Activities
Black History Month
Many people believe that if racism didn’t exist then we wouldn’t need to celebrate Black History Month because all the achievements of these people would be recognised alongside those of their white counterparts. In studying their achievements, we must recognise that their fame was earned in spite of prejudice and,… Read More
Traditional Tales
There’s got to be something about traditional tales for they have stood the test of time, hence the term ‘traditional’ but traditional tales are not just about being old, they have elements of traditions in them and in many cases they are used to impart learning or to consolidate or… Read More
Do your children make New Year’s resolutions?
The New Year is a great time to look back on the previous term at school and set realistic goals with your child for the future. These goals, or resolutions, can help to give children the motivation to do well at something they’ve been struggling with or to learn something… Read More
Giving the answers: a way to teach different interpretations in poetry.
When teaching poetry, I often come up against a multitude of defensive barriers that teenagers have erected to prevent them from having to engage with the poems in front of them. And the reason for these fortresses of resistance? They are scared of getting it wrong. This is the challenge… Read More
Airbricks: Creating Space in lessons for Students to Respond to your Feedback.
When I moved to my current school last year, my Department Coach was extolling the virtues of ‘Airbricks’: special lessons in which students re-learn skills before making improvements to their assessments. This coincided with a school drive for ‘green pen work’ in lessons, where students respond to teacher marking in… Read More
Multiplier effect – using word limits to improve students’ writing.
In my new school, I have found three things are hindering my students ability to write. The first is that a lot of them have quite a limited vocabulary. The second is that they never know how to get started. The third is that they are terrified by the… Read More
Maths: Time
Activity 1: Units of Measurement Suitable for: Year 2 to Year 6 Learning Focus: To recognise and learn the units of measurement for time You’d be surprised how many pupils believe that time, like other measurement follows the metric system and that there are… Read More
I Was There: The Fall of the Berlin Wall
25 years ago this November, one of the most despised symbols of communism and the divide between east and west; the Berlin Wall, came down. It was a momentous occasion and finally signalled the end of the Soviet era in Eastern Europe. Millions of people witnessed the occasion, either on… Read More
Love Sports competition – Activity Ideas
We’ve all been treated to a feast of sporting excellence this summer with football’s FIFA World Cup held in Brazil in June and July and the triumphs of our athletes in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in July and August. Next year we’ve got rugby’s world cup and the start of… Read More