This presentation introduces the ScreenLess week resource to primary schools. This initiative helps helps children and families recalibrate their screen-lief balance. See www.screenlessweek.co.uk for more information
2. • This is a project we are going to do in our
school for a week this term.
• It involves all of us – pupils, teachers and
parents -trying hard to use screens less.
• This is not screen-free, but we want to find out
if, by spending less time in front of a screen, we
are happier
3. On a scale of 1-10, how would you feel about
not being able to use a mobile phone, TV, iPad,
or games console for a whole week?
1 ----------------------5---------------------10
“It would be a
nightmare! “
“No worries!
Bring it on!”
4. What would you miss if you couldn’t use your
phone, games or the internet for a whole week?
“If you took away my
mobile phone you would
take away a part of me.”
Do you feel the same ?
5. Before we start lets think about…
How long do you spend on a
screen when you are at home?
How long do you
think is too long?
6. What practical thing do you think
would help you use less screens
during the week?
What things do you think will
come out of the ScreenLess
week?
We are going to
ask you to keep
a diary!
7. EVERYONE TOGETHER
Do you think your parents or
carers will find it easy to give
up their screens?
What about us teachers ?
8. What reward do you think we
should have if we do
SCREENLESS week?
9. What do you think could be the best
thing about not being on your
screen for the next few days ?
11. Note for teachers:
• The next 5 slides you can use after you have
undertaken the activity.
• Of course you can also adapt these slides and insert
examples of children’s work, your diary entries,
results of a survey etc., etc.
There are more resources and ideas at
www.screenlessweek.co.uk
13. HOW DID YOU GET ON ?
• What was the one personal thing
which you learnt from unplugging?
• Did you feel agitated or tense,
irritable or angry? If so why do you
think that was ?
• What was the best thing you did in
place of being on your screen ?
• How did you feel when you couldn’t
use your screens?
14. HAS ANYTHING CHANGED?
As a result of doing the activity, are you going
to do anything differently from now on?
See www.screenlessweek.co.uk for more information and resources.
Simple introductory slide with 3 key points. You can change these if you need to.
If in an assembly simply ask for a show of hands If in a classroom or small groups be nice to ask individual pupils to explain where they are on this scale and how they would feel. Try to draw out the fact that it would be hard to have a total ban (see later). It’s also important to stress that this is not because any of these activities are wrong or bad in themesleves what we are trying to do is to think whether we are too reliant on screens and miss out on non-screen activity.
This slide animates so ask the question at the top before you advance to the graphic which says “If you took away my mobile phone you would take away a part of me!” You can say that this is sometimes how we all feel because we have become so reliant on screens, however it wasn’t always this way ! Share experiences of what life was like before you had a mobile phone or 24/7 TV or the internet .Ask the pupils whether this accurately describes them
It’s important to introduce the fact that we are trying to monitor the impact of this activity, before and after. Here are a few of the questions which are from the Pre-Activity questionnaire. Be interesting to assess how long the average person in a class spends on a screen per day. The American Association of Padetriciansrecommends that parents establish "screen-free" zones at home by making sure there are no televisions, computers or video games in children's bedrooms, and by turning off the TV during dinner. Children and teens should engage with entertainment media for no more than one or two hours per day, and that should be high-quality content. It is important for kids to spend time on outdoor play, reading, hobbies, and using their imaginations in free play. See http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/children-and-tv/MY00522
Here are some other questions. Ask the first 2 before advancing to the further point about setting up a diary. For some children a diary may be a strange concept but you can introduce it by saying that it is like a status update but something you write just for your own reflection later. Of course there are some wonderful learning opportunities here and a chance to run a series of literacy, creative writing, citizenship, exercises.
Be good to reference the point that adults also find it hard to rest from being on screens all day. What is important is for pupils to feel that they can help change patterns in the family and as they do this together they can learn from each other. As teachers you may want to also write a shared diary or give some feedback as a group to the children in an assembly at the end.
It’s good to make this a fun exercise and important to stress that this isn’t about who is best – any reduction in screen dependency makes you a winner ! There is a follow up powerpoint slide at the end which you can use after the activity.
Really important to stress the positives.
Be good to capture this and build on it.
Obviously there could be lots of follow-up activities. Making a poster, designing some a screen-saver, top tips to help you unplug etc. You could do a play for an assembly, write an essay on what was it like before screens, or perhaps what will life be like when we don’t have screens because the internet is embedded in objects and even in our glasses ! – lots to do and depending on the size of your group you could do this as a group exercise or small groups.