Yes, you should be teaching New Zealand History in your classroom! Now that we’ve got that sorted, let me explain four reasons why. 1. Students Need To Know Their Past (and Not Just Some of It) We’ve all heard the classic quote from Edmund Burke, “Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it”….
Kia orana! I’ve put together this blog post to highlight Cook Islands Language Week Activities. Read on to gather some ideas for bringing the language and culture of the Cook Islands into your classroom this August. Cook Islands Language Week: Te ‘epetoma o te reo Māori Kūki ‘Āirani runs from Sunday 31 July – Saturday…
Digital Task Cards are a great way to engage your students in 21st-century learning. Read on to learn 5 Reasons to use Digital Task Cards in your Classroom! What are Digital Task Cards? Digital Task Cards are paperless task cards used on digital devices such as Google Slides, iPads, laptops and cellphones. They can easily…
Learn Four Interactive Ways to Teach Beginning Sounds. One of the most important literacy skills in the early years is learning to tell sounds apart. In oral language, this is known as sound discrimination. Even if you don’t know this fancy term, it is likely you have done some sound discrimination as you’ve helped children…
Australia is a fascinating country of contrasts – arid deserts and lush rainforests, white sand beaches and bustling cities, rich history and new technology! But how much do your students know about Australia? This blog post explains how to explore Australian Geography and Landmarks with your students through our new resource. Australian Geography and Landmarks…
Matariki is a great topic to integrate across subject areas as it easily links into social science, science, te reo Māori, drama, visual arts…and the list goes on. Read on for some practical suggestions on exploring Matariki across the curriculum. The Benefits of Exploring Matariki across the curriculum An integrated curriculum is great because: It…
With King Charles III’s coronation coming up this weekend (Saturday 6 May), we’ve created some simple activities to help you cover this momentous occasion. I wasn’t even a thought in my mother’s mind when the last coronation took place (1953), so this is all quite new to me, but it looks like a rather large…
Matariki, the Māori New Year, has many symbols that explain its significance. I’ve put together this blog post to explain how to explore the Matariki stars through visual language. Read on to see a step by step process of how the Matariki stars can be used as a great context for exploring symbols and symbolism with…
The celebration of Matariki, the Māori New Year, has grown in popularity in recent years and there is a wealth of information and ideas out there to help you commemorate the event with your students. Read on to learn 5 ways to introduce Matariki in your classroom. What is Matariki? Matariki is the Māori name…
5 Reasons to Use Primary Sources in the Classroom Primary sources carry a heavy reputation with them, conjuring ideas of dusty bookshelves, high school or university classes and translating from some ancient language. But primary sources are so much more than that – and can be a valuable tool for us to use in the…
You can explore Anzac Day through digital learning in a way that is engaging, fun, and extremely impactful for your students. Introducing Anzac Day through videos One simple way to explore Anzac Day Through Digital Learning is by sharing videos with your students. The following videos would be great to share with students via Seesaw,…
The 21st-century skills of creativity, collaboration, and communication are vital for our students as they enter adulthood in a quickly changing world. Therefore, the art of public speaking and the ability to prepare and deliver a speech are even more important skills than ever. Why The Art of Public Speaking Is More Important Than Ever…
Teaching Grammar and Punctuation Skills in Your Classroom Grammar and punctuation skills are essential in your classroom writing program. Your students need to be using parts of speech correctly, developing figurative language, extending their use of sentence structure, using punctuation accurately, and further learning how words work. However, while we know the importance of teaching…
As a child, I had an avid imagination. I see the same traits in my own children today; I think creativity just comes naturally to most kids. Using Creative Thinking Activities with students is a great way to encourage problem-solving, teamwork, outside of the box thinking and resilience. Creative thinking is important Creativity should not…
St. Patrick’s Day is a great little holiday full of my favourite colour – green! This holiday, originating in Ireland, can be brought to life in your classroom in a variety of engaging ways. In this blog post, I will share with you my favourite St. Patrick’s Day activities for upper primary students. What is…
Kids loving learning about myths and legends from around the world. The stories are big, bold, exciting and stretch the imagination! In this blog post, I look at four reasons why you should use myths and legends reading activities in your reading and writing classroom. What is the difference between a myth and a legend?…
If you ask your students to name some of the major symbols in New Zealand or “Kiwiana” culture, most could rattle off a few: gumboots, kiwifruit, L&P, hokey pokey ice-cream, pavlova, number 8 wire… and the list goes on. Ask those same students to point to where they live on a map and the likelihood…
Reading Response activities will likely form a major part of your reading programme, whether you are running guided reading groups, a daily 5 system, literature circles or a reading workshop set up. It is time-consuming to create follow up activities for every book or text that your students read, so it is great to have ready…
New Zealand is increasingly a multicultural country with a growing number of Pacific peoples. With the likelihood that students in your class will have Pacific heritage, it is vital that the classroom space, culture and learning positively reflect Pasifika. Students are more likely to achieve when they see themselves and their culture positively reflected in their…
Early Finishers Activities are a must in your classroom. We have all heard the dreaded, “I’m Done, Now What?” Usually, it comes right when you are in the middle of working with a small group or testing a student – basically, right when you don’t need it. Read on to find the 5 must-haves of…
Daily writing is a crucial part of improving your students’ writing ability. Using daily writing prompts, as a bell ringer or morning work activity, ensures that the children are writing every day of the school year. Here is what I found worked for me: The Daily Writing Approach As the students enter the classroom at…
Learning the sounds of letters and developing phonemic awareness and phonics skills are crucial steps in early reading. However, there are some words that can’t be sounded out and require a different approach. This is where sight words come in. Fun sight word activities draw on both kinaesthetic and visual learning and help develop fluency…
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…
It is great once students can decode the words they read on the page. However, the real power in reading comes when they can understand and interpret what they are reading. With this in mind, it is important to ensure students are engaged in their reading comprehension activities. If you are not careful, your reading…
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