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Use red pen SPARINGLY! SMTM

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Here are some of the tips and tricks we discussed at the SMTM

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Success criteria to help build excellence

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Success criteria to help build excellence

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Working out the different stages on the journey of learning

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Building excellence in student's work (ACR)

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Building excellence in student's work (ACR)

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Wagoll

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Starter and Plenary Games to engage (RSH)

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Starter and Plenary Games to engage (RSH)

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AGR: 'Bar of chocolate' example - fold a piece of paper 3 times so you have 8 sections - used for an introduction to a new topic.
SFL: ‘What if…’ questions, eg. On French Revolution and death of Louis XVI – S&C question ‘Could the King and Queen have prevented their own deaths or was it inevitable form the very beginning of their reign? Justify your response.

EWA: use of A Level text book with Yr 7- use of contemporary sources from Henry VIII’s time. Students are looking at the sources and identifying the subjective from objective – going through chronology thematically. HW is to have interpretations and they have to justify which they most agree with – adapt exercises that are in the A Level books for use with KS3

LDO: ‘Switching things backwards’ Class asking questions about the photograph – the extension was to ‘turn it around’ and for students to think about what the subject of the photo would be asking about those looking at the photograph.

BNO: ‘Caption this history’ – each year group has a picture that is referenced to what they are studying and then tasks to go with the picture so they have to write a caption that is seemingly totally random by reading the expressions on the faces of those in the photo, rather than the historical facts. For less able, students can make a tweet.

SPR: Questioning – challenging students to really think about what they are seeing. Example of religious artefacts, asking what you see, how it would be used, but for S&C think deeper about that importance of the artefacts

TGR: studying how do you put your religious beliefs into action in daily life. In order to be able to do this need to develop use of empathy – used a relevant example with an interview on ‘Richard & Judy’ and they have to answer how they feel the lady would have answered – S&C to write what the questions should be for the interviewer

RSH: Write your worst exam paper – could use this with Yr 11

PHO: ideas from the OTT – ‘Visual organisers’

PSY: Tarsia puzzles: link on the StMarys learning padlet to create them – these can be more challenging by having more pictures / words / homophones – can create debate – have an identified person to write the responses down – can use these before an assessment – to stretch, get students to add extra triangles to make it bigger

CCR: Use of pictures – students having to categorise them themselves, identify similarities and differences –

AGR: extend this by having students create their own venn diagrams with points to be able to put things into the venn

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This, my very first blog post, is inspired by the recent addition to my classroom displays. I shared a picture of my "Finished? Try one of these..." display on Twitter on the 19th August and since then I have been overwhelmed by the support and positivity from the Twitter community about this display idea!

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Good for the end of a unit / as part of revision

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At the close of a topic or as a revision exercise, ask students to design their own 'Google Doodle' to represent the essence of the subject. What symbols, colours, terms could they use?

This is an idea from @littlestobbsy on Twitter.

And has since been used by @MrsPert1 in her studies of the Transatlantic Slave Trade:

And here's another on the Reformation by @NoadsHistoryKRA:

Comments

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"Create a Google Doodle to represent our topic"

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At the close of a topic or as a revision exercise, ask students to design their own 'Google Doodle' to represent the essence of the subject. What symbols, colours, terms could they use? This is an idea from @littlestobbsy on Twitter.

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Students write on a sticky note what they learned or found interesting about the lesson-then stick it somewhere in the classroom

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Downloadable resource from TES (Click 'view original' on top right to download resource from TES)

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Inspired by Pete Sanderson's 'Tweet sheet' updating progress throughout the lesson this sheet uses Facebook update, Twitter tweet and Instagram picture with caption to update progress throughout the lesson using a starter, mid lesson update and plenary. ...

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Read more about how to run this revision based activity here: https://twitter.com/beckyshahre/status/664850366836645888

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7 Traits of Effective Teachers from @TeacherToolkit

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7 Traits of Effective Teachers from @TeacherToolkit

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What do you believe are the traits of an effective teacher?

Working with over 1,000 teachers over the past 20+ years, these are what I believe to be the 7 traits of an effective teacher.

Definition of 'trait': a distinguishing quality or characteristic, typically one belonging to a person.

Primarily, teachers love teaching and are passionate about their students, their subject and teaching as a whole. An effective teacher is one who is passionate about education, but that doesn't mean they will be on 'cloud-nine' all of the time. They are in tune with the classes they teach and the constraints and pressures they are working with; sometimes wearing their hearts on their sleeve! High or low, an effective teacher cannot hide their passion for teaching.

You know, kids don't learn from people they don't like." ( Rita Pierson)

The trait of an effective teacher knows that teaching is supposed to be tough. Who else has the responsibility to shape the minds of hundreds and hundreds of young lives?! Effective teachers know teaching children is meant to be a very enjoyable and rewarding career (although exhausting) but know hard work must be the main focus in their learning environment. They accept that students will want to have some fun at times, and that if they [the teacher] are not enjoying the teaching, their students will probably know it.

2. Planned and organised.

Effective teachers are always organised! So much so, they often know the diary of others and pre-empt potential problems. Lesson plans - whether lengthy or concise - are considered to meet the needs of all students; books are marked (smartly, considering their workload versus school policy) and their classrooms are an engine room. Classroom resources are organised in meticulous fashion, laid out carefully in trays, drawers, cups and pots. You name it, this teacher has it in their domain! Better still, you'll never catch a student abusing any of their teacher's well-thought resources: they wouldn't dare!

3. Reflect and are open-minded.

The most effective teachers know they are constantly being evaluated by their headteacher, colleagues, parents and even students! And instead of feeling aggrieved about being held to account, they embrace the challenge of teaching and are open-minded when receiving feedback about how they can become even better! Effective teachers know, nobody is perfect and there is always room for improvement, but know that it is a necessity for teachers to reflect on their teaching to develop even further. They always think about what went well and what to do next time.

Image: Shutterstock

Henry Ford said, if you keep doing what you've always done, you'll keep getting what you've always got!"

4. Take risks and embraces change.

In teaching, lessons don't always go according to plan, so there is a huge need to be flexible and ' go with flow '. An effective teacher knows they need to move with the times. They know they need to adapt to meet the needs of students and the requirements of curriculum and assessment. Therefore, what may have worked 2 or 3 years ago, may not be so effective today. They believe that they are a subject expert and must be at the forefront of their subject knowledge, skills and educational pedagogy.

5. Collaborate.

Effective teachers have a unique habit for bringing positive energy into the classroom every single day. They can also do this with most colleagues they work with across the school. They know we all have personal challenges in and out of school, but they leave all of it behind before they step into the classroom, sharing worldly experiences where applicable to the curriculum. Effective teachers never underestimate the expertise that lies within their school. They never forget the importance of sharing ideas with colleagues through simple discussions, sharing best practice or simply going for a little walk around school in search of good ideas.

6. Breaks down barriers.

Most teachers break down barriers day-to-day in their classrooms, but the trait of an effective teachers knows that literacy, language or social background is no barrier to learning. They accept no excuses of themselves, their colleagues or from the child. Effective teachers know that quality first teaching has the greatest effect a child can receive. Intervention is offered, and it usually is, but it is never offered as a substitute for low standards in the classroom.

7. Consistent.

Above all, effective teachers share one common trait. They are consistent in all that they do. They may be a maverick teacher, but they teach freely in-line with whole-school policy and never undermine their colleagues. There are no surprises, even if they do surprise they colleagues with unusual and maverick ideas. Their behaviour never raises an eyebrow, because their reputation and prior evidence speaks for itself. They always give 100% in everything they do. They are reliable and do what they do because they love teaching, not because they feel obligated to do it.

They create standards for themselves - often too high to meet - but never fail to disappoint.

What's missing? What traits are evident in the effective teachers you know? Leave a comment below.

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What do you believe are the traits of an effective teacher? Working with over 1,000 teachers over the past 20+ years, these are what I believe to be the 7 traits of an effective teacher. Definition of 'trait': a distinguishing quality or characteristic, typically one belonging to a person.

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Learner Secret Missions from @MrsHumanities

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Learner Secret Missions from @MrsHumanities

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After seeing the twitter post below by Dave Smith I was inspired to make some of my own secret mission cards for my learners.

In use again today!@GOBarnwell @GoffsGeography @tlecs @MrsHumanities @SJ_Culley @NuraHassen @MissASearle pic.twitter.com/2AGf5li2pB

- Dave Smith (@MarinerBlackCat) 24 February 2016

My aim for the cards is to challenge those that need pushing or are less engaged than I would like them to be - perhaps those that don't always finish their work, that do not engage in classroom discussion or those that rarely bother with self or peer assessment.

I'm hoping the sense of challenge and secrecy to complete their mission will motivate them.

You can download my cards here. I suggest printing them with two cards per sheet of A4.

Will update with how they go after using them.

Thanks for the initial idea Dave.

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After seeing the twitter post below by Dave Smith I was inspired to make some of my own secret mission cards for my learners. In use again today!@GOBarnwell @GoffsGeography @tlecs @MrsHumanities @SJ_Culley @NuraHassen @MissASearle pic.twitter.com/2AGf5li2pB - Dave Smith (@MarinerBlackCat) 24 February 2016 My aim for the cards is to challenge those that need pushing or are less...

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Make your own pre-printed templates for notebooks see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAb31rIeGZo

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PocketMod: The Free Recyclable Personal Organizer

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If you are a pocketmod fan, please take a few minutes to look at the awesome things planned for the new Pocketmod website and application. If you plan on using the new Pocketmod, please consider backing the project to support the development of the new Pocketmod!

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Access all the ideas and resources shared at #StMarysTM15 by clicking on this link - http://padlet.com/becky_shah/StMarysTM15

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http://formtimeideas.com/

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Good idea for a starter.

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How can teachers get lessons off to a flying start? And how can you do this and what does it look like?

On Friday, December 4th 2015, I delivered a keynote at the SSAT National Conference: Leading Learning.

Cut through the waffle, reduce workload

During my mainstage presentation at the SSAT National Conference 2015, I raced through one-hundred-and-fifty slides in just forty minutes. Throughout, I gave answers to the question 'How would you reduce the burden of marking, planning and teaching for teachers?'

This week, the SSAT are sharing five short films taken from my presentation. They are:

What is a good teacher?

Do we really need lesson plans?

Marking is broken

How we cut out the marking frenzy

Flying Start.

Here is one example of a flying start.
Click to play
Here is an engaging exercise that works just as well with staff as it does with students. (Strangely enough, I'm doing this at the of my presentation as part of the section of our Learning Policy ).

It focuses on literacy, prior knowledge and things to come.

Equipment needed: several blank pieces of paper for each participant; a pen/pencil.

1. Ask students to write their name and numbers 1-10 on a piece of paper

2. Ask students to spell three words of your choice (eg waffle, workload, well-being, etc.)

3. Get them to crunch the paper into a snowball and throw across the room! (there should be a 10-second countdown)

4. Ask students to find another scrunched up bit of paper and open it up (if a student ends up without a piece of paper, they're out(!) but can re-join in the next round.)

5. Ask students to spellcheck the three words written on the paper (if there are any words spelt incorrectly, cross them out and rewrite with correct spelling.)

6. Ask students to write their name on their new piece of paper

7. Ask students to spell three more words of your choice (e.g. simplicity, priorities, teacher), then repeat process beginning with crunching up paper and throwing across room

8. Open new piece of paper - add name - spellcheck all words - re-draft if needed

9. Ask students to spell four final words (e.g. mark, plan, teach, trust) (should be total of 10 but there is no set rule) on their new piece of paper, then throw paper for the last time.

10. To finish, you could ask students to throw paper into a bin, or aim for a target (including yourself!) etc.

Not all pieces of paper will hit the target, allowing you to focus on the pieces that do. You can then use a visualiser to zoom in on spelling and keywords, rewarding students who have hit the target and have proven their literacy credentials.

I've found this to be a great activity at any point in a lesson, with any age group. Even with teachers in training sessions!

[End]

Image: Shutterstock

You can read my full blogpost here, Cutting Through The Waffle and download my full presentation here. Before you do, please click a tweet of thanks

TT.

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How can teachers get lessons off to a flying start? And how can you do this and what does it look like? On Friday, December 4th 2015, I delivered a keynote at the SSAT National Conference: Leading Learning.

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Excellent, fun game for learning key terms/concepts. Create your own cards of approx 10 words/phrases students need to learn. Use a hidden buzzer on your laptop with an undisclosed amount of time on it (between 1 min - 2 mins)

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Don't get caught in possession! Teams need to correctly describe and guess to GET RID OF THE CARD or risk being BUZZED OUT! Contents: cards, score sheets, rules and electronic timer.

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Fast paced game with high risk. Student work in teams to race through a set of questions in the quickest time. Can be used as a revision activity and for introducing new material. See Teacher's Toolkit book.

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Based on an old TV show and very similar to taboo but with no 'taboo words'. Teacher put a series of 10-15 key words/concepts/quotations on the board (on PPT slide get them to appear on each click of the mouse).
- One student come up to the front and faces the class (can't see the board)
- Rest of the class describe the word to the student at the front
- Take in turns
Explained in more depth on link below -

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This is an idea that I borrowed directly from 'the Richard and Judy Show' (for those of you who remember that late-afternoon classic).

On the show, people had to telephone in and explain a picture to Richard and Judy without using that word. For instance, there may have been a picture of Gordon Brown and the person ringing in needed to say something like "current UK Prime Minister". Each time the jovial hosts got it correct the caller was given £1,000.

Unfortunately, my budget doesn't allow prizes of such magnitude but the concept still works brilliantly.

I split the class into two teams (in one class I have girls against boys but in another class I have just divided the room down the middle) and when we play the game each side decides on a volunteer to come to the front, facing the class so they can't see the board (one team at a time).

A word is shown on the IWB (or you could use a PowerPoint slideshow) and each time the word is answered correctly I display another. I normally have around 7-8 key words from the topic per team. The quickest team to get to the end of their set of key words wins.

This works really well but it is important to set some ground rules such as not using words that rhyme with the word on display. I've yet to come across a class who doesn't like the concept, especially as AS and A2 places as much emphasis on key words as GCSE. Great for a starter or plenary.

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Starter Activity - 'You Say, We Pay' | tutor2u Business

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This is an idea that I borrowed directly from 'the Richard and Judy Show' (for those of you who remember that late-afternoon classic). On the show, people had to telephone in and explain a picture to Richard and Judy without using that word.

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Download this software to make tarsia grids

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License:

Free

Requirements:

Windows 2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista/Windows 7/Windows 8/Windows 10

Latest version:

3.9 (available for download)

With this software you will easily be able to create, print out, save and exchange customised jigsaws, domino activities and a variety of rectangular card sort activities. The activities created using this software can be presented in printable form, ready to cut out.

Formulator Tarsia known earlier as Formulator Jigsaw is an editor designed for Teachers of Mathematics creating the activities in a form of jigsaws or dominos etc for later use in a class. It includes the powerful equation editor for building the math-expressions for the activities. An advanced feature of text placement along the side of the shape makes this tool irreplaceable software for fast activity creation. Formulator Tarsia became a powerful tool for learning activities since it supports the activity templates. It enables easy support of teachers and gives them new perspectives to development of their teaching activity.

Formulator Tarsia installation package contains samples kindly offered by:

Hermitech Laboratory highly appreciates these contributions.

Creating learning activities with Formulator Tarsia

Formulator Tarsia contains the following interface elements:

Bottom navigation bar

This navigation bar is located under the 'Document area' and allows you to switch between different views of an activity. The bar changes according to the type of activity selected. For instance, hexagonal jigsaws and dominoes have 4 types of views: 'Input', 'Table', 'Output'. Solution. The rest of activities have the only 'Input' and 'Output' views.

Right hand navigation bar

This navigation bar is located to the right of 'Document area' and allows you to quickly jump to any of your expressions in order to edit them. The number of the expression you are currently working on is darkened. There are two types of navigation arrows: single arrows to move the bar one place forward or back, double arrows to move the bar by ten increments forward of back.

The document area is used for both entering the expressions in the editing slots and for viewing. Editing slots are used when building mathematical expressions for activities cards (for the 'Input' view). The viewing area is used for the other reasons (e.g. browsing, print preview etc.) ('Table', 'Output', 'Solution' views). When typing the mathematical expression the document area contains a slot or series of slots for expressions. To build mathematical expressions, please use the toolbar, and insert the chosen expression slot in the cursor position, type the text, numbers or operators. For 'Formulator Expression toolbar' the keyboard shortcuts are also available.

Inputting the Expressions

The software provides an easy-to-use mathematical expressions editing tool to create expressions that appear on the cards for activities. This tool is based on Formulator ActiveX Control that allows you to create mathematical expressions through simple point-and-click techniques. It has an intuitive and visually oriented interface similar to the most text editors for Windows. Formulator Tarsia provides a large number of templates giving the possibility of constructing a wide range of mathematical expressions.

In order to input the expressions:

1. Select Input page using the 'Input' button of the bottom navigation bar.

2. Type the expressions using the keyboard and selecting the mathematical constructs from the toolbars.

When working with expressions you can use variety of Tarsia features: management of the expressions' styles and sizes, zoom in to or zoom out of the expressions, nested view, export expressions in MathML format or into image. You can use standard elements of user interface like menus , toolbars , and shortcuts.

Checking using the table of expressions

When you create a hexagonal jigsaw or domino activity it is useful to check the expressions by viewing the pairs of equivalent expressions in a table. The 'Table' page makes it possible to browse and print the expressions presented in matching pairs in table format.

To open the 'Table' view page select the button 'Table' at the bottom navigation bar.

Viewing the Output

Formulator Tarsia allows you to preview an activity as it will appear when printed ready for cutting out. 'Output' view allows you to display the current activity, and to use 'Zoom' to change the size of the view. For hexagonal jigsaws, the level of magnification of the print out is controlled by the right-hand navigation bar using the 'Normal size', 'Large size(8x3)' and 'Large size(24x1). The 'Large size' buttons allow you to produce a large puzzle which might be helpful to learners with visual impairments. The 'Simplified version' of the hexagonal activity output gives only the central six triangles of the jigsaw. Teachers and trainers can offer the simplified version of a jigsaw to learners who are finding the topic difficult and might benefit from a more limited choice of options. However, once learners have created the jigsaw, the teacher or trainer could then release the remaining triangles to complete the 24-triangle jigsaw.

The right hand navigation bar appears only in jigsaw activities, the other types of activity have only the Normal size set by default. The Normal output can always be enlarged if required on a photocopier.

To switch to output preview select the button 'Output' in the navigation bar at the bottom of the window.

Viewing the Solution

This view appears only in jigsaw and domino activities. These are not intended for use by learners but, while creating the activity you can see the solution of the activity presented on the 'Solution' view. This view makes it possible for you to display, browse and print out the current activity solution. The level of magnification of the view is controlled by the right hand navigation bar with buttons: 'Full version', shows the 24 piece jigsaw activity solution. 'Simplified version' displays the central six triangles only. To switch to solution preview select the button 'Solution' in the navigation bar at the bottom of the window.

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mathml, mathml equation editor, mathml activex control, render mathml, export mathml, equation editor, math authoring, authoring tools, scientific typesetting, mathematical typesetting, equation typesetting, math typesetting, typesetting software, mathml control, mathml activex, content mathml editor, presentation mathml editor, mathml editor, learning activities, tarsia, fjsw, activity template software, mathematical puzzle

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Great for plenaries!

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Good idea for praising students.

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Good for reviewing learning - starter or plenary. Good for collaboration and peer learning skills.
Instructions for playing learning bingo:
1.Find a different person to answer each question.

2. Get them to fill in the answer / fill in the box
3.Get as many as you can in the time.

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Hundreds of ideas for the classroom!