Mrs Childs (Head of Year 6)
On Friday 15th November, Year 6 girls were involved in two activities aimed to develop non- verbal communication skills, empathy and cooperation.
Take a Trip - At home, girls had to quickly pack their belongings into one bag and could not take anything that would not fit in the bag. How did they decide what possessions to bring? In school they had to face many scenarios and soon realised that there were other items that would have been useful. Instructions were given in another language and girls realised what a barrier language could be.
Christina (6NC) said: “The experience made us think of what people actually go through. Also, when we had to squeeze on the boat, it would have been really strange because the you wouldn’t know the people on there. It raised awareness between us.”
In the second activity, Creature Creation Collaboration, each group had to create a creature using the materials provided. They could not speak to each other in words or writing. Gestures and facial expressions were permitted. After the time was up, each group reflected on the pros and cons of working this way.
Pacha (6NC) said: “We got to see when people do not speak the same language, they can still communicate. It was fun and challenging too as it was hard to share complex ideas.”
