Introduction No Pens Day Wednesday lesson plans have been created by practising mainstream teachers and speech and language therapists. These have then been quality assured by a specialist speech and language therapist to ensure they are fit for purpose. Lesson plans As all schools will be covering different topics and have different ways of planning, the lesson plans provide an example for teachers to adapt and build on, though they can be used as they are if this fits in with your planning. Teachers can use plans from different year groups and adapt them as necessary to be appropriate for the students you work with. Lesson plans aim to follow good practice principles; e.g. they Identify explicit learning objectives. Support use of questioning, using Blooms taxonomy, to support learning. Include plenary sessions that encourage pupils to reflect on their learning. Some lessons include reflection on how the “no pens” theme of the day has influenced learning. This could be a discussion you could have in any lesson in order to gather pupils’ views on how an emphasis on talk in the classroom has impacted on their learning and enjoyment of lessons. Each lesson plan also has some key vocabulary identified, which is listed in the vocabulary section of the lesson plan, although you may wish to add particular key words of your own too. Vocabulary is key for all pupils, particularly those whose language is not at an age appropriate level or pupils learning English as an additional language. Teaching vocabulary explicitly as part of a lesson, using tried and tested strategies can make a significant difference to these pupils in particular. Teachers can have a look at strategies for supporting vocabulary in class in the section of our website. A speaking and listening objective has also been identified for each lesson. Some have been taken from guidelines previously made available by QCA, whilst others have been taken from our Universally Speaking guides (available to download for free from ), which track language development throughout the primary years. Many lesson plans predate the curriculum changes that were introduced in September 2014, so not all spoken language objectives link specifically to the spoken language requirements of the 2014 curriculum. However, the principles of including spoken language in your planning and considering spoken language objectives as part of every lesson remains the same. Therefore, we have continued to include the older plans, and if you wish, you can adapt the spoken language objectives to best suit the needs of your lesson and pupils. How do no pens activities support pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)?
Turn taking Activity: Create short narratives from random word prompts Differentiation Resource Starter: Follow my leader – start with a random word, and move quickly round the circle with students saying the first connected word that comes to mind (e.g cat – scratch – pet – goldfish – memory - photo) students to pass to keep the activity moving but encourage them to contribute. Round 2 – same as round one but at random point ask ‘WHY?’ and the student has to articulate the connection between the 2 words. Manage the thinking time for students with language or processing needs Vocabulary: emphasis, intonation, voice.