Thank you for purchasing Imagine & Reflect (Series 1)

I hope you enjoy using this series of guided visualisations. As a teacher I have tried and tested them in a range of different schools and found them to be powerful and effective. Most importantly, children really enjoy them.

Using visualisation in the classroom has multiple benefits and I encourage you in explore this. Please use the comments facility to ask questions, make suggestions and raise any issues. I also plan to run weekly webinars, which will be a good way for me to learn a bit more about you and how I can best help you. I look forward to hearing how you get on.

Cross Curriculum

I have deliberately made the resource non-subject specific. Possible Learning Outcomes may hint at their use in PSHCE, Religious Education or Philosophy and Ethics, but they could equally feature in a Literacy, Humanities or Science lesson. Each unit begins with a guided visualisation, followed by reflection, questions to promote enquiry and a response activity to help with evidencing learning.

Lesson Plan

The lesson plan is formatted as a Word document so it can be easily customised for your cohort of students. The visualisation script is included within the lesson plan should you want to guide the children through the visualisation yourself. However a pre-recorded audio file is included in the unit if you prefer to use the time to observe and assess. Also included are follow up questions for reflection and suggested response activities.

Learning Outcomes

Each lesson plan includes suggested learning outcomes which can be edited and modified for differentiation (see SEN section below). The final slide of the presentation is left blank so that you can add your own, or ask the students to self-assess.

Slideshow Presentation

The slideshow is a widescreen PDF that can be displayed on the classroom whiteboard. Alternatively you may choose to load it on your laptop to prompt you through the lesson.

Audio

An MP4 audio recording is included which guides students through the visualisation at a pace that seems to work well in my experience. You may decide not to use the audio if you to adjust the script to make the visualisation more tailored to your class, in which case you may want to listen to it beforehand just to get an idea of the pace and style that I have found to be effective. You can also use the Stilling audio before the visualisation if you choose, although you may prefer to settle the class yourself once the routine has been established.

Assessment

The response activities can be recorded either in Thought Journals or in the usual book used for the topic lesson. A Class Assessment Sheet is is included for record keeping as students achieve outcomes (again in Word format so it can be easily modified.

Special Educational Needs & Inclusion

Guided visualisations aim to develop self-awareness and emotional intelligence and thereby merits a different approach to assessment. To make the content accessible to all you may decide to change the wording, but the guided visualisation should be an inclusive whole class activity with a range of response choices. This can then be self-differentiated by outcome. Children who generally struggle in class will often say profound things during reflection. The role of support will The role of support would then be to scribe words or phrases in quotations as evidence in the book or Thought Journal. Also more able students should be prompted with expand on ideas, eg 'It made me wonder about...' perhaps writing additional questions for further enquiry or reflection.

Jill Brennan 2018