A great Getting to Know You activity for your classroom takes a group of students who have just met and builds a sense of community. I remember sitting in front of my very first class. 28 Year 5 and 6 students, all sitting quietly, nervously on the mat, looking around at each other and then…
Collaborative activities are the perfect way to explore Waitangi Day and the Treaty of Waitangi. With Waitangi Day commemorated at the beginning of the school year, our resources help you to cover this important part of Aotearoa New Zealand’s history while it is front and centre in your students’ minds. In the first weeks of…
I am excited to share this blog post and explain my top five teaching resources from our Top Teaching Tasks range! There is something in our top five teaching resources for everyone! So without further ado, and in no particular order, here are out top five! NZ History Time Travel Adventure (Print and Digital) Year…
If you are in search of great Back to School activities for NZ or Australian classrooms – or even further afield, we have a great range available. I’ve also put together a great range of Back to School blog posts that will help you to get to know your students and set up the year…
I don’t know about you, but in planning the first week of school I always preferred to be overplanned and overprepared – you never know what can happen! The beginning of the year is so exciting – setting up your classroom, preparing resources, and looking forward to getting to know your new students. One step…
When I surveyed trainee teachers on topics they would like advice on, the resounding and clear winner was tips for Successful Parent-Teacher Communication. From memory, this topic wasn’t something covered when I was going through teacher training. However, there are so many benefits for parents being active in their child’s education, and clear communication will…
A common question I see regularly in teacher Facebook groups is “What is a good classroom read-aloud novel?” so I’m here to help. In fact, I knew just WHO to ask to help. Melina from Galarious Goods is passionate about books in a way that can really not be described. She is a fountain of…
It has been great to see the response to our Beginning Teachers series. In this blogpost, the fantastic beginning teachers share their teacher tips. Grab a pen and paper and take some notes – there is a lot of gold here! Teacher Tips from a First-Year Teacher Make a to-do list that encompasses task, resources,…
I am conscious of the fact that while many graduates are successful in gaining employment right away, others will spend time relieving at the beginning of their career. Others may choose to relieve at different points in their career for a myriad of reasons, so I wanted to provide some relief teacher tips and tricks!…
Learner Agency (also known as student agency) is key to providing opportunities for the development of key competencies and the application of learning. In this guest blog post, Kate Friedwald explores resources to support learner agency. Ensuring learners have a choice in their learning not only raises engagement but also supports the learning of vital…
In this guest blog post, Chelsea Donaldson shares a fantastic way to develop a positive classroom culture. I first saw Chelsea speak about this passionately on Instagram and I knew I wanted her to share the project on my blog. I am sure you will get a lot of great ideas – enjoy! It’s for…
Have you tried using Collaborative Posters in the Classroom? Collaborative posters are a fantastic way to build a culture of teamwork and unity in your classroom. They can also be used to promote kindness and gratefulness, as a formative assessment activity, and to get to know your students. Get To Know Your Students Using Collaborative…
Utilising The Positive Note Home is a simple and effective way to encourage positive communication between school and home. Why The Positive Note Home? Communication is key! One way to promote positive communication between school and home is by sending home simple and brief positive notes. Consider this: some parents have only had negative experiences…
Beginning Teacher tips: Setting Up a Reading Program (Year 3-Year 8) Welcome to the second in our series of blog posts to support beginning teachers. When I studied teaching at University, one of the things I was most surprised with was the lack of practical advice given to teachers about the day-to-day workings of actually…
Welcome to the first in our series of blog posts to support beginning teachers. The following tips for beginning teachers have been sourced from teachers in New Zealand, Australia and around the world. I surveyed teachers and asked them a simple question: What do you wish you knew when you were starting teaching? They had a…
Effective Classroom Management is a goal of every teacher, so I thought it would be a great focus as part of my Beginning Teacher blog post series. If you are going to read one book about classroom management, then I wholeheartedly recommend Managing Challenging Children by Gerard Gordon – this is not an affiliate link…
A huge part of the Back to School season is ensuring that your students feel comfortable and connected in their new classroom environment. These tips will help you to use Getting to Know You activities to build a positive and inclusive classroom culture from day one. I remember my first day of teaching like it…
Top Teaching Tasks