How to teach the 7-part lesson

A three course meal is satisfying, but a seven course banquet is outstanding. And the same goes for lesson plans, says Michelle Carter...

Have you ever been told your lessons need more pace, that you should engage the children and talk less? Do sessions tend to drop off at the end? Well, all you have to do is imagine you are treating your pupils to a delicious sevencourse
meal.

In any outstanding restaurant there is never a long wait for anything. When you first arrive, your taste buds are tickled immediately when the waiter offers you something to eat before he has even taken your coat. A few nibbles and you are
hooked.

Next he hands over the menu so you know what’s on offer. You order a starter and a platter arrives with a selection of treats varied enough to appeal to every diner. No sooner have you finished than a fish main is served on a bed of edible seaweed: the sights, smells and flavours bombard the senses. A brief interval provides a chance to discuss the various merits and finer points of each dish.

When the meat main is brought to the table, it is every bit as delicious and appealing to the senses as the fish.

As you move on to the predessert, discussion revolves around which was the most enjoyable course, with the whole table hotly debating their preferences and what the secret ingredients of the fish and meat dishes must have been.

Dessert finishes the night off wonderfully – everyone tries each other’s sweet - and we’re left wondering if we could ever recreate the whole meal ourselves.

RECREATING THE MEAL IN THE CLASSROOM…

1 The aperitif - Immediate engagement

Switch pupils’ brains on immediately by having a task on the whiteboard, or on the tables, ready for them to start as soon as they walk in. Ensure this is open ended, so it can be finished at any point, and that it’s something children are interested in doing. As well as engaging pupils straightaway, this eliminates any dead time; for instance, if your school streams or sets, when at least a few minutes can be lost in transition.

2 The starter - Input

Hook children in with a visual image: a mysterious object, a box marked ‘do not open’, an envelope marked ‘top secret’, or a video clip. Now it’s time to present the menu, i.e. what the class is going to be learning and how they can be successful. The main challenge is to keep teacher talk down. The best way to do this is to reduce the amount of instructional language. Instead, model the learning, use written directions, show examples of completed work, and rely on visual cues and instructions at table level.

With younger children, we sometimes spend a lot of time telling them at which table they will be sitting. One way of cutting this out is to place a flowerpot containing a plastic flower on each table. Children’s names, along with a photo, can be fixed to the petals, and pupils can be taught to find their seat by locating their picture.

3 Fish main – Independent activity

This is the class’s independent working time. For this to be delicious, engage the children by making the task real, giving it purpose, turning it into a game, ensuring it’s practical and at the appropriate challenge level.

Set extension activities before this part of the lesson begins – this will ensure the flow is not interrupted by children saying “finished!”.

4 Rest between courses - Mini plenary

Make time to reflect on the lesson as a class, in partners or in groups. Discuss the learning that has taken place, holding discussions at a table level if you would rather not interrupt the
flow.

Questions to ask include:

• What have you learnt so far?
• What are you finding easy/difficult?
• Did you get stuck?
• What helped you when something got tricky/ sticky?
• What do you need more help with?
• What is really making you think?
• What are your next steps?

This time could also include self and peer assessment

5 Meat main – Independent activity

Continue with the task started during the fish main; or you might set a second task or a redrafting exercise.

6 Pre-dessert – Reflection

This second period of reflection is similar to the mini plenary. Questions you might ask include:

• What have you learnt today?
• Have you learnt anything new?
• How will this help you in other areas of school work?
• What really made you think?
• What challenged you today?
• What might you do differently next time?
• Did you enjoy the lesson? How much?

7 Dessert - Plenary

The dessert section is slightly different in that pupils should demonstrate they have understood the lesson by applying what they have learnt (otherwise known as an ‘understanding performance’).

For example, pupils might: make a picture; build a model from plasticine; assemble a collage; compose an email; explain the work to an alien; write a mnemonic; perform a finger puppet show, mime, rap, or song. Memory studies indicate that if pupils have to do something with what they have learnt, this knowledge is remembered and transferred from short term to long term memory.

This lesson format divides the time into bite-sized pieces (we’re still at the restaurant!), which relates roughly to the formula for young learners’ concentration spans: a child’s age plus one or two minutes. Also, the sevenpart lesson creates a number of beginnings and endings, thus taking advantage of the B.E.M effect: we remember beginnings most vividly, endings next and lastly middle parts.

Michelle has donated her fee for this article to Ovarian Cancer Action. Visit ovarian.org.uk for more details on the charity and its work.