A few weeks ago there were old tape decks were about to be thrown out. So I left them on a bench and in my classroom. Sure enough the students spotted them. They started pushing buttons. Pulling ariels. Making sounds. Turning knobs. This was old technology to them. Curiosity is the most important ingredient in learning... Continue Reading →
Weekly Reflection – Gone Quiet
It's been almost a month between posts. Over the last few weeks of term school production gradually took over my life. By the end of term I could barely think much less write something resembling a coherent blog post. This is not to say that production was all bad. I enjoyed teaching dance, finally got... Continue Reading →
Weekly Reflection: Shall we dance?
Phew. Just under 4 weeks until production and the scene I'm in charge of is... 1950s rock and roll dancing. I'm one of those clumsy sorts who is forever falling over and dropping things. For that reason my dancing strictly to the gym to limit the chances of doing damage to myself and others. Yet here... Continue Reading →
Weekly Reflection – on your way to Disco
This year I volunteered to be the teacher in charge of Student Council which also means I'm the teacher in charge of organising the school discos. Officially the student council run disco but there are limitations to 11 and 12 year olds organisational skills. Organising permission slips, tickets, posters, food sales, lighting, music, prizes, decorations... Continue Reading →
Weekly Reflection: I got me the midterm blues
There's something about the middle of term which seems to send me into depths of despair. I think it's that point where I look down at my massive to-do-list and wonder how on earth I am going to muster the energy to check those items off. The beginning of term energy has evaporated and a... Continue Reading →
Weekly Reflection: I can’t believe they didn’t know *that*
As a Year 7/8 teacher, I’m sure I’m not the only one who has in times of frustration complained that kids these days just don’t seemed as clued in as the kids of yesteryear. They’ve been at school 7 years and still don’t know the four times table. Their work is littered with text speak.... Continue Reading →
Weekly Reflection: Learning to Let Go
At the end of the week I jetted away to Bali for the Apple Distinguished Educator Institue in Bali. I was pretty stoked when I learned of my selection back in December. Since then I've crossed days off my calendar and been doing the happy dance with increased frequency but the realities of the trip didn't really... Continue Reading →
Weekly Reflection: The hard way
As the term wears on I've been moving my class on from culture-building through to getting learning programmes started. Our unit of inquiry for the first half of the year is on globalization Globalization there's so many ways the class could go with this concept. At the start of the term I had lots of mad... Continue Reading →
Start of the year team-building activities for the classroom
With the start of the year winding down I thought I would share with you some icebreaker activities I've done with my class to help build a sense of team this year. Human bingo Like bingo but instead alongside content questions e.g knows their 8 times tables backwards you can add in things like 'went... Continue Reading →
Goodie buckets and lollypop moments – making the first day of school awesome
This year I've resolved to share more of my practice online. I'm not sure how interesting it will be once the term really begins, but for now this school year is new and sparkly. I have lots of energy and want to share (as opposed to last year which just seemed to pass in blur... Continue Reading →
Teaching the Teacher 