PROJECT TITLE: Illustrated Reports / Shark Tank

School Name: Jandakot Primary School

Teacher’s Name: Josh Jardine

Year Group: Year 2

Number of students: 22

Creative’s Name: Rebecca Hepworth

Creative Practice: Visual art

Main Curriculum Focus – English

(Term 2 and Term 3, 2024)

WHAT WE DID  

Illustrated Reports: We created engaging illustrated stories about Australian animals that integrated students' research, aligning with the Grade Two English curriculum. This approach enhanced their understanding of informative texts and fostered creative expression, highlighting key details like habitat and diet within relatable narratives.

Persuasive Texts: We facilitated a series of activities that helped students craft and share persuasive texts, including videos to promote Creative Schools and their favourite creative habits. The term culminated in a “Shark Tank” event, where students pitched inventive ideas for classroom cleaning solutions.

“One of the best things in my life. Because you get to learn how to be creative.” (Student)

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How did we make the curriculum come alive?

We provided students with opportunities to demonstrate their understanding of curriculum concepts, particularly in English, without relying on pen and paper. By shifting the focus away from handwriting and spelling—elements not central to the English curriculum—we enabled all students, regardless of learning difficulties, to engage meaningfully and showcase their comprehension. This approach allowed them to concentrate on structure, ideas, and other essential components, alleviating the fear associated with spelling mistakes.

“I think it has reignited some of my enjoyment of teaching. Because it gives me the freedom in a lot of ways to change up the teaching and I think certainly over the last decade or so I felt my teaching has become more and more direct and explicit, almost familiar in a lot of ways. Rebecca does such a great job at teaching the 5 Habits and leading the reflection at the end of the session and getting the students to make a connection between what they've done and the language or the 5 habit wheel. It’s made a big improvement.” (Teacher)

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How did we make the 5 Habits of Learning come alive?

We dedicated more time each week to warm-ups, linking them to main activities for a clearer understanding of concepts. We modelled persistence by consistently using language related to the habits, reinforcing their significance through our actions. After engaging in activities, we discussed them and varied the warm-ups, revisiting some to highlight student growth.

For the Rainbow Serpent, we created a visual representation on the classroom window using colors for each Creative Learning Habit. This encouraged students to reflect on their use of the habits and create their own Rainbow Serpent, fostering ownership of their learning.

“I’ve learned loads of new things. I never knew what persistent and inquisitive was before Creative Schools.” (Student)

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How did we activate student voice and learner agency?  

For this age group, balancing guidance and freedom was essential; too much openness often resulted in minimal outcomes. We aimed to provide examples and model desired results while still allowing students to explore their own directions. Initially, they tended to closely mimic examples, but this improved over time.

Students chose their own animals, materials, stories, and persuasive arguments for their pitches. While we were more prescriptive about the final outcome, we encouraged them to decide how to reach that goal.

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WHAT WAS THE IMPACT?  

Student: The project fostered significant growth in student engagement and ownership by allowing them to choose their own animals, materials, and stories, which led to enthusiastic participation. Structured warm-ups connected to main activities helped them grasp key concepts more clearly, while a focus on reducing anxiety around mistakes boosted their confidence. By modeling persistence, students learned to adopt similar attitudes, becoming more resilient in tackling tasks and exploring their ideas. Overall, this structured yet flexible approach greatly enhanced their understanding and engagement.

“Exciting. I love creativity. And I am a very big fan. I want to be a Creative Schools person when I’m older.” (Student)

Teacher: The project greatly enhanced Josh’s professional growth in English by helping him balance structure and freedom in the classroom. He began experimenting with new approaches, viewing texts as multimodal resources rather than just written material. By linking warm-ups to main activities, he developed instructional strategies that made learning more concrete and refined his lesson delivery for greater impact. Reflection periods allowed students to provide feedback on both their learning and the lessons, helping him identify areas for improvement and success. This dynamic approach increased student participation and collaboration, enabling him to better assess individual understanding and adapt instruction.

Creative: Returning for a second year was much easier with my solid understanding of how Creative Schools operates. However, transitioning from a Year 5 class to Year 2 required some initial adjustments. With Josh's support, adapting the language of the creative habits for this developmental stage became more intuitive, and the expectations for this age group were clearer. The classroom had a reputation for being chaotic, but I wouldn’t have known it— the students were fully engaged from day one. Josh was consistently amazed each week, and it was inspiring to see the significant impact this approach had on their school experience.

Creative Schools embodies everything I would have loved as a student, and I’m thrilled that this generation has access to such enriching learning opportunities. It’s encouraging to see the school system recognising its importance and actively integrating these partnerships within classrooms. Engaging with these enthusiastic, character-filled students and building meaningful relationships was truly a delight.

“It’s more fun. Because it’s more fun so we learn better.” (Student)

School: The project alleviated teachers' fears that creative learning must be loud, messy, and chaotic. By providing a clear language framework and structured warm-ups, it offered a safe entry point for teachers to experiment with new strategies, making them feel more achievable and realistic. This focus on mindset over artistic skills transformed some teachers' views on teaching creativity. Josh was able to enhance his existing skills without needing to learn entirely new art techniques, allowing for the replication of these activities throughout the school. The emphasis shifted from the polish of the final product to the learning journey itself.

The school is striving to balance traditional teaching methods with the needs of diverse learners, creating a framework for inquiry-based learning that supports this approach.

“You get to write about fun things. Not like normal writing where we have to write about what we did on the weekend.” (Student)

Parents: Parents are witnessing how learning can be enjoyable, with their children excited to share what they did at school. They see their kids happy and engaged, embracing the joy of learning and eager to discuss their experiences—particularly for those who struggle with traditional learning methods. This approach fosters engagement for every child, in contrast to conventional structures that may not accommodate all learners.

“You get to do such fun stuff. For real school you just have to do work.” (Student)