TERM 2 PROJECT TITLE: Maths, Measuring Time and Money

TERM 3 PROJECT TITLE: English, Lego Masters Persuasive Writing

Creatives Practitioner Name: Melanie Maclou

Creative Practitioner Practise: Sculptor

School: Hollywood Primary School

Teacher: Ryan Shaw

Year Group: 3

Number of students: 25

Main Curriculum Focus – ONE MAIN CURRICULUM AREA: Maths and English

Cross-curricular Links: Marketing and Promotions, Digital Technology, Art, Money Management and Budgeting, Design and Construction, STEAM, Photography..

Context

Hollywood Primary School is a well-established school based in Nedlands. The year 3 classroom is light, bright and delightful. One wall is covered in windows that look out onto a busy street (the school is on the same road as Hollywood Hospital) The opposite wall holds the door that leads outside onto the basketball court and 3 extremely large heritage based Morton Bay Fig Trees. The class teacher, Ryan Shaw, is also a public artist which meant that teacher and creative practitioner spoke the same language. This allowed for free flow of ideas and implementation of a creative and interactive curriculum which created engaging learning opportunities for eager students. The class is very curious, courteous, and generally quiet. They have lots of questions. They work well with each other.

“It's been a real joy working with Ryan, we are both 3D sculptor public artists, and he has a lot of love for the students. He has a lot of patience with them. He really takes the time to answer questions and explain and make sure everybody understands. And he will give them extra time to complete the Creative Schools work, which allows for a more immersive learning experience for the students. They become totally invested in the project. It's not just something that's stuck onto the top of their learning. It's integrated with the rest of the learning, which I think is a wonderful opportunity for the teacher and the students and then also Creative Schools which you'll see in the end result of what they've created. It’s been a joy.” (Creative Practitioner)

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Project overview

Marvellous Marbles:

This project revolved around mathematics, engineering, and creative design. Students were tasked with designing and building marble arenas where they explored principles of measurement, geometry, and physics. By running competitions, measuring marble distances, and budgeting with play money, students applied mathematical concepts like addition, subtraction, and spatial reasoning. The project encouraged teamwork, with each group working together to craft their unique marble arenas and record financial transactions, combining creative arts and mathematics seamlessly.

“Interesting. I like how they teach maths, but it’s taught in a creative way. Like we measured time using egg timers, but we used creative stuff and make the best thing we could and be creative. ” (Student)

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Lego Masters:

Focused on procedural and persuasive writing, the Lego Masters project saw students become toy designers, creating their own Lego products using a limited number of pieces. They then developed step-by-step instructions, complete with text and images, for others to recreate their designs. Students further explored persuasive writing by making advertising videos to promote their Lego toys, using key marketing concepts like storytelling and persuasive language. They also designed packaging for their toys, incorporating artistic and creative design principles.

Both projects fostered critical skills like collaboration, creativity, problem-solving, and practical application of knowledge. The use of hands-on activities and real-world simulations brought the curriculum to life, while allowing students to express their individuality and develop essential academic and social skills in a fun and engaging way.

“Everyone is moving around. Everyone is building and doing something. Everyone is trying their best… I’m learning how to build things. I’m learning about the Five Habits of Learning. Persistent means you keep trying your hardest.” (Student)

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How did we make the curriculum come alive?

A multipronged curriculum approach, involving interactive, hands-on learning saw students develop key practical life skills in the form of money management eg budgeting, business concepts such as marketing, advertising, promotions, product design and development, construction and sales of a marble run and Lego toy sets. They developed and refined collaboration and communication skills as well as a good grasp of measuring time, money and distance. We focused on how to speak, write and draw, persuasively to promote their products.

The curriculum came alive through engaging, hands-on activities that integrated creative arts with core subjects like math, science, and English.

● In the "Marvellous Marbles" project, students used play money, marbles, and crafted arenas, learning financial literacy by recording transactions and budgeting, and engaging in practical math through measurement and competition.

● By designing and building marble arenas and marble runs, students applied engineering concepts like planning, sketching dimensions, and understanding forces like gravity when playing marble games and creating marble runs.

● In the "Lego Masters" project, students created Lego toys and developed persuasive advertisements. This involved procedural writing, storytelling, and using persuasive language to promote their products, blending creativity with literacy.

● The activities simulated real-world situations, such as budgeting for marble arena materials and promoting Lego products, linking learning to real-life financial and entrepreneurial skills.

These activities allowed students to explore abstract concepts creatively, making the curriculum dynamic, interactive, and highly relevant to their everyday experiences.

“It’s been going really well. I like having a Creative Practitioner to work alongside, it brings a fresh energy, encourages new ideas and enthusiasm into the classroom. With the students, a lot of what we have been doing has been in small groups and pairs and they are building relationships. They are more tolerant at working with a range of people. The students that tend to take a back seat are more confident with their ideas. So, when there is maths and a correct answer they are more willing to speak up.” (Ryan Shaw/Teacher)

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

Students created a stained glass window artwork each, using black cardboard cut out with interesting shapes and various coloured tissue paper. These shapes were filled each week with a colour chosen to represent the habit of learning they used most each session. Students learned and integrated the 5 habits of learning in an impressive way. They took ownership of their learning, adopting the language and understanding of these habits, thereby creating a solid foundation for the rest of their education.

“Mr Shaw is strongest at persistent and imaginative. He helps us when we need it, he never gives up. He’s very imaginative when we are doing art, he uses his imagination when he made the tower. His tower was the biggest in the class.” (Student)

“I notice that we are trying to learn still but it’s in an exciting way. For the 5 Habits people are being persistent and you can be imaginative and creative and do things in your own way.” (Student)

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How did we activate student voice and learner agency?

In both projects, students had the freedom to design their marble arenas and Lego creations, allowing them to express their ideas and make creative choices. For example, in Marvellous Marbles, each group designed its own marble arena and adapted the rules of the game, giving them control over how they engaged with the activity.

In Lego Masters, students chose their Lego designs and crafted their persuasive ads. They were in charge of the entire process, from the product creation to packaging design and advertisement.

Students were encouraged to take on leadership roles, such as becoming the "experts" in their group for marbles and Lego games. These roles allowed them to teach and explain their creations to others, fostering leadership and confidence.

The final showcase of the Lego Masters project saw students lead activities with the other Year 3 class, explaining their projects, demonstrating their ads, and guiding others through the creative process.

Regular reflections were built into the projects, allowing students to articulate what they learned and which habits of learning they applied. They chose the colours for their stained-glass window creations based on their own reflections, further empowering them to make meaningful decisions about their learning journey.

Students were also involved in deciding how to display their stained-glass artworks to the public, showing ownership over how their work represented their learning.

“I’m learning to be more disciplined and using my imagination to succeed in different things.” (Student)

“I think some of my friends have got more skills for imaginative. Some kids weren’t that imaginative before and now I see them being more imaginative. I also noticed that people are working more collaboratively.” (Student)

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WHAT WAS THE IMPACT?

Student: Students displayed positive communication, problem-solving, and a strong sense of teamwork with lots of hands-on learning. One student said “Oh, I didn’t realise this was maths!”

Teacher: Ryan embraced the 5 habits of learning, which led to students taking ownership of their own learning. A gift that will last a lifetime.

Creative: The impact was incredible — students became more engaged, collaborative, and confident. They developed critical skills like problem-solving and creativity while having fun, bringing the curriculum to life in new ways."

School: The visiting teacher on our showcase day wished that Creative Schools could be made available to the whole school.

“It’s fun working with Melanie and learning new things. She brings collaboration. She makes us work together and teaches us to be disciplined and inquisitive so we can find out new things.” (Student)

“In normal lessons like in Art we do fun art but in Creative Schools we do fascinating things. The learning pops out to me.”” (Student)

“It’s really exotic. I love the way that Melanie teachers us. Mr Shaw also teachers in interesting ways. If we were doing English Melanie would ask exotic questions rather than in the normal way. A lot of kids get it when it’s taught in this different way. When you are learning in a straightforward way like in hard maths, it can be hard to understand. But when you do it in exotic ways you have more fun and you can use your imagination when you are learning.” (Student)

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