Thinking Skills

 Week:                                          Duration : 45 mins

Topic :   A.G.O.

Aims  :     To provide the pupils with a tool that will help them focus on their objectives in various situations.

Objective/Goal:  By the end of the session the pupils should:

1.  have learnt how to focus on the purpose of a given task.

Warmer :     Ice-Breaker or Recapitulation  (5 minutes)

Activity 1:   (5 minutes)

Ask students why they like holidays.

The teacher can write the responses on the board.  When the activity is finished the teacher could elicit the concept of "objectives" from the pupils.

Tool Explanation:     (10 minutes)

1.  What does A.G.O. stand for?

A.G.O. stands for Aims Goals Objectives

2.  When do we use it?

The A.G.O. is used unconsciously all the time as we are always doing something for a reason.  The A.G.O. should be used before we start something new.  This will help us from drifting away from the original focus point.

Activity 2:     (5 minutes)

What are the Objectives of joining the Scouts/Girl Guides?

Pupils work in pairs or individually.  

Examples:

  You want to help others,

You want to make new friends,

  You want to go camping,

  You want to learn certain skills like tying knots, starting a fire, making a camp ...,

  You want to take part in parades in your smart uniform.

Activity 3:    (5 minutes)

Do an A.G.O. on Joining a Sports Club.

Pupils work in pairs or individually. 

Processing:

Pupils now share the outcome of their thoughts 

Activity  3:  

Teacher asks the pupils the following questions to stimulate metacognitive talk. 

• Why do we need the A.G.O.?

• When should we use this tool?

• What happens if you don't know exactly what you want to achieve?

 Transfer.

Making sure that the children will be able to use the tool in a variety of situations is of paramount importance.  The teacher can either do another practice item or ask the students where they think that they could use this tool.

Activity  4:  

Recap and concluding comments (7 minutes)

Teacher summarizes what was covered during the session.  Alternatively the teacher could elicit what was covered from the pupils.

Materials needed:

Loose sheets of paper (Unless they have the Thinking Diary already in hand)

Flipchart paper and markers if there is no board in the room being used for the sessions.

Portable reverse timer

Symbol of the tool