Session 3 Rostrata Primary School Year 6 Kristy Nita Brown and Maryia Konig

Warm up: 

Prior to the session, I created a People Bingo game card for students to use. At the start of the session, I reminded them that we’d be playing some games to get to know each other and introduced the rules of People Bingo. We went outside, and I gave the students five minutes to familiarise themselves with the game card before starting.

Both Mariya and I participated in the game, which gave us the chance to run around with the students, ask them about their likes and dislikes, and match their responses with our own to complete the cards. This also helped me start learning some of their names, which I wrote down on my card as we played.

One interesting observation was the clear division along gender lines. The girls mostly interacted with other girls, and the boys did the same. It took quite a while before they started approaching students of the opposite gender. I also noticed that a few students completed their cards almost immediately, which suggests there may be a competitive streak in the group. This could lead some students to prioritise “winning” over the intended purpose of getting to know each other. In future sessions, I’ll make it a point to emphasize that the goal isn’t winning, but learning about one another through the activity.

Lastly, with a class of 31 students, it’s clear it will take me longer than expected to learn everyone’s names. I had originally aimed to know them all by session three, but that timeline will need to be extended.

Main activity:

Prior to the session, I created eight activities based on the Gallery Walk students completed during session two. After transcribing their responses, I was able to target key questions they had around the topic of designing and creating a sustainable toy. These included questions about the materials used in toys, how long different items take to break down in landfill, what is recyclable, reusable, or waste, environmental impacts, how to make packaging more sustainable, and initial ideas for developing a more sustainable toy.

The activities I designed included matching answers to images, placing toys on a timeline, brainstorming, sorting, inventing, and drawing and labelling new toy ideas using specific materials.

I ran the activities in groups of four, giving each group five minutes per station with a one-minute warning before rotating. The class is large (31 students), and the classroom space is limited. Mariya used a tool to randomly assign students to groups.

Some groups worked well, but others did not. I observed students disengaging from their groups, chatting with others, or forming smaller pairs to complete tasks independently. I observed a few groups using their assigned roles (Timekeeper, Recorder, Materials Manager and Encourager), but rarely saw Recorders read out the full instructions for each activity. Most groups simply unpacked the materials, skimmed the instructions, and guessed what they were meant to do. When the timer sounded, some students didn’t respond or pay attention.

The stations requiring creative thinking, such as designing a new toy, proved most challenging. In one case, a student crumpled their work and chose not to submit anything. Roughly 50% of the students I observed completed the task, while the remaining 50% didn’t even pick up a pencil.

Some students appeared uncomfortable collaborating in small groups, and even when given clear instructions, a specific object, and examples, they struggled to generate original ideas. In one group, students only wrote one or two words per activity.

At the end of the session, I asked students to return to their seats, and we went through each activity together. I invited the Recorders to read out their group’s responses, but more often than not, no one shared anything.

Reflection:

At the conclusion of the activities and discussion, I spoke to the students about the Five Habits of Learning. I explained what each habit looks like in practice and asked them to identify which habits they felt they had used during the session. Collaboration and Persistence were the two habits most commonly identified.

I then asked students to reflect on how well their group worked together. I prompted their thinking with questions such as: Were the questions read aloud to the group? Did all members stay on task? Were roles completed? Did everyone contribute? Did everyone agree on the answers? Did they keep trying until they came up with a strong response?

To finish, I asked students to self-assess their group’s performance using a finger vote: 10 meaning their group worked excellently, 5 for average performance, and 1 indicating that their group needs significant improvement in collaboration and persistence.

Planning with the teacher:

After the session, Mariya and I discussed the students’ underdeveloped skills in collaboration and creative thinking. Moving forward, there is a clear need to place greater emphasis on helping students work together more effectively in groups. I also feel this class will benefit from a series of warm up activities specifically designed to build collaboration and creative thinking skills. These could begin with pair-based tasks and gradually progress to groups of three, and eventually larger group work.

Next week, I’d also like to introduce more movement into the warm ups, starting with a mirroring exercise to help develop foundational collaborative skills. I will update the creative schools plan accordingly, as our initial ideas need to be adapted to more explicitly target these habits.

In addition, we will begin a craft activity during reflection time. Students will be making origami lucky stars in the colours of the Five Habits of Learning they demonstrate each week. The stars will be kept in a jar on their desks and, at the end of the project, students will turn them into keyrings or bracelets.

As a side note, I believe future planning days (with both teacher and creative present) would benefit from dedicated time to discuss what happens when gaps in student skills, particularly related to the Five Habits of Learning, are identified. It’s important for both creatives and teachers to understand that this is a normal part of the process and a key reason creatives are in the room: to support and nurture this growth. Creatives should also be prepared for the emotional challenges that come with this kind of work. It can be disheartening to invest time and energy into designing a thoughtful activity, only to find that it doesn’t go as planned.

Finally, Mariya and I are currently in the process of organising a Zoom meeting to continue planning the sustainable toy project in more detail.

Working with the students:

The students appear open to working in new ways. They are excited and curious about the idea of designing and making sustainable toys, and they’ve shown genuine interest in exploring this project further.

During the session, students were surprised to learn how long toys can remain in the environment before breaking down. This seemed to prompt reflection, and it’s possible some may go home and begin to think more critically about the number of toys they own and the environmental impact of throwing them away instead of reusing or recycling them. It will be interesting to see how their thoughts evolve and what conversations emerge with Mariya over the coming weeks.

They are also enthusiastic about making origami lucky stars. Next week, we will begin this activity after the warm up, as many students expressed a desire to make their first star, a purple one representing Collaboration, to reflect this week’s focus.

Ideas moving forward:

In the next session, it would be valuable for students to bring in one of their own toys to critically assess its materials, durability, usability, and sustainability. This will help them make real-world connections and think more deeply about the environmental impact of everyday objects. We could also begin to explore toy packaging in more depth, examining how it contributes to waste and how it could be redesigned more sustainably.

The main activity will need to be limited to under an hour to ensure there is adequate time for both the warm-up—essential for targeting the Five Habits—and the reflection, which will need to cover both this session and the next.

Additionally, students will begin learning how to fold origami lucky stars. I anticipate this will be initially challenging and time-consuming for some, so extra time and support may be needed as they build confidence with the technique.