My endeavour in this exercise is to highlight the role of a soft board in making the teaching-learning process more exciting, interactive and interesting. I hope it provides the busy teacher with instant ideas for lively and interactive displays. The displays are designed to be assembled quickly and easily and used as a stimulus and context for learning. Some displays can be used again and again in many different ways. Just as children learn in different ways, they need to record their work and display their work in different ways, e.g jottings on scraps of paper in 'show me' activities, diagrams, assembled apparatus or little books made.
I hope my blog provides you with the inspiration to deliver and display exciting soft boards, leaving the children begging for more!
Role of a soft board
• enhance
learning (for visual learners)
• motivate ( showcasing children’s work )
• inspire (celebrate & consolidate children’s
achievements & understanding)
• reinforce
instructional goals (multiplication)
• communicate
essential information
• add to
the appeal of a classroom (welcoming
environment)
• provide
opportunities for oral and mental work
• provide
challenges
• introduce
new concepts
• improving
aesthetic sense
• research
work
Types of soft boards
• informative
• collaborative
Firework factors
Children choose a number which they want to work into a 'Factor firework'. Provide children with multiplication squares to support their investigation.
Ask the children to answer the following questions about their factor firework.
- odd/even?
- prime number?
- a square number?
- how many factors has it?
It's Magic
Create a Magic square display using work generated by the children. Add a large magic square with number cards lablled 1 to 9. Change the magic square numbers regularly.
Provide children with 1 to 9 digit cards. Ask the children to make 15 using any method. Record as a class the different methods found.
Fractions and Decimals
Discussion: Why do we need to use fractions?
Discuss 'fair shares'. Why do we need decimals as well as fractions. In which sports are fractions and dedimals important? Draw shapes and divide them into halves and quarters. How many different ways can you find to shade: Half a square?
1 metre drawing
Children are given an approximate length of string each. From this string they measure each an exact length of 1 metre to create a design of their own choice. More different length measures can be used to make other such designs/animal outlines.
A quick way to sharpen mental calculation skills.
Display with operations each day a set of cards for the children to climb the ladder and solve. Use 2nd side of the cards to save time.
The stars in the background highlight the work habits and skills needed to forge ahead. Keep a set of cards cut and ready to be used.
A quick way to sharpen mental calculation skills.
Create a bright sun cut-out and display a set of number cards around this sun with operations could be addition or subtraction or multiplication.
Soft board as a
teaching tool
Collaborative work
Collaborative soft
board
a few samples
More ideas for powerful soft boards
• word wall •
sentence scramble
• bag a
story • puzzles on parade
• poetry
place • you write & we’ll
• list
board read it
• add a
fact
• daily
news
• spontaneous
writing
• story
wall
• unfold a
story
Building-up a display
• planning
(clear goals & objectives)
• organizing
material (supplies)
• assembling
(quickly & easily)
• presenting
different records of work (types of learners)
Powerful soft boards
Quality of a soft board
• reflection
of clear ideas/vision
• aesthetics
• innovative
use of materials
• background
A planning task for you
Work with a subject partner to develop a collaborative
powerful soft board on a current theme/concept
