Session 8 Rostrata Primary School Year 6 Kristy Nita Brown and Mariya Konig
Warm Up:
Today marked the first time I had seen the students since returning from the July holidays. It was heartening to be welcomed with smiles and enthusiasm; the students were clearly happy to be back and doing Creative Schools today. I noticed a significant improvement in behaviour compared to the end of last term. Students appeared refreshed, settled, and more focused.
Our warm up activity took place outdoors and included two engaging games. The first was a non-verbal movement game where students had to silently act out a scenario, such as a person eating peas, before becoming and embodying an element from that scene, like the pea itself. Other examples included a person jumping rope, then transforming into the skipping rope. This activity was a success, sparking laughter and creative movement. The lack of verbal communication encouraged students to express themselves more physically and imaginatively, and it created a playful, inclusive atmosphere.
We followed this with the “Mirror, Mirror” game I invented. Students stood in two lines and partnered up, with one acting as the person and the other as their mirror, mimicking every movement. After a couple of minutes, the pairs switched roles. This developed their focus and coordination. The students were highly engaged and seemed to enjoy the physical challenge and connection with their peers.
Noticing that the students still had plenty of energy, likely due to missed recess time because of the rain, I asked Mariya if they could do a quick run to the goal posts and back. She agreed, and the students eagerly participated. This extra burst of physical activity helped them regulate their energy levels and return more focused and ready for the main activity, which involved working on their toy presentations for their buddies.
Main Activity:
The main activity focused on preparing students for next week's “Shark Tank” style presentation with their Year 2 buddies. Students worked individually on a brainstorming worksheet after watching three examples of children presenting business ideas on the television show called Shark Tank. After each clip, students identified strengths in the presentations and areas for improvement. They participated in thoughtful discussions around what makes a pitch engaging and persuasive and made notes on their worksheets. Building on these insights, students then began writing their own speeches to pitch the toys they’ve created for their buddies. They were keen to understand the expectations for the pitch, asking about timing, voting procedures, and how the winner would be decided. This engagement showed strong ownership and excitement for the task.
Before practicing their pitches with a partner, we reviewed how to give constructive feedback using the “compliment sandwich” model. Students took turns presenting and then giving feedback, which was thoughtful, encouraging, and aligned with our earlier learning. During this time, I moved around the classroom, listening in and offering my own compliment sandwiches to support and model positive peer feedback.
Overall, the session was both fun and highly productive. The combination of individual planning, structured practice and collaborative reflection helped students prepare meaningfully for the upcoming Shark Tank. Their enthusiasm and willingness to participate fully was a promising sign of what’s to come next week.
Reflection:
To close the session, students completed two reflection activities. First, we looked at photos from previous Creative Schools sessions and discussed which of the 5 Habits of Learning were most visible in each image. Students thoughtfully analysed the photos and gave reasons for their choices. The second reflection was more creative and personal: each student chose a colour to represent the Habit they felt they had used most during today’s session. We then revisited the origami lucky stars activity. Each time we do this, more students are successful in folding the stars, a process that directly supports the development of persistence and discipline. This week, three more students mastered the folding process, as did I.
Planning With The Teacher:
Next week, Mariya and I will be running a large Shark Tank session with our Year 6 students and their Year 2 buddies. During the session, the Year 2 students will sit in as the audience and take on the role of the "sharks." They will each be given vote cards and will place stickers next to each Year 6 student’s name to indicate how much they liked their toy pitch. Each Year 6 student will present their toy, created from recycled materials and with moving parts, to their buddy, aiming to deliver a persuasive and engaging pitch. At the end of the session, the toy with the most votes will be crowned the Shark Tank winner. As a special conclusion, the Year 2 buddies will get to keep the toys made especially for them. I will also be filming each pitch throughout the session. This footage will be used to create a presentation for Student Teacher Night in a couple of weeks, where parents will be able to view their child’s pitch by scanning a QR code.
