This activity is an interesting way of getting pupils to think about Mary’s life but in a non-narrative way. Instead of re-telling the story in sequence they have to look back over her life and to think about which characters played a significant role. The concentric circles technique allows pupils to offer their own perspectives and then listen to others’ views too before arriving at their conclusion with a neat visual summary, without too much writing.
Learning objectives
- Pupils are able to recall names of key figures in Mary’s story
- For most they can explain the role they played in her life
- They can distinguish between those who were very significant changing her fortunes and those who were just ‘walk on parts
Step1
Pupils in groups are given 4 slips of paper just large enough for pupils to write the names of people on. Within their group they have to generate ideas for who they think were important people in Mary Anning’s life story.
Step 2
Pool ideas from different groups and scribe them on the white board, constantly reminding the children with phrases such as ‘Do you remember that he/she was the person who…? Who can tell me what
