Schools’ budgets are being squeezed along with every other public sector budget with many school heads wondering how they are going to balance the books in coming months. Many teachers are therefore going to be under pressure to make savings where they can in the classroom and although some things may be out of their control such as heating there are some savings that they can influence. The number of resources such as paper, pens and pencils and other stationary materials that are used in the average classroom is huge and so it is essential that the pupils are made aware of the need to take care of these resources. Some schools issue pupils in a new class with their own stationary set giving them the responsibility for looking after... Read More »
Although teachers are not in school at the moment the majority will still be thinking at times about their classroom organisation and how they can encourage pupils to be more independent in their learning. Any teacher will tell you that classroom organisation is vital to promote good behaviour and to encourage independent learning of the children in the class. The resources that the pupils will need for their everyday tasks such as pencils, pens and erasers should ideally be in a container on the table so that the pupils will not need to get out of their seats to get this equipment. It is also useful to have spelling lists or dictionaries on the tables to encourage children to use them independently when carrying out writing tasks. During mathematics lessons... Read More »
During this part of the school year, many teachers take the opportunity to take their pupils outdoors more frequently for lessons other than physical education. The value of this has been shown to be of great benefit for all pupils and can increase motivation and inspire children to be more creative in other curriculum areas. Forest schools is a relatively new concept which mimics educational practices used mainly in Scandinavian counties and involves children spending time outdoors in all weathers learning new skills and enjoying the outside environment. Most schools now incorporate this into the school day for some year groups which has been a challenge for urban schools without easily accessible wild spaces. Besides the use of forest school sessions, a creative teacher can opt to use the outdoor... Read More »
As a classroom teacher you may be required to teach children with additional needs alongside their peers who are following the curriculum as set out in the National Curriculum. This can be difficult to manage without additional support in the classroom. Currently in education it is felt that children with additional needs are best placed in a mainstream school and given one to one support but financially for the school this may not be feasible unless there is additional funding in place. Teachers often need to prepare additional materials to make the curriculum accessible for children with additional needs and this can be time consuming if it involves enlarging text or adapting resources. A teaching assistant may be available to help with this at the start of the day or... Read More »
Statutory and more informal assessments have become commonplace in Primary schools now and it appears that this will increase even more but is this approach actually improving academic achievement or could the time spent on testing and assessment be used more profitably. Most teachers know that not all children learn the same way. Some learn better when they are required to memorise facts off by heart, learning by rote, whilst other children learn more if the context is a practical one, so they get to see the purpose of their learning. The problem with the testing regimes that are common in Primary school is that they focus more on learning facts by rote. If the child who is being tested has a poor memory or finds concentrating for long periods... Read More »
