Activity 1
Measuring Capacity
The children were shown a litre carton of drink and a litre bottle of drink; they were then asked which one they thought had the most liquid in. The children were then shown different sized measuring cylinders and discussed what each measurement was. They were then shown 7 different shaped containers and had to estimate whether the capacity of the containers was more than 500ml, less than 500ml or about the same. They then recorded there estimates on a table on a sheet of paper. The children took turns to tip water into each container and then into measuring cylinders to see if their estimate was correct. They then measured exactly how much liquid there was
The activity was completed outside the classroom in a corridor with 3 children, child A, child B and child C. At the start of the activity all 3 children seemed excited, child B said “what are we doing, what are we doing?” I told them that they had to listen really carefully if they wanted to do the activity. Child C picked up one of the cylinders and said “What’s this for?” I told them that I didn’t want anyone to touch anything until I had explained what they were doing; they all then stood still and were quiet. I then picked up the litre carton and bottle and asked them to think about which one had the most liquid in and to put their hands up when they had decided. Child B pointed to the bottle and shouted “That one!” I reminded him that he had to put his hand up. All 3 children put their hands ups up, I asked child A first. He said “I think it’s the carton because it’s fatter. I then asked child B and he said “It’s the bottle”. Finally I asked child C and he said “the bottle”. I then told them that they actually had the same amount of liquid in which was 1 litre. “So it was a trick question then”, child A said. I explained that it was to show them that even though containers can be different shapes and heights they could still hold the same amount of liquid. Whilst I was explaining this child C walked away from the group and looked at a wall display. I told him he needed to come back to the group so he could take part. I then asked them to put their hands up if they knew how many millilitres there were in a litre. All the children put their hands up without calling out. I said “Well done, it’s much better when nobody calls out”. Child A and C thought there were 100ml, and child B thought 1000ml. I explained to them that there were 1000 and we looked at the different marks on the cylinder. I asked them to put their hand up if they knew how many millilitres there were in half a litre, child B shouted out “500!” I reminded him that he needed to put his hand up and asked child A then C who both said 500. I then handed them a worksheet each, showed them 7 different containers and then told them they needed to guess if they thought the containers could hold less than 500ml, more than 500ml, or about the same. I also told them that they had to fill in the worksheets on their own and that it didn’t matter if they were right or wrong. Child C talked out loud a lot while completing his worksheet and kept trying to look at the other children’s work. Child B kept calling out his answers and kept asking me questions that were not relevant to the task. Child A filled out the worksheet and was quiet. The children all finished at the same time. The children then took it in turns to pour water from a jug in the containers and then into the measuring cylinders. Child B became very excited and talkative, when it was the other children’s turns to pour the water he would say “hurry up, hurry up, I need my turn”. Child A kept asking me when they were going to finish and when break time was. When it wasn’t his turn child C would look around the corridor and start to walk away. After the children had found the actual measurement of the containers they compared them to their answers. The children’s answers were varied, but all had some correct estimates. I asked the children what they had learnt from the activity. Child A said “I have learnt to tell how much water can fit inside different things”. Child B said “I have learnt that some containers look bigger than they are. Child C said “I have learnt there are 1000 litres in a millilitre”. I asked him if he was sure there were 1000 litres in a millilitre and he said “no, no, no, I mean 1000 millilitres in a litre”.
Activity 2
Measuring weight
The children were given a 500g weight to hold. They were then given different objects to hold at the same time as the weight. The aim of the activity was to estimate if the objects were heavier than the weight, lighter than the weight, or about the same. They then had to use some scales to weight the objects to see if their estimates were correct.
The activity was completed in an empty classroom with 3 children, Child A, child B and Child C. A teacher was present but not involved in the activity. The children came into the classroom and sat down. I explained to them what they were going to do and I handed them all 500g weights to hold. Child A said “This is heavy” and started throwing the weight from one hand to the other. Child B and C copied this. I told them not to throw the weight around because somebody could get hurt. Child B and C did as I asked but child A carried on. I told child A again to stop throwing the weight. He said “but I’m weighing it in my hands.” I told him that if he didn’t stop then he would have to leave the classroom, he then stopped. I handed Child A the first object and asked him to write on his work sheet if he thought the object weighed more than, less than or about the same as the 500g weight. He held the weight and the object and started walking around the classroom saying “Which ones heavier, which ones heavier”. I told him he needed to stay with the group; child B and C started picking up some of the other objects. I then said in a firm voice “Right, I want everyone to put everything back on the table and sit down and be quiet”. The 3 children did as I asked and sat down. I explained to them that if they wanted to do the activity they needed to listen to the instructions carefully and do as they were asked; I told them I didn’t need them to walk around the classroom or touch the objects when they didn’t need to. I then started again, this time child A felt the weight and the object and wrote down his estimate. Child B did the same but shouted out “This one is much heavier!” I reminded him to keep his answer to himself. Child 3 then held the object and weight, but before he had had a chance to write anything down, he dropped everything on the table and ran across the classroom and opened the door to the room and shouted “Mum, Mum!” Child Cs Mother was helping with reading at the school and had walked past the room. His Mother told him to go back to the group. When child C returned I said I understood that he was excited to see his Mum but shouldn’t run across the classroom. We carried on with the activity and the children felt all the different objects and wrote down their estimates. I then talked to the children about each mark on the scales and what they represented. All 3 children looked quietly and carefully at the scales. The children then took turns in weighed the objects to see if their estimate was correct. Child B seemed to find it difficult to wait his turn to weigh the objects; he would rub his hands together and tap his foot. Child A would often get distracted by the workmen that were outside the window, on various occasions I would have to say “Come on child A, concentrate”. Child C kept looking up at the classroom door at people walking past and talked out loud to himself a lot. All the children’s answers were correct and they all seemed very happy with themselves. I asked them what they had learnt from the activity. Child A said “I have learnt that I am good at seeing if something is heavier than the other”. Child B said “I have learnt to look at scales to see the weight of objects. Child C said “I have learnt that I am good at weighing things with my hands and looking at scales”.
Journal
Overview
In this practitioners setting of keystage 2, 3 children have been observed separately. All 3 children have ADHD, are 8 years old and are in year 4 of their schooling. ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Children with ADHD find it difficult to concentrate and also have unusually high levels of activity and impulsivity (Tassoni, 2003). In light of the 3 observations this practitioner planned 2 activities for the children to complete together. The purpose of these activities was to help the children develop their ability to work as part of a small group and to help to improve their concentration levels. The activities also met the needs of the curriculum. To enable the children to be provided with the opportunity to become effective learners, this practitioner researched a range of studies and theories.
Introduction
Children with significant problems with attention, impulsiveness and excessive activity levels are currently labelled as having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (Barkley, 2006). The symptoms of this disorder tend to start at an early age and also may become more noticeable when the circumstances of a child’s life changes, starting school for example. Additional problems may also affect many children with ADHD such as learning difficulties, low self-esteem and sleep disorders. However, this disorder has no effect on intelligence (NHS, 2008 [online]). A diagnoses from a Doctor is required for ADHD, this is usually done by a child psychiatrist, a paediatric neurologist, paediatrician or GP. Other professionals such as psychologists, speech therapists, teachers and health visitors will often contribute their observations. Due to there being no single diagnostic test for ADHD, different kinds of information need to be gathered, such as medical history, past psychiatric history, educational history, evaluation of the child’s temperament and personality, family history and social assessment (Netdoctor, 2008 [online]).
Literature review
The patterns of ADHD begin early in childhood and have a strong physical component , because of this, most clinicians assume that these problems have some kind of origin that is biological (Bee, 2000). The first biological link was the result of studies carried out with relatives of hyperactive children (Goldstein, 1992), they learnt that a hyperactive child was four times as likely to have relatives with the same problem. Although some parents that are hyperactive have no hyperactive children, while some parents with no symptoms have children with severe problems (Goldstein, 1992).Some studies have shown that families with hyperactive children demonstrated a wide range of symptoms (Goldstein, 1992), and that the child’s family history alone could not predict the behaviour of the child.
One theory suggests that the condition was due to minimal brain damage to the central nervous system occurring before or at the time of birth (Picton, 2001), but this could only account for a small percentage as there are many brain-damaged children who are not hyperactive. There is research that shows that the way the brain works in someone with ADHD is different from that of someone who does not have the condition (NHS, 2008 [online]). It is thought that chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters, which carry messages, do not work correctly in people with ADHD. People with ADHD also seem to display less activity in the certain parts of the brain that control attention and activity (NHS, 2008 [online]).
Some writers believe that a child’s environment has a great impact on a child’s condition. It has been suggested that negative environmental conditions, physical and emotional, can cause symptoms of hyperactivity. A negative environment may also aggravate and accentuate symptoms to such a degree that a mildly hyperactive child can show very severe symptoms (Picton, 2001). Children that come from relatively calm and stable homes are far less likely to display extreme behaviour compared to those who come from unpredictable, volatile and unstable homes. It is common for children with ADHD to have low self esteem and the way in which a child is raised can make a big difference (Picton, 2001).
When any child starts school for the first time it is a big step, for a child with ADHD this can be an even greater challenge. The child now has to deal with rules and structure and their temperament may not fit in well within a school (Goldstein, 1992). It has been suggested by some researchers that hyperactive children are simply not as intelligent as others and do not learn as well as other children at school (Goldstein,1992 ). Other writers believe that ADHD can affect people at any level of intelligence and that they sometimes score lower in tests because of their lack of concentration, not their lack of intelligence (BBC Horizon 2008 [online]).
Medication is a common and effective means of treating hyperactive children and the response to medication is among the most dramatic in medicine (Goldstein, 1992). A short-lived improvement is produced after each dose of medication for ADHD, but this is not a permanent cure (NHS 2008 [online]). Short periods are created when a child can concentrate better, feel calmer, be less impulsive and become more focused learners (NHS 2008 [online]). Other therapies can also be useful including psychotherapy, behaviour therapy, parenting skills training and social skills training.
Impact on practitioner
After conducting a literature search, this practitioner has become very aware of the symptoms of ADHD and also the possible causes, and treatments that are used. This practitioner now realises that this condition is far more complex than he first thought. Child B shows signs of both inattention and hyperactivity. Inattention being when he does not seem to listen when spoken to directly, and hyperactivity being when he blurts outs answers to questions without waiting his turn (see observation 2). Child C was often fidgeting with his hands and seemed to have difficulty sustaining attention in tasks (see observation 3), which are both symptoms in the diagnostic criteria for ADHD (Bee, 200). This practitioner has learnt that children with ADHD can be very different from one another and their behaviour can change from day to day (see activities 1 and 2).
This practitioner has learnt that hyperactive children need the security of a definite routine and that they are far more settled if they know what to expect (Picton 2001) and that they should bear this in mind when planning future activities. In the future the practitioner will plan activities that do not just involve children with ADHD, but integrate other children that may have a calming effect. This practitioner has learnt that children with ADHD are easily distracted, and the children they are sat next to in a class or are working in a group with them can have an effect on their behaviour.
This practitioner has learnt that it is very important to remember that a child with ADHD cannot help their negative behaviour and that they find it difficult to suppress their impulses (NHS 2008 [online]). With this in mind, the practitioner will in future explain in greater detail what is expected of the children when taking part in an activity, for example explaining the importance of not calling out.
In this practitioners setting it is very important for all agencies involved to work closely together with the family of the child to ensure that the best possible strategies are put in place. These strategies need to be as consistent as possible, both at home and at school. This practitioner had learnt that unity between adults working with children with ADHD is essential and a consistent set of interventions should be applied fairly and routinely. If the activities were to be done again this practitioner would discuss strategies with the other adults also working with the child.
This practitioner has learnt that you need to be patient and persistent with children with ADHD. In future activities this practitioner would not have so many objects on display for the children to get hold of (see activity 2), but would keep them out of sight and then introduce them one at a time.
In this practitioners setting, the practitioner has learnt that for a child with ADHD to succeed at school, it is critical that they have teachers that can manage a classroom effectively (Goldstein, 1992). The teachers could gain knowledge of ADHD by attending training courses; this would enable teachers to anticipate problems and plan ahead to avoid these problems.
Summary
This practitioner observed 3 children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. In light of these observations, 2 activities were carried out with the 3 children together. This practitioner has gained a great deal of knowledge about this condition and understands there are many factors that affect children with ADHD, be it hereditary, environmental or medical. This practitioner has had the opportunity to reflect on the children’s behaviour in the activities and also his own. The practitioner realises that there is a vast amount that he has yet to learn about ADHD and that with this knowledge comes greater understanding. With the knowledge that this practitioner had gained about this condition he will in future have more of an open mind to disruptive behaviour in the classroom and not just automatically believe a child is choosing to behave in a certain way, which he has done in the past.
Bibliography
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Third Edition, Russell A Barkley 2006
Hyperactivity, why won’t my child pay attention?, Dr Sam Goldstein, Dr Michael Goldstein, 1992
Hyperactivity and ADD, Heather Picton, second addition 2002
The developing child, ninth edition, Helen Bee, 2000
