Eight Ideas from Eight Teachers Vol #2 | WAGOLL Teaching Ideas by WAGOLL Teaching

Vol. 2 | July 2019

Ideas 8 8 Sharing great teaching ideas with the world of education.

from

Teachers Amazingteachingideas sharedbyteachers, forteachers!

Contents Scratch That!

3 Epic Behaviour Management Tips

Maths Fears Breaking down the fear of maths through clever teaching.

How to use SCRATCH to support childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s writing.

Three simple tips to support your class with their behaviour.

Live Well, Teach Well Learn to look after you as a teacher first.

Mindfulness Made Easy

Provision Is Power Where to start with continuous provision in your KS1

How to deliver mindfulness lessons with simple visuals.

classroom.

You Are Not A Failure An NQT Crash Course In Resilience.

Turning Emotions Inside Out 20 How the movie inspired one teacher to teacher her class about emotions.

www.literacywagoll.com

Featured Writers

@misslearningbee

Tam (Miss Learning Bee) is from Sydney Australia. She is an Assistant Principal and also teaches a Kindergarten class. She is particularly passionate about all things literacy and creative. Her #FrothinonPhonics handbook contains almost 200 pages of strategies, tips and tricks for teaching phonics and spelling in the classroom. It is FREE for all teachers! She is also a big believer in the importance of teaching kids to be kind and emotionally resilient little humans.

@lifeofayearoneteacher

Hi lovelies! I am a UK teacher about to finish my third year in the job. I have taught year one for these three years and adore them. Being a teacher is without a doubt one of the toughest things I have ever done and continue to do. But for that reason it is also one of my proudest achievements, and if you’re just starting out, I’m sure it will be yours too.

by @forteachers

I'm trying to do my bit to empower teachers and shine a light of positivity on what can be an extremely demanding job. Creating the ForTeachers YouTube channel has given me a platform to share my knowledge and (just as importantly) learn from those who are part of my growing community. Please check out my videos and share any feedback or suggestions with me @ForTeachers

by @irishprimaryteacher

@WAGOLLTeaching

Hi there! I’m Niamh and I run a blog. I’m a primary school teacher based in Dublin, Ireland and I currently teach 5th class. I’ve been teaching 8 years now and I also lecture part time in Maths for student teachers. Maths is an area that I’m very passionate about and I use as much real life Maths as possible in my classroom.

I'm Ben from WAGOLL Teaching. We create and share free professional development videos focused on great teaching ideas! Our aim is to build a community of teachers from across the world who wish to develop and improve their teaching by sharing great ideas.

@goodmorningmsfoster

I am just about to start my seventh year of teaching and it may be shocking to hear that I am not dreading it. I know! Word to the wise, inner London children do in fact smell fear. I then decided to work in a school that was failing in Hackney. Long story short, I became Whole School Behaviour Lead. I implemented the first nurture provision in my school for children at risk of exclusion. I am now in my second year of international teaching in Malaysia and loving it!

@TeacherOfSci

Paul Stevens-Fulbrook (TeacherOfSci) is a Science teacher and Education blogger based in Brighton, England. He started teacherofsci.com to help support teachers everywhere both in the classroom and with their wellbeing. He publishes articles on behaviour and classroom management, EdTech, pedagogy and teacher wellbeing.

@mrsb_teaching

Hello! I’m Mrs B and I blooming love BOOKS…and reading, trips to Waterstones and charity shop book raids! I am almost in my 5th year of Primary Teaching after completing a three year BA (hons), I feel like I’ve been teaching forever! I’m lucky to have worked in both key stages and I’m currently delving into the world of continuous provision. I’m a busy bee!

@thomasblakemore

I teach, travel and sometimes triumph. I am a huge advocate for making life easier for teachers, children and parents to try and enable a better education system;I try to make a small splash in a big pond. I’ve taught from year 6 to year 2 and now work in Dubai. Check out my YouTube for a range of teacher travel and tips video linked.

www.literacywagoll.com

Editor's Letter Dear Reader,

here. It has The second issue is finally e due to a taken a little longer this tim achers busy time of year for all te including me! working with many f eÂ o leg ivi pr e th d ha ve ha I Once again, their the globe who are inspiring fantasticÂ teachers across children in their classes. ugh focus in this issue, not thro ge hu a n ke ta s ha ing be Well ply because it is what each sim t bu e, m m fro n tio ec any dir about. teacher has wanted to talk en wellbeing of students wh ion at uc ed in e tim ing It is an excit ssion. After all, healthy, cu dis of pic to ain m e th is and teachers turn hy, happy children which in happy teachers make healt d be entÂ for students to learn an m on vir en st be e th es at cre successful. I ere for teachers. One place th t ou t or pp su h uc m so e There is e teachers in this issue ar Th ia. ed m l cia so via is it d have foun nals across the world sio es of pr w ho of ple am ex just a small pe you find what they ho I e. lin on r he ot ch ea g are supportin share in this e-mag useful. Enjoy reading! Ben - WAGOLL Teaching

www.literacywagoll.com

H C T A R C S That! t r o p p u s o t H C T A How to useldSrCeRn’s writing chi Knock Knock

“Who’s there?” I answer. Knock, knock! “Who’s there?” I reply again.

It was a child having fun tapping the button on a talking tin, a simple voice recorder with two buttons, playing the pre-recorded sound on his tool to support their English writing. I had previously been advised to use talking tins to support memory retention. Sadly, a talking tin is about as entertaining as a Knock, Knock joke. I spend half a term training children on how to use a talking tin. As I train the children, I always come across the same issues: Children letting go of the button too early, cutting their sentence short; Children knocking the ‘record’ button and wiping out their sentence or trying to record when it’s off. This is where I often sadly lose interest and search for something different.

Enter Scratch Jnr.

Scratch JNR is a free IPAD only app that is aimed at supporting and developing children’s understanding of coding in a fun way. At times, SCRATCH can be overused; however, children’s confidence with the app can significantly benefit their learning in English. The app comes with an in-built microphone setting that allows you to record and then play voice recordings. From there, children can record their sentences that are then integrated into the app memory as a series of blocks.

WAGOLL Teaching Podcast Great teaching ideas shared in a short broadcast. Click to Listen Now!

@thomasblakemore

How is it useful?

As the recording blocks are saved onto the system, children can then use these to start to string sentences together, creating paragraphs. In the upper key stages, this would be great as children could build on their understanding of subordination, manipulating the structure of sentences to create multi-clausal sentences that actually make sense.

What else?

Coming away from the voice recording functionality, children can become immersed in telling a story through the use of different characters (‘sprites’) and settings, supporting descriptive writing. In addition, I had a child in a Year 6 class who really struggled with writing cohesion - ideas often didn’t sequence correctly in their writing. Through the add scene setting, this child would have been able to build their different ideas into scenes that would show sequence correctly making the planning element of writing that some children dread much more interesting My YouTube further supports a visual guide on how to use SCRATCH in the classroom.

www.literacywagoll.com

Epic I am not a shouty teacher and my students certainly wouldn’t describe me as strict. However. What they don’t realise is that I have been moulding their behaviour all year. I’m a behaviour management ninja; sneaking my expectations into their brain without them even knowing. I’ve not always been good at behaviour management, in fact for the first two years I was terrible at it. Until a colleague suggested I look up Bill Rogers after I went to them in a state of tears. I’d just had another lesson with my Year 10 class that I just couldn’t control, they wouldn’t bend to my will and do things my way. Do you see a problem with that last sentence? I was trying to change them. What I should have been doing is changing the way I did things. After just an hour or so of researching Bill Rogers, I had chosen three strategies that I was going to try. The results changed my teaching forever. Do you want to know what they were? Thought so!

by @TeacherOfSci

Positive Language We expect children to be polite and use please and thank you right? Well, this strategy is simple; we say them ourselves. Instead of barking orders in military fashion (ok, so we might not bark, but you get my point), try asking with a please and ending with an assumptive thank you. Rather than: “Will you boys stop talking when I am”. Try: “I’d like everyone listening please, that includes you two, Paul and Daisy….thank you”. Once you've thanked them, just move on with the lesson. The assumed “thank you” implies that the students have already complied with your request, which in turn leads to them actually complying. Simple, elegant and effective.

www.literacywagoll.com

Behaviour Tips Management Black Dot White Square It’s very easy for anyone to lose perspective, especially in a high-pressure environment, like a classroom. I used to find myself focusing on the misbehaviour more than the good behaviour (it’s easy to do, bad behaviour is usually easier to spot). In this approach, the black dot represents the bad behaviour and the white square, the good stuff. If we look at it logically, there is always far more good stuff going on than bad. Do you agree? If we focus on the white square, we avoid thoughts like; “This class are a nightmare” (Really? All of them?), “They never do any work” (What? None?) or “That student is always off topic” (That’s not true is it!). As I became better at focusing on the white square I found I was choosing my battles more wisely. For example, if a student arrives late, rather than stopping the lesson to address the lateness, I now acknowledge they have arrived (usually with a nod) and keep teaching. Hey presto, the flow of learning is not interrupted. I am then free to address the lateness, either later in the lesson if the chance arises or after it has finished. I have spent way too much energy chasing homework in my life (yes, I know you have too!). If I spend the time I previously used to chase homework to celebrate and reward the homework I did get in, over time I got more homework in. The students saw the positive effects of doing the work and wanted a piece of that pie. This can obviously be applied to in-class work too. Celebrate the good stuff and more students will want the positive attention.

Choice in Direction I wish I had been this from the beginning of my career. Again it is a simple minor adjustment to how I address a situation. Rather than just giving them an instruction, I calmly give them a choice. One option is what I want them to do and the other is the consequence. Most of the time they will choose your preferred option. For instance; "Paul, you can either finish your work OR you can come back at lunchtime to do it" or "Daisy, you can either stop chatting OR you will go to the heads office". The white square (the rest of the class) also benefit from a calmer approach. The student/s in question will choose the correct option (remembering to thank them when they have made the correct choice) and the lesson moves on with minimal interruption. If they choose the consequence, make sure you follow it through or this method will lose its power. I hope you find these techniques as useful as I have

www.literacywagoll.com

MFear! aths Maths Fear can have a damning effect on children’s progress in Maths. I’ve been tackling maths fear in my own classroom this year and I’ve found some strategies have worked really well.

Start with the basics...

Revise what the children should know – don’t assume they are all fully secure on basic concepts such as; • Number bonds to 10 • Number bonds to 20 • Number bonds to 100 • Times tables • Commutative property (2+3 = 5 and 3+2 = 5) • Links between addition and subtraction (3+2=5, 2+3=5, 5-2=3, 5-3=2) • Links between multiplication and division (3×2=6, 2×3=6, 6/2=3, 6/3 =2)

Whiteboards

I begin every new topic by using whiteboards and we do tons of practice on whiteboards before we use our copies. Sometimes the ruling of copies and having everything laid out well is too much pressure on top of trying to remember how to do the problem. With whiteboards, a mistake can be easily rubbed out or fixed and there’s no evidence left afterwards either.

Maths Partners

Out the Window or Down the Stairs

This works a treat. I noticed at the beginning of Maths lessons (at the start of the year) the stress levels in the class would rise and the some children would immediately shut down – they seemed to have a complete mental block when it came to Maths (especially new or slightly trickier topics). So I started the lesson with a ‘throw your stress out the window’ or in very bad cases leave the room (for 10 seconds) and kick the stress down the stairs. This massively reduced stress levels and added a bit of humour instead!

I sometimes use same ability maths partners during Maths lessons – I find this works well as children are appropriately challenged and supported by their peers who are at their level. I then use mixed ability groups of 3/4 children. I also use random partners and encourage children to help the child beside them by giving them a step in the right direction (not giving away the full answer). The key is that each child should be able to explain what they did and why. To assign random partners, I usually have a game/starter activity currently we are learning about fractions, decimals and percentages so each child got a fraction/decimal/percentage and had to find the other children with the corresponding fraction/decimal/percentage.

www.literacywagoll.com

Alien Explanation

This has worked brilliantly in my class – basically halfway through a lesson I turn into an ‘alien’ -It’s as simple as saying – Teacher is now an alien; who can explain what you’re doing and why?” This encourages children to use mathematical language and ensures that they really understand the new concept being covered.

Mini Surgeries

This is an idea I got from my support teacher last year and I love it! Basically after a few days of a new topic – I do a quick revision on what we have covered so far and any child who is finding an aspect difficult go to a mini ‘surgery’ where myself (as class teacher) or the support teacher take the children and do an intensive drill on the area they are finding difficult. It is an optional support for the children which means that the children don’t feel they are in the ‘weak’ group and they are taking responsibility for their learning. This encourages children to use mathematical language and ensures that they really understand the new concept being covered. While this is happening the other teacher works with the rest of the class on the same topic or on problem solving type activities based on the topic being covered.

by @irishprimaryteacher

Concrete Materials

Let the children use their fingers if they need to. Have a collection of concrete materials – rulers, counters, unifix cubes, lollipop sticks etc. Don’t discourage children from using them – make the resources available (where the children can easily access them) and if they need them – get them.

Maths Language

I model new maths language and repeat it continually throughout the lesson – encouraging children to use it too. (I have a fantastic support teacher so we both use the language repeatedly and while working with individual children or in groups we ask the children what words or phrases mean and for examples.)

Real Life Maths

No matter what topic we are doing from decimals to multiplication, long division to lines and angles I bring in some real life maths on the topic. My class love when I tell them little stories about my own life e.g. I went for coffee and cake after school with Ms. _____ and the bill came to 7.88 – how much did we each owe? To be honest the stories are usually true too and the children are instantly engaged in the topic.

www.literacywagoll.com

l l e W e Liv

l l e W h c Tea

Achieving a healthy work-life-balance as a school teacher can be extremely difficult. As I welcome questions from new teachers through my various social media outlets, finding a healthy work-lifebalance is something I am continually asked about. In the same way your lessons are differentiated to suit a range of learning styles, you need to find a method of self-care that works for you as an individual. Here are some of the top tips I have tried to stick to over the last six years I have spent working as a school teacher.

Set Realistic Expectations

I am guilty of waking up on a Monday and setting myself a list of fairly demanding targets for the week. These goals can include anything from leaving the classroom at a sensible time each day, to creating a new interactive display for my classroom, or even something more “out there” like signing up for an aerial fitness class. Of course, I also remind myself that I need to be in bed by 10pm, I should try to read a new book and limit my screen time to improve my concentration. The problem with giving yourself so many “rules” or expectations is that it is increasingly difficult to focus on what you really need to do for your physical and mental well-being.

Small Goals, Big Results

Trying to make the difficult decision between putting your own health or the needs of your students first can be a frustrating feeling. My advice would be to choose perhaps one or two of these goals and give yourself two weeks to try to turn them into habits. An example of this for me would be the decision to stick to an earlier bedtime. After several weeks, as my body adjusts and I begin to feel more refreshed, I am more likely to be able to concentrate on and incorporate other goals. In the same way you have realistic, fair and personalised expectations for your students, keep a close check on yourself and your capabilities for the week ahead.

www.literacywagoll.com

Ryan Speed, the co-creator of the ForTeachers channel (who is conveniently also my best friend) gave me some excellent advice regarding time management and the completion of the never ending teacher to-do list last year. His advice has helped me time and time again to ensure I stay on top of my workload. Ryan suggests ordering your to do list into three sections:

1. Actions that directly affect others (colleagues, support staff, leadership team) Eg. Replying to an email about a lesson observation slot, adding your planning to your shared drive for the rest of your team to use, contacting a parent who has a worry or question, add your reports to the system on time for peer checking

by @forteachers

2. Actions that directly affect your students

Eg. Gathering resources for your unit on telling the time, creating a wall display for language, considering a new seating plan for your students, researching/ implementing an exciting new scheme of work

3. Actions that directly affect yourself

Eg. Sorting and organising the files on your memory stick/drive for easier accessibility, writing positive post-it notes to keep in your desk draw, colourcoding your diary/ list, asking for a peer-observation to find new ideas for classroom management/improve your subject knowledge Once you have organised your goals into this order, I find myself able to concentrate on what needs to be completed first. Remember you are accountable for your actions and by letting colleagues down you may find yourself stuck with extra work in the long run. Have a go at categorising in this way and see if it helps you to identify what type of goal you find most challenging as a teacher.

A New Mindset

Choosing teaching as a job shows that you have an innate, natural desire to want to help and share your knowledge with others. Turning up to work each day, teaching inspiring lessons and providing steps forward for your students is enough! If you allow the job to become all-consuming you will lose a connection to the world around you. As a teacher with a lot of friends who are also teachers, we make an active effort to limit how much time we spend talking about the classroom outside of the workplace. There is a time and a place for professional reflection; you are allowed to focus your energy elsewhere. Finding a way to switch off is healthy and important if you plan on continuing to teach long term. Remember to drip feed multiple outlets into your weekly timetable and give yourself the space you need to switch off, rest and reset. You deserve to present the best version of yourself, and your students will thank you for it.

www.literacywagoll.com

Mindfulness Made Easy! Robert Sylwester, Educational Leadership, 1994

I feel like the word mindfulness splits educators. There are some that are super into it (yassss queens) and there are some that don’t get it. Is it just a fad? A buzz word? A passing phase? I totally get where you are coming from. Well, I am here to give you the low down on mindfulness. What it really means, why it is important and how you can fit it in your already overflowing day.

1994 you cry? YES. 1994. 18 years ago. What has happened since then? A rise in depression, anxiety, suicide and mental health issues. There has never been a bigger need to address this in education. However, teachers globally are still not equipped properly with the knowledge, time, resources and support to do so. How can we push our children academically and not support their wellbeing? It simply does not work. A supported mind is a successful learner and we have to work together to bring this to the forefront of education.

What does it even mean?

Mindfulness literally means being in the present moment, clearing your thoughts and helping your mind and body achieve a sense of calm. Ok, yes, that does sound a bit Wikipedia. Why? Why does it really matter? I want to share a quote with you that I always read when I talk to other educators about mindfulness. It helped me make sense of it all. ‘We know emotion is important in education—it drives attention, which in turn drives learning and memory. But because we don't fully understand our emotional system, we don't know exactly how to regulate it in school, beyond defining too much or too little emotion as misbehaviour. We have rarely incorporated emotion comfortably into the curriculum and classroom. Further, our profession hasn't fully addressed the important relationship between a stimulating and emotionally positive classroom experience and the overall health of both students and staff.

www.literacywagoll.com

Also, here’s a bit of Science to spice up your life. Ok here is the sciency bit! Mindfulness has been popping up on your Instagram feed and staff meetings for a reason! Research has shown that the prefrontal cortex is where our best learning happens. However, it is a high maintenance little region. If you are not in a state of calm, it shuts down. Ever been working way later than you planned and for some reason the most trivial tasks are taking a lifetime? In times like this, a ‘mindful moment’ can make all the difference: a walk outside(even just to Starbucks), a change of music or a quick doodle. Mindfulness reactivates our prefrontal cortex and that is when we can make magic (or a lesson, but same same.) So now you’ve had my emotional spiel and some science I am hoping you are feeling pumped up and ready to get mindful!

1. Routinely mindful moments

Is that a big vague? Here’s what I mean. Mindfulness needs to be routinely because otherwise it doesn’t support the child’s mental health. It can’t just be a go to strategy when a child has just had a fight or dealt with trauma. Of course it is so helpful during these times. But if you are teaching it as something new. It will be hard for it to actually work. This is true for adults too I’m afraid. That is why they call it mindfulness ‘practise’. It should be as routinely as the register. But how you say? I got you. I created mindfulness challenges which are part of ‘My mind is full, a mindfulness journal for kids’ for this very time restraining reason. All you have to do it pop it on your whiteboard and voila go through the mindfulness steps. It can take as little or as long as your like. I do it after lunch because I can smell the sweat, the post lunch conflicts and huffy breathing and it scares the hell out of me ha! But you can incorporate it whenever your heart desires. You can purchase from my store, here are some examples.

But how can you do it?

Year after year, government after government, us teachers are given more demands, more deadlines and less time. Shall I grab a violin? Ok it’s not all bad, because I have some quick win strategies, ideas and tips to get you supporting your children’s TOMORROW in your classroom. No stress. Here are 5 ideas. Ready?

@goodmorningmsfoster

www.literacywagoll.com

2. Get sensy with it!

Mindfulness is about being in the present moment remember? One way to wake up your present self (that wiley minx) is to engage your senses. This can be as simple as saying to your children: name 2 things you can hear now, name 4 things you can see, name 1 thing you can smell etc. Or, if you notice your children are very distracted (did someone say end of term?) or you know, youre just having one of those ‘bad days’ with your class. You can make a session of it and head outside. I have loads of examples in my journal but here are a couple to spark your imagination! You can do no resources or get clipboards, gluesticks, colours etc it is your call babes.

3. Just Breathe

Might sound obvious, but actually quite hard and let’s be honest…boring to do all the time. Well luckily these days you can get some funky breathing activites to get children engaged. Breathe like a rabbit, a bumble bee, pretend your blowing bubbles… trust me they love it. BUT if you have an older class or a class that struggles with mindfulness you may get some blank faces. Awkward. Ok don’t worry because I also experienced this and that is why I created interative breathing. This is where it is structured, your hands are always busy and they create a nice bit of artwork at the end. Happy customers and peaceful minds!

4. Use a Story

Mindfulness is this crazy abstract term. We need to help our children understand it or they will never buy into it. One of the best ways to do this is with a story. Feast your eyes on this…

5. Get those playlists together people

Music completely changes the mood right? It is such an important tool for the classroom! So take some time and make your own school playlist of songs for school. Pick songs that make you feel relaxed and calm; mindfulness should be for you and your students! Here is a peek of mine! Too tricky? I got you again, you can use my school playlists on spotfiy. Chill with Goodmorningmsfoster, writing with goodmorningmsfoster and maths with goodmorningmsfoster. Enjoy! There are so many more ideas, tips and strategies but let’s face it you are probably dozing off now. No judgement! If you are in need of guidance, resources or ideas I have you covered. You can purchase my journal at my TPT store or you can DM me at any time at @goodmorningmsfoster.

www.literacywagoll.com

Free example texts to support the teaching of writing! www.literacywagoll.com

To advertise here, contact literacywagoll@outlook.com

CL ICK FO R PD

FRE E

www.literacywagoll.com

Provision is

Power!

Where to start with continuous provision in your KS1 classroom

by @mrsb_teaching

I think ‘continuous provision’ has become my new favourite educational term! Since venturing from Key Stage Two to the avenues of play and exploration in Key Stage One, I can safely say that these early schools years have my heart! You might find yourself in a school where the term ‘play’ is strictly forbidden. Why do you we shy away from this word? Whisper it to our TAs and chatter about it behind closed doors, when actually we should be singing and dancing about it, “Our children learn through PLAY!” Think back to what you remember from school. For me it’s the songs, the rhymes, acting out how a river erodes and sediment travels (random I know, but my geography teacher was ace!) It was all FUN. It was play based. Why I am writing this article? Because I want to encourage and instil the confidence in teachers that adopting a continuous provision approach in Key Stage One IS effective and should not be shied away from because of the increasing pressures that teachers face from our ever changing curriculum.

When children move in to Year 1 here in U.K schools they are 5 years old. Our EYFS teams spend months nurturing our children, teaching core values, motor skills, developing an understanding of our world and their emotions - the list is endless. And so for me, it seems only natural that I continue this approach to learning when they step foot in to my setting. They’re already well on their way to becoming independent learners, so why would I suddenly draw the line there, when they haven’t finished their journey?! Let’s not pull the beautiful, soft rug that is played based learning from under our Year 1 teachers’ feet, let’s implement into our settings!

WAGOLL Teaching Podcast Great teaching ideas shared in a short broadcast. Click to Listen Now!

www.literacywagoll.com

Will my children use the areas correctly?

How do I set continuous provision up? Okay, let’s get practical for a second! Set aside some time to play around with your environment. You might feel like you’re starring in your own episode of ‘Changing Rooms’ but it’s totally worth the investment. Some key things to think about:

Think about your areas

Do you want a Finger Gym for fine motor skills, a Reading Nook, a mindfulness corner, a construction area for your budding builders? Grab a pad and a pen and jot your ideas down. I have between 5 and 6 stations that I am able to manage on a weekly basis.

Where do you want it set up?

If you’re anything like me and are sensitive to sound, you might find you naturally separate your adult guided and provision areas. You will find all of my provision stations on one side of my classroom and my adult guided group tables on the other. However, you might prefer to have all of your provision scattered/dotted on the outside of the classroom – it’s completely up to you!

What furniture do you have?

Consider what furniture you already have. Play around with four chairs around a table instead of two – that’s a perfect set up for a Funky Finger station! Have you tried flexible seating? Bean bags, floor cushions, stools, even logs!

One word for you MODEL. Model, model, model (and model some more!) Best tip I learnt was to go in to the provision with my children. Not only can you teach the children how to be an independent learner but it is such a lovely time for you, as their teacher, to watch learning unfold. Trust me, learning DOES happen.

How can I make sure children are completing activities?

This is all down to the culture you want to create in your classroom. I know there are lots of settings that take on a ‘Rainbow Challenge’ approach. In a nutshell, each station has a colour and children have to earn all of the colours by the end of the week. You can use lolly sticks, rainbow sticker charts, you can choose what works for you. This is not the only option however! You can create an environment where free flow learning is encouraged and provision areas are more open ended and child directed. As long as you develop trust with your learners and make your expectations clear, task completion (take a deep breath) does not need to be officially recorded. Understanding how to incorporate continuous provision in to my own classroom has given me a wonderful sense of freedom and creativity. I tap in to my children’s interests, strengths and level of understanding and every week is so gloriously different. Give it a go. I dare you!

What activities do I put out?

This is the beauty of provision! It’s the bread to my butter! And my answer is what do your children need and what do your children respond to? In your provision areas, what skills do you want the children to apply and develop? Provision is the perfect place to consolidate new learning or to introduce something new and allow exploration to take place.

www.literacywagoll.com

You are

T O N a

Failure!

An NQT Crash Course In Resilience

My Story...

Why did I find my NQT year such a struggle? Here comes the ‘R’ word – Resilience. Or lack thereof. I came into NQT year shocked to have a job, amazed to have passed teacher training and scared of what was ahead. I wanted SO MUCH to be the best teacher I could possibly be, and I was terrified of messing up. As the days, weeks and months progressed, I got myself stuck tighter and tighter into a rut - wanting everything to be perfect, cracking under the weight of my own expectations, having no idea how to handle my struggles and desperately trying to cover them up instead of asking for help. I lacked resilience, and this in a nutshell is what tripped me up. We hear about this word all the time when it comes to pupils – we want them to be confident, hardy learners, able to face setbacks and keep trying to achieve their goals. But guess what? There are other people in the room who need it just as much as your children do. You guessed right, one of those people is YOU. There is 100% no easy fix to becoming a resilient teacher, but these are some tips from someone who’s been there, to help you on your way.

Connect.

You will not survive your NQT year alone; it is tough and you deserve to have a wonderful support system to cheer you along! Within school, make the effort to connect with others. I know this can be hard for sometimes (I am an introvert and can take or leave the company of others!) but little chats and lighthearted conversation build into the meaningful relationships you will need both personally and professionally. And when the going gets tough, reaching out to someone who is a friend as well as a colleague makes it ten times easier (leading to point number three…). Use social media to connect with fellow NQTs and trainees, so you have people in the same boat to relate to. Instagram and facebook are filled with groups and pages from people in the same position as you, sharing advice and experiences.

Accept you will fall.

This is a biggie. There are teachers who have been teaching for decades and know their stuff inside out and backwards - but do you really think they never make mistakes? That the cut-off point for making errors is when you don your graduation gown? Cut yourself some slack and remember that this is your FIRST year. You will make mistakes left, right and centre and that is more than okay. We learn from experience; these mistakes are actually paving the way for your wonderful career.

@lifeofayearoneteacher

www.literacywagoll.com

Place yourself in your children’s shoes.

Ask for help. I CANNOT STATE THIS ENOUGH. Resilience is not about taking everything all on your own shoulders. Knowing when to ask for help is very much a part of learning how to manage setbacks well. Not sure how to tackle the online form for the school trip? Unclear on how to approach differentiating one of your maths lessons? Worried about dealing with a tricky parent? Please don’t let these worries brew in your head, because if you leave them they will end up getting worse and spiralling (trust me, I know). Take control of them whilst they are little. It is okay to ask - everybody starts out in the same place and you can’t be expected to have all the answers. If asking for help makes you nervous, think about who you can ask ‘safely’ – maybe your year group partner, or the lovely year 5 teacher who smiles lots? It is also your mentor’s JOB to help you. Even if they are busy, it is better to check in with questions and worries little and often, rather than letting them build up to the point you explode unexpectedly!

Be fair with yourself and actively work on keeping perspective.

At the end of a pants day, it is so, so easy to revert to ‘everything went wrong, I am a rubbish teacher and I don’t deserve to be here’. Woah. Hold on brain. You, my darling teacher pal, are HUMAN and as we covered in tip 1), mistakes and bad moments / days happen to everyone. Absolutely, 100%, EVERYONE. When my brain is awash with negativity, I find it helpful to think of at least ONE positive thing from the day. There will be something, even if it is a sweet comment one child made. Our brains have a habit of clinging to the negative and overlooking the good stuff, so FIND THE GOOD and CELEBRATE IT, even on the rubbish days. When things go well, no matter how small, be your own cheerleader. Nailed tidy up time? Calmed an upset child? LOOK AT YOU GO! You are incredible and deserve to acknowledge it. Remembering this when times are tough is essential to the resilience recipe.

As I said at the beginning, we hear about building our children’s resilience but spend less time thinking of our own. Compare your learning experiences as a new teacher to the learning experiences of the lovelies in your class. Do you expect them to get everything right? Do you value any of your children less because they struggle, and especially those pupils who struggle much more than others? How proud of them do you feel when they’ve found something really tricky, and they’ve finally cracked it? I hold those struggling, vulnerable children very dearly in my teacher heart, because I know what it is like to be them. And you do too. Whether it’s a bad lesson, day, week or term, we don’t give up on our children so we shouldn’t give up on ourselves. You deserve to be proud of yourself BECAUSE of your struggles and the fact you keep going, not despite it.

Take care of your mental health.

This is vital. EVERYONE has mental health and you are embarking on an exciting, fun but intense year. Please spend time with your friends and family, and allocate time each week that is absolutely, 100% not school work time. Even on manic days, I now spend at least the last ten minutes before bed reading, because for me this is switch off time and it is NEEDED. Please, please, please also be mindful of when you may need extra love and support. Depression and anxiety are so common and it can take a long time to adjust to managing these alongside children. Talk to trusted friends, family and colleagues. Talk to your doctor and additional services when you need to. I could write an entire article on this alone, but please know you are not by yourself and that it IS possible to teach alongside having mental health struggles. You need to look after yourself just as much as your beautiful class.

www.literacywagoll.com

TurningEmotions

e O d i s ut In

Inside Out is a great tool to add to your repertoire when teaching kids about emotions. Leading scholars on emotions have suggested that humans experience 7 main emotions: joy, sadness, anger, fear, disgust, contempt and surprise. Inside Out deals with the first five of these emotions by personifying each emotion and showing how these emotions interact with one another. It demonstrates how all emotions have a time and a place within our lives, and how our emotions influence our actions and decisions.

After watching Inside Out, we use Y-charts and Our curriculums have never been so crowded and our brainstorms to discuss what each emotion looks classrooms have never been busier. And so, in an like/feels like/sounds like. We read books related to increasingly data-driven teaching world, it’s become so each emotion to help guide those discussions- I easy for the social/emotional curriculum to get particularly recommend the ‘When I Am Feeling…’ series forgotten. If lessons don’t appear (at least obviously) to by Trace Moroney. We progressively add to an cover syllabus outcomes, they can so often get pushed interactive display which includes our class definitions to the side because we feel such pressure to prioritise for each emotion, and strategies that the kids suggest lessons that will give us tangible evidence of learning to manage each emotion. It becomes such a great outcomes and student academic growth. But in an age display to refer to for the remainder of the year. We where mental health is on the rise and anxiety also draw all of the characters using Art for Kids Hub’s amongst children is at an all-time high, in an age amazing directed drawing tutorials on YouTube. Here where our kids are more stimulated but less resilient than ever, I want to argue that those ‘life lessons’ are are some examples of what this looked like practically with my class last year. the MOST important lessons that we can teach our kids. We simply MUST prioritise the less tangible but far more important social/emotional life skills that our students so desperately need. As educators, we have the incredible privilege to equip the next generation- but it is also an enormous responsibility. We teach kids how to read and write and work with numbers. We teach them to create and innovate and dream! But are we also equipping this next generation to cope with the many curve balls that life will throw at them? We need to break down barriers and create classrooms where our kids learn to be vulnerable. We need to de-stigmatise mental health and demystify emotions so that our kids are resilient, strong and ready to take on life!

www.literacywagoll.com

by @misslearningbee

Our next emotion that we tackled was SADNESS. We talked about how it’s normal and okay to feel sad, but how sadness can sometimes trick us into thinking that we are all alone. We brainstormed strategies to help ourselves when we feel sad- this might be sharing how we feel with someone, doing something that we enjoy, or just spending time with family and friends, even if we don’t want to talk. We then moved onto FEAR and looked at how fear can look different for everyone- it could include sweaty palms, crying, feeling sick, or shortness of breath just to name a few. We discussed how fear can sometimes paralyse us, and we brainstormed strategies to help calm our hearts and our minds when we feel scared, worried or anxious.

We began with JOY. The ability to find joy in every day is one of the greatest skills we can nurture in our kids. We came up with a class definition and brainstormed some ways to help ourselves feel joyful when other emotions threaten to overtake our brains. We talked about putting on rose-coloured glasses and how to turn negative thoughts into positive ones. It became clear from our discussion that joy looks different for everyone, but that no matter what it looks like, it’s super important! Our final emotion was DISGUST. We found this emotion the trickiest to define and to brainstorm strategies for. But we had some great discussions about how disgust includes thinking others aren’t good enough or putting others down… and as one kid put it: ‘I reckon disgust is probably the meanest emotion’. Kids just get it, don’t they!

Next up was a firey emotion who can get in the way of finding joy sometimes. I absolutely loved one kid’s description of ANGER: ‘it’s like a fierce tiger roaring in your belly, who is really hard to control sometimes’. The kids thought about what makes them angry and what helps them to calm down. They added to their ‘book of emotions’ which is where the kids drew specific strategies that they could use when they feel each emotion.

No matter how busy our classrooms schedules are, we all became teachers for a reason and we know that our job extends well beyond the curriculum that we report on. We know that our kids need to practise kindness and empathy, to learn to disagree with respect and grace, to own their mistakes, to make good choices and self-regulate. But where to start when teaching all of those important skills?! It can be very overwhelming, and so hard to know where to begin! So, let me encourage you to start with Inside Out! It is an amazing resource for helping kids to begin to understand the beautiful intricacies of their brains and how they work, to be able to identify what their triggers are, and to develop the tools that they need to manage those emotions more effectively for the rest of their lives.

www.literacywagoll.com

All About

Who are we?

WAGOLL Teaching is all about sharing great, simple teaching ideas with a global teaching community. As a teaching group, we need to stick together, support each other and develop positive approaches to classroom innovation. Development is all about trying something new, taking risks and sharing great ideas! You may even have some fun along the way!

Literacy WAGOLL

A few years back I realised teachers needed a website where example texts could be found with ease... so we made one! Each text is written and donated by a teacher and so is designed for use in the primary classroom. They are in word format so they can be edited and changed to suit different key stages and abilities. These texts should be used within literacy units as an aid to support children's reading and writing.

YouTube Videos and Podcast

To share great ideas, we share teaching idea videos weekly on our YouTube channel. They aim to share simple teaching tips to improve your teaching one step at a time. We also share Teaching Vlogs about life as a International Teacher in Dubai which aims to tackle misconceptions and encourage more people to enrich their teaching experience through international teaching positions. Subscribe to stay update.

WAGOLL Topics

WAGOLL Topics is a free bank of digital resources categorised into interesting and engaging themes. The resource library includes videos, sounds, texts and images with the aim of hooking children to develop writing, creativity, imagination and an understanding of the world.

www.literacywagoll.com

All copyright reserved ÂŠ All copyright reserved ÂŠ. I would like to remind all readers that all pages in this magazine are copyright protected, unless stated. Most importantly, this document is for the use and enjoyment of all children, parents, guardians, carers and teachers who are involved in WAGOLL Teaching. Please use the resources/ideas as you need without replicating them for your own gains.