Arrival · retrieve

Practice and repetition are not the same thing

Repetition is doing the same thing again and hoping it improves.

Deliberate practice is changing one named thing each time and watching what that change does.

The difference shows up in the record, not in the work. Both look like three attempts.

Only one of them can tell an assessor what you were working on.

Today you name the change before each round, so the record writes itself afterwards.

You need the skills framework, a timer, three labelled areas on one sheet, and your Unit 1 folder.

Unit 1 is assessed on the planning and the record, not on the finished artwork.

So a strong piece with a thin record scores less than an ordinary piece with a full one.

Starter · create the need

Three attempts, two records

Record A says: did three attempts at blending, third one was best.

Record B says: round one blended with the flat of the pencil, round two with the tip, round three with the flat and a paper stump; the stump removed the visible strokes.

Both describe the same afternoon and the same three attempts.

Record A tells an assessor the order they came in. Record B tells them what was being tested.

The second one also tells YOU what to do next week, which is the part people forget.

• 1 · name the change before the round.
• 2 · run the round to time.
• 3 · write one line about what the change did.
• 4 · choose the round that is your evidence.

Read both records again and ask which one you could hand to someone else.

The test is whether they could run your fourth round without asking you a question.

I Do · model

Three rounds, named changes

I take blending from the framework. My first change is the flat of the pencil.

I run three minutes and stop on the timer, not when I feel finished.

The record line is: flat of the pencil, strokes still visible at the edges.

Round two I change one thing only, to the tip. Three minutes again.

Line two: tip, darker but the strokes are worse, not better.

Round three I go back to the flat and add a paper stump. Three minutes.

Line three: flat plus stump, strokes gone, tone slightly lighter than round two.

Notice that I wrote each line straight after the round, not at the end.

A record written at the end is a memory of three rounds, and memories smooth out the failures.

We Do · everyone commits

Sort the record lines

Six record lines are on your table. Sort them into two groups: names a change, and does not.

Then match each line in the first group to the framework row it belongs under.

Two of the lines name a change but not what it did. Put those in their own pile.

When your table is done, hold up the line you disagreed about.

Hold one up even if your table did not agree. A visible disagreement is worth more than a quiet one.

One of the six lines names two changes at once. That one belongs in neither pile; say why.

I Do 2 · connect

Why the timer does the work

Three rounds without a timer become one long attempt with two pauses in it.

The timer forces a stop, and the stop is where the record gets written.

It also makes the rounds comparable. Three minutes against three minutes is a fair test.

Ten minutes against three is not, however much better the ten-minute one looks.

So set the timer even when you are sure you need longer. The next round can be longer if you say so first.

Whatever you set, write it down. A round with no stated length is not a round.

Write the length on the sheet next to each round, not just on the timer.

We Do 2 · lab

Read the line, find the change

Work in twos. Read your partner one of your three record lines.

They say back what the change was and what it did.

If they cannot say both, the line is missing one of them.

Add the missing half out loud, and read the line again.

Then swap over and do the same for theirs.

Check the line, not the work. Whether the drawing is good is a different question and not this one.

Independent · evidence

Three rounds and one choice

Work on your own. Run three timed rounds of one technique.

Name the change out loud or on the sheet before each round starts.

Write one line after each round saying what the change did.

Then ring the round that becomes your evidence, and say why that one.

The best round is not always the evidence. The round that shows the most change often is.

• Supported · two timed rounds with a named change, and the line said aloud for an adult to write.
• Standard · three timed rounds, a named change and a written line for each, one ringed with a reason.
• Stretch · as Standard, and name the change you would test in round four.

Write the framework row next to the technique, so the link is on the page rather than in your head.

If you finish early, look back at round two and say in one line why it went worse.

Exit · Audience and Influence

Read the ringed line to an adult

Read the line for your ringed round to the adult at your table.

They read it back exactly, and say what they think the change was.

If they get it wrong, the line needs one more word, not a longer one.

Then choose what happens next: keep this technique, change it, or run a fourth round.

Write that choice on the sheet with today's date before you leave.

The sheet goes into your Silver folder, not into your bag.