We are often asked by teachers how to help pupils who are so quiet that they cannot be heard when they speak. Our guest blogger this month, Alison Coates of the English Speaking Board, tackles this issue with breathing and resonance exercises to help projection. When I was asked to judge the recent PiXL Up …
The Power of Silence This week we’ve been thinking about silence. As our company name suggests, we think that a loud lesson can be one in which pupils are engaged and learning. Education can put too much of an emphasis on the importance of ‘quiet’ classrooms. The assumption being that quiet = well-behaved = productive …
We asked Iain Lynn from Bassingbourn Village College, Grand Finalist in our first ever PiXL Up For Debate Championships to tell us about his subsequent debating journey and to give his advice to this year’s competitors who are wondering where to take their debating next. Hello, if you are reading this then that means one …
Today’s blog post is from Sarah Spikesley, a teacher at Hinchingbrooke school. As teaching professionals, it can sometimes seem as though the only time students use the language of argument is upon the imminent and ‘unjust’ confiscation of a phone or rogue fidget spinner. The misconception that debating is an archaic skill reserved only for …
My colleague Alice attended a Voice21 Oracy session on meta-cognition and was excited to talk to me about the idea that pupils should reflect on their strengths and weaknesses in conversation in order to improve group work. This made me in turn reflect on my own use of group work in the classroom. Group work …
Do you coach your students in the skills of group work? Read More »
There is no doubt that debating is a superb activity for stretching the most able students. It allows them to use their higher order thinking skills and challenges them to apply their knowledge and understanding of an issue under pressure. Many able students will experience the much sought after “flow” in a debate and as …
Myth-busting: “debating is only for the most able students” Read More »
Welcome to Competitions Week here at Noisy Classroom, where we’re dedicating a whole week’s worth of blog posts to debating competitions. Hopefully you’ll read our posts and be inspired to enter your students into some competitions…or even host your own. HOSTING AND ORGANISING YOUR OWN DEBATING COMPETITION After you have attended several competitions, or if …
Hosting and Organising Your Own Debating Competition Read More »
Welcome to Competitions Week here at Noisy Classroom, where we’re dedicating a whole week’s worth of blog posts to debating and oracy competitions. Hopefully you’ll read our posts and be inspired to enter your students into some competitions…or even host your own. DEBATING COMPETITIONS – A CHECKLIST FOR TEACHERS Debating competitions are a fantastic and …
Debating Competitions – A Checklist for Teachers Read More »
Welcome to Competitions Week here at Noisy Classroom, where we’re dedicating a whole week’s worth of blog posts to debating competitions. Hopefully you’ll read our posts and be inspired to enter your students into some competitions…or even host your own. WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS AT DEBATING COMPETITIONS? Attending a debating competition, especially your first one, …
Welcome to Competitions Week here at Noisy Classroom, where we’re dedicating a whole week’s worth of blog posts to debating competitions. Hopefully you’ll read our posts and be inspired to enter your students into some competitions…or even host your own. WHY ENTER A DEBATING COMPETITION Lots of schools have thriving debating societies. These can …
