‘Of all the skills we develop at school, the ability to communicate effectively is the one that has the most profound and potentially positive impact on our lives. Communication is at the core of what we do, at home, in work, at school and socially’
‘No Pens Day Wednesday’ was a great success again this year, with students encouraged to put down their pens and pencils and pick up their language by focusing on learning through speaking and listening for the whole day.
‘No Pens Day Wednesday’ is a national speaking and listening event, organised by the Communication Trust. The Communication Trust is a coalition of over 50 not-for-profit organisations with expertise in speech, language and communication, who support the children’s workforce to develop the skills of children they work within the U.K.
Now in its sixth year, No Pens Day Wednesday is more popular than ever. In 2016, over 5700 schools got involved, resulting in combined student numbers of an estimated 1.75 million students.
As well as being the foundations of reading and writing, the ability to listen attentively and to speak clearly and fluently are essential life-long skills in their own right. 'No Pens Day' was a great opportunity for students to be actively engaged in activities that foster these skills.
Teachers used the day to expand on class topics, develop instruction through games, explore role-play and carry out practical investigations. It allowed teachers to plan for learning experiences that still extended and explored a range of vocabulary without placing the constraint of writing on the students.
Here are some reflections from our Primary students:
‘No Pens Day Wednesday’ was lots of fun and we learned a lot. We did exciting, educational activities in different subjects. In Literacy, we performed poems in front of the class. In Science, we made food webs of different habitats. In Numeracy we compared and ordered 7 digit numbers. But my favourite lesson was ICT where we used PowerPoint to make a quiz using hyperlinks.
Syeda Rizvi
On ‘No pens Day Wednesday’ In Arabic, we used a dice to ask and answer questions. In Science we used pay dough to make out own skeleton.
Omar Al Henawi