Monday 25 April 2016

Monday Made It

#MondayMadeIt




Hi everyone, I hope you all had a relaxing weekend and had a chance to get out and enjoy the sunshine. This week I am sharing the many possibilities of a beach ball! They are inexpensive and it is great to stock up on them at this time of the year!

While I was on teaching practice I used it to start my Gaeilge lessons. 
The children loved them and it was a great way to get children up moving and speaking Irish. 
I feel it’s a good idea to write on the ball with a whiteboard marker as you can make changes as you need to. 

This is how I like to use it. Have the children make a big circle. Throw the ball to a child. The child then calls out the question under his/her right thumb.e.g.Cad is ainm duit? The child then answers and tosses the ball to someone else. If a child lands on an instruction, e.g.Gach duine seasaigí ar chos amháin ar feadh deich soicind then everyone completes the instruction.

In Math it can also be used to practice recalling tables.
I like to take both of these balls with me when subbing. What class wouldn’t enjoy tossing a beach ball around the room!!!




English: At the moment in the Resource room, we are practicing our understanding of story elements as we recall stories that we read. We got a marker and I asked pupil A to write one of the following questions on each section of the ball: Beginning?  Middle? End? Where? (Where did the story take place) Who? (Who were the main characters) Favourite part?etc.


Gross Motor Activities (which could also be used as warm up’s in PE)
The Exercise your tables is going very well and the children are doing a great job practicing this game. Some days we enjoy taking out the beach ball and playing a simple game of toss and catch (with a twist).  When a child catches the ball they must perform the exercise that is under their right thumb.  Children perform each exercise for 10 repetitions or hold for a count of 10.  I have no picture of this ball as I leave it in school.

This following activity is a favourite in my room. I allow the children to listen to t
heir favourite song and ask them to pass the ball around the group.  When the music stops, whoever is holding the ball will perform the exercise under his/her right thumb. Everyone in the group repeats the exercise performed. I turn the music back on and continue to stop the music to perform a Gross Motor exercise.

I have yet to try this next exercise as I am waiting until the weather gets better. 
The children will get into a circle. They will kick the ball around the circle and when I will call out stop and the child with the ball between both his/her feet will perform the exercise that his/her
right ankle is touching.

So there you have it, just a couple of ways beach balls can be introduced in the classroom.

Let me know if you have tried any of the above,

Niamh,

Monday 18 April 2016

Monday Made it


Hi everyone, 

I'm back with a very exciting idea to share with you all. Thank you to those of you who sent messages requesting the Finger Twister game from last week, I hope you enjoyed it and that everyone is getting great use out of them. This week I am zoning in on Tables in Mathematics and I promise you won't be disappointed.

This idea caught my eye while I was on Instagram and came across this video! As you know I am in the Resource room this year and Gross Motor exercises are an integral part of our daily routine.Lately I find my pupils getting a little tired of how we practice our exercises so when I spotted this I couldn't wait to share it with them.

I went on to Miss5th's Teachers Pay Teachers page and was delighted to see she had a free addition one. I knew this would be far too easy for my 4th class students but trialled it with first and second class students and they loved it. Definitely worth the download, however the resource is not editable. So I began tweaking and creating one to suit me.  Class teachers set new tables to revise weekly so an editable template is perfect to work with and to have on file.

This week fourth class are reviewing ÷7. After a discussion on which exercises they would like to review this week I made a start on the PowerPoint. The exercises they picked were star jumps, squats, windmills and hug yourself. So each day they will be practicing their Gross Motor skills but also be getting a chance to review rheir tables for their Friday Tests!




Has anyone used something similar in their classrooms?
If you have any questions or comments don't hesitate to get in touch!

Until next time,!
Niamh.




Monday 11 April 2016

Monday Made It

This week I am excited to share with you all my #mondaymadeit



It's a fine motor activity that I came across on Pinterest called Finger Twister.






For those teaching Resource or in any Mainstream classroom I feel these will go down a treat and will really help their writing and manual dexterity.


Look at how cute they are. 







I decided to make my own as I couln't find a printable version.
I made the dots larger for the older classess and for the younger classes they will test out the smaller dots. I'll keep you posted and let you know how they go!

If anyone would like a copy sent to them just let me know.


Stay tuned for more #Mondaymadeit next week
Niamh



Monday 4 April 2016

Monday Made it


Hi everyone,

I hope you all had a nice break over Easter and enjoyed being back in the classroom today. Over the last few days I was busy scrolling through all the amazing ideas on (yep you guessed it) Pinterest... I am sure I am not the only one who clicks on a pin and then 50 pins later you find yourself saying .... eh is that the time!!!

Which lends itself to the title Monday Made It! I am going to dazzle you all with some awesome pins I thought were worthy of making... laminating ..... and having my lovely students try out.

The first one which is located on my Pinterest board here is all about Numbers :)


Number Sense
Everyone needs to know this was not my idea and a round of applause goes to  Hodges Herald for her creativity(",). If you click onto her page you can grab this freebie (brightly coloured paper not included).

                   
I tried it today with one of my students who is struggling in Maths. I modelled and practiced a few wit her and she really enjoyed them. I am looking forward to seeing her progress and practice essential math skills om a daily basis.

What do you think of the resource?
It would make an excellent Early Finishers activity in any classroom.

Enjoy :)

#mondaymadeit