curriculum

Class of children listening to teacher

Global history broadens horizons

Laura Aitken-Burt, co-author of Knowing History second edition, explains the importance of teaching global history to your students, and how you can integrate this into your KS3 curriculum. Why is it crucial that all students learn about global history? History should be about broadening horizons, widening perspectives and giving… Read More
Secondary school teacher and pupils in lesson

Capturing the lessons of lockdown

Why professional reflection and educational research are as important as curriculum catch-up Tony Breslin, the author of an important new book on schooling during lockdown, argues that we need a major longitudinal research study if we are to understand the long-term impact of the pandemic on students and teachers, and… Read More

How to…prepare for the new times tables test

In January, the UK Government announced plans to test every pupil in England on their times tables before leaving primary school. An effective way to prepare pupils for the new times tables tests is by using the new Collins' Times Tables Simulator Read More

Shakespeare Teaching Ideas for Key Stage 2

The result at Collins are five plays: The Tempest, Midsummer’s Night Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and Twelfth Night, rewritten in story form for younger readers. These are a great introduction to the world of Shakespeare but how can we use them effectively to help pupils immerse themselves in the rich language of Shakespeare’s world? 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

Distant Places Matter a Lot

How do children form their ideas about other peoples and countries?  The answer is that they usually draw on a number of different sources. Parents, peers and the mass media will undoubtedly be important influences.  Pictures, videos and stories will feed their imagination.  Many are stimulated by their interest and… Read More

English – Recounts

Before books, all knowledge and storytelling was passed on verbally with those that heard the story or learned how to hunt, retelling or recounting it to others, days, weeks, months or even years later. Recounting accurately relies on two main skills – listening and remembering and a supplementary one in… Read More

10 ways to increase enthusiasm for reading in your classroom

Enthusiasm: Make sure everyone understands that reading enthusiasm – regularly choosing to read even when there’s no adult around – correlates strongly with academic success, even in maths (PISA; IoE et al). Enjoyment of reading improves children’s life-chances! Self-identification: Focus all colleagues on the job of generating enthusiasm for reading:… Read More

What is Plague?

Throughout medieval times, plague was a word that struck fear into the hearts of all that heard it whispered or shouted in their towns and cities. In this activity the pupils will find out what ‘plague’ actually is and how it was spread as well as the shocking news that… Read More

Probability and the Brazil World Cup 2014

The games of the FIFA World Cup offer a great chance to work on probability using data read from charts. In the first activity the pupils will try to predict the results of group matches in three groups using FIFA rankings, the recent form of the teams and… Read More