Using a Novel

Hi everyone,

I have been working on creating a document to show you how I used the Novel KATE by Siobhán Parkinson with 5th class on TP2. The google doc is 29 pages long. it includes a chapter summary, discussion questions, and lesson ideas for each chapter. I have included general ideas that could be used with any novel so it will have something to offer everyone. These are all tried and tested ideas that worked really well in the classroom. I have also made question sheets, a chapter summay sheet, a dictionary work sheet and character lists, so all you have to do is download the document a print the pages you want. 

The link to the document is available  on google docs here.

Thanks for reading,

Niamh.

Wishlist Wednesday #3

Hey everyone,

This week I am mixing things up and sharing some of my favourite resources from  Teachers Pay Teachers. If you are new to the site all you need is an e-mail address to sign up and you are good to go! Be warned it is seriously addictive, a little like browsing on pinterest... You know the way you just keep clicking and wonder how you managed to end up on teacher outfits when you were looking for a science expereiment!! Well with that warning - I give you my best picks from TPT.  


Free Free Free!!!

1. Roll a Story Writing Activity made by MsJordanReads
Classes will love rolling a dice to mix-and-match st

ory elements to create their very own story.

2. Division of the Day for Upper Grades made by Jennifer Findley
Division problems (1 digit and 2 digit divisors with 3-4 digit dividends)
Children asked to do the following on their sheet:
Solve the problem.
Check the answer with multiplication.
Create a story problem to match the division problem.


3. Profile of a Scientist made by Riona Kelly 
Have either laminated information about scientists/ have a Powerpoint detailing the informaion and you will have the perect lesson with this brilliant template to accompany it.


4. What a Dilemma Poem and Teaching Guide made by Rachel Lynette
Pefect way to get children to connect with poetry helping them to create their own poem based on their own experiences and emotions.

5.Brain Breaks Roll a Brain Break made by Rachel Lynette
You may not always have access to the laptop to put on GoNoodle so this freebie will be the perfect backup to have! All you need is a dice!! 

You will need to pay a small fee for these ones!!!!

1. Dear Teacher A Persuasive Writing Assignment made by Runde's Room

Dear Teacher, I can explain … is a fun, persuasive writing activity that the students will love. Havng them write a persuasive letter to their teachers to explain why they couldn’t finish their (imaginary) homework. The more ridiculous the excuse, the more fun students will have with this!!

2. Fictional Narrative in 5 Days made by Teaching in Room 6

If you have a class for an extended period this would be handy to have. It is so detailed and they are tried and tested lessons!

3.Winter Themed Multi Step Word Problem Task Cards made by Ashleigh

Concpets addressed throughout;

-Place Value
-Rounding
-Addition
-Subtraction
-Multiplication
-Division
-Geometry

4. Word Work Centers 4 Low Prep Centers made by Tessa Maguire

5. Literacy Stations in English Set 2 Suitable for 5th/6th Class made by Realta Ranga

Love this resource - everthing you need for a fun english lesson. The stations cover Oral Language, Reading, Writing, Vocabulary and Grammar.

These are my personal favourites 

1.Self assessment Two Stars and a Wish made by A Crucial Week

Love it - perfect for individual assessments. 

2. Collaborative group reflection sheet made by A Crucial Week

 Used this with third class when they worked collaboratively together. Loved hearing what they could do differently the next time.

3. Comprehension Question Fans made by Runde's Room

Can't reccomend these beauties enough!! Used them while I was with 5th class when we were doing a novel study. 

4, Role Cards for Cooperative Group Work made by Kate O'Connell
Everything runs much smoother when everybody has a job to do. 

5. 15 Minute Timer made by Teacher's Take-Out
This PPT changes slides after every minute it's brilliant. The classes loved it - especially when working against the clock. 





So there you have it,  my top picks!
Have you seen anything on TPT that you love OR that has been useful in the classroom? If so why don't you share below. 





Niamh

Wishlist Wednesday #2

                                    


1. Jumpstart Literacy

Pie Corbett is an excellent author and has some fabulous ideas for storymaking, poetry and one of my favourites literacy. The literacy games will help consolidate pupils' previous learning and stimulate pupils' memory. Obviously I don't have this book (yet) but if you click on the link (title) you will be able to look inside the book! When I do eventually purchase it I will share some of its amazing ideas with you all.

2. Patterend Hand Pointers

For only € 2.83 check out these beautiful hand pointers. I stumbled upon these during the summer. Ii still am trying to find out how long the handle is!! If anyone already purchased them you might let me know what you think of them. Thank you.

3. 500 activities for the primary school classroom

4. 100 fun ideas for practising modern foreign languages in the primary classroom

If you are looking for some new ideas for Gaeilge, then look no futher this book will help you put the fun back into Gaeilge :)

5, Unshakeable

I am actually reading this book at the moment so my wish is that you enjoy reading it as much as I have. I purchased it at the weekend and have loved it so far. I have been following Angela Watson's blog for quite some time and she always has great tipe and advice but this book is suitable no matter where you are in your teaching career. I must say her book does give you a great sense of positivity and comfort that you are infact Unshakeable.. If you are looking for some light reading at night instead of scrawling through pinterest or facebook (cough, cough) well this my friends may be a more suitable option. You can read the first chapter for free (bonus). 

That's all for now!

Niamh 

Wishlist Wednesday #1

1. Pictionary €12.99

While I was on teaching practice the class teacher used this game throughout the week. 

- Class is split into groups

- one person puts themselves forward to go first

- that person is given the pictionary card and they have to exlpain the word on the card without saying the word (or even part of the word that they are explaining) (they also can't do any actions)

- another child is in charge of the timer (included with pictionary) 

2. Gaeilge Bheo! available here!

It contains questions, orders and even pupil answers as well as useful information such as subjects in Irish, colours, time, weather or school furniture and equipment. It also contains a section on the Briathra Neamhrialta. 

3. Primary- Ed Books

Particularly the Listening Comprehension books - excellent when you need a lesson quickly. 

4, Squeeze Whistle available here

A whistle that all can share. A soft plastic whistle which is squeezed by hand rather than blown so can be shared by any number of people and particularly suitable for mixed ability classes.

5. Students love when you read aloud to them, but sometimes teachers don’t want you to move ahead in a story that they have begun with the students already. Of course you can’t really start a new book with students when you won’t be there to finish it with them.

However, it is a great idea to always have a favorite book or two on hand that allow for one-time reading. This mystery book would be perfect for the senior classes; Two Minute Mysteries by Donald J. Sobol.


That concludes the Wednesday Wishlist  -  let's see what will make the list next week :)

Niamh.

Preparation is key!!

Hello,

I don't know about everyone elso but everywhere I look, either on facebook  or on educational blogs that I follow, teachers are sharing wonderful pictures of their classrooms and getting ready for September. Check out Primary Teachers - Resources, ideas, stress relief! on facebook for some inspiration if you need it!! Unfortunately I have no pictures to share, but I have some tips that I feel would be helpful for teachers or NQT's who are fortunate to gain a position. I have also used many of these ideas on teaching practice so those preparing for TP and for subbing you might get some new ideas.  

Things you may need that are sometimes forgotten about!

1. Plants, rugs, cushions, small pillows (reading corner).
2. Stickers (reward/ birthday) and stamps (a date stamp is particularly useful in the junior classes). 
3. Any cheap craft items- pipe-cleaners, googly eyes, wool, paper plates, cotton buds, tissue paper. 
4. Collection of any particular class books you want to read with the children. Some favourites of mine are - Fish in a tree (Senior classes)    The Micheal Morpurgo Collection (Middle classes) Have You Filled a Bucket Today  (Junior classes) Miss Nelson is Missing (Substitute teachers). There are many resources available online to go along with this book which makes for a great resource to have in your subkit.
5. Teacher’s diary / planner / to-do lists/ seating plans, etc.
6. A whistle (important for PE) or a shaker to grab children's attention.
7. Lollipop sticks - write each child's name on them and store in container - pick out children to answer a question or could be used for putting random groups together, seating arrangements. 
8. A rewards box- there are many things available on eBay or you can pick up little bits and bobs here. I also love the Irish rewards available at Mol an Óige.
9. Relaxing music for appropriate times. I am not sure if you have heard about RelaxKids but this website offers free resources which you can download once you sign up. They have free meditation mp3's also and ebook's! It's worth the download.
10. Timers - for those times when you can't display the timer on the IWB or when you incorporating station teaching.
11. Clothes pegs (handy for maths games, hanging up children's work, take turn buckets, used for stages in the writing process).
12. Beach balls - these can be used right across the curriculum in each class. Particularly in Gaeilge  - liathróidí cainte as a whole class or with small groups or in younger classes to practice their colours. In Maths review tables. They can also be used in English for synonyms etc . There are many uses and children get excited when they see the colourful ball. I used these on teaching pratice and the children loved them brought lots of laughter to the classroom. 

Some displays I would like to have around the classroom!

1. An emotions display (where children can display their current emotions).  Check out Perfect for Primary on TeachersPayTeachers(TPT) for Mothúcháin posters as Gaeilge. 
2. Class Rules and Drama contract  (to be made with the class).
3. Birthday display. 
4. Behaviour / reward display. 
5. Visual timetable.
6. About our class display - possible idea of linking Maths and Literacy to make a MATH ABOUT ME display.
7. Encouraging reading display.
8. Word Wall  - new words children are learning.
9. Maths display - weekly topic.
10. Music display - Music elements clearly displayed.
11. Learning / Wonder Wall (SESE) (children can put up questions about things that they would like to know about).
12. What Stuck With Me display (children are invited to stick post it notes onto the poster to show what they have learned that week).
13. Question of the day/ week.
14. Thank you Box / Kindness Box / Wish Box / Calm box.
15. Motivational posters (When I have my own classroom I would like to display a new one in the room each week).

Labels around the classroom!

1. Gaeilge- everyday words displayed around the classroom.
2. WALT AND WILF ( if you are looking to download these, A Crucial Week has them for free on TPT.
3. Traffic Light assessment - a poster in the classroom and traffic lights for each child to rate their understanding of their learning.
4. Name labels - useful for substitute teachers when going into new classrooms everyday.
5. Welcome door sign. 
6. Table names.
7. Changeable date labels, eg. 12 months, 7 days and 1st -31st printed and laminated.

I would love to add more ideas so please feel free to add you ideas to the comment section below. Thank you. 

Niamh. 

I bought Create a Pal clip art from Polke Dots and Pals during the back to school sale on TPT . They are really easy to create and so many different outfits etc. Do you like my glasses? So cute. 

Getting ready for subbing!

Hi everyone and a happy Friday to you all.

Over the past few weeks I have sent off so many SAF forms anc CV's I have lost count. The application process is quite time consuming and because I don’t finish work till half 6/7 finding the time to apply for every job is something I am struggling with. I am off today so a blog post has been on my to-do list for sme time! Obviously I would love to have my own class this coming September but I have to be realistic and start preparing for subbing. Yeay!

My subkit will consist of a teaching bag, a folder and a resource box.

 Today I am focusing on the teaching bag.


I have been keeping an eye out for an adequate sized bag that will hold my folder and stationary. I was browsing the internet and stumbled upon this beauty from Mango!

The bag was originally €99.95 now reduced to €39.99… yeay!

You can find the bag here!

Here is a list of things I will popping in my bag.

->  Copies of my CV for those times when the school may have contacted me through subbing databases such as text-a-sub or sub search etc. Or maybe I will be lucky enough to be referred to a neighbouring school that knows me.

-> Teaching council number and PPS number and confirmation of my Garda vetting from the teaching council. All very important documents to have at all times.
-> Diary – Important for recording what school you will be in each day, etc. I really like

-> Moving on to the Pencil Case packed full of pens - red for correcting and black for the roll book. Pencils chunky grip for infants, normal grip for junior classes, normal pencils for older classes, erasers, pencil parers, rulers, etc. Whiteboard markers important for times when you can’t locate where the teacher keeps them.

->My USB key – I have to sort out what “go to lessons” I will have to hand and I will do a post at a later date as I have so many files all over the place. If anyone has advice on this I would love to hear from you.

->I have also been contemplating bringing my laptop. While I was on my first and second teaching practice the teachers both brought their laptop home with them. I had so many other things to worry about that it never crossed my mind about what I would do if they were out… luckily I was never left in the lurch but I may not be so lucky while I am subbing!
-> Don’t forget a bottle of water and of course a lunchbox. I like this one! Bit pricey though.



These are definitely the essentials. In the next post I will go through some lesson ideas to keep on my USB key and will be going through that all important resource folder also.



I must go now and try and "spruce" up my CV before sending it off to a few more schools.



Thanks for reading and enjoy the long weekend everyone!


                                                       

Welcome!

Hi everyone and welcome to my blog. 

This blog will document the next chapter of my teching journey - as a sub/NQT and eventually a permanent primary school teacher. I have made many resources that I will also be sharing in the future. So do feel free to stop by again.

The last chapter. . . .

Thanks to hard work, determination, support and encouragement from family and friends I was accepted into Hibernia College and began studying in April 2013. The last two years were full of mixed emotions, particularly during teaching practice, but I wouldn't trade those feelings for anything as I am now where I want to be in life. I worked alongside three amazing teachers who gave me many wonderful tips, strategies and wise words of support and encouragement which I will treasure. Throughout my journey with Hibernia College I have become very self-motivated, excellent at making TO-DO lists and have mastered the art of time management!!!! Important skills to hold when it comes to prioritising the work load; assignments, online lectures, onsite classes, extra-curricular activities, etc.

Looking forward…

There are so many people in the same position as I am - working towards becoming fully probated and completing the DIP – but there are many jobs posted on www.educationposts.ie. However, the application process can be quite time consuming, but my goal over the next few weeks is to apply for as many jobs as I possibly can and hopefully I will get called to an interview!! Fingers crossed!!

Have a lovely weekend everyone,

Niamh.