west Frontier, Pakistan

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ukedchat.com/magazine 11

Book Shelf

Review by Nicole Brown @ncjbrown

Book review: Doing research in education – Theory and practice

By Ioanna Palaiologou @IPalaiologou David Needham Trevor Male @MaleTrevor The book Within education nowadays there is a clear trend towards doing research in education and carrying out practice-based enquiries within schools as professional development and as part of degree courses. The paradox is, though, that many new and experienced teachers and students are asked to get involved in such researches, but at the same time there is the sentiment that such researches are not of huge value or not successful. This is the consequence of lack of training and guidance regarding carrying out research and practice-based View on Amazon at enquiries. There are many research methodology and methods guidebooks available, but the editors Ioanna www.bit.ly/doresearchedu Palaiologou, David Needham and Trevor Male have Priced at £21.59 (paperback) and £20.51 (Kindle) at succeeded in ways where other authors and editors fail: time of publishing the book is slim and easy to read, which makes it an be a great resource within schools, in particular. At the accessible and concise introduction into research. end of each chapter there are references and links that The structure will provide some more guidance, and once a teacher The book is divided into twelve chapters, whereby has gained confidence, then they may well want to each section deals with a different aspect related to tackle some of the more detailed research methodology educational research. The topics covered include the and methods books. With the basic knowledge gained value, benefit and purpose of research, an introduction from “Doing research in education” any other research to methodology and methods, thoughts on ethical issues methodology or methods will seem less daunting and and collecting and analysing qualitative and quantitative difficult to access. data, and guidance on writing and reporting research What do I think? findings. The individual chapters are also structured into several sections, so that the reader is reminded of key I am very much in favour of teachers doing research messages, but also pointed towards further readings, to improve their practice and to keep learning within websites and resources. Practical tips and activities their own classrooms, and for that I believe training related to doing research mean that the book can also be and courses are necessary. However, if for reasons used as a workbook and a resource for planning research. such as lack of funds or lack of time, teachers cannot access training, then books like this one are a great The highs and lows starting point. The aspects covered in this guidebook Due to its structure and the accessible style of writing, are excellently explained and link to further reading for the book really is a great introduction to research, and deeper engagement and understanding. The only issue I as such should be part of any library in order to support would raise is the lack of practical advice where reflexivity teachers and post-graduate students with their first steps and reflective journaling are concerned. The importance into practice-based enquiries. Obviously, due to the fact of reflections is highlighted, but there is no real guidance that the contents are quite condensed, this book cannot on how to keep an effective journal and how to make and should not be the only resource when planning good use of journaling. Many find this aspect difficult research. It is a great introduction, but further reading and within their teaching practice, so would require more training will be required in order for the research process guidance and training on that. Overall, though, this is a to be beneficial and successful. However, many teachers fabulous resource and I strongly recommend having it in avoid carrying out researches because they feel they do your library. not know enough, and this is where this publication could ukedchat.com/magazine 19

Base Rounders

by Liam Murphy

Before I began teaching, I worked on a number of holiday playschemes. While on those playschemes, we often invented and adapted games to suit children, resources and of course the weather.

On one rainy summer’s day, we invented (or believe we invented) ‘Crash Mat Rounders’. Outside it was pouring down, the children wanted to play rounders and we had a sports hall at our disposal.

We placed four crash mats out as bases, had a spot for the bowler and a place to bat from. We decided on some rules too. You were only out if caught, or if you were touching the sports hall floor while the ball was in the bowler’s hand. There could be as many children on a base as they wanted, batters could overtake while running and the teams swapped over when the batting team had no one available to bat.

The enjoyment of fewer rules, jumping on crash mats and quicker turn around of innings made the game a huge success and it being played (indoors) on even the sunniest days of that summer!

So, when I began teaching, I was looking for ways to cover ‘rounders skills’ but in a more enjoyable way, with more children involved more of the time. I adapted ‘Crash Mat Rounders’ to form ‘Base Rounders’. I have played it with every class I have taught, with each preferring it over various games of cricket and the traditional version of rounders.

I set up the pitch as shown below:

Each base is made up of four cones. With a cone for where the bowler needs to stand and a cone for the batter.

As I said earlier, the rules are simple: Batter, hit the ball (or not) and run to a base. If you’re running when the bowler gets the ball back you’re out.

Fielder, catch the ball, or stop it and throw it back to the bowler.

Swap over when there’s no on to bat. I usually get 4 - 5 innings per team in a lesson!

Hopefully that makes sense. Give it a go. I always explain it’s not the ‘real’ rounders rules and do have games of rounders using those traditional rules too.

If anyone else has played similar or the same as this, I have not stolen your idea as my own - I have independently generated these rules.

20 UKED Magazine

Liam is a Year 5 teacher and team leader at a four form entry junior school. He is a computing subject leader and half of @PrimaryIdeas primaryideas.org and is in his tenth year of teaching. Find him on Twitter at @ThisIsLiamM.

• Cover less genres with your children but cover them in greater depth • Write for a purpose - the school newsletter, a blog about their favourite book etc • Get rid of phrases like, “Brilliant, you’ve used a lot of wow words!”

• Dot on the spot and give feedback straight away - it shows their writing has value and is impacting on you there and then. A great phrase is, “When I read this part, it is making me feel.. because...”

• Allow them time to edit and improve and play with words • Read, read, read - from XBox manuals to picture books • Get your children to discuss their vocabulary choices and tell you what impact they were trying to have • Get rid of pre-prepared Success Lists - let them choose how to engage their reader • Model writing that inspires and triggers an emotional response to them • Let them write with a child’s voice, as a child and for a child • Read their work out loud and encourage them to listen to the music and rhythm of their writing Writing is about making connections, not just being able to circle an adverb. Let’s continue to encourage our children to use their words and writing to ‘build bridges of understanding’ with their reader. @ieconsultancy English consultant and teacher - Essex, UK

Wellbeing For All This academic year I was delighted to see the following on our school development plan: trial and develop techniques to support staff and student wellbeing. I have worked alongside our Deputy Headteacher to ensure a new vocabulary around wellbeing has been used in school.

In Brief

Tell me more...

With an increasing focus on decoding, barking at print and teaching English grammar as a closed, right or wrong system, teachers need to reclaim, and indeed are beginning to reclaim, the teaching of writing and put feelings, emotions and how to engage a reader at the centre of everything. Here are some tips to encourage worthwhile, engaging writing:

Following the ideas launched by #teacher5aday we built 2 staff wellbeing weeks into our school calendar. This meant no meetings but a chance for all staff to #connect #collaborate #learn #notice and exercise. We offered a variety of activities ranging from an introduction to mindfulness to an afternoon of Italian cookery to yoga for beginners and create your own ceramics. We also introduced the Good Karma club where staff secretly buddy up with someone and pay good karma forwards. Candles, notes and #teacher5aday bags have added to the sense of wellbeing around school.

Happy staff was only part of our wellbeing this year. Students and parents have been learning about positive psychology. Each term we have looked at a different layer grit, resilience, growth mindset, mindfulness, happiness and wellbeing. Students have learnt that happiness, mental health and wellbeing are things which can be developed. Plans for next year is to do even more. @MsHMFL Assistant Headteacher Wiltshire/Gloucestershire

Image credits: flickr.com/photos/holiday-extras/4703294074 by Holidayextras used under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License.

Write for a future edition of the magazine on the theme topic or something else that interests you.

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August 2016 Well Being (For teachers & pupils (PSHE)) Deadline: 4th July 2016

October 2016 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths) Deadline: 19th August 2016

September 2016 Classroom Management Deadline: 22th July 2016

November 2016 Reading & Books Deadline: 26th August 2016

Pareto Knew How To Balance It All In an ever demanding world the need to balance school and home life has never been greater. Recently I explored and shared with staff the 80/20 principle. Pareto’s rule of measuring effective output. It hit home to all staff when we data analysed where 80% of our grade A’s were coming from to discover actually stemmed from 20% of the subjects on offer! So we delved into how we allocate our energy and discussed shared planning and directing energy towards the critical 20% of activities that will yield 80% of our most useful outcomes. Well worth a further read and during half term or summer just order that to do list and make your life that bit easier. @ArtyTeach79 Subject Leader Wigan, UK 22 UKED Magazine

My Experiences Of Teaching Refugees I was really excited when I entered my new classroom on the 18th of February. I was excited because it was my first time teaching asylum seekers.

In Brief

Meditation in the Classroom “The mind is everything. What you think, you become” - Buddha.

It has been long known that having time to quietly think about things helps both students and adults answer some difficult questions. This is why we have ‘thinking time’, before we asks for answers. However, recent case studies are beginning to show that scheduling meditation into the school day could bring a multitude of benefits. Studies lead by Shauna L Shapiro of Santa Clara University have shown meditation could help students and staff deal with stress. In a CPD session at our school we looked at how schools had implemented 10 minutes of meditation every morning and the effect this had on the student’s behaviour, which drastically improved.

I personally have been meditating for around a year and can only agree with what these studies show. I and many other students use meditation and the idea of mindfulness to calm students after lunch break, especially after wet lunch, and the atmosphere is markedly calmer after. I recently took this one step further and played a 10 minute guided meditation to my form during form time. They said they felt considerably calmer and more ready to face the day. But the real test, how I know they found it useful, they asked to do it again the next day! @MsGlynn2014 Maths Teacher - London, UK

The lessons was very relaxing. We had a lot of fun playing games or doing role-plays.

The students got much more confident at talking in German and learned some new things about the German culture. The students were really interested in so many things. They asked me where are some nice places to visit in Germany or where they can find work. A doctor from Syria asked me if he is allowed to go to the library at our University because he wants to continue his studies.

I have taught this class now for three months and I haven’t fallen ill, I didn’t get robbed by one of them like some stereotypes say. I even met up one time with one of my students during the evening.

He had found some German friends and went out with them. How nice is that!

The point is that this is just a normal class and could be a class anywhere in the world. @kesselpa German Teacher - Augsburg, Germany

Get their hands dirty!

It is essential that children in today’s ‘technology focused world’ get real, hands-on experiences. The only things that some of my children have in their hands, once at home, are games console controls! By making learning fun and interactive we can engage children in finding out about the world around them and their past, instilling a love of learning and giving them some practical skills to use in the real world!

I set a maths challenge for the children to set up their own pizza parlour. They needed to do data collection to find out which toppings would be popular; measuring and weighing whilst making the pizzas; they looked at fractions when slicing them and then we had valuable lessons on mental addition and subtraction when we sold them to other children in school; finally, they looked at profit and sales margins when we evaluated and totalled our profits!

This week, I have taken the children back to the 1940’s cooking Wartime turnovers experiencing food when tightly rationed.

Giving children hands on experiences opens up their eyes to a range of skills needed in their futures, as well as making my job that little bit sweeter! @MissNina1983 Year 6 Teacher - International School - Cairo, Egypt

Active Tech Active Tech Active Tech

By Martin Burrett Technology is often lambasted for creating lazy, passive cyber couched-potatoes. While the hours we endure bathed in flickering pixel light, slumped in a variety of contorted lurching positions over the input device of our choice is hardly the recipe for a healthy body. Yet, technology is becoming ever more part of our active lives and it is also spilling out into the ‘real’ world. As teachers, we can insist technology, or we can make it part of our classroom repertoire for PE and beyond.

One obvious example is active gaming. Until recently, games exercised the thumbs, but little else. Since the introduction of game consoles with motion tracking, such as the Wii and Xbox with its Kinect device, players are finally off the couch and up on their feet. Such devices shouldn’t be a replacement to the usual range of PE activities, but because of the intrinsically motivating nature of these games they can reach pupils who usually loath PE and the length of time pupils will spend on such games more than makes up for the relatively limited amount of movement involved compared to an average PE lesson. Naturally, I do not have 15+ devices (not on a teacher’s salary!), so when I have done this with my own primary class I have asked parents to get involved and to bring in whatever they have available at home. Firstly, this means that the parents are around to ensure that the equipment is being used in an appropriate manner. Secondary, it’s wonderful to see the dads getting overly competitive once they inevitably decide to have a turn.

The web is awash with dance videos of every genre. Sites like gonoodle.com and 5-a-day.tv are great places to start and have a great range of fitness and mindfulness videos to try. A quick search on YouTube.com and vimeo.com will deliver a vast number of videos to get your class moving.

Yet better still, rather than being consumers of fitness videos, challenge your class to produce their own.

Using video recordings to play back and observe one’s sporting performance is not only limited to the professionals. Video cameras are everywhere and watching one’s own striking kicks, racket hits and running form can give insight for both the teacher and pupils to help them improve.

The rise of fitness trackers and mobile apps has meant that we can each produce a vast quantity of data about our health. This can be very useful information to allow the sports person to improve, but it is also a wonderful resource for cross-curricular work. Heart rates, lap times, speed data and much more are useful to give a real context to data handling in maths and the health topics of the science curriculum.

Lots of physical activity happens outside. Orienteering with GPS enabled devices or Geo-caching (like a map coordinates treasure hunt) are wonderful activities to get your children engaged and moving. Apps such as the superb trebleapps.co/knit allows the teacher to leave virtual ‘breadcrumb’ messages which are triggered when the pupil reaches a particular set of coordinates. Use it to leave clues in a outside treasure hunt.

Virtual and augmented reality finally seems to be living up to its promise. While most VR apps used in schools current do not require the user to move from the spot, technology is being developed which maps out a space and ‘fools’ the user into moving around a space which is seeming larger than it actually is and prompting the user away from the walls. So it may not be long until your class can play virtual tennis at Wimbledon, run against a digital Usain Bolt, or take part in cyber cycling at the Olympics.

I look forward to the first virtual egg and spoon race at sports day!

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Assessing Without Levels: ...12 Months On

By Andrew Byrne

Wind back 12 months, Year 6 SATs, in their old form, initially the reaction was positive and staff thought that it were over and we were beginning to plan for a whole new was a useful way of tracking the children (cue a tracking world….assessing without levels. document that runs alongside).

Every discussion threw up problems and positivity about A thought still niggled me, children are not just numbers, how we moved forward was severely lacking. The initial not just data on a sheet, it needed to be data that was used effectively to support the learning of the children problems that we discussed were: How are the old levels going to be converted to something and was useful for the teacher. Luckily we seemed to have stumbled on this by accident. It seems that there are new when there is no guidance to do so? positives in assessing without levels and what started out How are only 3 categories enough to describe a whole as a simple spreadsheet (now on Version 4) has drawn the cohort? (Emerging, Expected and Exceeding) following feedback from staff.(April 2016).

What would the thresholds for the above levels be?

We use it to find the gaps in learning as the colour coding allows this to be easily identifiable.

How do we know that we are making sufficient progresseither within a year group or from KS1 to KS2.

We can clearly see the groups within the class that need further support and interventions.

What was ‘Mastery’ and what did it look like?

I decided to volunteer to search the internet, surely The HA group is clear. someone, somewhere had created something to remedy The feeder objectives show us the steps needed for the this? There must be some guidance from the government, child to fulfil the KPI. they wouldn’t be so remiss to set up something new and We can see progress in the child’s learning which is give no support….would they? positive for both us and the child.

Sadly yes. The internet was an assessing without levels wasteland, there were more tumbleweeds blowing across It’s useful for pupil progress meetings, allowing them to the World Wide Web than in a Western movie. Another be more focused. dead end, cue more of the same questions as before It’s easy to use. but no forward movement; we were stuck, clueless and As you can see, these positives are due to the fact that unsupported but something had to be done. we have had to create something to replace levels and we So we took the plunge; we made a decision as an SLT. We were going to use percentages and we were going to create 5 bands instead of 3, after all, our cohort of children couldn’t be categorised into 3. The expected category was so broad that some children would never move out of it and therefore wouldn’t show progress, hence the percentages, this would show progress, even within a particular category.

have reason, as teachers, to feel positive about this, as long as the right system is in place.

With this in mind I created feeder objectives and split the NC into 14 units that consolidated prior learning this meant that progress and attainment was shown for EVERY child, a real key as OFSTED are due this year.

Andrew Byrne @musingsofmrb is an Assistant Head, Maths lead and Year 6 teacher at a large Primary School in Central Birmingham. He is passionate about education and regularly blogs about his thoughts at musingsofmrb.wordpress.com.

Big questions still remain though: How do the systems of individual schools correlate?

If a child moved to another school would the numbers/ categories be understood?

How do these systems help to predict a child’s SATs score The writing assessment was already embedded and as we still don’t know what an expected score will be? written in percentages. It needed some adjustment for the How will our assessments translate to Secondary schools new objectives (and interim framework that followed). for transition? Will it make sense to them?

Reading was created quickly from the interim assessment framework and curriculum objectives. I had to create the I’m really proud that, as a profession, teachers manage one for Maths, easy I thought, I’m good with spreadsheets to find ways of solving the problems thrown at them but support from the DfE is needed; we need guidance and and formulas, I was very wrong. examples of how this is to be done. We, as a school, are I quickly realised that the National Curriculum objectives confident that our system is robust, manageable and for all year groups were very broad, they needed specific vitally, takes a key role in the learning of progress of the prior learning and a number of steps to achieve them. Eg: children but what if ours is wrong, what if the thoughts of some children would never be able to order numbers up to the DfE are widely different.

1,000,000 but would be able to order them up to 10,000, 12 months on, we still don’t know…..that’s wrong. but that wasn’t the objective.

After 100’s of man hours and updates the first version was complete by Mid October and was rolled out to staff;

Volume 1

Volume 2

Volume 3

Great Expectations Knowledge Organiser by @JSchwartz100

Download: uked.directory/SEE00003 Stretch and Challenge vocabulary for characterisation and plot in Great Expectations

Plot

Jaggers explains Estella's adoption and advises that Pip keep it secret. Orlick's confession and attempted revenge; Pip rescued by Trabb's boy and Herbert.

Magwitch's escape is thwarted; Compeyson drowned and Pip reconciled to his benefactor, Magwitch. Pip's wealth is forfeited to the crown. Magwitch convicted and sentenced; Pip tells him, before his death, of Estella. Pip becomes ill and is arrested for debts but rescued by Joe. Orlick ends up in jail. Miss Havisham's will is read and Pip plans to propose to Biddy. Satis House goes up for auction and Joe marries Biddy.

Eleven years later, Pip returns; sees young Pip and meets (widowed) Estella at Satis; "no shadow of…parting".

Ch. 51-59

Ch. 45-50

Ch. 40-44

Ch. 34-39

Ch. 27-33

Pip lodges with Herbert. Wemmick takes Pip to Barnard's Inn; Pip recognizes Herbert as "pale young gentleman". Herbert tells Miss Havisham's story. Pip takes up rowing and living the life of a ‘gentleman’ as he spends his fortune. Mr Jaggers flaunts his housekeeper, Molly’s wrists in a scene of social power and male dominance. Pip is yet to realise Molly is Estella’s mother.

Biddy writes to Pip asking if Joe can visit Barnard's Inn; he calls Pip "Sir" highlighting Joe's "simple dignity" that does not fit with the figure of the ‘gentleman’. Pip reads in local paper that Pumblechook is his "patron". Pip visits Miss Havisham; Orlick is gatekeeper. Pip declares his love for Estella. Pip waits for Estella who is visiting London.

Wemmick shows him Newgate (convict motif).

Pip and Herbert accumulate rather large debts and Mrs. Joe dies. Pip comes of age (November) and becomes responsible for his finances; asks Wemmick's advice for Herbert. Pip is to escort Estella and take her to Satis House; quarrels with Miss Havisham and discovers Bentley Drummle as Estella’s suitor. He leaves heartbroken. Pip is 23 now and Magwitch returns - revealing he is Pip's benefactor.

The man on the stairs, "Provis" comes to stay; Jaggers confirms his story as Pip’s benefactor. Herbert then meets Magwitch/”Provis”. Herbert advises Pip to take Magwitch out of the country; they ask him about his life. Pip tells Estella he loves her but Estella is set to marry Bentley Drummle.

Pip feels he is being watched…He fears Estella is married but will not make sure. Pip dines with Jaggers; Estella is married. Pip recognizes Molly as her mother and Wemmick tells of Molly's trial. Chapter 49 sees Miss Havisham's confession and repentance; Estella's adoption and the fire. Pip says "I forgive her". Herbert tells of Magwitch's child and Pip knows Estella is his. Magwitch said that Pip reminded him of her.

Christmas Eve, afternoon: Pip meets the convict (Abel Magwitch); Pip asked to steal file and "wittles" for them. Joe and Mrs. Joe introduced; guns signal escaped convicts; Pip steals food and suffers from “wild fancies” in his guilt. The soldiers; Magwitch and Compeyson; Magwitch "confesses" to Pip's crime. Pip's guilt; Pumblechook describes Magwitch's "theft".

The reader is introduced to Pip's limited education (from Biddy). This is compared with Joe's lack of learning. Miss Havisham wants Pip to visit; Pip sees Estella, Miss Havisham at Satis House: the gothic conventions are prevalent throughout Chapter 8. Estella seen as "a star” is Pip’s eyes and she derides him as he "calls knaves, Jacks" demonstrating his poor breeding. Pip lies about Satis House and what he sees. Pumblechook pretends to know; Pip tells Joe the truth. Joe Gargey goes to Satis House and is given twenty-fie guineas for Pip’s time, he is now bound into an apprenticeship with Joe which he feels sullen about. Mrs. Joe feels slighted not to see Miss Havisham Retrospective narrative reflection on Pip's shame and ingratitude – juxtaposed with this, Joe's virtues are described. The half-holiday: Joe fights Dolge Orlick and Mrs. Joe is assaulted. Biddy moves in to look after Mrs Joe. Jaggers tells Pip of his "great expectations" and secrecy of benefactor. Pip undergoes transition point in Chapter 19 as he visits Mr Trabb’s shop and apparently without “boasting” flaunts his new wealth.

Ch. 20-26

Ch. 14-19

Ch. 7-13

Ch. 1-6

Clemency

Portentous

Malignant

Revenant

Prolix

Benefactor

Propitiation

Ostentatious

Episodic

Remuneration

Disparity

Venerate

Impudent

Pathetic Fallacy

Paradoxical

Incongruous

Woebegone

Corrupt

Prosperous

Reticent

Genteel

Ostracised

Hereditary Privilege Superior

Dilapidated

Faded Opulence

Vocabulary

Ambition & Self Improvement Social Class Crime & Guilt Innocence & Justice Familial Connections Revenge Redemption Avarice Setting

Themes

Joe Gargery Virtuous, Recitude, Magnanimous, Doleful, Obsequious, Uncouth Joe is a father figure for Pip throughout Pip's childhood and his tender kindness protects Pip from Mrs. Joe's harsh parenting. Joe has no formal education but possesses a deep sense of integrity and an unfailing moral compass. Joe is loyal, generous, and kind, and acts lovingly towards Pip even when Pip's is ungrateful.

Provis (a.k.a. Abel Magwitch) (a.k.a. the convict) The same escaped convict Pip helps in the novel's opening scenes. Provis' gratitude towards Pip inspires him to devote his life-savings to Pip, becoming Pip's anonymous patron. Cruelly swindled by Compeyson, Provis has lived a life in and out of prison. Still, his criminal record is largely the result of unfortunate circumstances, not character, for Provis is kind, good-hearted, and immensely generous.

Bentley Drummle Machiavellian Prince, Guarded Bentley Drummle studies with Pip. He is a wealthy heir to a baronetcy, upper class according to the old system of inherited rank. Described as "idle, proud…and suspicious," Drummle is Pip's nemesis.

He pursues Estella.

Herbert Pocket Loyal, Aspirational, Invariable, Enduring, Pip's best friend, Herbert is compassionate, honest, and unpretentious. He and Pip live together in London where he works in a counting house as a merchant. He cheerfully helps Pip through all of Pip's struggles.

Mr Jaggers Supercilious, Judicious, Erudite, Retributive, Sagacious, Obdurate A famous lawyer in London, Mr. Jaggers is Pip's guardian and the middleman between him and his patron. Mr. Jaggers also works for Miss Havisham. He is rational, sharp-minded, and intimidating. He prides himself on neither expressing nor responding to human emotion.

Biddy An orphan Pip meets at the village school, Biddy moves into the forge to help out after Mrs. Joe's attack and later becomes a schoolteacher. She is humble, kind, moral, and fiercely intelligent, absorbing knowledge without any formal education. She is also sharply perceptive and sees through everyone's pretensions, calling Pip out on his delusions and snobbery long before Pip can recognize them.

Mrs Joe “Capricious”, Tyrannical, Condensing, Choleric Mrs. Joe is fiery, tyrannical, and false, harping on her own victimhood even as she abuses Pip and Joe. She is obsessed with social status and reputation. Yet, after the attack by Orlick that gives her brain damage, Mrs. Joe's personality changes completely and she becomes patient, compassionate, and docile.

Miss Havisham Decrepit, Megalomaniac, Spectral, Affluent, Desolate, Disconsolate, Wretched, Evasive, Tacit The wealthy daughter of a brewer, Miss Havisham was abandoned on her wedding day by her fiancée (Compeyson) and, traumatized.

She preserves herself and her house in wedding regalia, shutting out the world for over twenty years. To exact her revenge on men, Miss Havisham adopts and raises Estella to be beautiful and desirable but completely heartless. Miss Havisham is capricious, manipulative, bitter, and, until novel's end, unable to recognize anyone's pain but her own.

Characters

Pip Pirrip Felicitous, Timid, Susceptible, Bourgeois, Improvident, The Fortunatus Prototype The Bildungsroman's protagonist, Pip is an orphan serves as the apprentice of the gentle blacksmith Joe. When he unexpectedly comes into a fortune, Pip grows haughty and extravagant in pursuit of a lifestyle genteel enough to meet the refined standards of Estella. Confusing personal integrity with public reputation, Pip is cruelly disloyal to Joe and Biddy, avoiding them because of their lower class. Still, Pip learns to judge people by internal rather than superficial standards and redeems himself by repenting sincerely and reforming his personal values.

Estella Morally Bankrupt, Haughty, Vainglorious, Contemptuous, Disparaging, Insolent The adopted daughter of Miss Havisham, Estella is proud, refined, beautiful, and cold, raised by Miss Havisham to “wreak revenge on the male sex”.

Miss Havisham has raised her to lack a true human heart and she is unable to love.

Great Expectations: Knowledge Organiser