17 SHI JIE MAGAZINE – AUTUMN
Getting Epic in Year 3 Student voice and choice is an important aspect of Epic Time. By having choices between a range of engaging activities, students have the opportunity to try new things and also take part in what they enjoy.
2017 H ighlights – P rimary
What time is it? It’s Epic Time! Every two weeks on a Wednesday afternoon, Year 3 students get to enjoy a time they like to call ‘Epic’. Each student gets to choose from a selection of six activities run by our teachers and EAs. Students have the opportunity to choose their activities and mix with students from other classes. We are also very lucky to have a Fort Magic set, generously donated to us by the DCPTA, to allow our Year 3 students even more choice in activities.
Epic Time sets out to break away from our traditional structures of classroom education. According to Year 3 Team Leader, Ms Kim Ward, ‘The premise of Epic Time works on the idea that if you give students a time to choose what they want to do at school, rather than always programming them into teacher directed activities, they will actually enjoy being at school more.’. Ms Ward hopes this positive mindset will spill over into times when students don’t have a choice, such as in standard classes.
In a typical week, these young learners can choose between six different stations. These allow for smaller groups with a maximum of 20 students. Teachers, EAs and members of the LDT lead or support the stations, which have included Fort Building, Lego, Painting to Music, Creative Mindfulness (including Zen Doodles and Visualisation using PlayDoh), Cartoon Drawing, Mini-Book Making, Active Games, Quiet Games, Skipping, Line dancing and more. By catering to a range of interests, there is always something to encourage proactivity and inspire creativity during these sessions.