Classroom for the Little

A New School Year

2012-02-06T20:44:00.002+10:30

It's Week 2 of Term 1 for 2012. I have had an excellent break from school and even went on a cruise to New Zealand. (If you do want to read more about my holiday, you can read about it on Passport, Tickets and a Suitcase)

Auckland

Currently I have returned once again to relief/substitute teaching. I do quite enjoy this and every now and again I get a day off and don't feel guilty =). It now means I have to get back to writing more posts and catching up with the posts that I did not get to finish from last year. I am looking forward to another good year and I hope you will be around to check out my blog. I have also discovered so many new blogs about teaching and education and would love to find more, so if you have one yourself or you know of a great blog, I want to hear about it. With thanks, Hiedi.

Meet Habiba

2012-01-04T14:11:00.000+10:30

I actually came across this site by chance. I have a new blog called Passport, Tickets and a Suitcase, which is a more personal blog and it is all about my travels, some overseas, but mostly at the moment, within Australia. Because of this love of travelling, I have spent quite awhile searching the internet for others who also share this passion.

I found a travel blog by Bernadette Simpson, called Escapade through Egypt. I would recommend anyone who likes photography to take a look. The photos are just wonderful. From this blog, I found Habiba. Habiba is Bernadette's 'alter ego' and she is the star of Bernadette's picture books.

The books are written in both English and Arabic. This is a very valuable resource if you have any Arabic speaking children in your classroom, but also to expose other students to other languages. I believe it is important for children of all cultures to recognise that we all communicate in different ways and that our words are written in different scripts. Lastly, anyone who has been looking for resources in Arabic would know how difficult they are to find. I really hope you find them useful. Personally, I plan to print them off and laminate them to hopefully make them last longer.

Front Page

Inside the book

Rice

2012-01-03T13:27:00.000+10:30

I was searching the internet (yet again) for other blogs about teaching (There's a massive collection out there) and I came across A Woven Education. It's funny after years of teaching, you forget some of those really simple ideas and need a reminder. This is what this post was. There are some other wonderful ideas on the blog, so be sure to check them out.

This is a screen shot directly from the post in Ruth's blog.

The focus for Ruth from A Woven Education was to keep it simple. To have children play and experiment with rice, which worked successfully and is certainly needed in educative settings. You can however, use many different tools with rice. I have listed some below.

Use utensils or cookware from Asian countries e.g. Japanese tea sets, rice bowls, soup spoons etc.
Kitchen utensils e.g. spoons, bowls, pots, pans
Bury 'treasure' (photos, toys) in the rice. You could make it match a theme e.g. Transport, Reptiles, School, Home etc
Bury letters or numbers in the rice. Children can practice reading them when they find them.
Use funnels
Bury photos (preferably laminated) of the students in the rice. You could also use laminated names so students can find their name.
Scoops and bags of different sizes preferably material bags

The idea of using different tools with the rice, is still to encourage sensory play but also combine it with another skill, which you feel is important for your students to practice.

I sended you a letter...

2012-01-02T13:13:00.000+10:30

I just had to share these spelling sentences with you. Read the sentence about the letter. I was quite happy with her ability to sound out.

Sight Word Books

2011-11-28T16:47:00.001+10:30

In my classroom there is a focus on learning sight words in order for my students to be more able to read leveled readers, when they entered into mainstream classrooms. Having also done the Jolly Phonics training, it was clear that there was an overlap with some of these words and that I could use some of these approaches when teaching sight words.

As we know, not all sight words can be read by sounding out each letter. This is what is difficult about learning them. It does not come easily to every student, even more so my ESL students who are learning the sounds of the alphabet. For some words, I ask them not to use the letter sounds, such as 'was' and when spelling the word, to use the letter names.

For each set of sight words that I introduce, I try to follow a set process with similar activities.

First thing I do is on Monday I write the 3 new sight words we will be looking at (I do not neccessarily follow the order of the Bedrock or Oxford Lists). I just happened to have 3 spare frames from a digital photo frame, which I write the words in. It just makes it obvious what words we are focusing on.

We look at the words as a class and I ask students to have a go at reading them. We talk about what they look like e.g. giraffe letters (Tall letters), rabbit letters (short letters) or monkey letters (letters that hang/curl under the line), how many letters are in the word etc.

We count the sounds in the word (if possible). Take the word 'had'. This word has 3 sounds and 3 letters. We will count them with our fingers, clap with each sound, tap our noses etc. This is a skill we talked about at Jolly Phonics training and it does help with those words that are able to be decoded through letter sounds.

I sometimes then ask students to write the words on little whiteboards. As they are writing, we sound out each letter, h-a-d. Students love doing this.

We then have a demonstration on the board of how to actually use these words. I may only focus on one at the time, depending on if the words have something in common that is best explained together. Last week my class learned the words 'have', 'has' and 'red'. See the photo below.

I first started with making a list of pronouns (Participants) that can be used with has or have. After we made a list, we discussed what they had in common. I taught them that there are 2 special words that break the rule. When we use the word 'has' we are talking about a singular third person or a singular object, as you can see above. We then looked at the pronouns in front of the word 'have' and all but one is plural. You is a tricky pronoun that is both a plural and can be singular. I is always singular. You and I were 'tricky words' that broke the rules.

We then had a very quick chat about other words that could be used with both 'has' and 'have', which is when we added 'My dog' and 'The table'.

I then had the words written on paper with blu-tac, so we could arrange them on the board. I then called students one by one, and gave them either the process/verb, 'has' or 'have' and they had to place the correct pronoun/participant in front and complete the sentence. When they had written the sentence, we read it together as a class. I ask students if they agree that the sentence makes sense, to perform some action e.g. touch your nose, touch your shoulders, pull your ears etc.

If students have understood how to use the words, they are sent to their tables to write them in sentences, using whatever pronouns we have discussed.

Students then choose one sentence and write it on an A5 piece of paper to make a class book. I laminate each page and put them together with a curtain ring.

This means that your class will have a box of class books, which hopefully all your students can read because you have been learning those particular words.

I only ever make sentences using words I have explicitly taught them. In the photo above you can see a book called 'It is a'. We learned those words together. We were then able to use 'is' and 'a' for our next book, 'That is a'.

This process seems to be working very well in our class.

Lucy Learns

2011-11-23T07:22:00.000+10:30

This is a website I came across quite awhile ago and I have to admit I had completely forgotten about it, but there some very useful resources there. It is a website made by mum, Lucy who is homeschooling her child. When you open the homescreen, if you would like to see the Activity Pages, scroll down and you will see the screen below.

There are too many pages to list but it is worth a look. Click here to the home page.

Word Wall

2011-11-22T18:07:00.001+10:30

My classroom is absolutely wonderful, but it has been designed to be open plan. I share the space with the class next door but unfortunately this makes it very difficult to make a word wall. I wanted to find a way to display the sight words we have been learning as a reference for my students. Since I already had an alphabet chart in my room, I cleared the space underneath and have begun putting our words underneath. The paper is simply an A3 piece cut in half.

Turtle Day - Day 2

2011-11-17T20:46:00.001+10:30

Today's session was very simple but my students really enjoyed it and they were very successful.

Read the story. During reading, instead of reading those words that can be decoded simply, sound them out. These words are words that can be said using the sounds of the alphabet. A word such as 'he' can not be used because the 'e' sound is a long sound.

"Early i-n (students would then say 'in) the morning"

"so Turtle w-e-n-t for a s-w-i-m"
"so he came out of his sh-e-ll" (Depending on what sounds you have taught in class)

I was really surprised how engaged my students were. You could follow up with sorting the words into categories.

How many sounds in the word e.g. in = 2 swim = 4
How many letters in the word
Make a word find searching for the words in the book
Clap the sounds
Have cardboard letters and ask students to hold the cards up to create the words you have discussed.

KIZCLUB

2011-11-16T08:31:00.000+10:30

I came across this excellent website just the other day. It is very simple to use and has a range of different categories of resources. When you open the homepage you will see this screen.

When you choose a topic, a lot of different activity ideas and worksheets are displayed. You can choose one you like and it will open in PDF format. You will not be able to edit the activity on screen, however with the selections available, I am sure you would be able to find a use as is. The Alphabet Floor Game would be wonderful for kindergarten children. The A-Z Clothesline could be used in a Reception Classroom pegged on a line, all mixed up and students have to rearrange the letters in the correct order. There are endless ways you could use them.

You also have the option to select a subcategory, when you are on the page above. It is located on the left and looks like this.

It is a fantastic website with great resources and you are able to be as creative as you like with them. They also may provide ideas for creating pages for your Interactive Whiteboard.

Click here to discover KIZCLUB

Turtle Day

2011-11-15T17:37:00.001+10:30

Recently our school has had a focus on comprehension and all the different ways to encourage this. We looked at the Four Resource Model, Meaning Maker, Text User, Text Participant and Text Analyst. I have tried to plan a unit of work around the fiction book Turtle Day. My plan lasts 12 days/lessons, which can be done daily or over a few weeks. You can also read the story each day when you have time but not have a follow up activity on certain days. It is also great to allow students to read the story independently.

Day 1.

Talk about the front cover. What will this book be about? How do you know?
What kinds of activities/events will happen in Turtle's day?
Read the text.
Each time we get to a problem/event, ask students to predict what Turtle might do.

*Before reading the text you make want to make a KWL chart about turtles. At the end of the story you would add anything you may have learned. Be aware that this book may not add any new information, but it is a good source for opening up students to questions e.g. When Turtle was cold, he sunned himself on a log. Why did he have to lay in the sun instead of being active to his warm his body?

Books about Reptiles

2011-11-07T17:44:00.000+10:30

This term my class and I are learning all about reptiles. In my search for resources I have come across some excellent books. Some I have listed, I have not used in my classroom as yet, but may be worth a look. You may want to search your school or local library, or if you click on the link, it will take you to one of my favourite book seller websites.

FICTION

A Nice Walk in the Jungle by Nan Bodsworth

The Dangerous Snake and Reptile Club by Daniel San Souci

Turtle Day by Douglas Florian

The Dirty Great Dinosaur by Martin Waddell

How to Hide a Crocodile & Other Reptiles by Ruth Heller

Sea Turtle Journal by Lorraine A. Jay

The Selfish Crocodile by Faustin Charles

The Enormous Crocodile (CD) by Roald Dahl

Solomon Crocodile by Catherine Rayner

Here Comes the Crocodile (Book & CD) by Kathryn White

NON-FICTION

Revolting Reptiles by Lynn Huggins-Cooper

Reptiles (Kingfisher Young Knowledge)

Field Guide to Australian Reptiles by Stephen Swanson (Rather expensive but an excellent resource. Take a search in your library.)

Australian Frogs and Reptiles by Pat Slater

Flashcards

2011-11-06T19:23:00.000+10:30

When I make flashcards I like to make sure they are the same size. I don't have the luxury of a guillotine at home, I have begun to use post-it notes to write my flashcards words onto. I used a permanent marker, so to ensure that students would not see the writing from the other side, I glued them onto cardboard. If you wanted to make them just for the use of holding them up for students to read, this wouldn't be a problem. I do plan on laminating these so that they hopefully last longer.

I made the cards above for students to play Memory or Go Fish with. I use stickers on the back of the cards so that students can be independent when packing them away. The numbers next to the sticker is actually for my use. These numbers correspond with which group of Jolly Phonics I have used. These cards used both Group 1 and 2 words. For certain students, I may want them to use only Group 1 cards or my excelled students, I might want them to use the cards with the 'ay/ai' words. Same activity for different levels.

A to Z Teacher Stuff

2011-11-02T11:00:00.000+10:30

This is a fantastic site that is dedicated to making finding online resources easy for teachers. I have often used this site during my planning time and check back regularly.

The Homepage has quick links to Popular Teacher Pages as well as a directory as shown below.

When you select a page, you will see a list of lesson plans related to the link you have clicked. I chose Plants and the link directed me to page below.

The first few links are eBooks that are available to buy. You can also then continue to scroll down to pages of lesson plans. You can simply click the link and see if the lesson is relevant to your classroom. Under each lesson plan, it states which year levels the lesson is appropriate for.

Down the left hand side of the page are also quick links sorted by theme. What is shown is only a small selection.

There are also links to Tips, Articles, Discussions, a Store and Printables.

It is a fantastic online resource.

Click Here to go to site.

The Dirty Great Dinosaur

2011-11-01T19:00:00.000+10:30

Since the beginning of Term 4, we have been learning about reptiles. We have been reading fiction stories about various reptiles and one of my students chose to read this book about dinosaurs.

Inspired by the illustrations in the book we drew these wonderful dinosaurs. We coloured them with pastel crayons and when we had finished, we used the end of a pencil and scratched scales on the dinosaur's body. I think they look absolutely fantastic.

Magic Silent 'e'

2011-10-29T16:23:00.000+10:30

I attended a fantastic Jolly Phonics training today, presented by Frances Scobie. She showed us a video that had been found about Magic 'e'. Frances made clear that it 'e' is not always considered 'magic' in all words. Sometimes 'e' is magic and it can change the vowel into a long vowel sound or sometimes it is simply a silent 'e' and does not change the pronunciation of the word at all, like in the word 'horse'. The first video below is the one that Frances shared with us and I have found some more that relate to the letter 'e'.

The video above is part of a series about the Magic 'e'. You can see what 'e' does to other vowel sounds in the complimentary videos.

Edheads.org - Interactive Games

2011-10-05T08:02:00.000+10:30

I came across this site when I was searching online for lesson ideas for simple machines. I tried it at home first and it was exactly what I wanted. There are a few different themes that you can choose, depending on what topic you are exploring in Science. My students loved playing the game and didn't complain when they even had to share a computer. I have only tried the game related to Simple Machines, but I look forward to having a go with the others.Click here to try it for yourself.

Topics included on the site
Machines
Stem Cells
Weather
Crash Scene Investigation

National Geographic

2011-09-28T19:53:00.000+09:30

This is a great website for kids to learn about the world. I plan on using it as part of my unit on Japan at school but there are loads of other things to check out.

Click here to go to the National Geographic Kids homepage.

How do you know?

2011-09-24T09:57:00.003+09:30

Most of us get really excited for our students when they find the correct answer. Obviously for some questions, there might be more than one and maybe there is no wrong answer. We ask the question and celebrate when one of our students comes up with an appropriate answer and then we move onto the next question. Do you ever ask them HOW they knew the answer?

For me, this is just as important as the answer itself. By asking a student how they know something, they have to find words to explain their thinking. This is a whole other skill. It also helps them to be aware of how they think. We tell ourselves we 'just know' something because we haven't thought about how we know it. What signs did we see? Were there any words in the text that gave us a clue? Is there a pattern in those numbers? Ask students to explain their thinking.

Another benefit of asking 'How do you know?' and perhaps the most important, is that there is probably a student sitting in that classroom, who didn't know the answer, who didn't see those signs and who doesn't 'just know'. They will probably sit there quietly while you nod and smile and say to the other student 'That's right, well done' and never speak up to say 'I don't understand'. If we ask, 'How do you know?', then maybe that student will begin to see those signs, to see those patterns they had previously missed. You could ask another student 'How else do you know?'.

It also informs you of how your students think and future planning. What do your students look for? Do you have to re-word your questions? Have they mastered a thinking skill? Do you need to introduce another process of looking for answers? Have they completely missed the aim of your lesson?

You may even get your students into the habit of saying the right answer and giving you a reason without having to ask. 'I know because...'.

I am sure many of you do ask that question, generally on a one to one situation or perhaps for assessment. Think about asking as a group, the benefits can be amazing.

Alphabet Video

2011-09-22T17:21:00.000+09:30

Came across this alphabet song. It is a nice version for teaching the names of the letters, not the sounds.

Kidzone.ws

2011-09-21T10:00:00.000+09:30

This is a great website if you are looking for more worksheets. I don't use too many of these (worksheets) in my classroom however I have found them useful to combine with a hands-on activities or extra homework when asked.

I have used these worksheets with my ESL students when teaching individual sounds and word families. The worksheets and game templates are sorted into grades or theme. It is well worth a look.

Click here to visit the homepage

Mathematics Online

2011-09-14T21:41:00.000+09:30

As promised, I will share with you one of the sites I have just recently begun using. I heard about it from a colleague. IXL is a Mathematics practice website from Preschool to Year 9. There is a certain amount of free daily practice before a pop up comes up to say that you have reached your daily limit. It will then ask if you would like to become a member. Membership fees are quite reasonable, with monthly or yearly fees. There is also a classroom membership for teachers/schools.

Each year level has various learning areas and activities to practice their skills.

For example in the Year 2 folder there is

Counting and Number Patterns
Place Values
Comparing and Ordering
Mixed Operations
Names of Numbers
Patterns
Addition - 1 Digit, 2 Digits & 3 Digits
Subtraction - 1 Digit, 2 Digits & 3 Digits
Estimation and Rounding
Logical Reasoning
Time
Money
Data and Graphs
Measurement
Geometry
Fractions
Multiplication
Division

Students can answer the questions and their points are recorded on the right side of the screen. The time it takes for them to answer the questions is also shown. My class really enjoyed using it the other day, however we have not signed up for membership as yet. It may be something that you can work out with your school. The site is well worth a look. It would also be particularly helpful on an interactive whiteboard to go through the questions as a class.

Visit the website

Shapes Flip Book

2011-09-13T18:01:00.000+09:30

I was reading teaching blogs, as I seem to be doing more of lately, (if that is possible). I came across Kindergarten Crayons. It has a great post about making a shape flip book. It is just gorgeous and I absolutely love it.

Click here to go to Flipping Over Shapes.

The Skeleton Dance

2011-09-12T17:51:00.001+09:30

The lovely Lisa, our RBL teacher shared this video with our class today. The class stood up and danced along too. They absolutely loved it. It isn't the most educative video, however it is fun and it does share a little information. Why not have a little fun learning about the skeleton?

Live Webcams

2011-09-10T09:15:00.000+09:30

I have been going a little crazy searching for live webcams. I find it interesting to be able to check out what is going on in different parts of the world. I have been searching the website EarthCam and started browsing the Top10 webcams from around the world. I came across this webcam of a nest of Woodmen Falcons in Omaha, United States. You can find it here. It would be great to have it streaming in your classroom or kindergarten.You can zoom in and move the screen in all directions.

I have looked at live webcams with my students and some are absolutely amazed that they can see pictures from other parts of the world. Others, who have been exposed to all sorts of technology still enjoy watching them if it is something exciting and engaging. I am working with mainly children who have arrived in Australia in the last year. Many come from countries and homes where the internet was a luxury, so it is that bit more special for them.

*PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THERE MAY BE AN ADVERT BEFORE THE WEBCAM IS SEEN. (May not be recommended for children. Perhaps switch the volume off)

Sharing Useful Websites

2011-09-09T08:57:00.001+09:30

Every Wednesday I plan on telling you about a website that I have found useful. I use the internet a lot when I am planning, particularly because I am in classrooms which have interactive whiteboards. There are so many websites out there that would be beneficial for whole class activities and also for students to access at home. I have found that often parents have asked me for websites that are as much about education as they are about games. I believe that games and play, both online and in our classrooms are very supportive of our curriculum goals. Learning should be fun and there is a world of technology out there for just that.

If there is a particular website you use in your classroom that you believe other teachers should all know about, please leave a comment or send an email. I would really love to hear about them.

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!

2011-08-25T16:34:00.001+09:30

I absolutely adore Mo Willems' books. I particularly enjoy the Pigeon series. Seeing that it is Book Week here in Australia, I like to read stories aloud. It can be difficult being a Relief Teacher getting your hands on the selected Book Week books, so instead I read one of my favourite books. After the story, I asked students to draw a picture of something else that Pigeon should not do. They were so well done that I had to include them all.

Don't let the pigeon drive a car.

Don't let the pigeon drive the car.

Don't let the pigeon jump on the bed.

Don't let the pigeon play with the rabbit.

Don't let the pigeon drive the car.

Paper Plate Bees

2011-08-16T19:36:00.001+09:30

I made these cute paper plate bees on one of my TRT days. They were very simple to make. Students coloured the yellow and black stripes onto the plate. The plate was then folded in half and stapled. The wings were then glued onto the sides of the plate. They looked really wonderful hanging down from the ceiling.

Picture Dictionary - Transport

2011-08-15T20:02:00.003+09:30

I find that students make use of picture dictionaries quite often, however for many students, this isn't particularly useful before they have learned how to use a dictionary. They have to flick through each page until they learn the order of the alphabet, which can take some time. This is particularly true of your ESL learners. Considering I plan using themes, I am making picture dictionaries relevant to each theme/topic. Learning those dictionary skills is of course very important, but when the focus is on learning about a particular topic, much time is wasted for children just trying to find the page in the dictionary.

I have used pictures all found as part of the Clipart files in the Microsoft Suite. You can also find pictures online if you prefer, or take your own. If you would like a copy of this particular one, click here.

Colours

2011-08-07T11:49:00.001+09:30

I wanted to do an activity about colours in an ESL classroom I was recently doing some relief teaching in. I looked for a colours poster or anything that had the colours on them. I couldn't find anything and so I taped some coloured pencils to the whiteboard.

Just after I had taped them to the board, I did realise that it would have been better to place the darker pencils down lower, as these were difficult for students to distinguish. It worked well though and was helpful to those students who had no knowledge of colours. They were able to take the pencil to the board and find the matching one.

Pamela Allen's Mr McGee

2011-08-01T16:13:00.002+09:30

During one of my relief days we read two books from the Mr McGee series. The students loved them and kept requesting more of them. At the end of the day as a bit of a wind down activity we made our own Mr McGee trees. Kindergarten children could glue leaves on to a tree template.

Supermarket People

2011-07-10T13:05:00.001+09:30

I have been teaching a class for the last two weeks and we have been talking about money. As part of our unit of work, we talked about where we all spend money. One of the places that was mentioned was the supermarket. We cut out pictures of items you could buy from a supermarket and glued them into our books. For those who had finished that, I gave them the option of making people using cut out pictures from supermarket catalogues. For a quick fill in activity, they did very well and thoroughly enjoyed it.

This activity was similar to the Fruit People, which could be made using coloured pictures from catalogues too. Our focus at the time was not on healthy eating, rather on what can be found at a supermarket. This was also a really great activity to introduce the names of items to my ESL students.

Playdough

2011-06-09T19:19:00.000+09:30

We all know that playdough is wonderful and it is used in almost every kindergarten I have been relieving at recently. It is great to be used alone, however there are so many things you can add to the playdough to make this activity more interesting.

Shells
Leaves, twigs and gumnuts
Pebbles/Rocks
Glitter
Glitter stars/sequins
Cookie cutters
Buttons or beads
Plastic toys e.g. animals
Feathers
Popsticks/Matchsticks

There are some great playdough mats on SparkleBox. Click here to see them.

The 'at' Word Family

2011-06-03T17:20:00.000+09:30

Over my time as a Reception and an ESL teacher, I have come across some excellent ideas for teaching word families. Below are resources and ideas for learning the 'at' word family.

Have students draw a picture to match a sentence using 'at' words. e.g. A fat rat sat on the mat

Make a word map of 'at' words (Class word map or one that students create)

Cut out the letters from a magazine or newspaper to make 'at' words. Glue them in a book or make a poster.

Use playdough to make 'at' words.

Go on an 'at' hunt around the school. Students can write and draw things they see that have the sound 'at' in them.

Make crazy hats.

Make a paper plate cat/rat

Type up sentences using 'at' words then jumble them up. Students then have to cut and paste the words back into the correct order.

Make a class book about 'at' words. Each student can write a sentence or a story using these words and then staple or bind them together to make a book.

Web Resources

'at' mini books - In My Hat and The Copycat

Little Giraffe's suggested word lists

Mrs Alphabet - 'at' word list suggestions

Enchanted Learning *Membership required

DLTK - Paper Mouse/Rat

DLTK - Paper Bag Mouse/Rat

DLTK - Cat Crafts & Activities

First-School.ws - Rat Colouring In Printout

Miracle Rats - Rat Bookmarks

Toys Unit Plan

2011-05-21T21:18:00.001+09:30

A colleague and I used this unit on Toys with our Reception classes.

Weeks 1& 2
Look at and discuss the different types of toys children play with.
Ask students to draw and discuss their favourite toy. See them here
Ask the questions: What is a toy? What materials are toys made from?
Look at toy catalogues to investigate what toys are available in stores.

Weeks 3 & 4 - Wind Toys
How do wind toys move?
Compare chosen wind toys to real life machines that use wind power.

Weeks 5, 6 & 7 - Puppets
Focus on Aesop fables (this was our literacy focus this term)
Students are to create a sock puppet of one of the characters from the Aesop fables read.

Weeks 8, 9 & 10 - Visit to the Big Rocking Horse and Toy Factory
Students are to design, make and assess a toy using junk materials.

Japanese Box Apartments

2011-05-18T08:01:00.004+09:30

Last year my Year 2 class made absolutely adorable Japanese apartments from gift boxes. I used a stanley knife to slice down the sides of one of the box faces, so it was able to fold down and make the floor of the apartment a little larger.

I started by showing my students various types of housing in Japan, inside and out. We looked at the types of furniture, wall decorations, colours and floor coverings (notice the matchsticks to represent tatami mats). Students then drew a plan of their apartment and made a list of the materials they wanted to use. They were able to see the majority of resources that would be available for them during this lesson. I did buy more from That's Not Garbage, closer to the making stage of the project.

Students worked really well during the making of the apartments, however they found assessing their work much more difficult. In hindsight, I would have spent a lot more time on this area, but the end of term was fast approaching. It would be my advice to give students the opportunity to assess their work throughout the making stage and talk about the assessment process. Despite this, the activity was a huge success and every student was engaged. I think they look great.

2011-05-17T19:48:00.000+09:30

I have to apologise for being so slack lately. I have just recently moved on from my job and am now a relief teacher. It is going to be a little harder to take photos of the lessons that I plan, but I will try my best. I am actually really excited to be able to see different classrooms and how they have been set up. I have also found some more fantastic ideas and will post them here if the teacher allows me to.

What I will be posting loads of is advice and websites I have been sharing with a friend of mine who is just starting out her first year teaching in a Year 3 class. Apparently I DO have some wisdom to pass on from my six years of teaching, though the first 2 were exactly the same as what she is experiencing now...completely lost. Please comment on posts if you do have something to share, because I appreciate any help you give and I am sure my friend would love to hear your thoughts too.

With thanks, Hiedi =)

Nominal Groups

2011-03-20T20:26:00.000+10:30

I often use this chart in my class when I am teaching about sentence structure. I was given this chart by a work colleague. It has been really helpful with my ESL students, however the process will help all students in your class. This one has been copied on A3 paper and laminated. Students are able to write on it with whiteboard markers.

Below is the sequence of lessons I usually follow.

1. Introduce the word ‘sentence’. Explain what sentence means. Give examples of sentences on the board and from familiar books.

2. 1. INTRODUCING THE NOMINAL GROUP CHART

Use a large nominal group chart on the board. Students will be asked to suggest answers to all the questions below.

Begin with a simple noun and write this on the ‘Thing/Noun’ column of the chart e.g. dog

Decide on the ‘Pointer/Which one?’. Highlight the examples on the chart e.g. the, my, a, his. So the sentence may become ‘The dog’.

Is a ‘Counter’ needed? Demonstrate that if ‘A dog’ was chosen, we do not need a counter.

Choose ‘Describers/Adjectives’ (Students have been previously taught what an adjective is, however we also say ‘describer’ to help them to remember). In this lesson, describers are divided into types. Explain that not all types of adjectives will be relevant to all sentences and that a sentence is descriptive enough with 2-3 describers, more than this can make a sentence confusing.

Write the sentence as it is on the chart e.g. The big noisy dog.

Compare this to ‘The dog’ and ask students, which sentence has more information in it. (We will use this sentence in a follow up lesson)

3. 2. USING THE CHART TO CREATE OWN WRITING

Focus on colours for this lesson. On the board display a large nominal group chart. On top of the chart, write ‘Blue is the colour of’.

Again, start with a noun and explain that the noun needs to be something that is blue. We will start with ball. The process will follow the same steps explained above. When finished we will have 8 different sentences about objects that are blue.

Give each student an A3 copy of the chart to write their own sentences.

Students will then copy these into their writing book.

4. 3. INTRODUCING QUALIFIERS

Begin with writing our group sentence “The big noisy dog.” on the board.

Ask students if they think they can improve this sentence. How? What does the sentence tell us? E.g. who, what, where, when etc.

Demonstrate to students how they can add a qualifier to the sentence

e.g. The big noisy dog barked at me. What does the sentence tell us now?

· Use the following sentences, one by one to add a qualifier to them.

1. My small red book (is lost) (was found in the library)

2. Her three soft playful kittens (are jumping on her bed)

3. His shiny quiet car

4. The cold green jelly

Students in pairs are to use the cut out words and construct sentences. They then need to write each sentence in their writing book. Using different coloured highlighters, highlight the parts of the sentence

Pointers – Blue

Describers/Adjectives – Yellow

Noun – Pink

Qualifier – Green

In pairs, students are to read these to another pair.

FOLLOW UP

Use student’s sentences and cut them up into pieces. Have these laminated for students to use as a time filling or revision activity.

Click here to download a copy of the words to be cut out.

The Cat in the Hat

2011-03-14T12:59:00.003+10:30

Most people know the story of the Cat in the Hat. It's one of my student's favourites. Reading a book can be a great way to begin an activity in class. Books are also extremely useful when you are relieving in a classroom. You can easily turn the day into a 'theme' day where all the activities you do are based around a book. Below are some ideas of how to enjoy The Cat in the Hat that little bit more.

1. Students can make their own hats.

2. Play a game of Fish, Fish, Cat (Duck, Duck, Goose)

3. Discuss rainy day activities. Ask students to draw/paint what they enjoy doing on a rainy day.

4. Make fish kites

5. Make a paper plate cat.

6. Make these gorgeous Cat in the Hat posters.

7. Write a summary/book review like the ones found on Art Smarts 4 Kids.

8. Try these free colouring pages from Early Moments

9. Have a magnetic fishing game already made. You'll need cardboard (possibly laminated) with paper clips or safety pins attached. You'll need some 'fishing rods' with magnets. You may want to cut out a fish bowl to place the fish on.

10. Make a kite like the one that Thing 1 and Thing 2 have in the story or get students to design their own. Go outside and fly them before hometime.

11. Ask students to draw themselves on a ball balancing several things at once.

12. Have some things for students to try balancing e.g. balls, small bean bags, a plastic cup etc. Allow them to hold things and let them try placing these things on their head or feet.

There are some more great ideas at http://lilteacher.com/seussville.html. Scroll down to "The Cat in the Hat'

Have fun with it.

Our Body

2011-03-07T21:38:00.000+10:30

A friend, Clare made these cute bodies with her Year 3 class. As you can see they are made of raw pasta. Not everyone likes using pasta for a range of reasons, but you could do the same activity using other collage materials. They had a lot of fun and really enjoyed walking around the school showing other teachers.

Squidoo

2011-01-30T23:36:00.002+10:30

I have found my new favourite website just tonight. I know I may be a little late joining the party, but it's better late than never.

Squidoo is a site that you can create a profile with and then publish what are called 'lenses', in other words, web pages. There are a number of categories available and you can add as many 'tags' to your lens as you like. In this way, your Squidoo account does not have to be solely about education or lesson plans etc. You can share any of interests with friends and everybody around the world.

This is a great opportunity for those who have something to share, but don't think blogging is for them. Having a blog is time consuming and you do have to dedicate quite a bit of effort to maintain it. Squidoo could be the answer for you. You are able to concentrate on one page at a time. You don't have to continually update it if you don't want to and you can wait months in between creating lenses. On the other hand, if you use it effectively, you may see it as an opportunity to get more traffic to your blog. You could offer sneak peeks or snippets of information, that will gain readers attention and bring them to your blog.

There are a few more advantages and if you want to know more I would recommend reading "What is Squidoo?"

This was the page I made tonight: Learn about Japan

Hanging Posters

2011-01-29T10:50:00.000+10:30

I have little storage room in my classroom for my teaching resources and the biggest hassle is finding somewhere to put my posters. I've now made use of the pinboard behind my desk. The coathangers are being held by two pins. I've had to separate the groups of posters a little because otherwise they become too heavy.

Back to School III

2011-01-24T16:21:00.002+10:30

That first day can be intimidating for many teachers, even those teachers who have been doing it for years. A new year means new students, perhaps a new year level and classroom. I'm writing these posts as much for others as I am myself =).

I've looked at

1. Establishing Goals

2. Developing Classroom Rules

3. Enlisting Parent Cooperation and

4. Preparing the Routine of that First Day

5. THAT FIRST DAY

Be in the classroom a little early and greet each student as they come into class. If, like my school that first day there is an assembly in the morning, you will not meet every students in the class, but make sure when you get to your class line, that you greet them and make a quick introduction.

If tables are set up, you could have a worksheet on each table, which students get straight into while you wait for others to arrive. Make sure that this is simple enough for all students to complete. The aim of doing this is so that students walk into the room and see there is a routine straight away. If you prefer, you may stay on the carpet and have students put away their things and join you on the mat. It might help you to have a reference on the board of steps they need to follow before they come to the mat. With my students, I display the steps I would like them to follow using pictures, as many are not fluent with English e.g. A picture of a bag on a hook with the words 'Hang your bag on the hook'. It is important that how you start the day matches what you expect on the average day of school and what you may do will be different to another teacher's approach.

"Expecting students to just sit is unreasonable. If they use that time to just sit and chat, you are misteaching them about what your classroom will be like. You are saying 'This class is really easy. You have time to talk all day.'"

Dealing with behaviour of students can be a struggle that first day. Some students will enjoy testing your boundaries. When discussing a student's behaviour with them, "your manner should be gentle, but firm. Your voice should communicate that you are not the least bit angry or flustered. You simply know exactly what you expect of your students." Don't avoid conflicts with students because it's only the first day, as this first day can set the tone for the rest of the year. When there is a conflict, just ensure that you do remain calm and in control of the situation. Try not to raise your voice, you shouting will not resolve the issue any faster.

By the first day you would have already prepared your schedule, with planned activities. Below is generally what I do on the first day

Introductions

Name Game

Discussion of routines and class rules, including allocating tables

Tour of the school and discussion of school rules at every point

Read a story on mat, perhaps with a fun follow up activity

Making Book Covers

Have students write me a letter about what they enjoy doing at school, what they find difficult, what they are looking forward to etc. This could work with younger students if this was done as a speaking and listening activity or drawing a picture for each one of these things etc.

During any independent work, I may find the time to listen to some students read or walk around the class having a chat with individual students

Group Game

Discussion and Review of the first day, as a class.

As stated in the previous post, it is better to plan too much than not enough. Do not stress if things don't get done. Simply concentrate on getting to know your students and setting the tone for the rest of the year. If things do not work out the way you had planned, or behaviour became out of control, at the end of the day evaluate what you believe caused these issues and try to deter that behaviour the next day.

Good Luck! I hope that you all have a fantastic first day. It would be great to hear how it went from some of you.

Back to School II

2011-01-15T23:51:00.002+10:30

Continuing with the last post about starting a new year, I've written about

1: Establishing Goals

2: Developing Class Rules

3. ENLISTING PARENT CO-OPERATION

The main point argued in the handout is that parents need to be well informed. When parents know what is happening in the classroom, they often offer more support. Write a letter to parents on the first day of school. The letter should have goals for the year and the expected behaviour of the students. It should also be clear that you are available for phone conversations, meetings etc. Personally I generally state that I am available daily before and after school and give a time. It means that parents understand that during class time, I am not free to leave to have a meeting. (I will have my letter to parents available in an upcoming post).

4.PREPARING THE ROUTINE OF THAT FIRST DAY

Know what time school starts and how the day is normally set out e.g. my school has 8 lessons a day, assembly on Mondays and Fridays etc. Find out if there are any compulsory activities taking place on that first day. This day will be different than the normal classroom routine. Some schools even begin the testing process on the first day to decide on ability groups etc. Have a chat to colleagues, a Coordinator, the Principal, someone who will be able to help you. If you're new to the school, hopefully you will be given a mentor. If you haven't, find someone you are comfortable speaking to about it and ask whether or not you will have a mentor and who your first stop should be if there is a problem.

Have some group activities planned, particularly ones that allow you to get to know your students, for them to introduce themselves and for you to do the same. Name games are fantastic as well, as for some teachers, this can be one of the most challenging aspects of getting a new class, remembering those 30 names. Have an approximate time for each of the activities you do plan. It will help you to feel the flow of the day.

As well as group activities you will need some individual activities or 'filler' activities as you may know them. These may be puzzles, colouring, listening posts, educational games (matching games, addition games), colouring book covers etc. You will find many ideas online, if you are having trouble. You may decide to make each student a pack of work to complete for the day. You may choose to use it as assessment or allow them to take it home to show their parents.

As well planning activities it is important for students to understand what the routines will be, where to find things, what materials they are allowed to use in free time, new classroom rules and so on. The rules you established earlier need to be discussed. Perhaps like me, you want your students involved in the making of these rules, so you will need to allow time for students to discuss with their peers and then share with the class. Another important thing is to take any new students on a tour of the school. I do this with the whole class as it refreshes their memories about the rules outside.

It's really important that you spend this first day talking and lots of it. Allow your students to talk and share with you and their peers. Try to really begin the process of getting to know your students before the pressures of the curriculum and the stresses of daily school life begin. The first day should be fun and exciting. The first day for many students can mean so many different things. Some are excited and some are dreading the day. It is your job to make it as enjoyable as possible, while giving them a taste of what the following days will be like.

Lastly, have your planning well organised that you can see what activity is next and what resources you will need at a glance. It is also better to over plan than to not have planned enough. The activities you might not get through on that first day can be done the next day.

Back to School

2011-01-06T16:16:00.001+10:30

It's the start of a new school year very soon here and so now that the Christmas season has ended and the New Year resolutions have already been made, I figured I should begin planning for the new year. I was given a handout at the beginning of last year by our school Counsellor about how to prepare for that first day. I do not have the source, so if anyone recognises it, please let me know.

The main aim of the handout is to stress the importance of setting a positive learning environment from that first day, and they believe this will happen if you are more prepared in the lead up. This preparation, I feel is more important when this year will be your first teaching position. Most teachers do prepare before the year begins, however we sometimes forget about those little things because we have done it so often.

1. ESTABLISHING GOALS

This refers to setting goals for your class as a whole. The handout focuses on goals for desired behaviour. Below are a list of their suggestions

I want my students to work independently
I want my classroom to be a calm environment
I want my students to be helpful to me and to each other
I want each student to continually strive for improvements in all areas
I want each student to learn as much as they are able to learn

2. DEVELOPING CLASS RULES

You can read my post about classroom rules here.

One of the most important aspects that I found when reading was that rules that begin with "Don't" imply that you expect your students to misbehave. They gave the following examples for students when working at their tables

1. Don't talk

2. Don't get out of your seat

3. Don't bother your neighbour

4. Don't be late handing in your work

*Keep in mind not all students will understand what neighbour means when we use this to refer to their peers.

They used these examples to reword into one rule that was worded in a much more positive way

"Work quietly and independently at your seat until you have completed your work."

We also have the tendancy to make these long lists of rules. It is better to keep your list to 5-6 rules. Creating these rules can be difficult when we have so many expectations. The handout explains that you can brainstorm a list of rules that you desire, and try to combine some to reflect your general expectations as shown above. Each rule requires a consequence and this needs to be decided before these rules are implemented in the classroom. It is also important to decide how you will enforce these rules e.g. will you give students consequences for breaking rules or reward those students who do follow the rules or both?

Check back soon for some more ideas.

Little Christmas Puddings

2010-12-23T15:13:00.000+10:30

I made these cute little puddings for Christmas day lunch. I found the recipe on taste.com.au. I didn't follow the recipe exactly. I used Cadbury Dream white chocolate and glaze cherries instead, but you get the idea. They are easy to make and would be an excellent holiday activity for kids to help with.

Christmas Craft to make at home

2010-12-14T11:05:00.000+10:30

Want some Christmas craft ideas to make at home with your child in the holidays...try these websites
Making Friends.com
Christmas Customs & Crafts
first palette

Christmas Art

2010-12-01T06:00:00.001+10:30

With Christmas coming up why not make these adorable reindeer? When I was doing my practicum, my supervising teacher made these with the class.

You will need brown paper bags, black card (antlers), your choice of cardboard (ears), white and coloured paper for eyes and nose. We added little bits of tinsel to look 'Christmassy'. You could also make these as part of a unit on Animals.

These murals were a wonderful way of decorating the classroom. I drew the outline in pencil and children painted it. When they had finished, I outlined the picture with black paint. Obviously this is not a very creative art activity, however it is a fun activity to do with small groups, perhaps during free choice activity time.

Persuasive Writing - Purpose of the genre

2010-11-30T06:54:00.007+10:30

Our genre for this term is Persuasive Writing. One of the first activities we did as a class was decide on what the purpose of this genre was. I printed the examples from the Writing Fun website and gave each small group a different text. As a group they had to discuss and record why they believe that particular text was written, who it was aimed at and who they thought might have written it. We came back together as a class and we read each text. Each group was able to share what they had written, and extra comments were added (the comments written in texta). It was an interactive way of introducing this genre and students responded well. They particularly liked working in small groups as students were able to offer support to each other.

kodomi no hi - Children's Day in Japan

2010-11-29T20:51:00.000+10:30

We celebrated Children's Day this week. It is celebrated earlier in the year in Japan, however as we are learning about festivals, it was relevant to us now. You can read up on Children's Day from Wikipedia, if you would like to find out more. These carp windsocks or koinobori are displayed all around Japan for children's day.

I found a template for these kites on Activity Village. I drew some tabs on the left hand side of the paper, beside the eyes. When my students had coloured the kites in, we placed a glitter pipecleaner under the tabs and taped them down. We added streamers to the tail end of the fish. Some students also chose to staple the paper together in the middle. We threaded a piece of wool under the pipecleaner and tied the ends of the wool together. They look really great hanging in our classroom.

Words about Japan

2010-11-22T06:07:00.004+10:30

We have progressed halfway through our unit on Japan. I wanted to assess what students had learned about Japan so far. In pairs they brainstormed words they had learned. When they had listed 5, they put their hands on their heads and I called them down to the carpet. They had to choose a word from their list and give me a quick explanation of why they listed that word. They then wrote this word on a post-it note and we put it on our poster. They returned to their tables and began again, when they had 5 new words, they put their hands back on their heads. I have never seen my students so excited about making a list. It did become a bit of a competition, however each student had at least two opporunities to write on a post-it note. The end result looked really effective too and is now on display near the school office.

Open Ended Questions

2010-11-21T15:03:00.002+10:30

I was looking for some open ended questions that I could use in my classroom as part of our Listening and Speaking curriculum. I came across this article detailing 50 interesting questions that you could ask your students or even your own children. Peronsally, I would not use them all, however there are some great examples in the list. Take a read,Top 50 Open-Ended Questions for Sparking Conversation With Kids

Adelaide Zoo

2010-11-16T05:55:00.000+10:30

Two classes from my school went to the zoo. There were a high number of students that we needed to manage and so the other teacher and myself decided that it would work if we give each parent helper a list or 4-5 students that they will be responsible for that day. Obviously, it was important that we were still close by if parents felt they needed something.

To prepare for the day, I gave each parent a walking trail that I stapled to the map of the zoo. Click here to download a copy. Since creating the walking trail, the zoo has changed the layout, however it may still be helpful.

We had a beautiful day out, despite the hot weather and took some great photos.

Using Whiteboards

2010-11-15T06:00:00.000+10:30

My students love to use our small whiteboards. Often I was reluctant because it is difficult to assess work done that will be erased. During a recent PD with Anita Chin, she offered a very simple solution. Ask all students when they are using a whiteboard to write their name and date on the top of the whiteboard. Then you are able to take a photo of any work they have done. This does make it easy then to create a word document, which allows for you to type in comments under the inserted image. Considering that I have my camera with me all the time, this is a practical solution for me.

Another note: If you do ever get the chance to attend any of Anita's Professional Development courses, it will be completely worth it. She is full of energy and passion for her teaching of Mathematics and I gained so much knowledge from just a one day session.

A Week of Japan: Japanese Flags

2010-11-12T06:11:00.000+10:30

I found these templates online. There are plenty of websites where flags can be found, or you can draw your own. Some of my students chose to rip crepe paper and glue onto their flags, while others simply coloured theirs. We glued them onto coloured paper and displayed them around our KWL chart.

A Week of Japan: KWL Chart

2010-11-11T16:58:00.000+10:30

As a class we made a KWL chart. For those who are not familiar with these, they are charts that display What we KNOW about Japan (K), What we WANT to learn about Japan (W) and What we have LEARNED about Japan at the end of the unit (L). Students also made their own personal KWL charts in their books to track their own learning and have a record of where we started from. We don't always start a unit in this way, but I do feel it is important to discover what students already know and what they want to know, in any way that works best for your classroom. The photo below shows our class KWL chart.

A Week of Japan: Activity Village

2010-11-08T19:41:00.000+10:30

When planning my unit on Japan for my Year 2 students, I took a look at www.activityvillage.co.uk and found some excellent resources. I simply searched for 'Japan' and found a list of colouring pages, jigsaw puzzles, a flag etc. Some of the resources found were simple 'time fillers', while others could be used as a whole lesson plan. There are lots of different themes that can be found on this site. I have also given this website address to parents who have requested activities to do at home with their children. Well worth a look.

A Week of Japan: Origami Rabbits

2010-11-07T06:47:00.002+10:30

These were very quick and easy to make. There are endless websites about origami and most give instructions on how to make fast and simple origami projects. My class made these rabbits and proudly displayed them up on our classroom window.

My favourite time of the day

2010-11-06T18:42:00.000+10:30

We made these using a paper plate and A3 card. Some of them chose to cut out Japanese themed wrapping paper to decorate their clocks, which tied in nicely with our theme. It was a helpful assessment tool also, as I was able to note which students were unable to show the time on their clocks. It was short activity that I used to end our unit on time. The students did really enjoy making them.

Was or Were

2010-10-25T22:24:00.000+10:30

I made this chart to display in the classroom to help my Year 2 students with their writing and spelling words.

I have gone to...

2010-10-23T11:23:00.000+10:30

I have put these up on the back of my classroom door and they have been very successful. With everything that goes on in the classroom, it can be easy to forget which child has gone to the toilet or how long for. I regularly check the back of the door throughout the day. It is much easier to know if a child has been out of the classroom for a longer than expected amount of time. We also have a rule that if there is already one girl in the toilet, another girl has to wait. The same rule applies for boys. For younger students, you may want to send them in pairs.

This has also been helpful to any LOTE or Religion teachers to see who is out of the classroom when they come in e.g. in the library or office etc.

Classroom Rules

2010-10-21T22:54:00.000+10:30

We made these rules as a class at the beginning of the year. I pin them next to our 'Steps'. They are worded like an agreement/promise made by the students and are all in the positive. After we had made them, I saw that the first rule was not worded as I would have liked. It should read something more like "I will use a quiet voice inside" or "I will speak with an inside voice" etc. I just find that when the rules are written in this way it becomes a statement for each student about their behaviour and it is very clear about what behaviour will be expected in the classroom. If they 'break' a rule, it gives them the information they need to correct their behaviour.

Certificate - Homework Star

2010-10-06T00:54:00.000+10:30

I photocopy these certificates onto coloured paper and glue them into my student's Communication Books or diaries. I give them to students for a variety of reasons e.g. consistently complete their homework, correctly answer all questions, show a lot of effort etc. I made them really quickly on Microsoft Publisher. The picture is a Microsoft clipart picture.

Click here for a copy.

Hubbard's Cupboard - Another useful website

2010-09-24T17:46:00.001+09:30

I found these excellent books online to use for guided reading and to learn sight words. There is also a teacher's version in colour. I'm telling everyone =)
Hubbard's Cupboard home page
Printable Booklets

Letters

2010-09-09T10:13:00.006+09:30

I cut letters out of magazines and glued them onto cardboard. I laminated them to preserve for a little while at least. My students love using them to spell out their matrix/spelling words. It was really simple and now some of my students have been cutting out letters to add to our collection.

Website Review

2010-08-23T22:17:00.000+09:30

I have used this with my year 2 class just recently. I made it mainly to inform parents of appropriate websites for children, however it became very useful in discovering which websites my students enjoyed. It also let me know what they were finding difficult.

If you would like a copy, click here

Tea, anyone?

2010-08-16T17:28:00.003+09:30

This post is not my usual post but I could not resist it. My friend, Bec invited me to her daughters 5th birthday. She had made all this adorable food, but these little cup and saucers were the cutest. I had to share them. Thanks Bec!

She used the biscuits, Tic-Tocs for the saucer, but I guess you could use any biscuits really. The cup was a marshmellow and a half of a Lifesaver. On top of the marshmellow, she put a chocolate freckle. They were very popular and disappeared from the plate pretty fast. You could use the idea and change it to lollies that are you family favourite.

Displaying Work

2010-08-09T22:05:00.000+09:30

I have limited hanging space in my room and I sometimes feel bad that I can't display as much of my student's work as I would like. I also feel that sometimes I hang up the same student's work as they are generally the ones who finish first. This year I have tried really hard to ensure that every student can feel proud of their work.

Each student has their own space and can decide what work they would like to display. It has been really easy to rotate their work and spaces are not left empty even if work is finished at different times.

Tessellation

2010-08-05T07:53:00.001+09:30

We made these tessellations using black cardboard, water pastels and silver paint. First students traced around a shape of their choice. Plastic or wood shapes work better, as cardboard templates tend to bend when they are repeatedly traced around. Students were then asked to colour the shapes in with the pastels. Some chose to 'paint' over the top with water. When they were dry, we painted lines around each shape. I used a paint bottle with a small nozzle, but a tube or thin paint brush might work just as well. We did this over 3-4 days, as some students chose to use more than one shape or quite small shapes. They all enjoyed it and loved the end result, but it did take a lot of patience.

Design and Technology: Making

2010-07-25T11:51:00.000+09:30

I have to admit that I have been a little slack during the holidays. I did have these plans to write posts about all the things we did in class that I didn't get the chance to write about during the term. Well...clearly that did not happen. We are back at school though and I will keep updating the blog more often.

I did want to share what my class (Year 2) and the Year 1 class made during a making session. We had loads of materials for them to use. If you are lucky enough to live in South Australia, a great place to go for collage materials is That's Not Garbage. I chose the option to fill up a bag of random objects but you can actually buy individual items if you want to.

Making 3D Shapes

2010-06-23T18:17:00.001+09:30

I asked my students to construct 3D shapes using matchsticks and plastacine. They enjoyed it lots and have asked to continue in their free time. I was amazed about how quiet they were. It was a great time to talk to individual students and assess their progress. For some students, using matchsticks was really helpful for them to understand how many edges a shape had.

Fruit People

2010-06-20T23:39:00.003+09:30

I originally found this idea on Art Projects for Kids (one of the best art blogs for children). As Kathy Barbro said, images of fruit and vegetables are easily found on www.iStockPhoto.com, however I decided that I would use Microsoft Publisher to find clipart images instead. Students were asked to colour in their chosen pictures and cut carefully along the lines. We used water colour pastels to colour. As you can see, students were rather creative. It was also a great introduction to eating healthy.

Big Smelly Bear

2010-06-16T07:51:00.002+09:30

Written by Britta Teckentrup

This is a favourite of my class. It is a simple story of cleanliness, however there are stronger messages of friendship. The book has some very cute illustrations that children will love.

It is a story of a bear who has no friends because he is so smelly and refuses to have a bath. That changes the day he gets an itch he just can't get rid of it. A bear comes to his rescue, but tells Big Smelly Bear that she wont scratch him until he has a bath. He finally gives in and a friendship grows. Big Smelly Bear does not want to lose his new friend, so he secretly bathes in the pond each day.

Teaching Points

Discuss personal hygeine as part of a personal care/safety unit
Discuss positive things children can do for their friends
Learn about bears and their habitat

Simple Machines - Useful Texts

2010-06-01T08:05:00.003+09:30

Non-Fiction

Machines We Use by Sally Hewitt

How Do You Lift a Lion? by Robert E. Wells

Machines by Chris Oxlade

Machines, Transportation & Art Activities by John Stringer

What do Ramps and Wedges do? by David Glover

What do Wheels and Cranks do? by David Glover

Fiction

Wheelie Girl Miriam Latimer

Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton

Duck on a Bike by David Shannon

Mr Gumpy's Motor Car by John Burmingham

Simple Machines - Levers

2010-05-28T07:50:00.006+09:30

I used a wonderful book to teach my students about Levers. The book is 'Machines We Use' by Sally Hewitt. If this book can not be found, there are plenty of other excellent choices (Check back soon for my booklist). We talked about all different types of levers and how they are used. We made a list of simple machines that use levers in order to work. Afterwards students were asked to draw a house and cut around the door, turning it into a lever. The term hinges was introduced and students were able to think of places they had seen them before. The house was decorated, coloured in and glued onto an A3 piece of cardboard. Behind the door, students wrote "Hinges are levers".

Students were then given pictures of different machines. They were asked to identify the part of the machine that is the lever and colour it red. These machines were then cut out and glued to the back of the A3 cardboard. Students then thought of their own headings, such as "These are all levers", "The levers have been coloured in red" and "I have coloured the levers red".

Lines

2010-05-27T18:16:00.006+09:30

Today my Year 2 class were learning about horizontal and vertical lines. During the discussion we talked about parallel lines and then students were sent to their tables to complete a page in their textbook, while I worked with my high needs students. I had some early finishers so I asked them to use some materials in the classroom to construct vertical, horizontal and parallel lines. It was one of those time filling activities but I was amazed with what they created. They began by using our spare coloured pencils and when they ran out they became very creative...

Robot Creations

2010-05-17T19:03:00.006+09:30

These year 1 students were asked to design a robot for a specific purpose. They were asked to share their robot with their peers and explain what they did. Our classroom was a mess for 3 days, but it was worth it.

Writing Fun - Jenny Eather

2010-05-05T15:32:00.000+09:30

I came across a really useful website today when I was looking for Information Report examples for my students. There are various different genres and about 6 examples of each one. The site can be used by teachers, but also students are able to explore different styles of writing. I recommend that you check it out here.

Symmetry

2010-05-02T22:23:00.001+09:30

My students have always found symmetry difficult to understand. I have found that they grasp the concept more readily when using shapes, however when asked to create a symmetrical picture/mirror image, they have found this challenging. I tried this hands on activity, which my students really enjoyed and wanted to share with others what they done. I gave each group a "Line of Symmetry" made from paper. They then had to create symmetrical pictures using concrete materials.You can see from the photos that some of the student's patterns are not straight, however the basic concept was understood. At the end of the activity, we had a class discussion about whether or not their patterns were accurate and why.

365 TV-free Activities for Kids

2010-04-19T17:36:00.000+09:30

Written by Di Hodges

This is an excellent resource to find ideas to try at school or at home. Personally, I check this book for any ideas that might match my teaching theme before I begin my planning. The book is set out in a way that is very easy to find specific activities. It has ten different categories and an index. Each page has detailed instructions as well as symbols to help you quickly decide if the activity is appropriate for your need. The best part about the book is that you don't have to be a teacher to use the activities. Highly recommended.

Where Does Thursday Go?

2010-04-17T10:14:00.000+09:30

Written by Janeen Brian Illustrated by Stephen Michael King

I could not stop myself from buying this book. It reminded me of all the questions I had when I was younger, some of them, leaving my mum speechless and without an answer. For me, the illustrations in this book so beautifully express how Splodge is feeling throughout the story and creates a calming mood. The story is rather simple, though the idea is abstract. It was such an excellent idea for a story and one that many children can relate to.

Splodge, a bear has such a wonderful birthday that he wishes the day did not have to end. He becomes inquisitive about where his birthday (Thursday) would go when Friday begins. Splodge decides that he wants to say goodbye to Thursday before it leaves. He takes his friend, Humbug along with him on an adventure to find Thursday.

They search in the streets, a river, a park, a lake, a hill and the beach, until they decide that they just wont be able to find Thursday. They head back home and talk about what Thursday looks like. They find what they think, is Thursday and finally get to say goodbye to Splodge's special day.

It is a cute story and I have found that chilren have enjoyed this book for both the writing and illustrations. Children really enjoy listening to the wonderful sounds in the story and love to copy you. It allows for opportunity to be expressive with your tone and you will find that your audience will really respond to that. It is a good idea to be prepared to answer children's questions about days and time. It is also a wonderful story to read to a child on their birthday, perhaps even say goodbye to their special day.

Teaching Points
Ask children to share a special event/day that they wished never ended.
Make a story map and sequence the events in the story.
Create a map of where Splodge and Humbug looked. e.g. a town with a lake, river, train track

I love you, Stinky Face

2010-04-16T09:25:00.003+09:30

Written by Lisa McCourt Illustrated by Cyd Moore
Children love this story, the title alone sends them into uncontrollable fits of laughter. The thing I love most about this book is the repetition of the words 'but Mama'. Everytime I have read this story to children they have loved to join in. The rhythm of the book makes it easy to read and fun for anyone listening. It is simply one of those stories that makes you say 'aww' when you have finished.

The story begins with a mum and child cuddled up in bed. "I love you, my wonderful child' says Mama, but the child had some questions they wanted answered. What if this child was a 'big scary ape', would their mum still love them? No matter what this beautifully imaginative child thought of, Mama had an answer, often wacky and weird. It is a story of a mum's unconditional love, complimented beautifully by the illustrations. Cyd Moore has managed to draw these scary creatures in a way that you would be willing to risk life or limb to hug them. All up, it's a fun story to read and the perfect bedtime story.

I forgot my reader because...

2010-04-15T09:31:00.001+09:30

My school uses text books in most areas of the curriculum. One of my favourites for the younger years is 'Comprehension Once a Week' (Pearson Education Australia).

One of the activities was to read children's excuses for forgetting their reader at home. First students had to read the ones listed in the textbook and match them to the student's name. After they had finished the pages in the book, I asked them to think of their own excuses and illustrate them. I wrote a few down and displayed them in our classroom.

I forgot my reader because my brother gave it to the library.
I forgot my reader because a robot took it.
I forgot my reader because I left it in the sun and it caught on fire.
I forgot my reader because a bird stole it and gave it to her babies to eat.
I forgot my reader because my mum fed it to the dog.

It's a fun way to talk about lies and excuses. You could make a class book about excuses and students could also think of creative ways to solve the 'problem'.

Story Starters

2010-04-14T10:53:00.003+09:30

Often I find that I have a fantastic idea for a story or even a blog post, however I have no idea of how to start. I found that this was exactly the same for many of my students last term. They had learned all about the features of Narrative writing but when it came down to beginning their writing, well they were stuck. In small groups as part of our guided reading time, we brainstormed some ways that they could begin their stories. You can see from the display that some of the words are green (They are in bold for the purpose of this post). This was a simple way of illustrating to students that they could change these words and the 'story starter' would probably still make sense. We did practice this skill before writing our own stories.

In a dark scary house...
"Let's go to school" said Sam...
Ten years ago...
In a scary building...
At my house there is...
On the very last day...
It is Summertime in Adelaide
The Kadry family were really busy getting ready for...
I was playing down by the river...
Michael lived in a big old house...
"Oh dear" said Sarah
It was a rainy morning
Six little monkeys were playing in the water...
In a faraway place...
A long time ago...
In a beautiful kingdom...
In a dirty rubbish dump...
A very clever wizard lived in a gigantic castle...

Teaching Narrative through Fantasy

2010-04-12T10:53:00.008+09:30

Our term theme was 'Fantasy', which I found worked very well when teaching students about narrative writing. Below are pictures of our classroom display, which was the second part of our brainstorm. The display was useful as students used this to think of story ideas and they didn't need to come to me all the time to ask how to spell certain words. It was also really important to have their ideas permanently displayed in the classroom. They enjoyed showing their parents and other visitors what they contributed to our brainstorm.

Click here to read all posts about our unit on Fantasy

Harmony Day

2010-04-10T17:48:00.000+09:30

These posters were made during some shared activity time first with the Year 3 class, and then with the Reception class. We made them to celebrate Harmony Day and to focus on Australia being a very multicultural society. You could also use them as part of a Values Education or SOSE Curriculum. If you were going to do this, you may choose a more appropriate heading such as "Friendship", "Sharing", "People" or "Respect".

First, I asked them to cut roughly around the handprint. You could trace each student's hand or use a printed one. (We used a printed one). This was important because it minimalised the waste of coloured pictures. To make it easier for the Receptions, I had previously cut out pictures for them to glue. I asked them to glue on the other side of the hand, instead of the side with the handprint outline. This just made cutting around the hand easier as students could turn the paper over and cut on the line. After this, they glued their hands on A3 paper. You could ask students to write "Harmony Day" or use a poster that has those words already printed on it. Students are then free to decorate their paper in any way they like. You can see from the pictures that some of the students did go all out with the decorating.

Temporary Relief Teaching

2010-03-26T18:01:00.001+10:30

When I first graduated I started doing some relief teaching and to be honest, I was nervous most of the time. Much of that was because I was young and new to teaching that I just wanted to make a good impression. Now that I am a full time teacher and have all the 'inside' information, here's a few pointers if you are doing some relief work. There are so many things to remember but here's a list of what I personally think is important.

Arrive early. This means you have time to photocopy and get settled.
Always have something planned or something you can pull out when needed. Some schools ask teachers to leave a plan, however not all.
Make an appearance in the staff room and introduce yourself. The more staff that you have a chat to and meet, the more chance that you will be called again.
Search the classroom for classroom rules and steps/rewards. It is normally good to try to keep things routine, especially for those students who do not like change. This may prevent some of those typical behavioural problems.
Ensure that you are not late to yard duties and have checked your time and area before school starts
Be flexible and go with the flow. If you are asked to have an extra duty or help another teacher out, then react positively.
Have something planned for students to do when they enter the room. Students often just wander around aimlessly in the mornings. If they are expected to unpack their bags, then greet them at the door and explain that they need these things before they enter. With younger students, you can treat this as a game. My students have green folders that they must bring into the classroom every morning. They know this is their 'ticket' to get in the room.
Spend a little time introducing yourself to the students.
Be really positive, however let students know that you are aware of the classroom rules, and they will still need to be followed.
If students tell you 'Yeah we do this all the time', don't automatically assume it's the truth. If something is hidden, it's normally hidden for a reason =)
It's always nice to return to the classroom and find a note from the TRT. Though the day may have been difficult or challenging, make sure that you have written positive comments also. I personally appreciate honesty, but I do not want to return to my class reading about how 'difficult' my class was. End on a positive note.

Finally, the most important (for me atleast), make sure the classroom is clean. There is nothing worse than coming back the next day to a messy classroom, particularly if you have been unwell. If the end of the day was hectic and you were unable to get students to clean the floor or put their chairs up etc, spend time before you leave cleaning the room yourself. You may be able to find out what kind of work the cleaners do every day, so you can ensure that things wont be missed. In most schools, cleaners do not appreciate having to pick up large bits of scrap paper or pencils from the floor. These are the things that you can quickly do before leaving.

Do not feel like you have to rush out the door. Say goodbye to the staff you see, take a walk over to the staff room and try to find the line manager/principal to say thank you.

Hope these have been a little helpful and good luck!

More Fantasy Resources

2010-03-08T20:52:00.001+10:30

Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love SparkleBox. I have been using it a lot for resources to use during my unit on Fantasy. I thought that I would post some of my favourites.

Alien Masks - Black & White

Fantasy Castle Role Play Kit

Fantasy Themed Signs & Labels

Tips for Writing Stories Poster

Story Setting Prompt Cards

Story Mountain Poster

Word Family Cards

2010-03-04T19:31:00.002+10:30

These are simple cards I made for a couple of purposes. They obviously last longer if they are laminated.

Glue into students spelling books
Laminate and trace over with white board marker
Look, Cover, Write, Check card

Click on the Word family you would like to download

an- colour
an - black & white

en- colour
en - black & white

at- colour
at - black & white

in- colour
in - black & white

Learning about Shapes

2010-03-01T22:10:00.000+10:30

I created this simple worksheet for a relief teacher as part of our unit on Shapes. Students did reasonably well, however this would not work if you have not practiced counting sides and corners previously.

Click here to download a copy.

Project Plan

2010-02-28T12:59:00.001+10:30

I first used this a couple of years ago with my year 2 students to plan their projects on endangered animals, however this plan can be used for any topic. You will need to photocopy the third page (lined page) for each student. There should be one page for each question/topic they are expected to report on e.g. 5 questions needs 5 lined pages. These pages are used for students to make notes for each question. I found this to be really successful in my class. Click here to download a copy.

Finishing the Picture

2010-02-27T07:50:00.007+10:30

My students loved this. I gave each student an A3 copy of part of a picture and they were asked to finish it. I used fantasy clipart from Arthur's Clipart and Kelta Web Concepts. Some students chose to paint using watercolours, others were happy to just colour their pictures with crayons.

Click on the links below to download pictures to use in your classroom

Dragon

Fairy

Fairy/Angel

Fantasy Masks

2010-02-26T17:11:00.006+10:30

I found these masks on SparkleBox, one of my favourite websites to visit.

Sea Creature Masks

Superhero Masks

Alien Masks

Cut and Paste Sentences

2010-02-25T21:01:00.005+10:30

I used this as part of my guided reading stations. Students glued words to make sentences and then were asked to copy them underneath. Click here to download a copy.

Daily Chart

2010-02-23T18:28:00.002+10:30

I use this chart in my classroom every day and I have found it really useful when talking about ordinal numbers or how a calendar works. The students love it and it saves me from writing the day and date every morning.

The first photo shows what you need to glue onto the pieces of cardboard before laminating. I used lots of stickers to brighten it up. I used black because I never know what to use it for when it comes in the cardboard pack.

After the cardboard pieces have been laminated, you need to laminate the cards that will fit in to complete the sentences. I use blu-tac to stick these cards in the right place and it appears to be working well. I have uploaded a PDF version of all the words and cards you will need to make your own. Click here to get your copy.

Brainstorming - Fantasy

2010-02-19T11:30:00.006+10:30

Before I started teaching about writing narratives, I wanted to know what students knew about fantasy. (Teaching and Learning cycle - Building the Field). We made some categories that reflected the stages/parts of story writing. We listed fantasy creatures (who), places a fantasy story could take place (where) and things that could happen, which would be fantasy (what/problem).

Brainstorming is a great way of finding out what knowledge your students already have. Some rules for brainstorming I have is to write everything down, children can call out and the information needs to be sorted in some way.

Write everything down: If you are sorting out the information later then it should not matter if a student suggests something that doesn't quite make sense. As a class, when sorting the information, you will work out that it doesn't fit and either eliminate it or change it so it can fit. The important part is that every student was able to participate during the brainstorming. If you are sorting information into different categories during the brainstorm like I was above, then on another piece of paper or somewhere on the board, still make a note of what was said. You can word it something like this "Can you think of which group that it belongs in? I can't at the moment. I'm going to write it down over here and maybe you will think of the right group. Great try though." I find that with my ESL students, they become very discouraged when they are told that something is wrong as every lesson can be a struggle for them. This is one time they are able to have a go and feel that their contribution is valid.

Children can call out: Brainstorming is often best when students can quickly add something to the previous suggestion of another. If they have to put their hands up, it can be a long time before they get to speak, often making it difficult for them to remember. Children also need to learn how to read situations. Obviously, they will not be heard if they call out at the same time as another. It doesn't take much time for students to understand that shouting will not get their point across and if they just wait for the other student to finish, you will also write down their suggestion.

Information needs to be sorted: Once you have a board full of information, it is important to teach the skill of ordering/sorting this so it makes more sense. This is particularly true when you are brainstorming about a scientific topic or something they will be assessed on later. Help them to look at information and read it in a way that makes sense, so they can use these skills to complete a task independently.

Brainstorming can be done straight on paper or if you are lucky enough to have one, a SmartBoard. I have a whiteboard in my class, so often I take photos after a brainstorm so the information can be published somehow. You can see our brainstorm in the photo. You can also see I was not concerned about my handwriting or even writing straight...it happens. =)

Teaching and Learning Cycle - Narrative Writing

2010-02-17T07:48:00.006+10:30

This year, our school has decided that we would try planning using the teaching and learning cycle (There is so much information online about this). I had not really even heard about it, so trying to put learning experiences into their correct stage was difficult. Relief came when I realised that I had already been incorporating these learning experiences in my classroom and following this process.

The whole idea of the Teaching and Learning Cycle is to explicity teach students how to construct specific genres. The key is that the teaching is meant to be explicit. Is it not reasonable to assess a student using criteria they have not been taught. It is important that you have demonstrated the whole process of writing a text, the planning, writing, editing and publishing. The stages of the cycle are Building the Field, Modelling/Deconstrucing, Joint Construction and finally Independent Construction.

It can take a little while to get your head around these stages, however I think, like me, you will discover that these are all things you were doing before. The good thing about putting them into a separate planning cycle is that you can see what stage you are not focusing on as much and possibly why. If you have focused on Independent Construction, how are you ensuring that students can do this successfully throughout the other stages?

I have attached my planning, however I am sure I will continue to add to this with more experience and the learning may even take a direction I was not expecting. My planning focuses on teaching narrative writing through fantasy.

Click here to download my planning.
I will post more about my planning as they are implemented in class.

Learning about Pairs

2010-02-06T09:35:00.000+10:30

When I was teaching my students to count by 2s, I introduced the word 'pairs'. You could use this as an introduction activity or at the end of a unit to assess what students know. Click here for a copy of the worksheet.

Another fun activity is to get students to take off their shoes, line them up in a row within their pairs and count them. Students could also go on a 'Pairs Hunt' at school or at home, writing or drawing the things they've found that come in pairs.

Measuring Length

2010-02-05T18:06:00.003+10:30

This is a very simple template I use with my students when measuring length. You can use the same idea for all different types of measuring units e.g. blocks, counters, rulers. Students will need to know what the terms 'longest' and 'shortest' mean.

Click here to download the example. Click here to download a blank version.

Recording Spelling Results

2010-01-30T10:07:00.002+10:30

I have used this template in the past to record student's spelling test results, mostly to inform parents of how their child is progressing in class. I fold it in half and tape it to the inside of their diary cover. It was a motivator for some students to see if they could better their score each time. Notice the wording does not include the word "WRONG". It is there mainly for me to see if there is a pattern in the words, which are being mispelled. Click here to download template.

The whole process of spelling tests can be very disheartening for many sudents. As teachers it is our job to allow time for students to learn these words in class. They should be encouraged to practice these words in other ways. "Look, Cover, Write, Check" is just not enough for quite a number of children. Activities should include

oral spelling (perhaps with a partner), cutting out letters to make words, using magnet letters, writing them on whiteboards, making words with playdough, finding these words in the newspaper and so on. A spelling test should not be a source of anxiety and stress, if you have allowed for time to learn the words. Give every student the chance to succeed, which is the whole point of learning, isn't it?

Name Labels

2010-01-25T00:54:00.002+10:30

I use these labels for tables or drawers.
Click here to download a copy