How we can show what our school looks like

By this stage in the school year, pretty much everyone knows how to get from our classroom to anywhere else in the building. How, though, might we show someone new to the school where everything is; especially if we are not free to take them there ourselves?

This afternoon, we took a walk around the school. Now there's nothing particularly unusual in that, we do it all the time; when we go to the gym, to French or music, to the nurse or to deliver a message. But this time we were walking around with a different purpose. We were trying to build a 'picture' in our heads of what the school looks like as a whole; for example where all the rooms are - in relation to one another.

Once back in the classroom, we worked busily trying to remember what that 'picture' in our heads looked like and to record it. The room was (virtually) silent - apart from the scratching of pencils on paper, plus a few 'ums' and 'ahs' as things either slotted comfortably into place or flatly refused to do so. (I know the feeling; my map-drawing attempts never seem to fit onto the paper.....)

Once we were satisfied with our own efforts, we took a look to compare and contrast what we had done with how our friends had seen things. And it was quite clear that there were a lot of differences.....Why is it that different people see the same thing from different perspectives, I wonder.



Look closely:

• Has everyone started in the same place? What is in the middle of each 'picture?
• How big are the 'pictures'? Are they all the same size? Did everyone use all the paper? Has anyone used more than one piece?
• What sorts of things have been included? Do you see any 'pictures' with people in them?
• Can you spot anything that is missing? Do all the 'pictures' show our classroom, I wonder?
• What other things do you notice about our 'pictures'?

Our next step will be to compare our own 'pictures' with a special 'picture' done by someone else - a plan of the school.....