Here are ten Christmas classroom activities that require minimal preparation. No worksheets are needed to get through December and have fun before the break!
Teaching
Blogging and the Literacy Curriculum
To realise the many educational benefits of blogging and ensure your program has an extended life-span, blogging needs to be prioritised and planned for. It should to be integrated into the curriculum; busy classrooms rarely have time for “add ons”.
Looking Back, Looking Forward
This will be my last week teaching before I begin maternity leave. I’m definitely looking forward to my new adventure as a mum but know there will be a lot I will miss about being in the classroom. In packing up my classroom to make way for the new teacher, it has been interesting to […]
Going 1:1 – Any Advice?
While the school year is quickly coming to an end, I’m looking forward to teaching grade four again in 2013. Next year my school is introducing a 1:1 netbook program for grade four students. Early this term we held a parent information night and we are now delighted to have around 90% of families signed […]
10 Internet Use Tips for Teachers
Last week I attended a presentation by former police officer and cyber safety expert, Susan McLean. There was a lot to think about at this session and I wrote a post with 10 Internet Safety Tips for Students. I do have some concerns about the way some teachers conduct themselves online and promote internet safety […]
PowerPoint: Dead or Alive?
Since Microsoft PowerPoint was released in 1990, it has been a key tool in many classroom ICT programs and businesses. There seems to be a reoccurring theme in social media that “PowerPoint is dead”. PowerPoint has been the butt of many jokes including this infographic by SlideRocket. Wikipedia outlines a history of the “death by PowerPoint” criticism, […]
Online Maths Activities
We had a numeracy curriculum day at my school today and I was asked to present a workshop on online maths sites. The audience was diverse with teachers from all grade levels as well as CRTs (casual replacement teachers) and student teachers. I began by giving a few tips for using online maths sites. 1. […]
Evolving Parent Communcation
When I began teaching in 2004, my main forms of parent communication were: the occasional class (paper) newsletter chatting to parents at the classroom door signs on the classroom window with reminders reports and parent teacher interviews communication books for some students phone calls or notes home if issues arose While some things have stayed […]
Student Centred Blogging
Student centred learning is an theory that seems to have gained popularity in education communities over the years. Wikipedia defines this type of learning as “putting students first … focused on the student’s needs, abilities, interests, and learning styles with the teacher as a facilitator of learning. Teacher-centred learning has the teacher at its centre […]
A Life Our Students Will Never Know
Over the holidays, while attempting to be less “connected”, I’ve been thinking about how much technology seems to be increasingly infused into our day-to-day lives. With laptops, smart phones, iPads, iPods and other portable devices becoming so common place, gadgets are no longer something we go to, they come with us. This clearly brings about […]
Students Learning From Their Blogging Buddies
I seem to be continually uncovering more and more benefits to educational blogging. Aside from the advantages that I’ve shared here and here, having your class involved in the educational blogging community allows students to learn from and with their peers from all around the world. In my class we often use our blogging buddies’ posts as inspiration for classroom activities, […]
Quality over Quantity
I’ve been thinking about how important quality over quantity often is when it comes to effective teaching and learning with blogging, global collaboration and technology. Here are some thoughts… It’s not about how many blogging buddies your class has but about having deep and ongoing connections with classes that you can learn with and from. It’s […]
School is out for 2011
2011 has been a fabulous year! In true “Kathleen Morris style”, I have taken on a lot and juggled many different pursuits, but it is all worthwhile to reflect on what has been achieved. Some of my 2011 highlights include: Global Collaborative Projects – I LOVE working on global projects with my students. Some of […]
Benefits of Educational Blogging Video
The benefits of educational blogging is something I have discussed many times on this blog. Kelly Jordan and I regularly speak to teachers at our school and around the world about blogging. Rather than us always selling the benefits we decided to make this video with our students to highlight some of the advantages of […]
Team Teaching In The Primary Classroom
Updated in 2018. This detailed post explains how I used to team teach in the primary classroom and a modified model that is working well now.