Hi :) I've got an interview coming up with a year 3 class. The school's a talk for write school and I can do anything I want for english, what should I teach? Should I teach English like I normally do or incorporate something from talk for write? Thanks :) x
Hello Anon, congratulations on getting an interview!
I would teach how you would most feel comfortable/have been taught to teach during an interview. Interviews are daunting enough as it is without having to learn/teach a new scheme ontop of things! School’s won’t expect you to follow their exact scheme/methodology in interviews, but most would probably expect you to have heard or researched about it and are more likely to ask you questions about talk for write during the formal interview part of the day.
However I would definitely try and include elements from talk for write in your lesson input if you can, to show that you are able to adapt to the school’s way of teaching and show you have done your research. I would make your starter very oral, get the children discussing ideas with talk partners or in groups before feeding back to the class. Or even have plenty of whiteboards availible for children to write/draw their ideas down with a partner before beginning the main part of the lesson.
As for what to teach for year 3 English, you could have a class debate style lesson, introducing children to an issue, getting them discuss their opinions on it, debate their opinions in class and write up their views (though this may take a little while, it depends on how much time you have and whether you feel comfortable letting children take more of a lead on the lesson).
Alternatively, if you haven’t got much teaching time, then try teaching a grammar or poetry focused lesson - both these activities aren’t what people usually teach about in interviews (which will help you stand out) and they are quick to produce some good writing from. Make sure you have lots of grammar and poetry props to teach with, to really get the kids onboard with your lesson!
I previously wrote a post about teaching observation interviews which you might find handy here.
Hopefully this has given you some support and ideas, if you need any more ideas etc, please feel free to drop me an ask! Best of luck with the interview, let me know how it goes :)
