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Kindly submitted by Nadine Currey, Berkeley Primary School, Hounslow
The children in year five at Berkeley have been using the LogoVisual Thinking Skills (LVT) in a variety of ways in the classroom.

Most commonly, small groups of children are able to brainstorm ideas about a topic and create a model of their thinking using different coloured hexagons to represent different subheadings or areas of the topic to be explored. We have used this for writing non- chronological reports about Henry VIII and the Tudors after watching a video, and for exploring the features of myths and legends. Children are allowed the freedom of how they choose to present their diagrams and often each group has a very different representation of the topic on their boards. Groups are able to report their ideas back to the class and add these to the main board. This way, a collective 'Mind Map' can be created.

Another activity the children are frequently engaged in with the boards is creating venn diagrams. We are often comparing and contrasting in our classroom. The children enjoy looking at similarities and differences and linking the topic with the similarities using different coloured hexagons. Recently in Literacy, we compared the traditional story of Cinderella to Roald Dahl's version. In small groups, the children brainstormed the similarities and differences and each child was able to contribute at least one hexagon to the diagram.

The quality of work children have been producing as a result of using the LVT boards is significantly greater than the more conventional methods of recording ideas on poster paper or in books. This could be due to the fact that every child has the opportunity to record an idea, either in words or in pictures, without the pressure of having to do it all on their own and missing some information. For the lower ability children, this is valuable as they are more likely to experience success by contributing to the final product where their contributions are valued and the required task is completed. Children are more engaged in discussions about the content and the organisation of the content and lower ability learners receive peer support and guidance in the task. It may also be the result of LVT catering for visual and kinaesthetic learners. The concept is simple, yet the children find enjoyment in the activity and all are engaged each time we use them. Because the children know exactly how to use them and understand the scope and freedom they have with the boards, I find it to be a very productive and worthwhile part of our lesson.