Eliciting prior knowledge at the start of a learning experience can support the pupils to identify what they already know, and also enables the teacher to build on prior knowledge. At Tongwynlais Primary this is done through the use of Circle or Thinking Maps. Pupils use these at the start of the session to record what they know, they then return to the thinking map at the end of the investigation to show what they have found out, this gives an indication to the teacher of progression. Teachers use these formatively to calculate next steps in learning. This example represents the use of a Circle Map to show a pupil’s learning about trees in Year 3.
Tongwynlais Primary, Cardiff