Teaching

How are you celebrating Pi Day?

We celebrate Pi day on March 14th as this date (3/14) in the American system gives the well known approximation to Pi of 3.14. π is a fantastically surprising number offering both the professional and amateur mathematician a feast of discovery opportunities. Let us remind ourselves of the… Read More
Exam Hall

New GCSE 2016 AQA Textbooks

Well – they’ve arrived! Collins Education proudly announce the arrival of new GCSE textbooks to support the 2016 AQA specifications.  OK – this might seem a little more gushing than the usual offerings in this column but you’ll have to forgive, albeit momentarily, a modicum of… Read More

How to… celebrate World Book Day

World Book Day is almost here! This much-loved day in the school year is one to have lots of fun on, from dressing up as book characters to revisiting our favourite books. It’s a day to focus on books and reading and hopefully build up enough of a head of… Read More

Bloody Mary: Did she deserve her reputation?

This teaching activity is about reputations, what they are, how we can acquire one and how we can change or lose one. The 18th February marks the 500th anniversary of the birth of Mary I, the lesser known daughter of Henry VIII and sister of Elizabeth I. History today remembers her by… Read More

From Your Valentine: Teaching the meanings of love

Very soon it will be Valentine’s Day when we get the chance to tell a special person that we love them. The story of Valentine’s Day comes from the Roman Christian martyr, St Valentine and using the story is a great way to introduce this series of activities to your… Read More

Christmas Activities for Key Stage 1

Activity One: How Many Christmases Are There? Suitable for: Rec to Year 3  Learning Focus: To understand why some countries celebrate Christmas on different days To know about some of the Christmas traditions from around the world  Ask the children how many Christmases they… Read More

Museums

Why do we have museums and do they have a place in a society where today we can look up everything online – even to the extent of enjoying a virtual tour of some museums. One of the best is that of the Smithsonian in the US. Take a look here… Read More

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

Assessment Loops: Improving Peer Assessment.

  I don’t know about you, but I am often frustrated by Peer Assessment. It something that we have to be seen to be doing, but can often become a box-ticking exercise, which students dread. Time and again, students write inane comments, ‘Good detail’ and then feel hard-done by, as… Read More