Building Content-Area Literacy into our Integrated Reading Resources I’m excited to introduce our two new integrated reading resources. These reading units help students to increase their literacy engagement and grow their understanding of texts across the curriculum (content-area literacy). For example, our Kiwi Innovators unit features interesting texts that don’t shy away from using scientific…
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…
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…
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!…
When I asked beginning teachers to share with me the biggest challenge of their first and second year of teaching, the answer was clear. Managing the teacher workload was something that every beginning teacher mentioned. In this blogpost, my wonderful beginning teachers will share their experiences of managing their teacher workload. There are lots of…
We have all heard the importance of teacher self-care, and what screams self-care more than an Ultimate Teacher Survival Kit!? I asked my email subscribers what they would put in the Ultimate Teacher Survival Kit and they did not disappoint! Perhaps you could make a teacher survival kit for a teacher who needs a pick me…
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…
I previously published a guest blog post by Sarah Tohill that examined the mentoring relationship of mentors and beginning teachers. Now, my fantastic group of beginning teachers will share their experiences of working with a mentor teacher. Some PCT (beginning teacher)/Mentor relationships are really positive, some could be called “interesting”, and unfortunately, some just don’t…
As part of our beginning teachers’ series, I wanted to look at using the beginning teacher release time. The way that beginning teacher release is used and allocated in primary schools around New Zealand is varied. I would go as far as to say that some schools do a poor job of allocating this to…
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,…
Welcome to a new series of blog posts looking at the experiences of a group of first and second-year teachers. In this blog post, these fantastic teachers explore the expectations versus the reality of beginning teaching. I hope you are able to gain some useful insights into the reality of a teacher’s life from this…
With a large number of NEW teachers completing their studies, I thought a great new addition to our Beginning Teachers Series would be a blog post on how to write a teacher CV. In this guest blog post, Gill from ep.education sets out the dos and don’ts of teacher CV writing. I know you will…
I love teaching figurative language! It can be a really fun way to encourage students to make their writing come alive. It also makes the writing process more interesting for them, and the end product more interesting for others to read! This blog post looks at activities for teaching figurative language, including videos, mentor texts,…
What is Kiwiana? New Zealand has a unique Kiwiana culture that is not found anywhere else in the world. From L&P to Pavlova, Number 8 Wire to Hokey Pokey, the colourful and humorous ‘kiwi’ culture is well worth a look. This blog post provides many ways of Exploring Kiwiana in the Classroom. What is Kiwiana?…
If you are going to Teach Parts of Speech in your classroom, it can either be a snooze fest or an engaging time where students retain the information. It is important to understand the different parts of speech to know how words can and should be used together to make sentences. Also, understanding the parts of…
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…
I am beyond excited to share with you our latest resource – a great way to explore New Zealand History in the Classroom. Imagine your students have been taken in a time machine back in time. To get back to the present day they need to complete tasks and collect mosaic tiles. Once their mosaic…
In this guest blogpost, Lauren Pugh highlights her 10 Tips for Using Google Classroom. I hope you find these practical tips useful as you navigate Google Classroom with your students. Google Classroom is a fantastic tool created for GSuite users to create online courses with ease. It can be a one-stop-shop for creating meaningful learning…
With many of us thrown into an unexpected period of distance learning, I wanted to highlight how my digital reading comprehension activities can help your students maintain and improve their reading skills. I’ve put together a free activity so you can trial Digital Reading Comprehension for Distance Learning. Let me unpack this free resource for…
To help with any teachers dealing with school closures or the possibility of home and distance learning, I’ve put together these Home Learning Choice Boards. If your school doesn’t close, these would still make great activity sheets in the school holidays. Thank you to the many teachers who collaborated by sharing their incredible ideas. It…
I have a wonderful new Te Reo Praise Phrase free resource for you and I’ve put together a quick blog post to explain its importance! This beautiful Te Reo Praise Phrase poster is a handy display tool in your classroom. I use the word tool because this poster is a great way to prompt and…
In this guest blogpost, Sarah Tohill explores the mentoring relationship that all beginning teachers will experience during their first two years in the classroom. There are great tips and advice for both beginning teachers and their mentors. Read on! When you qualify as a teacher in New Zealand and you’ve finished all those assignments, readings,…
Mother’s Day Activities for Your Classroom As teachers, we are reminded that our students are somebody’s whole world. While we may occasionally feel frustrated or overwhelmed by their behaviour, each of them is a special child with many gifts. It can be easy at times for teachers to forget about the family that has built…
Shared Reading is for Upper Primary, too. Often when people think of shared reading, they think of a teacher in the junior school sharing a big book with a class of 5-7-year-olds. However, I am here to tell you today that Shared Reading is for Upper Primary, too. I’ll give you a quick rundown of what…
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…
I’ve created 34 Staff Certificates That All Teachers Will Relate To. Share this post with a teacher who will understand! Keep reading to download all 34 certificates for free! These certificates are a fantastic way to celebrate the school year at your end of the year staff party or celebration. 1. ‘Science Experiments’ in the…
One thing you need to know about me is I love Christmas, so I have been looking forward to writing this Christmas Activities for the Classroom blog post for a long time! Downunder, in New Zealand and Australia, celebrating Christmas in the classroom can be a fun way to end the school year, while in…
Top Teaching Tasks