Stage 1: CPD day at the Tower
The first step in the 'Take One Building' journey is to attend a one-day CPD course at the Tower of London. Inspired by the rich history and iconic nature of the Tower’s buildings, the CPD day explores the variety of ways in which teachers can use a single historic building as a valuable resource across the curriculum. The CPD day draws on case studies of previous projects, and equips teachers with the necessary skills and resources to deliver their own Take One Building projects back in the classroom.
Stage 2: Thinking
Following the CPD day, teachers return to school and begin to develop their ideas for the project. We encourage teachers to plan their Take One projects around one or more ‘lines of enquiry’, rather than by subject-specific areas. For example, teachers who are taking part in our 2011-12 Take One project are focusing on the Tower of London’s Bell Tower, in which Sir Thomas More was imprisoned. Within this, teachers might choose to follow the ‘line of enquiry’ of bells, or perhaps medieval castles, or indeed human rights. Each of these ‘lines of enquiry’ could incorporate subject areas from across the curriculum, leading to a truly cross-curricular project inspired by a single building.
Discussion with fellow teachers both at the CPD day and back at school, as well as brainstorming around existing schemes of work, can help you develop ideas.
Stage 3: Planning
Once you have thought about how to work with your building, the next stage is to plan how best to incorporate it into your teaching. It is worth considering the following:
• When in the timetable can you use the building?
• Can you adapt existing schemes of work to fit with your objectives?
• What resources do you need?
• Will your children need to develop new skills, or will you reinforce existing skills?
• Would you like to work with people outside the school? E.g. artists, craftspeople, visiting speakers, etc.
For example, one school suspended the timetable for a week to concentrate on the Beauchamp Tower, exploring the architecture and stories of the building. They visited their local art gallery to look at portraits of people from the Tudor period, and created their own self-portraits in the style of Tudor artists.
You will need to think about how best to introduce your children to the building, in order to build up their enthusiasm from the very beginning. Some teachers have placed an image of the building on the interactive whiteboard for the first 15 minutes of each day, whilst others have put a giant image of the building on the wall, covered with small squares of paper, and have uncovered it gradually, section by section, asking the children for their thoughts until the picture is uncovered completely. Whatever you decide to do, there is no right or wrong way - it’s all about encouraging your children’s curiosity and excitement, in readiness for their visit to the Tower and the start of their relationship with ‘their’ building.
