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The Aelfric Park Experience

Resources for Teachers

all pdf downloads A4 format

organiser’s check-list

essential A4 aide de memoir of factors to consider at each stage of the event

Aelfric FM radio logo

A4 sheet containing four radio logos, for Radio Presenters to wear

ballot paper

2 x A5 sheet to enable residents to vote for their representatives on the Resident’s Association committee

election poster

A4 poster inviting nominations for the Resident’s Association

frequently asked questions

A4 sheet of frequently asked questions for pupils

house net

Outline for a standard house – needs printing on A4 card.

King Aelfric’s Gift

The document written by King Aelfric and discovered in the museum in pieces.

Millennium meeting agenda

Agenda to plan the Millennial Celebrations.

route discussion agenda

Agenda for the meeting at which the final decision is made on building the new super highway.

town map

A4 map of Aelfric Park with street names and labels for public buildings

town map with grid

A4 map with a pink grid to facilitate making much enlarged floor copies

town map with new roads

A4 map of Aelfric Park overlaid with plans for the new road system – as shown to residents when the surveyors arrive

worker’s badges

5 x A4 sheets, each with 8 badge outlines, with an occupation e.g. hairdresser  Numerically numbered 1 – 35 with five blank badges in addition. Needs printing on stiff A4 card and some means of safely fastening to residents!

Bob Heaviside and road roller

A4 printable pdf

Bob Heaviside and excavator

A4 printable pdf

DSCF0148_webProfessor Tim Brighouse describes two kinds of learning:

metronomic – planned, measured, balanced, timed – the kind of learning predominantly found in schools today

chaotic – the kind encountered in family and working life – unplanned, full of challenges and surprises, demanding personal responses

The Aelfric Park experience provides pupils with:

ü personal choices and challenges

ü opportunities for learning in a wide variety of styles

ü chances to work together in a team

ü events to which they must respond through problem solving, collaboration, communication and lateral thinking

What does it look like?

A group of pupils and their teacher file into the school hall after registration.  Music sets the atmosphere and the focus is a giant map spread out on the floor. Gradually the children are introduced to Aelfric Park, make houses and choose jobs in the town.

DSCF0157_low_res2Life goes on just like any other town, until the whole community is under threat.  Residents must act to defend their way of life, and they have to win the argument to save their town. 

Can they articulate their opinions before a hostile audience?  Will Aelfric Park’s rich historical heritage help save the day?  There is work to be done, and everyone needs to help.

Before they know it, the morning is over, but all involved have work to do.  It’s just a few weeks from showdown, and the fate of Aelfric Park will be decided.

Back in the classroom, the organising continues. Committees are formed, plans are laid. Speeches are rehearsed and posters created. Every conceivable medium is called upon to develop a campaign for when the big moment comes.

Who can participate?

Totally inclusive, there are no spectators in Aelfric Park. Teachers and support assistants, other adults and every pupil is engaged, although this may require some special preparation. Each session is carefully prepared in collaboration with staff to ensure it fits with the needs of the pupils.  Equally, school multimedia equipment can be pressed in to service to enable pupils to maximise the Aelfric Park potential.

DSCF0172_ed2_low_resOrigins

Aelfric Park owes it origins to the creative genius of Gordon Pidgeon, onetime Drama Advisor to the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, and later Director of Impact Theatre In Education.  Both ONsted Directors worked with Gordon over a number of years with Aelfric Park Experience.  And today, we are able to bring this foundational drama encounter to successive generations of pupils.

Aelfric Park reaches the parts…

The AP Experience is a refreshing and positive response to the frequently heard complaint about today’s prescriptive, knowledge-based, obsessively monitored curriculum, which leaves pupils without knowing how to learn, and how to respond to real-life events.  Teachers report that AP changes pupil attitudes, raises self-esteem, and gives ownership into the hands of pupils.

How to start

Make contact with ONsted for an informal discussion about how The Aelfric Park Experience can enhance the learning in your school. ONsted office: 0845 370 2212 n

 

Contacts

Bob Butcher, Strategic Director 07709 808725

Robert Hall, Operations Director 07890 118993

ONsted office:  51, Lichfield Road, Walsall, WS4 2HU  0845 370 2212

This page last updated  Friday, 15 October 2010

email click to

email Bob Butcher  ONsted Strategic Director

email Robert Hall    ONsted Operations Director