Top tips: What's Going On? activities
Encourage children to discuss what's going on in these short, distraction-free videos! You'll find they naturally start to explain their thinking and apply their knowledge in new contexts.
How to run What's Going On? activities
1. Explain to your class that you're going to watch a short video. The aim isn't to find the right answers, it's to explore ideas and find out what they know. Remember to check out our handy background information if you'd like to know more about the video before you start the discussion.
2. Before you press play, ask the class if they can anticipate what will happen in the video based on the image. They’ll be using their reasoning skills to make predictions.
3. Ask them to pay very close attention and play the video. What did they see? What do they think is happening?
4. Lead a discussion with your class based on the video. Follow the specific prompts listed in each activity or think about the following general points:
- What do they know is going on?
- Why do they know that?
- Can they observe any details to give them clues as to what is happening?
- Is there something they don't know?
5. Extend the discussion by asking the class to describe what they saw using only one word. How many words can they come up with?
Video credit: Wellcome