Greenmount Primary School, since joining our community four years ago, has developed from using the headphones to inspire boys’ quality writing, to using them to build empathy as part of their inquiry-based approach.
Why we subscribed to now>press>play
We were very interested in the impact on boys’ writing initially as we had big gender gaps at the time and really needed to engage our boys. No, but our reasons have expanded as we have recently started an inquiry-based approach with our topic work. now>press>play fits into this perfectly and answering questions they have on different topics.
“We love it! I think it brings the curriculum to life in a really accessible way for ALL children.”
The impact of using now>press>play
Significant improvement on recalling facts in topic work with lower achieving pupils. A recent example would be in Year 1 — they were learning about Neil Armstrong. We started the topic with the now>press>play Experience and 25 minutes later they could retell his earlier life, his career, and details of the moon landing. They retained this information throughout the rest of the topic due to the hands-on and engaging nature of each experience. It makes teaching topics so much fun and easier for teachers!
Oracy is a big focus at our school due to 89% having EAL. The language the children can recall after an Experience is amazing.
Empathy is a focus at our school and so we have really utilised this through the Experiences. We try to focus on the characters’ feelings and relate them to the children’s lives. This is ongoing and we are starting to see even the most reluctant of children share their own experiences.
“I love how much the children can recall after a 25 minute story!”
How our staff uses now>press>play in their lesson planning
We have no set way of using the Experiences. Some use them at the beginning of a topic. Some use it at the end and present their findings to complete the topic. Some are also one-offs when it’s just needed to engage the children!
Please see our Twitter page @Greenmountsch for some examples.
We love now>press>play just as much now as we did 4 years ago when we first got it. Love the new content coming up and excited to use the App!
“It makes teaching topics so much easier!”
We are excited to see how the children and staff at Greenmount continue to use now>press>play and what else they discover on their learning journey.
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