A very quick post for the weekend. Thanks, Colleen from Devon in the UK for this link to a series of teaching ideas for younger students based on Beatrix Potter's famous series about the adventures of Peter Rabbit. Access them hereand have a good weekend.
Wikipediahas really cleaned up its act over the last couple of years to become a far more reputable site than it ever has been. As a teacher I now feel far more confident in letting my students use it for researching general information as long as they are aware of the model upon whichWikipediais built and recommend verifying a fact from a second source such as a .edusite.
I recently put this activity and worksheet together for my students to use in our reading hour to give them a platform for generating ideas for the writing hour. It works as follows usingWikipediaor any other great information sites you feel comfortable with.
Students have to spend 15 minutes researching something onWikipediathat personally interests them. It can be absolutely anything. This covers the text-to-self element of the activity.
Secondly students will look at the Text-to-World element of reading for fifteen minutes by researching and reading about events that affect our world. This could both a recent event or an ongoing issue such as climate change.
Finally students will make a link to a book that they are currently reading by researching a person, place or event that is related to their text being read or maybe recently finished.
When Students have completed the 45 minutes of reading they bring their sheets back to the group to discuss what they have found and also outline one of the three writing ideas they generated by completing the attachedwikipediarecording sheet.
The next phase of the task is to begin putting those writing ideas into action.
I hope you find this reading activity useful.
It can be hard to find simple graph or grid paper when you need it in the classroom or if you are working at home. So I have made up a variety of common sized graph paper for you to download and use for FREE.
These can be used for a variety of maths, science or design purposes.
Please select the appropriate size below
Creating 3D shapes from a 2D net is a really important process for students to understand. It opens the door to discussing various aspects of geometry and looking at the properties of 3D shapes such as faces, vertices and edges.
This collection of 3D shape nets can be used in classes of all age groups to teach geometry and shape.
Simply select the shapes you want below, download, print and create. Enjoy!
This Excel workbook is an excellent tool for using with your interactive whiteboard to explain the mathematical links between fractions, decimals ratios and percentages.
Here are some suggestions for how you might use it in the classroom.
How Many Shaded: Show the students the workbook with no red squares shaded and one or more of the fraction, ratio, decimal and percentage showing. Ask students how many squares need to be shaded to make 25% for example. Get one student to come to the board to add the squares to check. Repeat for different grid sizes and values.
Equivalent Fractions: Show the students the workbook with no red squares shaded and the fraction showing. Ask students how many squares need to be shaded to make 1/2 for example. Get one student to come to the board to add the squares, look at the fraction the click simplify to check. Repeat for different grid sizes, then for different fractions. Ask questions such as "Can we shade in 1/3 of the grid? If not why not?"
Investigate: In a computer lab, get the students to open up the workbook. Ask them to show the fraction and ratio cells and to investigate the relationship between the fractions and ratios for various grid sizes and a different number of squares shaded. Tell them that they can use the simplify button or calculator whenever they want. Tell them that they will have to write, present or discuss their findings. Ask the what the simplify button does, etc. This activity could also be used to investigate the relationship between fraction and decimal, etc.
Download it here.- Remember to Enable Macros to make it work correctly.
I have just introduced the weekly quick write for my students as it offers them some freedom in selecting their own weekly writing topics but still ensures that they are working to a plan.
The idea of the quick write is that out of a one hour block the teacher discusses a ten minute focus for writing such as linking sentences or using figurative language. Next students write for a dedicated 40 minutes and then finally spend 10 minutes highlighting areas of their text and reflecting upon the focus that started the lesson.
The planner I have put together lasts for a term and You can download it here.
If you are looking for something fun to spice up your writing sessions that you can do with students of all ages then look no further. Simply Download this template pack I found on Paper Helicopters from Primary Science and you can choose to fo as little or as far as you like with the science elements from the planner.
Then get you students to create a procedural text explaining how the paper helicopter works. If you are looking for somewhere to start with procedural texts then look no further than here.
you kids will find this a fun writing activity and really enjoy the opportunity to do something different. I hope you enjoy it.
If you are looking for something fun to spice up your writing sessions that you can do with students of all ages then look no further. Simply Download this template pack I found on Paper Helicopters from Primary Science and you can choose to fo as little or as far as you like with the science elements from the planner.
Then get you students to create a procedural text explaining how the paper helicopter works. If you are looking for somewhere to start with procedural texts then look no further than here.
you kids will find this a fun writing activity and really enjoy the opportunity to do something different. I hope you enjoy it.
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