canoeing practice for DoE award with Year 10

At the start of the lesson the teacher explained to the pupils that the goal was for them to have a understanding of how to manoeuvre a canoe in various directions, to practice working together by communicating who was going to sit at the back and front as well as who was going to paddle on the left or right, or in a symmetric motion with one another, and then went into further detail about the DoE award expedition where they will be canoeing along the river. 

After the teacher explained that they would be following an instructor' lead for the lesson. The instructor introduced themselves and then demonstrated the correct way to hold their paddle, how far their paddle would need to be in the water which was the whole of the paddle board, which movements they would need to make to go left, right, straight on or to reverse and talked about which way the wind was coming in as the pupils pointed in the direction towards the edge of the lake saying "it is coming towards us".

Then the pupils walked down the shore and stepped onto speedboat which took them to the end of the lake. The instructor explained the perimeter of where the pupils would be canoeing for their session. Next the instructor supported the pupils as they got into their canoe's and gave them a little push to start them off on their independent journey. The pupils began to communicate with each other as one pupil took the leader role of saying "you paddle on the left and I will paddle this side on the right". The pupils began to move in different directions along the lake following the instructor's guidance. 

While the pupils were out on the lake the instructor introduced them to a ball game where the rules was for them to work in their pairs to retrieve the ball which was thrown in a variety directions before their peers in the other canoe. As the pupils retrieved they would need to throw the ball into their peer's canoe from different distances such as up close or a whole canoe foot away. The pupils took it in turns to each have a go at throwing the ball. The instructor then set them a challenge to stand up their seats to throw the ball as the pupil's  started to show more comfort in their emotions with the balance of the canoe. 

As we finished the pupils followed the instructor's lead as they took on a bigger challenge of canoeing all the way back to shore across the whole length of the lake. When we got back to shore the pupils showed an interest in jumping into the lake and swimming back following staff encouragement. 

sailing and speed boating with Year 10

At the start of the lesson the teacher explained that the pupils were going to be sailing with an instructor. One of the pupils showed an interest in going out on the boat for them to have a go at operating the sail to move in various directions independently. To begin with one of the pupils enjoyed helping the instructor to set up the sail and lever of the boat. 

After they had finished setting up the pupil and instructor set off in the sail boat as they moved around the lake while their peers travelled in the speed boat with the teacher and other staff members following the pupil and instructor's movements when they sailed in a variety of right, left or around in a circular motions. The pupils also supported their peer by shouting encouraging words of "you need to remember to duck your head when the sail comes across" and "pull the string in tighter or you are going to tip over into the water".

While we were out sailing and speed boating the teacher and the instructor swapped places as the teacher demonstrated to the pupils how to manoeuvre the sail and lever at an independent time. The teacher then showed the pupils what a dry cap size was while the instructor explained step by step how to achieve the movements. The teacher swapped back over with the pupil and instructor as they continued to sail with their final destination being to travel back to shore. 

As we got back all of the pupils helped to unattach the sail and lever and put away the various equipment's as they followed the safety instructions. Then they all went over to the grass area and sat together having a picnic. After two of the pupils went out with the teacher showing an interest in directing the steering wheel and lever to travel quickly with one pupil saying "I want to go really fast".

  

 

Year 9 kayaking at Bartley Sailing Centre

At the start the pupils gathered together and was introduced to the instructor for their kayaking lesson. The instructor explained what the pupils were going to be doing and what clothing they would need to wear to keep themselves safe if they fell into the lake. Then the pupils got themselves all kitted up with a wet suit and life jacket. All of the pupils walked down to the kayak boards and watched as the instructor demonstrated how to hold the paddle correctly and how to position their boards into the water. The instructor asked the pupils to gather at the lake as they continued to show how the pupils would need to position their body and feet on the board. 

After all of the pupils picked up their boards and began to step into the lake. The pupils positioned their knees on the board first to help keep them balanced as well as using their left and right arms to move the paddle one side of the kayak to the other. As they went further out in the water some of the pupils had a go at standing on the board independently while they continued to move the paddle side to side to help turn themselves around when they wanted to go different directions. 

 

The pupils starting goal for the lesson was to kayak to the number 8 ball which was placed in the lake not far away from the shore. When the pupils began to become more confident they adventured off as a group to the edge of the lake. As they started to make their way back to shore the pupils had kayak competitions to see who could knock their peer off the board and into the water first and who could travel back to the shore the quickest. 

Before heading back to the minibus some of the pupils showed an interest in jumping into the lake along with staff members. 

 

speedboating with Year 10/11

 

The teacher went through the lesson plan of travelling on two different speedboats, one where there is lever and steering wheel when the other one is for the pupils to steer the boat in various directions using the lever to control the engine at the back of the boat. The pupils each had a go at steering the engine boat following the directions supported by the teacher as they went along the lake either left or right, up and down or creating a circular motion in the waves. After we went inside to have lunch as the teacher explained to the pupils that they were going to go out in the second speedboat. When we got down to shore the teacher asked what skills the pupils could remember from last lesson with how to steer the boat. The pupils acknowledged the skills of having one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the lever at all times to explore the movements of neutral, forward and reverse. They took it in turns to showcase those skills.

walk along Worcester canal with Year 7A

The pupils enjoyed exploring the Worcester canal while they identified what surroundings they could see with one pupil saying "look there are two ducks". While we were walking a staff  member and pupil talked about how many boats they thought would be when we got to the harbour. The pupil said "I think between 50 and 60". As we walked past the harbour the pupils showed an interest in exploring the park while they each had a go on the swing equipment and the obstacle course. The pupils worked together as a team by one pupil offering their hand to help their peer achieve the goal of getting to the top of the small rock-climbing wall. 

Walking back to the minibus the pupils saw a boat coming towards the gate as they described the size of it "wow that is really big" and showed an interest in helping to open the gate to watch the boat sail through. The pupils took it in turns to ask questions of "why does the water go down when the boat comes through". The woman explained for the boat to sail along the water it has to be level but when the boat goes past the gate the water travels to the ground  to go back into the canal". They listened as the woman demonstrated to them as a group what direction to push the gates to open and then encouraged them to pull it shut. 

After the pupils had helped we asked if they enjoyed opening and closing the gate and watching as the boat floated to the ground and sailed away. The feedback was positive with one pupil saying "I liked watching how the boat sunk with the water because one minute it was the height of the gate and the next it wasn't".

sailing with Year 10 and 11

While travelling in the minibus we asked the pupils if any had done sailing before. One of the pupils said "yeh I did it 7 years ago but I might be a bit rusty". As we got to the place, before going into the water all of the pupils and staff members wore the safety requirements of a waterproof coat with a lifeguard jacket on top. We listened to the health and safety rules of what to do when in the speedboat such as sit along the edge or at the front and hold onto the rope, or bar, when the boat is moving, as well as what not to do. All of the pupils watched as the teacher demonstrated how to sail by pulling the lever forward to go right, backwards to go left and in the middle to go straight. The teacher also showed how to control the sail by pulling the string tight or loosening the string and remembering to duck their heads when the sail came across as they move to the other side of the boat. 

As we got onto the water all of the pupils sat either side of the speedboat as the teacher guided us to what number ball we were going to be sailing around depending on the speed of the wind. We went to number 4. Two of the pupils had a go at navigating the sail boat as the others stayed on the speedboat giving the two pupils guidance as they expressed various directions of "you need to go straight" and "move the lever forward to turn right" as well as encouraging their effects "they are about to crash into that circle shape ball that is right in front of them". While the pupils were sailing the teacher said "shall we go past them quickly and watch the waves hit them". As we watched the waves the group of pupils on the speedboat enjoyed seeing the water go into the sailing boat. One of the pupils said "oh my god my trousers are soaked. 

When we got back to land we all sat down in the sunny weather and eat our lunch on the benches. After the teacher took each of the pupil's out one by one as they travelled around the whole of the lake going the speedboat's top speed. When the first pupil had their go they showed their enjoyment of the ride saying "that was the coolest thing I have ever done". As their peers had their goes the pupil described the experience saying "you will really enjoy it honestly". Walking back to the minibus the group's feedback for the sailing was positive as one pupil explained "I liked directing the sailing boat that was fun".

Primary 3 enjoyed walking along the streams at Knapp and Paper Mill Reserve

The pupils showed an interest in looking at the variety of sights as they walked along the Knapp and Paper Mill Reserve fields and streams. One of the pupils picked up a leaf and questioned "why does this leaf smell". We explained that the leaf was an ingredient that is put in pasta and chilies and it was called garlic. We continued to walk and  another pupil pointed to a waterfall and said "wow look at that, the water is coming down really fast". All of the pupils gathered together to look at the waterfall as they talked about past experiences of when and where they had seen a waterfall before. 

As the pupils were walking along the fields one of the pupils showed an interest in talking about what animals could live in the water. We saw a sign which explained what the nature reserve was and acknowledged that kingfishers and otters swim in the stream. We carried on exploring to the end of the stream as half way through all of the pupils began to walk closer and closer to the river edge to spot any of the animals "do you think they will pop up from underneath the water". At the end we saw a path which led down to a wooden bridge as one pupil said "maybe if we go further down we might get closer to the otters to see them".. The pupils showed an interest in travelling along the bridge.