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Teachit Primary Newsletter

E-newsletters

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Welcome to the Teachit Primary newsletter

Newsletter Archive
Issue 1
Issue 2
Issue 3
Issue 4

Phew! What a lot has happened since the last edition of the Primary Newsletter. It's certainly been all change in the world of education. As we bid farewell to Ed Balls and open the door to Michael Gove the chat is all about free schools and academies, pay freezes and building programmes. The National Curriculum is going to change again too!

The good news is that you can still rely on Teachit Primary to provide you with the same quality resources for your day to day teaching that I know you appreciate. We have made some changes though: we are continuing to increase the diversity of our cross curricular resources and the site now boasts some new and exciting interactive maths resources.

This newsletter is packed with goodies: we'll be introducing our new interactive maths resources, hearing from two of our contributors and discovering what issues have been hitting the headlines. We'll also pop into the Staffroom for a quick cuppa and a chat and browse some favourite Literacy resources to get you back into the swing of things come September.

In this edition:

Mad about maths?
Meet the contributors
The news
Staffroom chat
Get a head start with Teachit Primary

In the meantime, the Teachit Primary team wish you a restful, well deserved summer holiday – let's hope the sun shines!

Enjoy!

Clare Cutting
www.teachitprimary.co.uk

Mad about maths?

We certainly are! We've had lots of fun playing around with the new interactive maths resources and hope that you have too. If you are not yet familiar with these lovely resources read on …

Teachit Primary's new interactive Maths resources

Nifty number grid

A super grid which can be used to help develop children's ability to predict and explore numbers. Choose between the 0–99 and the 1–100 grids and investigate patterns, multiples, factors, prime numbers or play four in a row and guess my number! This is a flexible resource that can be used with all ages.

Rocket number explorer

Go where no rocket has been before! Choose which times table or number pattern to hide and then simply click on the rockets to launch them or click on the numbers to cover them up again. This is a fabulous resource which develops children's prediction skills and an understanding of number patterns.

Guess the co-ordinate

A fun co-ordinate grid with axis A–E and 1–5. Position the animals and shapes inside the square and predict what the co-ordinates might be. This great interactive resource introduces younger children to the concept of co-ordinates. There is also a version using numbers 0-10.

Secret numbers

Can you predict what numbers are hidden behind the shapes? This resource has a variety of grids for children to explore. Use this fantastic lesson starter to support and explore number patterns.

Mastering measuring

A wonderful measuring resource for all ages! Use your interactive whiteboard to investigate the lengths of the mouse, the tortoise and the caterpillar either individually or together. Predict, measure and use your number skills in this exciting activity.

Move and measure

Don't miss this train activity! What do the wheels, windows or engine measure? How many moves will it take to reach the end of the track? What happens if I move the train 2cm, 3cm, etc? How long would it be if I add another carriage? Lift up the ruler and drag it over the train to find out! Have fun with this great measuring investigation. Choo choo!

Visit our interactive maths games collection

We would love to know how you are getting on with our interactive resources and how they work best for you. Send us an email and we may feature your comments in our next newsletter!

Meet the contributors

I'm delighted to be able to introduce you to two of our contributors. Jenny Leavett has been a Teachit Primary contributor for some time, having submitted over 100 resources, while Katie White, a supply teacher, is one of our newer contributors.

Meet Jenny

My husband is a secondary school English teacher and therefore Teachit is his website bible. Having scoffed at me for spending hours every evening designing my own resources, he made me aware that it was possible to find instant resources on Teachit Primary. What is the point in reinventing the wheel? Using Teachit Primary opened my mind to a variety of different teaching techniques and the children that I teach have benefited from some of the submissions on the website. They especially like the 'whizzy things'.

I realised that some of my hard work could be shared with others using Teachit Primary and that I could make a little money into the bargain! So I began the process of submitting over 100 resources to this website. A little knowledge in using some version of Windows, with its associated programs comes in handy, and as a result, my resources span from PowerPoint presentations to Active Primary flipcharts.

So what are the practicalities involved in doing this?

First of all, do a bit of quality control. Check that you have included good learning objectives in all of your resources.
You may also wish to consider differentiation – I have provided some differentiated resources, which I wrote with Teachit Primary in mind.
Be creative. Teaching is all about coming up with new and interesting ways of delivering material.
Provide something practical that the busy teacher can draw upon day-to-day.

I first began submitting Literacy resources; however my resources now cover a range of subjects, including Maths, where I also provide the answers to some of the more taxing questions (ideal for those sluggish Monday mornings!). Once you have got your resources up together, you then need to upload them (a painless process – takes about three minutes), and then, one sunny day, a lovely cheque comes through the post with your name on it.

As teachers, we all work extremely hard and sometimes some recognition for all this hard work is scant. Seeing your resources published on Teachit Primary reminds you that you are a skilled professional, creating high quality pieces of work that other people are wanting to share with you.

Meet Katie

I first came across the Teachit Primary website by accident as I was googling resources for an upcoming phonics lesson on br and bl. After investigating the website further, I was really impressed to find so many high quality resources that can be accessed as PDF files. Of course I couldn't help but want to 'tweak' things so that they suited the children I was working with and my style of teaching a little more. When I saw that by becoming a contributor you could join for free and have access to the resources as editable files, I decided to look through my 'filing system' (desk, folders, in-tray, out-tray, USB sticks … ) in order to find something to submit.

I have previously uploaded resources to other websites which don't pay you, so the thought that I could get paid for worksheets that I had already created seemed too good to be true. It was refreshing to look back on worksheets I had previously created in haste and to spend a little more time trying to improve them and to alter some of the activities – a bit like the lesson had been a trial run! I now like to think that these worksheets will be useful to other teachers as they really have been tried and tested in the classroom.

As a supply teacher it is so handy to know that if you are left in front of a class without the right resources or planning you can simply log on to Teachit Primary and with just a few clicks find some great resources. The synopsis about each resource also makes it quicker to locate what you are looking for. To be able to access some that I have designed myself is an added bonus as I don't have to remember my USB stick!

The interactive whiteboard resources and games are particularly useful to get out of a tight spot. One that I use all of the time is the Nifty Number Grid. It is incredibly versatile and can be used across Key Stage 1 and 2. I also like having A & C Black resources available so I have a high quality back up if I find myself without an extension sheet or if the work that has been left for me doesn't work out.

A big thank you to both Jenny and Katie for their contributions and of course for their great resources – keep them coming! Both our featured contributors place great value on sharing their resources with other teachers – and this is exactly what Teachit Primary is all about. If you have some resources that you would like to share and are considering becoming a contributor it really couldn't be easier. Send an email to contribute@teachitprimary.co.uk to find out how to join our team of fabulous contributors.

The news

Do schools really need bad teachers?

According to Zenna Atkins, the chairwoman of the Office for Standards in Education, 'every school should have a useless teacher' (Sunday Times, 10th July 2010). Such a bizarre and extreme view has fuelled an onslaught of understandable criticism. The head of an independent Bristol grammar school described Ms Atkins' view as 'appalling', going on to say that we should be 'seeking to give children the best education possible'

We need bad teachers, says school boss (Sunday Times)

Busted boycott

Despite the fact that 26% of the eligible maintained schools did not take this year's Year 6 SATs, the Government has announced that Key Stage 2 National Curriculum Tests will be administered in 2011. The Education Secretary Michael Gove, whilst promising a review of the current system, argued that it was crucial that the tests continue.

Testing Times to come as Sats given go-ahead for next year (TES)

Maths busking

Sara Santo and Matt Parker are the brains behind the new phenomenon of maths busking. Santos is a maths communicator at the Royal Institution and Parker is a comedian and part-time maths teacher at Queen Mary, University of London. By using the techniques of street entertainers they are trying to communicate their love of maths to ordinary people in the street.

The third member of the busking team, known as 'Dr Maths', says that the mission is to dispel the fear of maths that so many children pick up at school. Another aim is to help a new generation of maths teachers to be better able to communicate their subject. They already hold training days for school and university teachers who want to persuade their students that maths can be interesting.

A recent report by the Royal Society has identified a significant lack of maths and science teachers in primary schools with an emphasis on 'teaching to the test'. Maths busking is one attempt to tackle this problem.

Maths fans join the street entertainers (Guardian)

Staffroom chat

This is your space to chat about what is going on in your classrooms, comment on any initiatives, seek advice, or to simply share a joke.

APP: does it mean the end of SATs?

Well it seems that APP has been causing a few sleepless nights! Jane is asking for fellow teachers' opinions on this method of assessment. Of particular interest to her is whether or not APP could be seen as a precursor to the end of SATs. Caren, meanwhile, finds the APP materials 'too time consuming and not useful', while Julie laments the perceived need to have APP up and running for Ofsted despite the fact that it is not a statutory requirement as '…the inspectors …will be coming in with pre-conceived ideas about what makes good assessment for learning'.

Quite a lively discussion! What do you think? If you fancy joining in the debate or have anything else you would like to discuss or pass comment on make your way to the Staffroom.

On a lighter note Alan was caught out snoozing! Check out WALT and WILF to find out what he missed out on – it could prove useful.

Get a head start with Teachit Primary!

As the summer holidays begin our thoughts often turn to the year ahead of us.

Whatever year group you teach, Teachit Primary has something for you! Within our Literacy resources you will find activities that encompass all areas of the Literacy curriculum. They are full of fun, colourful and interactive activities ranging from the Foundation Stage and KS1, through to more challenging yet equally creative and stimulating resources for KS2.

Reception children will love [Reading challenges (F)] 'Where is the teddy bear?' and the 'whizziness' of [Phonics] 'CVC rhyming words'. Once you have played the [Phonics] 'Loop game'with your class it will surely become a regular reading activity. Don't forget we can help you with your word and sentence level activities as well!

Years 1 and 2 will enjoy [Reading challenges (KS1)] 'Compare the grannies' – one of our super reading comprehensions based on stories familiar to the children. Years 3 and 4 can get stuck into [Reading challenges (KS2)] 'A bumper sack of potatoes' – a fun and mixed bag of language activities whilst [Story writing (KS2)] 'I dare you' will take Year 5 and 6 children on an eerily descriptive PowerPoint journey through a wood at night.

If you are looking for resources to accompany your class novel then you have come to the right place! KS2 Narrative teaching resources such as 'Tom's Sausage Lion', 'Billy the Kid' and 'I Believe in Unicorns' provide you with a comprehensive pack of literacy ideas. Also have a look at the resource packs for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and our Harry Potter resources. Is your class potty about Potter?

If you're looking for resources in other subject areas, simply click on Other subjects and select the curriculum area you need. Our Numeracy resources are always on the increase so check those out too.

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