| Year 3
The children in Year 3 have had a busy start to the academic year. In English, the children participated in a year group debate, based on the story ‘The Alchemist’s Letter.’
In the story, the Alchemist makes a powerful device that can turn any metal into pure gold. But, to power the machine, he has to feed it his memories and the more meaningful the memories, the more powerful the device becomes.
The children discussed reasons for and against using the machine and in groups, began to give their reasons. Afterwards, the children were given the opportunity to work in two teams, to discuss and organise their argument. They listened carefully to the rules of debating, such as raising your hand when you have an argument to put forward, listening to the other side and about the role of the speaker.
All the children participated enthusiastically, listening to the opposition as well as respectfully presenting a counter argument to the opposing team. The children had a wonderful time and loved developing their speaking and listening skills. These skills are transferrable and will be used throughout this academic year and beyond inside and outside the classroom.