Concept Cartoons Active Learning

Learning Outcomes and Success Criteria LO Understand how Concept Cartoons can be used in the classroom to enhance learning and teaching. SC You take part in activities demonstrating the use of Concept Cartoons. You can describe a variety of ways that Concept Cartoons can be used in lessons. You can create a Concept Cartoon you could use in your own classroom.

Don’t put a coat on the snowman, it will make him melt. The coat will keep him cold and stop him melting. I don’t think the coat will make any difference.

Why use them? Promote thinking and discussion Consider ideas/viewpoints of others that you might not have thought of before Recognise prior learning and misconceptions Put theory into everyday contexts

When you could use them Introduce a new topic / lesson/ project Assess a topic / lesson /project

Sometimes there are definite right and wrong answers Sometimes there is no right or wrong answer

Task 1

What is global warming? It’s to do with the Earth heating up and if we don’t do something about it we’re all going to die. Humans are causing it. It’s caused by carbon dioxide, which is a very dangerous gas.

What would happen if you stepped out of a spaceship without a spacesuit? There is no air in space so you would suffocate. The pressure of space would crush you. I think you would explode. I think you would just float away.

What happens to the weight of a balloon when you blow it up? The more you blow into the balloon, the heavier it gets. Air doesn’t weigh anything, so it stays the same weight. Air is light, so blowing air into the balloon makes it lighter.

What students said… “Mr Greedy is right because if you blew up 1 balloon and left the other flat and chucked them in the air the flat one would land first so the flat one is heavier”. “Air does not weigh anything so it doesn’t matter how much you put into it it will never get any heavier”. “Air doesn’t weigh anything. If it did we would feel the weight of it on our heads”. “The more air you blow into a balloon the more it floats so the lighter it gets”.

Examples from subjects

If you multiply two numbers together do you always get a bigger number? If you multiply by a fraction I think you get a smaller number. I think you get a smaller number if you multiple by zero.

What are metaphors? They are when you compare one thing to being like another thing. “Homer is as fat as a whale” is an example of a metaphor. Sometimes people use the word “simile” instead of metaphor but they mean the same thing.

Task 2 Create a Concept Cartoon

Final thoughts Student answers and ideas can be put into future concept cartoons Students can make their own concept cartoons Concept Cartoons could be incorporated into end of topic tests Students enjoy using Concept Cartoons…

Pupil comments I like using them because they make it easier to understand. I like using them because they make the lesson more exciting. I like using them because they make it interesting. I like using them because it is fun and it helps me learn more.

Questions?