The power of the imagined

Anyone that has been reading my blog posts knows that I am a massive fan of Mantle of the Expert. Website here for those interested in finding out more.

The thing I love about Mantle as it is play, drama and inquiry all rolled into one. Our school have been using this approach for a while now and have had brilliant results. If you are looking to transform inquiry, this might be the answer for you.

Today Room One were part of four worlds in one...did it phase them....not one bit.

First we were posed as party planners. All I did to get them into this world was use the words "Is it ok if we imagine that we are a party planning company?" The children of course say yes and off we went. Straight into the drama and play of being the company approached to plan a party for the Number Agents. Our company had various divisions and the children self-directed this process. Some running workshops on creating paper cut outs, others teaching children to blow up balloons. They were all completely engaged and the excitement and engagement was palpable.

Once the room was all set up, we moved out of this company, simply by standing up, turning around once and sitting down. I said to them that once they sat down they were part of a cleaning company. A job came through to our i-pads, and we were given the job of cleaning up the party planners mess.

Once this was all over, children got changed into their 'flash clothes' and turned into Number Agents, who enjoyed getting their awards, presents, dancing and most importantly of course, food and drink.

The agents were chuffed that the Professor and Cowgirl came in to celebrate with them. If there was ever any doubt in your mind about the power of this imagined world for children, the reaction to these characters and the smiles on faces would dispel these. They believe in this world, it is authentic for them and so in turn their mathematical understandings are deep. They are connected to this world and I bet it will be something they remember for a long time to come. Professor and Cowgirl were like celebrity guests and the please for photos and high fives were absolutely heart warming.

What a brilliant day we had! What a brilliant year we have had!

This video gives you a glimpse into our day.

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Number Agents

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