Brainstorming , Balance and Bright Ideas
Returning to a class of year 2 learners after an absence of two weeks, I began by asking them if they were able to remember what we had focused on during our previous session together. They thought for a moment and then began to recall some of the writing ideas we had previously examined. I was most impressed when they mentioned that we had been looking at the ways in which writers gather ideas. It was then a student seated at the back of the group raised his hand enthusiastically looked me directly in the eye and told me, 'We did lots of brain-draining.' 'Close,' I said. 'I think you mean brainstorming, although sometimes it does feel a little draining.' Ah yes, from the innocent we often get refreshing honesty and accuracy. Now that there prior knowledge had been activated, it was time to move into the new workshop. This time we were looking at the craft strategy of ‘inside/outside’ (physical world/emotional world) The teachers and I had noticed that much o...