In previous posts I have recommended apps for writing topic (mainly narrative) generation. Whilst I still like and use these, I feel obliged to also add a caveat. The resulting narrative from these apps are often very silly because of the random nature of the app where places, people and events that would not ever… Continue reading Brainstormer
Category: Tips for Learning
Integers & Directed Number Resource – try it now!
I have been writing about the study question database I have been working on for a while now. This task has become enormous and I am working on ways to simplify this so it is more meaningful for students – I love the questions, but the 648 lines in the Excel document for Years 7… Continue reading Integers & Directed Number Resource – try it now!
LitCharts
I came across a wonderful website to assist in literature analysis for high school English students, www.litcharts.com. With a mix of classic and some modern literature included on the site, it is a wonderful resource for the students who err on the side of visual learning. The website has a "Chart Board" where the themes… Continue reading LitCharts
Supporting Writing Using Visuals
Like most teachers I try very hard to capitalise on the individual interests of my students when planning teaching and learning activities. It is always exciting when it works even better than expected ... Recently one of my students came to sessions with a make up app she had been playing with with her friends.… Continue reading Supporting Writing Using Visuals
Story Wheel
I have come across this great new app for oral story telling - it would be wonderful in a small group during literacy circles! I have also been able to utilise its functionality easily in a one to one setting with primary aged students. The app comes with a range of themes (pirates, fairy tales… Continue reading Story Wheel
Keen Sprinter
A cute app designed to develop accuracy and fluency in recall of the basic facts in the four operations. There are a plethora of apps out there that do this, it's always nice to find one that will have particular interest for an individual student. The race theme of this app does that for me!… Continue reading Keen Sprinter
The Opposites
A quick app for revising the concept of antonyms or opposites. Two twin siblings appear on the screen and shout out words, they appear in text (therefore can be used for some decoding and encoding analysis) before being matched to each other. As the levels increase some distractor words are included (i.e. words that cannot… Continue reading The Opposites
Writing with LEGO
No, not a misprint, LEGO released a new resource a little while ago called, StoryStarter (www. https://education.lego.com/es-es/lesi/elementary/storystarter) This involves individual or class sets of LEGO pieces in themes (e.g., fairy tales, space …) The children initially “make their story” and then begin to write. In a classroom small groups can create a storyboard of the… Continue reading Writing with LEGO
Reducing restless nights for teenagers
We are all aware of the impact of bright screens on sleep patterns - essentially, it's bad! Looking at bright screens on computers, tablets, phones and even televisions before going to bed at night is known to delay sleep and disrupt the sleep we're getting. As much as I would love to say this is… Continue reading Reducing restless nights for teenagers
Pinterest as a Research Tool?
The question mark isn't a typo, I am still working my way through this concept and at this stage am sharing these ideas. I welcome dialogue about this. I have regularly written about my love of Google video to build background knowledge - or even research a while short assignment - as it reduces the… Continue reading Pinterest as a Research Tool?
