I Don’t Do Basketwork!

In the great dictionary of educational jargon, I have just learned a new term…basketwork

A colleague explained to me last week that it refers to activities done by pupils [particularly towards the end of term, or on a Friday afternoon] when the children do not work in their books, but just do stuff on paper – and at the end of the week, the paper just “goes in the basket” [this must be a very old expression, these days, you would have to put it in the recycling bin!]

Like my friend, I abhor this idea. There are times when children must work on paper and not in regular exercise books – but I do not see why that output should be undervalued.

So as my recent stint of supply teaching involved a topic on 'Shelters’ – and how to build a good shelter, I decided we would make mini-books about shelters. On my first day we had been working on our seaside collage, and mid afternoon there was a terrific thunderstorm. End of day story was therefore the wise and foolish builders [one built his house on the beach and there was a thunderstorm!]  That was the first mini-book, mostly involving picturtes.

The second involved shelters round the world – brick houses, stone castles, ice igloos, buffalo-hide tepees, log cabins, adobe huts, and more. That needed the children to research the topic, and source pictures in books.

The final mini-book related to the traditional tale of the Three Little Pigs, who used different materials to build their shelters, only one of which was wind and wolf-proof. There was a lot more writing involved in this one. The work made a great display

The children were proud of what they had produced, and will be able to take them home at the end of term. No basketwork here!