Daily Archives: 08/02/2017

Primary

Introducing Shakespeare at KS 2

There are many ways of introducing
Shakespeare at KS 2.

We asked Literacy Co-ordinators which
approach was best…

In a recent survey of methods of teaching Shakespeare at Key Stage 2 it was found that most respondents were highly committed to introducing Shakespeare in primary school.

But when it came to the issue of how this should be done, numerous answers were given.

Two of the most popular approaches were to use context to make sense of unfamiliar words, and/or to use a dual text edition.

Shakespeare Comic Books has produced a resource which meets many of the views expressed by those who completed our questionnaire – a highly illustrated approach with original text and a modern English translation. Combined, these make the play more rapidly accessible, particularly at Key Stage 2.

You can get a feel for the book here. Then just click on the small pictures that run down the web page to the right of the cover picture, and you’ll see exactly what individual pages of the resource look like.

Also available is the Macbeth Teachers’ Book with 50 + photocopiable worksheets  Normally this retails at £22, but for a very limited period we are offering a free copy of the teacher’s book to any school purchasing five or more comic books.

All you need to do to get the free copy is to indicate that you will be willing to complete a short questionnaire after you have used the books in two sessions with your pupils or students.

The questionnaire will only take five minutes to complete at most and can simply be emailed back to us once completed.  This offer is only available for a limited number of schools, and we do reserve the right to stop the offer the moment we have sufficient schools participating.

“If you would like to take part in this offer and complete the questionnaire simply indicate on your order – PLUS FREE TEACHERS BOOK FOR COMPLETING QUESTIONNAIRE”

There are more details of how to order on the website.  And If you would like to know more please do email us at info@shakespearecomics.com or call 01691 770165.

School News

Boost success in Group 3

iAchieve is helping thousands of learners to succeed in vocational subjects that count in Group 3 of the Performance Measures.

iAchieve is an exciting range of online vocational courses that come complete with learning materials, assessments, marking guidelines and lots of support for teachers and learners – all fully endorsed by NCFE, the Awarding Organisation.

Many of the schools we work with have decided to switch learners that are not succeeding in an academic subject on to one of these more suitable vocational options. Because iAchieve is so comprehensive, you can introduce the courses quickly, even if teachers haven’t delivered them before.

Our courses are practical, accessible and engaging and give learners a great opportunity to succeed in these subjects:

NCFE Level 2 V Cert Business and Enterprise

NCFE Level 2 V Cert Food and Cookery

NCFE Level 2 V Cert Health and Fitness

NCFE Level 2 V Cert Engineering Studies

“Our learners enjoy using the system and make quick progress” Jenny Gaylor, Deputy Principal Carshalton Boys School.

iAchieve is purchased as a licence that gives your school access to all of the courses for an unlimited number of learners. As a special introductory price we are offering a one year licence for £995 + VAT.

We would love to talk to you about how iAchieve could help learners and teachers in your school, so if you are interested in finding out more and seeing some sample materials, please simply reply to this email or call me on 07393 205082.

Best wishes

Amanda Madine
Head of Business Development

iachieve.org.uk

Follow us on Twitter @iAchieveUK

Special Needs

Supporting your SEN students to form healthy relationships

How can you support your Special Educational Needs students to form healthy relationships in all aspects of their life?

The ability to form a healthy relationship is something that we typically learn from trial and error and observation, but it may be that your SEN students require a bit more support if they are able to form and maintain healthy relationships throughout adolescence and adulthood.

Which is why we have devised The Relationships series. A comprehensive resource offering guidance to teenagers aged 14 to 19 with a reading age of around seven by being sympathetic to the way that autistic teenagers (for example) typically view the world.

The Relationships series consists of:

  • Six story books, which support the ASDAN Transition Challenge and Towards Independence Life Skills courses, exploring a different situation where it is important that young people identify their emotions, as well as the emotions of others.

Titles include, “The Date: Rachel’s Story” and “The Date: Mike’s Story” (differing opinions and sides to the same story), “Mum’s New Boyfriend” (accepting a parent’s new partner), “My Teacher” (understanding teacher/pupil relationships), “Sisters at War” (managing sibling tension) and “Staying Out Late” (the issues it raises with parents).

  • A CD-ROM providing electronic versions of the above titles, making it ideal for interactive whiteboard presentations and for students who would also benefit from listening to the text. It is also possible to edit and save the text to make your own story, create differentiated texts and personalise the text with your students’ names to enhance engagement.
  • An extensive range of activity worksheets and interactive activities that encourage reading comprehension. Activities include, Missing Words, Quizzes, Drag and Drop, Words and Pictures, Picture Search, Keyword Flashcards, Wordsearch, Spot the Difference and How Well Did You Read?.
  • Supporting resources for teachers including page-by-page notes for all the stories and assessment resources (feedback sheets and student record sheets).

The complete set of resources containing two copies of each of the six readers, the complete teacher book, and the CD Rom is available as the Relationships Value Pack for £139 plus VAT (save 10%).

Individual elements from the pack are also available separately.

For further information, please click here.  Alternatively, please email info@senpress.co.uk or call 01582 833205.

Janie Nicholas

Primary

Circus skills workshops opportunities for all

“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning.”

Circus skills workshops are brilliant fun for all ages and abilities and offer an excellent educational experience, whether exploring the “circus topic”, exploring  forces in science, as an activity day, a reward, or part of your school fete or fair.

The founders and facilitators at Fantastiko Circus Workshops have been sharing their skills for over 15 years and pride themselves on delivering the best circus package to suit each school and their pupils. Our workshops offer focused fun and bring the magic of circus straight in to your school (or our circus tent marquee).

Skills range from simple feather balancing and bucket stilts to the more advanced tight wire and unicycle, and we tailor our workshops to suit different ages from reception all the way up to year 6 – and adults love joining in too.  Fantastiko deliver a complete circus package and our offers include everything from; a one hour visit, circus days, ongoing schemes of work, circus science sessions and even a range of themed entertainment.

The workshops are designed to help pupils feel energised and positive as they work together and learn new things, we also offer personalised certificates to add to their sense of achievement.

“We learnt loads and now I believe I can do anything” Year 5 pupil St Albans

“The evaluation forms for the circus workshop have all said it was excellent! Everyone had a great time.” Young carers group.

Take a look at our website www.circusworkshops.biz

Prices start from £210+Vat for a half day.

Contact us for more details about the different workshops and entertainment we offer including:

  • KS1 Circus theme topic
  • Theme/fun/reward days for the whole school.
  • Assemblies, school fetes and fundraisers.
  • A range of costumes and outfits add to the experience (jesters, ringmaster etc)
  • We also offer stilt walkers, balloon modellers, face painters and children’s entertainment.

Call or email Drew or Lisa to find out more.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Tel: 07539229256

Email: info@circusworkshops.biz

PSHE

Pre-publication discount on Key Stage 3 British Values Books

Order British Values Key Stage 3 books now and get a 15% discount

A series of 4 books covering the key areas of democracy, law of the land, mutual respect and tolerance and individual liberty.

What teachers are saying about our British Values books:

‘Easy to use lesson ideas that will fit neatly into our topic plans’

‘A great resource covering difficult concepts of judicial independence and the Rule of Law in an engaging manner’

‘Great illustrations and clear activities for teachers and children to follow’

Front covers

For more information visit our website
Special Needs

Target hard-to-reach students with a proven virtual classroom

A proven way to reach and engage your students with mental issues 

Every teacher has their own methods for connecting with a class, however it can be difficult when it comes to those hard-to-reach students struggling with mental health issues.

We launched EDVirtual (our virtual classroom) in 2016 so that your establishments can target these students and support them and their learning needs.

The virtual classrooms and all of their features can be accessed from any location with an internet connection, allowing you to effectively teach students who struggle to make it into the classroom at a distance.

Our unique safeguarding tools have been developed with distant learners in mind to give educators the best opportunity to deliver lessons to off-site students whilst also monitoring their behaviour and safety.

Read more

This facility will enable further support for students and the needs of those involved with these individuals in furthering their education by giving you the ability to:

  • allocate timetabled pathways that are customisable to suit students’ learning ability and needs.
  • mentor students in real-time through a written chat, verbal chat or face-to-face video link
  • monitor student’ wellbeing through our attendance trackers, safety questionnaires and alert system.
  • create bespoke learning plans and catch up programmes for your students to prevent them falling behind their classmates whilst off-site

We provide a safe and secure learning environment for hard to reach students, ensuring each student reaches their full potential in a controlled and safe environment.

For more information about EDVirtual, a two week free trial or a live online demo of the functionality of the online learning platform, contact us on 01909 568 338 or by email at mail@edlounge.com with the subject “EDVirtual2017”.

Primary

FREE online platform to connect learning to life

Help your pupils make the connection between what they learn in the classroom and the future world of work

Too many children fail to see the purpose of education and become disengaged with their learning. But pupils who have been inspired to explore careers possibilities are typically more motivated and focused in their lessons. Panjango aims to inspire and excite children about the world of work from an earlier age, starting in primary schools, by showing them the real world applications of their learning in life after school.

Panjango is a world of experiential learning which gamifies learning, links the curriculum to the real world and equips young people with the knowledge, skills and experience they need to find their purpose and fulfil their potential. For children of primary age, making a connection between what they learn in the classroom and how it relates to the world of work isn’t easy. But Panjango offers a free, easy-to-use platform to help any teacher bring the curriculum to life through a wide range of interactive, contextualised challenges.

Panjango features 120 occupations and more than 1000 challenges covering the Maths, English and Science curriculum from levels 3 to 7. A filtering system allows teachers to tailor lessons and present the challenges most relevant to their class – filtering by level, subject and even individual topics. For example, teachers could choose to display ratio or geometry challenges in Maths, grammar or transcription challenges in English, or evolution or forces challenges in Science.

Panjango has already received praise from some prominent people in the education world. For example, leading education author and Primary Head Teacher of the Year, Richard Gerver, said:

“Panjango is a dynamic and original resource to inspire children and educators, ensuring that our kids don’t just survive but thrive in their future. Panjango offers a radical new approach to the delivery of careers education – a powerful, immersive experience which helps young people understand why their learning is important and how it is used in practical settings in the world of work. The resource has the potential to significantly enhance the learning outcomes of young people by bringing learning to life, making if fun, interactive and meaningful.”

To check out Panjango, register now for free at panjango.online. We hope you enjoy using Panjango as much as we’ve enjoyed creating it!

Jon & Joseph

Founders of Panjango

Primary

Spelling Practice Activity Books and Weekly Spelling Lists

Revised for the 2016 SATs requirements:

Spelling Practice Activity Books and Weekly Spelling Lists

for Year 3, Year 4, Year 5, & Year 6

The simplest and most effective way to create a unified tracking approach to your pupils’ progress in spelling is by first implementing a KS2 spelling policy.

In doing this, everyone knows what has gone before and what comes next, enabling pupils to progress in their spelling more rapidly and schools to respond to the demands of the English Programmes of Study more efficiently.

Which is why we have revised our popular KS2 Spelling Series to meet the 2016 SATs requirements…

The KS2 Spelling Series consists of Key Stage 2 Weekly Spelling Lists and Spelling Practice Activity Books for Year 3, Year 4, Year 5, and Year 6.

Furthermore, the KS2 Spelling Series now includes diagnostic assessments which will give an indication as to where a pupil should begin, four words following a specific rule to be introduced every week, and two words from the relevant Y3/4 or Y5/6 word lists to learn each week.

It will introduce concepts of spelling which will be tested in the Punctuation & Grammar part of the Year 6 Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling test (paper 1), including: suffixes, prefixes, the use of the hyphen and the possessive apostrophe with plural words, contractions and other carefully organised words for revision.

The KS2 Spelling Series can be downloaded for just £50+Vat (£10+VAT per PDF workbook) by visiting https://www.topical-resources.co.uk/category/spelling-programmes/.

For more information (or to see sample pages), please email sales@topical-resources.co.uk or visit the individual resource links below.

 
www.topical-resources.co.uk
sales@topical-resources.co.uk