THINKING THROUGH
GEOGRAPHY - HOME

TEACHER GUIDANCE

PUPIL RESOURCES

PUPILVISION

Rationale

The aim of the lesson is to get pupils to think about how they listen to and process the spoken word, and then move on to making connections.

An infinite plan involves transferring what they hear into visual image by drawing ('Pictionary').

Visualization of information, processing it spatially and making connections in space to help deepen learning.

Preparation

Selection of text that involves spatial distribution, human emotion and very descriptive language help ensure success (adaptation of factual text to achieve this is often effective).

Pupils need a blank sheet of A4 paper and a pencil.

It often helps to divide the page into 2 geographical areas, particularly where there is interaction between the 2 e.g. Mexico/USA in a migration text, rural/urban in an LEDC flood disaster text.

Launching

This is often a very good introduction to a topic without any prior knowledge.

Ask pupils to divide up the page as appropriate and to prepare to listen carefully.

Instructions

Pupils need to listen and to draw any images that come to mind when listening to the text.

Pupils are not to worry about the quality of drawings but to try to get as much down as they can. Tell them that you will pause now and again to give them sufficient time to draw.

Ask them to try to think where they are placing the information on the page and try to get the correct zone.

Words are not banned but should be used sparingly.

Ask for silence during the task (they will not get everything down and should record what they can).

Ask them to listen out for 2 or 3 aspects in particular e.g. 'why did Pedro migrate?' and 'the down side of migration'.

Read the text aloud at a steady pace; not too quickly but not at a pace that is too slow to spoil the impact.

Emphasis of emotional/highly descriptive aspects is advisable.

If you sense that the class are having difficulty in visualizing and drawing the story, it might be a good idea to stop after the first couple of sentences and draw some examples on the board of some images they could have used.

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Debrief

How did you complete this task?
How did you represent certain aspects of the text?
Did anyone represent xxxxx…..? How?
Did you use common imagery to represent certain things?
WhyDid you draw while you listened or did you wait for the pauses?
Which strategy do you think is better?
What pictures did you get in your head when you were listening?
Which 4 things, for you, were the most powerful ideas in the passage for your understanding?
Which do you like to do best - a plan like this or answering written questions straight from the text? Why?
Extension TaskAsk the pupils a week later to reconstruct the plan or recount the story. Which bits do they remember?
Why do they think that they remember these points?
For homework, take your plan and try to re-write the story exactly as you heard it.