Using Circle Time for PHSE and Citizenship

A Year's Plan for Key Stage 2 Teachers

Daphne Gutteridge, Vivien Smith

• Publisher: David Fulton Publishers
• Year: 2008
• ISBN:
  9781134064922
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Imagine having a year's worth of lesson plans at your fingertips…

PHSE and Citizenship in Circle Time is an invaluable resource for teachers and classroom assistants. Covering the PHSE/citizenship national curriculum for key stage 2 this practical companion provides a year's worth of circle time sessions with photocopiable assessment sheets.

Based on the extensive teaching experience of Daphne Gutteridge and Viv Smith, the user-friendly lesson plans enable the teacher to confidently tackle areas including:

• developing self confidence
• preparing to play an active role as citizens
• developing a safe, healthy lifestyle
• respecting the differences between people.

Each lesson is linked to the Every Child Matters outcomes and the SEAL initiative (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning) Opportunities for assessment and follow-up work are clearly built into each lesson and pupils are encouraged to review their own learning.

This useful book is for practitioners who really want to make a difference in the classroom and are committed to stimulating pupils to think about issues on a personal level, in their community and globally.

Section I
Developing confidence and responsibility and making the most of your abilities

The themes and topics in this section are linked to Section 1 of the PHSE/Citizenship scheme of work:

• The new school year
• Self-esteem
• Emotions: Anger
• Emotions: Disappointment
• Emotions: Excitement
• Adult roles
• School transfer
• Handling money
• Bereavement: Pets
• Bereavement: Family

Theme 1.1 The new school year

This session can be used at the beginning of the new school year to enable the class to get to know their new teacher or the new mix of children in a mixed-age group situation.

Links

• PHSE/Cit: Unit 1a, 1c, 2d
• SEAL: New Beginnings, Changes
• ECM: Enjoy and Achieve

Learning objective

To ensure that everyone feels comfortable and positive about the new school year.

Reiterate rules

Ask one of the pupils to remind everyone of the circle time rules.

Silent statements

Change places if you were looking forward to coming back to school.

Change places if you were not looking forward to coming back to school.

Question round

What aspects of school were you looking forward to?

What things were you not sure/worried about?

Open discussion

What makes the classroom a happy place in which to be?

The teacher at this point needs to pick up on any issues raised in the question round—particularly any worries they have identified.Ask if the group can make any suggestions to make people feel better/allay any worries or fears.

Conclusion

Invite the group to formulate a statement for the class:

‘We want our class to be…’

Record and display this in the classroom.

Theme 1.2 Self-esteem

Links

• PHSE/Cit: Unit 1a, 1b
• SEAL: Good to be me
• ECM: Be Healthy
• Literacy: Use Harry Potter text for character study work
• Music: Use M People track – ‘What Have You Done Today To Make You Feel Proud?’

Learning objective

To encourage everyone to feel positive about themselves and increase their self-esteem.

Reiterate rules

Ask one of the pupils to remind everyone of the circle time rules.

Silent statements

Change places if you have done anything this week that you have felt proud about. Change places if you have been praised this week by an adult (teacher, parent, etc.).

Question round

Tell us something about yourself—something you think is one of your good points.

Turn to the person on your right and tell us all something you think they are good at (in or out of school) or something that you like about them.

(In both of these rounds, the children can use abilities or qualities.)

Open discussion

Can anyone explain how it feels when someone praises you?

Do you think it is important to be praised when you’ve done something well?

Why?

How would it affect you if no-one ever praised your efforts?

(The teacher could bring Harry Potter’s treatment by the Dursleys into the conversation.)

Conclusion

Reflect on how you feel when you’ve done something well while you listen to the M People song ‘What Have You Done Today To Make You Feel Proud?’

Give the children a challenge to praise someone during the coming week.

The teacher can display a notice on the wall to remind everyone:

‘Have you praised anyone today?’

(Take feedback from this notice at the beginning of the next circle time.)

Theme 1.3 Emotions: Anger

It is very important for the teacher and any adults in the circle to participate and share their emotions honestly with the children. Children don’t always think of their teachers as people who can also be upset or angry when treated badly.

Links

• PHSE/Cit: Unit 1a, 1d
• SEAL: Getting On and Falling Out
• ECM: Be Healthy
• Literacy: write own poems to be displayed with art work
• Science: This could form part of the science unit dealing with mood swings during puberty
• Art/Music: Pupils can listen to ‘Mars’ from the Planet Suite. Discuss the emotions suggested by the music. Discuss colours associated with the emotion. Look at some abstract work by Jackson Pollock. Pupils can then produce their own abstract to represent anger

Learning objective

To help everyone recognise that anger is a destructive emotion and that they need to develop strategies to deal with angry feelings.

Reiterate rules

Ask one of the pupils to remind everyone of the circle time rules.

Silent statement

Change places if you have felt angry with someone this week.

Question round

Change places if someone has been angry with you this week.

How do you feel when someone is angry with you?

How do you feel when you are angry?

(Talk about expressions for anger, e.g. seeing red—can they understand why people use this expression?)

Read the poem overleaf and answer the questions.

Open discussion

What kind of things make you really angry?

The teacher needs to pick up on children’s ideas and ask the group for appropriate ways to deal with particular situations. Children can also suggest inappropriate ways. How do inappropriat...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Preface
• Introduction: Personal, Health and Social Education
• Section 1 Developing confidence and responsibility and making the most of your abilities
• Section 2 Preparing to play an active role as citizens
• Section 3 Developing a healthy, safer lifestyle
• Section 4 Developing good relationships and respecting the differences between people
• Section 5 Assessment, recording and reporting
• Appendix Useful resources for teachers