How to help a student with dyslexia read
Have you got a student in your class that just doesn’t seem to ‘get’ how to put it all together and be able to read? Or maybe you have a student who repeatedly misspells and misreads commonly used words? Maybe you’ve tried a few different strategies and techniques,...
Getting through the winter months in your classroom
Winter is here and boy do we know it! The time of colds, multiple layers, that niggling cough and your face freezing off. Being around children all day, especially the younger ones, who aren’t quite aware of hygiene as much as an older student, germs can be...
Let’s talk about maths!
Maths is everywhere, it is a skill that we need for life, yet it can be one of the most challenging subjects to teach in our classrooms. I must admit, I have never quite understood why because I loved it as a subject throughout my entire schooling. The patterns, the...
Assessment and reporting
Report cards are part of school life, they can be time consuming and certainly take cut into your personal time in a big way. I remember my own children saying that they hated me writing reports as basically I was not ‘present’ for them. There’s no denying that...
NAPLAN Testing- working up to the day and creating coping strategies for your students
Preparing students for NAPLAN NAPLAN, also known as the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy, is a series of assessment tests held each year in May for Australian students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. “NAPLAN tests skills that are essential for every...
The importance of using games in the classroom
Research has shown that there are many benefits for playing games in the classroom. When planning lessons, teachers should try to incorporate at least one game a day into one of the key learning areas as either a teaching and learning tool, assessment strategy or...
The importance of using brain breaks in the classroom
It is customary for most schools to have a break in the middle of the first two sessions of the day (usually literacy and numeracy) because it is well researched that sugary cereals etc may not be the best start for the day, however, it can often be the mainstay of...
Supporting disorganised students to become more organised
There are always a few students each year who really struggle to stay organised. Maybe you notice this characteristic in your own children. messy desks and work areas can’t locate things have difficulty getting organised for class often don’t have the tools they...
How to use real-life connections in the classroom to increase engagement
How engaged are your students in your lessons? This is one measure of how you connect with your students to determine how you perform best as a teacher I.e. altering your lesson plans to make them more interesting and engaging, behavioural management techniques,...
Reasons to consider relief teaching
Teaching is one of the most rewarding and challenging careers around. However, there comes a time in life where working full time becomes either impossible or unfavourable for all sorts of reasons. This is why becoming a relief teacher is a great option to avoid...