Epic Learning Back to School Special: Covid-19 Edition

 It's our Covid-19 Special: as children return to schools with new social distancing rules, we discuss how to help them explore the complex issues at play—both practical and emotional—using two African folk tales: "The Distant Fire" and "The Twins and the Ogre".

Epic storyteller Chip is joined by Helen, a teacher from Milton Keynes working with ages 4 to 7; Bex, a Deputy Head and English Lead from Cambridgeshire who teaches ages 4 to 8; and Laura, an international teacher working with ages 7 to 11.

Introductions | 0:59

"The Distant Fire" excerpt | 2:08

All-age PSHCE | 4:12
• friendship, hope, young carers (4:12)
• social distancing (7:11, 18:49)
• talking about difficult issues, perseverance (14:47)
• empathy (16:53)
• different strengths, kindness, friendship (17:23, 52:31, 55:47)
• strategising (18:49)
• preparing for issues before they arise, active listening (19:51)
• peer pressure (21:23)
• it's OK to get things wrong (30:02)

Learning outcomes for ages 4 to 7 | 22:11
• Numeracy – fractions (6-7yrs, 22:11, 47:54 | 4-5yrs, 23:48); doubling (4-6yrs, 22:47); estimation (5-7yrs, 22:58); how much? (4-5yrs, 23:20); steps of 10, role-play shops (5-7yrs, 25:09)
• Core – fine motor skills (4-5yrs, 23:20)
• Geography – other cultures (4-7yrs, 25:50); seas and continents, contrasting landscapes (4-7yrs, 26:46, 45:00); maps (4-7yrs, 47:54)
• DT – design/make a cake, evaluating (4-7yrs, 33:05); magical vehicles (4-7yrs, 41:21); "from plant to table" (4-7yrs, 43:28)
• DT, Music, Art – design/make a drum (4-7yrs, 26:12)
• Literacy – adjectives to describe people (4-7yrs, 28:53); emotion tracking (4-7yrs, 29:38); invitations, persuasive writing (4-7yrs, 29:57, 33:05); story structure, predicting outcomes, engagement in storytelling, thought tracking, alternative endings (4-7yrs, 30:02); magical vehicles (4-7yrs, 41:21); diary "from plant to table" (4-7yrs, 45:00)
• RE – prayer, supporting others whilst apart, heartfulness (4-7yrs, 34:07)
• Science – plant lifecycles (4-7yrs, 43:28)

Learning outcomes for ages 7 to 11 | 36:11
• Numeracy – scaling (7-8yrs, 23:20 | 9-11yrs, 47:28); steps of 10, role-play shops (7-9yrs, 25:09); fractions/dividing (7-8yrs, 37:04, 47:54); rounding (8-9yrs, 37:18); area and perimeter (9-11yrs, 47:28); percentages, compound interest, investigating (9-11yrs, 49:11); ratios (49:49)
• Geography – seas and continents, contrasting landscapes (7-8yrs, 36:11 | 9-11yrs, 45:52); maps (7-11yrs, 47:54)
• Literacy – altering settings (7-9yrs, 36:46, 37:34); rewriting endings, continuing the story (7-9yrs, 38:06); story stones, retelling the story, story-making (7-9yrs, 38:21); diary entries, 1st person (7-11yrs, 38:47); magical vehicles (7-11yrs, 41:21); prepositions (7-11yrs, 42:40); public speaking/debating (9-11yrs, 50:14)
• Art – story stones (7-9yrs, 38:21)
• PSHCE – empathy (7-11yrs, 38:47); "a day in the life", international mind (9-11yrs, 45:52); equality (9-11yrs, 50:49)
• Core Skills – researching, safe searching online (7-11yrs, 39:53)
• Science – plant lifecycles (7-11yrs, 43:28); fire (7-11yrs, 45:29)
• DT – "from plant to table" (7-11yrs, 43:28)
• History – fire (7-11yrs, 45:29); equality (9-11yrs, 50:49)

All-age learning outcomes | 52:31
• DT – communication methods (54:15)
• Science – materials (54:15)
• Literacy – communicating at a distance, sign language (54:15)
• Coding – (54:15)

We'd love to hear how you get on with

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