Teaching Strategies, Tactics, and Methods

Texture refers to how something feels, including its appearance and consistency. For example, glass, wood, rock, and sand have different textures, while words describing texture include rough, smooth, soft, and glossy.

Texture in art concerns the surface quality of a piece of work. In three-dimensional artwork, the term refers to how the piece feels when touched. In paintings and other two-dimensional artwork, texture invokes the visual ‘feeling’ the piece gives off.

Artists and designers can influence the surface quality of a piece of work using authentic materials or techniques that imply different textures. The texture is one of the seven building blocks of art, making it a fundamental element of every artist’s work.

Why do artists use texture?

Artists use texture to:

• Create contrast within a piece of art
• Help a composition look more balanced
• Make a focal point within their work of art that captures the attention
• Support stylistic choices
• Add depth to the artwork

What are the different types of textures in art?

Actual texture

Actual texture refers to the tactile qualities of a material or piece of art. It can only be experienced in real life, as the materials used by the artist give a piece its actual texture. Artists can alter the surface of their materials with techniques like sanding and polishing or roughing materials up.

Imagine the actual texture of the pebbles below:

Implied (or visual) Texture

Implied (or visual) texture concerns the textural appearance of a two-dimensional piece of art. Artists can use different methods to make their art appear soft, silky, rough, or other textures when this may not be true.

Things like brushstroke lines, impasto painting techniques (laying on paint thickly so that it stands out), and even the adjustment of light and angle in photography all influence a piece’s textural appearance. Portrait painting often employs textural techniques to make skin appear smooth or wrinkly. In addition, artists use implied texture to create different effects and elicit responses from viewers.

Claude Monet often painted scenes several times. The examples below demonstrate different textural techniques:

Functional texture

The available texture is more apparent in the design. For example, textiles in clothing items are chosen for comfort, warmth, or durability.

Why is texture in art essential?

Texture has a significant influence on the feelings that a piece of art evokes. A rose painted on plain white paper is just a rose. When a rose is carved onto splintering wood, it becomes entirely different. While the meaning each person takes from the piece of art may differ, the contrast in symbolism generates more ideas and emotions.

Art is about making people think. It disrupts the humdrum images and symbols of everyday life in a way that liberates them from their surface meaning to create new interpretations. We are tactile beings, and texture is one of the primary ways we experience the world. Employing textural techniques in art opens up an infinite amount of possibilities to explore in artwork and will engage our sense of touch to make the art more immersive.

How to experiment with texture in art

One way to create different textures and textural effects is to experiment with materials. Things like applying the paint more thickly and using other tools, such as sponges, spatulas, airbrushes, and even your hands, are all excellent techniques.

Painting on different surfaces is fun, as painting on fabric, wood, or stone will create other effects. In addition, you can add additional materials to your work, like sand, plastic, or rubber.

Warm-Up Games

Collect the Treasure

Equipment: Beanbags or balls

Split your class into four groups. Then, pile balls or beanbags in the center of the playground; this is the ‘treasure.’ The teams then send one child at a time to run to the middle and bring back some treasure. When all the glory is gone, the team with the most prize wins!

The Bean Game

To play this game, ask your class to walk or jog around the playground. When they hear the name of a different type of bean, they perform the appropriate action as listed below.

• Runner bean – run on the spot
• French bean – stop and say, ‘Bonjour!’
• Jumping bean – jump around the space
• String bean – stretch up to make a long, thin shape
• Jelly bean – wobble like jelly
• Baked bean – curl up into a round shape
• Chilli bean – shiver and shake

Rock, Paper, Scissors, Catch!

Pupils are split into two equal teams. Then, as a team, they decide if the team will play ‘rock,’ ‘paper,’ or ‘scissors.’ Then, they meet for a “face-off” at the center line of the playground or field, and on the count of three, they play rock, paper, or scissors.

Whoever wins then chases the other team to the end of the line of the playground or field and catches as many people as they can on the way. Those that are seen now join the team. The game continues until all the players from one team are caught.

Popcorn 

Players must jog around the playground in any direction. When you say the word ‘Popcorn!’ followed by a number, players must get into groups of that number with the closest people around them at the time.

Clap and Catch

Ask your class to stand in a circle around the playground or field. Then ask them to throw the ball around the circle randomly. Each child must clap before catching the ball if the child drops or doesn’t clap. They are out.

Dodgeball

Equipment: 5 soft foam balls and cones

Dodgeball is always a class favorite! To play this game, split your class into two equal teams. Then, mark cones along the middle of the playground, place the foam balls along the middle and ask the two teams to stand at opposite sides of the garden. Once the whistle has blown, the players must sprint forward and try to take possession of one of the balls before the other team.

Players must throw the balls over the main line made with the cones, trying to hit their opponents. If a player is hit by the opposition or catches the ball, they are out of the game. This game aims to get all opposing teams out by hitting them with a foam ball. The first team to have all of the opposition out is the winner.

Throw and Run

Play this game in groups of four. You will need one ball for each group. Tell the players to stand about three meters apart, so each player is in the corner of an imaginary square. The game aims to pass the tennis ball around the ‘square’ as quickly as possible. To add an extra challenge, ask your pupils to run around the square once you have thrown the ball to the next player. The players must get back to their spots before the ball is passed to them.

Piggy in the Middle 

Ask your pupils to get into groups of three. For this warm-up, the players must stand on either side of the playground, with one person in the middle. The game aims to throw the ball to the player on the other end using the underarm throw and the overhead pass without letting the player in the middle catch it.  So the pupils must take turns being the ‘piggy in the middle.’

Hoop Games

Stepping Hoop Relay

Equipment: One hoop per person plus an additional hoop

Each team will need a hoop per person, plus one extra hoop. On the command ‘go,’ the first person puts a hoop on the ground before them and steps into it. The second person must give them another hoop at the front. That person now steps forward into the new hoop, and the second person in line steps into the first hoop.

It continues until all are in hoops, and the spare hoop is passed down through the team to the front of the line and placed on the ground so everyone can jump forward one hoop. You must use these stepping stones to reach your destination.

Up, Down, Under, Over

Three or four children stand inside a large hoop, holding it up at waist level without using their hands. The challenge is to lift the hoop to your neck or down to your ankles – hands-free. Or, see if you can get the whole group from inside the hoop to outside without grabbing it or letting it touch the ground.

Step Back 

Equipment: One hoop between two 

Stand approximately 3m apart and roll the hoop to one another. If you catch it, you take a step back. If you miss, you take a step forward. See how far apart you can get.

Racing Games

No Hands Race

First, split the class into two teams and choose a starting and turning point for the race. Next, two players from each team must race against each other to the turning point. Next, the players must lie down on their backs, fold their arms across their chests and get up without using their hands. They must then run back to the finish line, and the two players from each team must race. The team which finishes the race first wins.

Snake Bounce

Equipment: 4 balls, cones

Split your class into four teams and ask them to stand behind the starting cone. Then, layout cones in a straight line in front. Next, the children must use one or two-handed bounces to weave the ball around the cones. When they reach the end, the children have to incorporate the ball back down to the group and pass it to the next player before joining the end of their line. The first team to have finished wins.

Beanbag Relay

Equipment: Cones, six beanbags

Set out three cones along the playground and divide the class into two equal teams. Give each group three beanbags and ask the players to line up at the end of the garden. When you blow the whistle, the first player from each team must run with a beanbag and drop it at the first cone. Then, they must race back and grab a second beanbag and run to drop it at the double cone before doing the same for the third beanbag.

When the player returns to the starting point, they must tag the second runner to do the same but to collect the bean bags instead. The winning team is the first team in which every member returns to the starting line.

Socially Distanced Games

Land the Plane

Ask your class to spread around the playground – they’re about to go on a flight! But first, the children must listen to the airplane instructions that you call out and perform the following actions.

• Take off – walk around the playground with their arms stretched to the side.
• Cruise – jog around the playground.
• Turbulence – Perform little jumps up and down.
• Descend – slow down movements to a walk
• Land – sit on the floor, arms still out.
• Stop – place arms to the side.

Minefield

Equipment: A variety of objects, such as beanbags, squeaky toys, balloons, cones, ropes, and hoops

Randomly place the objects around the playground; this is the minefield. Then, ask the children to choose a partner. One child is blindfolded, and the other must guide them through the minefield to the other side without touching any objects. Children are not allowed to touch each other and must conduct their partner with spoken directions.

Making Shapes

Ask your class to spread out in the playground and move slowly around the space while listening out for the names of different shapes. When you call out the name of a shape, they must jog around the space, tracing a path of that shape. For example, for a square, race around an imaginary square-shaped course.

Simon Says

Choose a child to be Simon and say and perform a movement to copy. E.g., Simon says to do arm circles. Children must not copy the action if the leader does not say, ‘Simon says…’; otherwise, they are out.

Tag Games

 Bib Tag

Nominate two players to be ‘it’ and ask the rest of the team to tuck a sports bib into their waistbands. Their job is to keep their bib for as long as possible by dodging the pupils who are ‘it.’ The’ it’ players must try to grab as many bibs as possible by chasing their teammates. If a player’s bib is caught, they become it as well.

Scarecrow Tag 

Choose two pupils to be ‘it’ and ask the rest of the class to run around the playground, trying not to be tagged by the players who are ‘it.’ The organized players must stand still like a scarecrow with their arms out wide. Runners can free a scarecrow by running underneath their arms. After two minutes, nominate two new people to be ‘it.’

Parachute Games

All Change

Parachute games are a favorite activity for lots of children! For this game, the teacher must call our pre-assigned numbers, birthday months, colors, etc. Then, those children must swap places under the chute before it falls.

Ball Roll

Equipment: Parachute, ball

Children must try and keep the balls from going in the middle of the parachute or try to roll the balls into the hole.

Parachute Volleyball

Equipment: Parachute, ball

Split the class into two teams, one on one side of the chute and the other on the other. One team tries to knock a ball off the other side past the other side’s team.

Shoe Shuffle

From a standing position, hold the parachute at chest height. A selected number of children take off one shoe and throw it in the middle of the chute. On the count of three, raise the parachute in the air. The selected children must run under and find their shoes before the line comes down.

A response to literature is, in many ways, the same as a response to a statement.

Think of a conversation or a discussion. One person says something, puts forward an argument or states a position, and the other responds by stating their position, opinion, or counterargument.

A response inherently draws from something else – it doesn’t and cannot stand alone. A response to literature, likewise, relies on a piece of literature to prop it up, to which it can act as a companion. It is drawn from this, and while it may not necessarily agree with the original text, without prior knowledge of the piece of literature it is removed from, it won’t make much sense to the reader.

In response to a literature essay, you give your opinion on a text through a reasoned argument.

What is the purpose of a response to a literature essay?

A response to a literature essay is to provide context on and criticism of the original text. You do this by proposing a theory about the original text your essay sets out to prove or disprove. You then detail why you believe this theory, using textual elements as evidence. If you’ve done it right, your argument should be proved or disproved at the end, just as you proposed.

Writing a response to a literature essay allows you to dive deeply into the original novel or poem. You can get to grips with the plot and characters, analyze the settings, and think about what messages the author wanted to convey; this helps you to gain a much better understanding of the text. It can also help others who read your essay because they should understand the text better.

Essentially, when you write a response to literature, you’re acting as a literary critic. You don’t have to like or dislike the text – you have to write about it in a way that demonstrates your understanding to the point where you can prove your theory.

What are the features of a response to a literature essay?

A response to a literature essay typically follows a particular structure like this:

Statement

You should start your response to the literature essay with a thesis statement, explaining the elements of the text you want to concentrate on and the points you wish to make about it; this may be a theory you want to prove or disprove based on the evidence provided in the text by the author.

There are numerous different elements you can choose from when you’re deciding what to concentrate on. These include:

• Character
• Plot
• Settings
• Symbolism
• Themes or morals
• Background to the novel, such as contemporary social or political issues
• The author’s writing style

A good statement will propose a question or theory about one of these elements – or a different element of your choosing. It should simply explain what point you’re setting out to prove. Keep your statement short, as you’ll go on to present evidence and prove your point.

Context

In this section of your response to the literature essay, you should talk about the elements of the original text that sparked your question or theory. For example, the characters and settings and how they relate to your view. What evidence do these elements provide that strengthens your case?

It is where you demonstrate your thorough understanding of the text by delving into the characters and settings. Explain why and how you believe the author has portrayed them in a certain way. These things all provide essential background information and give context to your argument.

Concrete Details

Concrete details are facts about the text that can’t be argued with or interpreted differently. These are the actual events within the text and any background information the author has provided about social, economic, or political conditions at the time.

You should use these inarguable details as evidence to prove your argument. For example, suppose you’re arguing that a female character doesn’t deserve fate. In that case, you can use the way other characters treat her as evidence and any information the author has given you about what social conditions were like for women at the time.

Literary Styles and Devices

In this section, you should show how the author’s purpose coincides with your theory. Give examples of the way the text is written, and point out any literary devices the author has used which would back up your original argument. You can also demonstrate how the evidence you have already provided in your essay connects with what you believe to be the author’s intent. It would help if you used the author’s stylistic decisions to prove your point.

Conclusion

Your conclusion section is where you consolidate everything you’ve written so far. You should summarise precisely how each of your areas provides support for your argument and explain why you have reached the conclusion you have. Finally, tell your reader why the evidence you’ve supplied proves or disproves your initial theory about the novel, and wrap up satisfactorily.

How to write a response to literature

Writing a response to literature takes several steps:

Firstly, read the text. It’s impossible to respond appropriately to a piece of literature without understanding it. So ensure you pay close attention to what the writer is trying to say, the mechanics of how they do that, and what techniques and tricks they use. While you read, ask yourself why the writer might be trying to say something or using a particular image repeatedly. The writer may even be using a specific idea or technique for multiple purposes, all working to deepen the meaning behind the text.

For example, in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the image of nature is repeatedly evoked throughout the text. Shelley uses the character for various reasons, not only to underscore the unnatural nature of Victor’s monstrous creation but also to bring focus to the order and perfection of the natural world. The symbolic use of nature in the text also acts as a foreshadowing of something dreadful that is about to happen, which is an invocation in itself of classic Gothic writing.

The second step in writing a response to literature is to consider what you want to say. Just as the writer is free to write what they wish when they write a text, when you are writing a response, you are free to write whatever you like about it. Response to literature is about your opinion on that text, what you find interesting, or what you disagree with. You can discuss whatever you choose if you explain why you feel that way or hold that opinion.

The third and final part is to write your response. Again, be sure to draw plenty of examples from the text to support your arguments and to add weight to what you are trying to say.

What is the Reading Method in English Teaching?

The Reading Method, sometimes known as the Reading Approach, is an outdated way of teaching English, mainly as an additional language. The theory behind the method was that students could pick up the basics of English simply by learning to understand words and grammatical patterns from written text.

After it was first devised in the 1920s, the Reading Method was widely used to teach English as an additional language. It was also advocated for children struggling with language skills in the UK. However, due to its many shortcomings, the Reading Method has fallen out of popularity as a way of teaching English.

Here we explore the Reading Method of teaching English, how it was devised, why it ceased to be used, and the background of the man who invented it. We’ll also look at modern methods that have replaced the Reading Method in English teaching, helping to give today’s children the best start with spoken and written language.

Who invented the Reading Method of teaching English?

The Reading Method, also known as the New Method or the Reading Approach, was devised by Dr. Michael Philip West (1888-1973). During the 1920s, he worked as an English professor in India.

Dr. West believed that everyone around the world should learn English. As English was an international language, he argued that it could make it easier for people from different countries to communicate with each other. He thought this would have several essential advantages for people everywhere:

• To broaden people’s outlooks;
• To create a feeling of connection between people no matter which country they came from;
• Many factual and fictional books at that time were written in English to help everybody access and understand the broadest possible range of reading materials.

Because he was a respected educator, his beliefs found a following. The Reading Method became widely used to teach English in India and French and German to American children. The Reading Method also gained some traction in the UK as a way of teaching children who were struggling with their linguistic development.

How did the Reading Method differ from other ways of teaching English?

When Dr. West was working, the most popular method of teaching English to students in other countries was the Direct Method, also known as the Natural Method. This method focused heavily on spoken words through students actively participating in class. They were encouraged to learn English words directly without translating them into their first language.

Dr. West thought this method was too time-consuming, as a lot of class time was taken with the teacher talking, so each student didn’t get much time to practice their speaking skills. He also believed that learning to read English was more essential than learning to speak or write it – he thought the skills of speaking and writing English would naturally come later if students learned how to read it first.

This belief was at the very core of the Reading Method in English teaching, as the approach focuses on the “passive” work of reading rather than the “active” job of speaking English. So it is because Dr. West believed that you couldn’t express yourself until you knew enough words, and reading was, in his opinion, the best way to learn them.

How did the Reading Method work?

The whole point of the Reading Method was to teach students just enough words to express themselves and basic sentence structure patterns, which Dr. West believed they could pick up through reading. He stated that people needed a minimum of 1158 words to be able to express their ideas in a normal conversation, and he categorized these words into two different types:

1. Form words – these are the grammatical words that connect ideas and form the building blocks of English.
2. Content words are the words we use to talk and express ourselves.

When it came to reading, Dr. West believed that the minimum number of words you needed to be able to read and understand was 2280. Again, he divided these words into different categories:

1. Essential words (“a,” “is,” “it,” “that,” etc.)
2. Common environmental words (“house,” “car,” “table,” “cup,” etc.)
3. General terms (“good,” “bad,” etc.)
4. Specific environmental terms (“tree,” “flower,” “sea,” “mountain,” etc.)

Using the Reading Method, these 2280 words would be introduced gradually to students and learned via a lot of repetition. Students would also be shown pictures to consolidate their understanding of the new words. The words they were taught tended to be as phonetically easy as possible, so they wouldn’t have much trouble pronouncing them when they eventually got to speak English.

Dr. West produced a series of graded reading books on a wide variety of different topics. Each grade of reader would introduce some new words. The reading materials were designed to be as enjoyable as possible by covering various issues and including factual and fictional texts. However, the vocabulary was strictly limited to the words that Dr. West thought people needed to learn.

Teachers were given handbooks with definite procedures and guidelines for them to follow. These handbooks also contained practice exercises teachers could provide the students to complete.

What are the advantages of the Reading Method in English teaching?

The Reading Method was almost totally focused on students reading individually and silently. Dr. West believed this would teach students the correct form of the language, and all the subsequent knowledge they needed could be built on this structure. He also thought that silent reading helped students to concentrate and absorb the material more effectively, improving their comprehension. In addition, this would get students into the habit of reading and encourage them to want to read more and more books, so they would essentially be teaching themselves.

Of course, at the time, this was seen as another excellent advantage of the Reading Method. With the Direct Method, teachers had to be very present with each student in the class, listening to they speak. This meant class numbers had to be limited so each student would have enough time to practice. As the Reading Method was focused on silent reading, the teacher didn’t have to give individual attention to each student, so there were no must-limit class numbers. You could technically have 100 students in one classroom, all reading silently without teacher intervention.

What are the disadvantages of the Reading Method?

The main reason the Reading Method fell out of popularity was that it had so many disadvantages compared to teaching methods incorporating writing, speaking, and reading. Some of these disadvantages include the following:

The Reading Method goes against educational principles

One of the education principles is that work should start simple and gradually increase in complexity. With the Reading Method, the words and grammar that students learn don’t get any more difficult as time goes on.

Students’ vocabulary is limited

The Reading Method limits students’ vocabulary to the 2280 words that Dr. West thought were essential to learning to read English; this makes the students’ work lack meaning because once someone knows all these words, they can’t progress. It also means that they use the exact words repeatedly, creating a false-sounding, limited speaking and writing style.

Students don’t learn to express themselves properly

As students don’t know any idioms or do any writing composition under the Reading Method, this makes it difficult for them to learn how to express themselves. They also don’t understand accurate grammar or complex sentence structure, as they focus on learning basic patterns and putting everything together.

The Reading Method is educationally unsound

This method of teaching English is unsound for several reasons:

• Students might not necessarily grasp the structures of the language or the meanings of words;
• The teacher has no natural way of checking students’ progress when they’re all reading silently;
• Reading alone can be dull and monotonous, affecting students’ ability to concentrate;
• The Reading Method doesn’t consider people’s different learning styles – it only caters to those who enjoy reading.

What are some more modern ways of teaching English?

Today, it is widely recognized that children learn in different ways. Therefore, they need many engaging activities to help them learn English and plenty of teacher attention to ensure they progress. There are numerous ways you can help children learn English, whether they’re learning it as native speakers or as an additional language. These include:

Decoding

It is where a written word is sounded out so it can be understood as a spoken word. In addition, a word can be split into separate syllables to make it easier to say.

Vocabulary

Increasing children’s vocabulary is an excellent way to help them express themselves more effectively. You can do this through conversations, reading, or flashcards for the child’s age group.

Comprehension

Comprehension is about teaching children how to understand a text and then be able to talk or write about it; this is often done by giving children a factual or fictional passage to read and then having them answer questions about what they’ve read. When they’re young, it can help if the texts are short so they don’t have to analyze as much information.

Guided Reading

Guided reading is led by a teacher and is usually done with small groups of children rather than the whole class. The teacher will talk about the text with the children, encouraging them to answer questions and think about what the author might have meant. Children can also use their prior knowledge of the topic to get more meaning from the text.

Dialogue is a conversation between two or more people or a speech written down as part of a narrative text.

It can be presented as reported speech, direct speech (using speech marks), or Play Script.

Writers can use dialogue to advance the plot of their story by getting their characters to reveal their plans of action or share their inner thoughts and emotions.

Dialogue can also reveal how different characters feel about each other. By depicting how characters talk to each other, the author helps us to understand their relationships better.

We can learn much about characters through their dialogue, whether they’re shy or confident, friendly or angry, relaxed or anxious. The way characters speak reveals much about who they are and what they’re like.

Examples of Dialogue

Here are some examples of dialogue writing for kids to help them better understand the concept.

Dialogue can appear in many different forms of text. For example, a dialog can occur in the following conditions:

Inverted commas: Punctuation marks – “ ” – used to restrict direct speech in a sentence.

Direct speech: A sentence where the exact words spoken are represented in inverted commas.

Dialogue: A conversation or speech that is written down as part of a piece of narrative text.

Written speech:

In a written speech, speech marks or quotation marks are used; this will appear in books, news articles, and most forms of printed text with dialogue. For example:

“Today, my class is learning about speech and dialogue,” said John.

“That sounds exciting. Do you know much about it?” asked Sally.

It is an extended piece of dialogue because it includes a response. Therefore, each time a new person speaks, it should be put on a new line.

Playscript:

In a play script, dialogue is set out with the character’s name on the left, followed by a colon with the conversation. It does not require speech marks. For example:

John: Today, my class is learning about speech and dialogue.

Sally: That sounds exciting. Do you know much about it?

Dialogue Punctuation

The dialogue punctuation we use depends on where the dialogue is found. If the conversation is written in a play script, it doesn’t require inverted commas but is introduced with a colon after the speaker’s name. For example:

Chelsea: I love strawberries!

Hannah: So do I!

After the colon, you’d punctuate the sentence as you would normally.

If the dialogue is written as direct speech in a book, newspaper article, or any other form of text, then there are specific rules you must follow. Inverted commas are the most essential dialogue punctuation you will use in these cases. These should surround the part of the sentence that is spoken. For example:

“I’m hungry!” Kyle cried.

Any punctuation relating to the spoken sentence (in this case, the exclamation mark) should go inside the speech marks.

If a reporting clause breaks up the speech, the first section should end with a comma (again, inside the speech marks) to show that the speech is not finished. For example:

“I’m not buying that umbrella,” Sophie said indignantly, “It’s too expensive!”

The most common dialogue punctuation you use is the inverted comma (also known as speech marks or quotation marks). Ensure you’re using the appropriate punctuation for the form you’re writing!

An astronaut is someone who has undergone specific training to fly into space. The word astronaut comes from the Greek words “star” and “sailor.” In geographical terms, an astronaut is an individual from the United States, Canada, Japan, and Europe, traveling into space.

Soviet and Russian individuals trained to go into space are called “cosmonauts.” And those from China are called “taikonauts.” In effect, they all complete very similar duties, depending on the government programs they are instructed to follow. For example, this could be analyzing rock samples, conducting experiments in space, and maintaining equipment on the space station.

In 2004, when a private-funded space program came into existence, a new classification of space traveler emerged: the commercial astronaut.

A brief history of astronauts

So far, 567 people have gone into space, with 503 pioneers men and 64 women. Peggy Whitson held the record for a woman’s longest single space flight at 289 days until this was broken by Christine Koch’s flight that lasted a whopping 328 days!

Did you know? Women weren’t always welcome at NASA. So when Hillary Clinton wrote to NASA asking if she could be an astronaut when she was a young girl, she was told that astronauts were men-only. Luckily, times have changed.

Not all astronauts are called astronauts

The term astronaut refers explicitly to those space travelers trained and funded by the United States, Canada, Japan, and Europe governments. The term ” aeronaut ” probably inspired astronauts, referring to hot air balloon travelers in the 1780s. By the early 1930s, the word astronaut was used in stories and poems to describe characters traveling in spacecrafts.

NASA uses the term astronaut to describe any member of a space shuttle mission or crew member traveling into space. The same applies to European, Japanese, and Canadian space agencies.

Cosmonaut

The Russian Federal Space Agency chose to use the word “cosmonaut” to refer to its space travelers. The word kosmos means space in Russian, hence the logical terminology. When the Soviet Union existed, other countries within the Soviet Bloc also used the word cosmonaut.

Taikonaut

The Western media use the term ” taikonaut ” to describe Chinese space travelers. However, the authentic Chinese term is Yu hang yuan, which means space universe navigating personnel; this is quite a mouthful, so this was anglicized to taikonaut. This term is now the go-to vocabulary to describe Chinese space travelers across Chinese media and became more prominent after China entered into the space sphere after sending Yang Liwei into space in 2003.

The space race

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Soviet Union and the United States were conducting a Cold War. It meant that while a full-blown war wasn’t raging, the threat of war was always on the horizon. The two ideologies of the Soviet Union (communism) and the United States (democracy) competed for nearly everything. And this transcended into the space race!

The Soviet Union won the first space race battle by getting the first human into space in April 1961; this was cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. However, Alan Shepard, a United States astronaut, didn’t make it into play until a month later.

The Soviet Union launched a second blow by conducting the first spacewalk in 1965 when Alexei Leonov conducted experiments as part of the Voskhod 2 mission. The United States was lagging again, with Ed White completing his space walk four months later as part of NASA’s Gemini 4 mission.

The U.S. government was becoming frustrated at slipping behind in the space race and made getting a human on the Moon their sole focus. It was completed in 1969, when Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins made it to the Moon as part of the Apollo 11 mission; this was the pinnacle of the space race of the 1960s. Once this goal was complete, more space missions ensued, but there was less enthusiasm from the American people, so the funding decreased.

After the Moon Landing

Astronauts were still being trained at NASA even though funding was low. The Soviet Union spent the 1980s focusing on developing the Mir space station, which orbited the Earth and was the central docking station from missions until 1996. This space station orbited the Earth continually and was a base for Russian cosmonauts.

When the Cold War ended, Russia opened the Mir space station to astronauts and taikonauts from all nations; this made scientific space endeavors more collaborative, and a new era of space travel developed. No longer was it a race but a shared goal to discover new knowledge about the cosmos.

When the Mir space station’s orbit decayed, it was replaced by the ISS or the International Space Station. This space station orbits Earth every 93 minutes and is a giant orbiting scientific laboratory to conduct experiments, collect samples, complete spacewalks, and maintains equipment. It is split into two halves, one operated by Russia and the other by the United States and other nations.

Fun facts about astronauts

To inspire your mini space enthusiasts, check out these ten fun facts about astronauts with your class. They will spark discussion, curiosity, and maybe even a research project.

1. Astronauts must wear a particular type of diaper. These aren’t baby-style diapers; these are technically called “Maximum Absorbency Garments.” When astronauts complete long spacewalks or wear heavy equipment and suits, it’s not easy to unbuckle to go to the bathroom. So they rely on these diapers for hygiene and safety reasons.
2. In space, bone and muscle wastage is a real risk. The atmosphere and environment are unnatural for humans, so exercise is crucial to maintain muscle mass and bone density. Astronauts are tasked with exercising for at least two hours every day.
3. Astronauts stretch in space. They grow 3% taller in microgravity. However, when they return to Earth, their height returns to normal after three or four months.
4. Charles Duke, an astronaut on the Apollo 16 mission, landed on the Moon in 1972. He left a picture of himself with his family sitting on a bench on the Moon’s surface. On the back of the photograph, he signed and dated the picture. Unfortunately, it remains on the Moon until this day and will take millions of years to degrade because of the lack of an authentic atmosphere.
5. Becoming an astronaut is a grueling process. In 2017, 18,000 people applied to NASA to become one. These are individuals with top-class degrees, experience, stamina, intelligence, and fitness. However, the selection process takes 18 months, and out of these 18,000, only 8 – 14 candidates are chosen to complete full astronaut training.
6. In space, if an astronaut cries, their tears do not roll down their face because there is zero gravity. Instead, the tears collect on their face and create large tear globules!
7. When wearing their helmets, itches on the face can be nearly impossible to scratch. So astronaut Clayton Anderson devised a solution by placing a small piece of Velcro inside the helmet. It then became easy to scratch his face against it.
8. Alan Shepard was the first astronaut to play golf on the Moon. He teed off, and the ball flew through the air for nearly a mile!
9. Guion Bluford became the first African-American astronaut in 1983 as he became a mission specialist for the Challenger space shuttle. Before this, he was a pilot in the Air Force and flew 144 missions during the Vietnam War.

Success criteria are a set of features a teacher wants to see in a child’s work throughout a lesson or term. It is an excellent way to ensure that young students know what’s expected of them. It also encourages students to challenge themselves and think carefully about how they structure their work.

Success criteria will usually be shared with pupils or created by them and referred to regularly before being used for self-assessment or peer assessment.

The success criteria are usually established at the beginning so your students know the lesson’s aims. Success criteria are not only for the benefit of the student but for the teachers. Providing your students with a goal and an objective during the lesson’s starting encourages them to work more efficiently as they have an endpoint to meet. As a teacher, having a plan for the lesson makes sure that the class keeps on topic and can reflect, knowing that they learned something from that lesson.

What do Success Criteria look like?

Below are some examples of success criteria for Year 2 instruction writing.

• I used an introduction
• I used numbered instructions in the correct order
• I used the present tense

These desired outcomes for the end of the lesson are direct. Success criteria must be clear and concise, especially for KS1 students, to ensure they understand what is being asked of them so they can achieve it. When a student has completed the task of that lesson, they can reflect upon the success criteria to see if they gained all the lesson goals. Your students will feel a sense of achievement and pride knowing they did what was asked of them for that lesson.

Subtraction with borrowing – sometimes known as regrouping or exchanging – is a technique that lets us subtract any number from another. It works on a similar principle as addition with regrouping, which you might also hear referred to as carrying over.

We use subtraction with borrowing alongside column subtraction to use place value to help us “borrow” an amount from the next column along – the tens, hundreds, or even thousands.

Let’s see subtraction with borrowing in action:

The best way to understand subtraction with borrowing is to see it in action. So let’s work through an example together, looking at the simple question 42-17.

First, we line the numbers up as we would do with any column question:

42

17 –

——

But with our first step, we hit a problem. We can’t subtract 7 from 2 without going into tricky minus numbers, which wouldn’t help us in this situation. So instead, we can borrow ten from the next column along; this means that, instead of looking at 42 as 40+2, we can look at it as 30+12.

It helps us with the first stage of our problem since we can now calculate 12-7. Once we’re done with that, we’re also free to move one column to the left and finish the subtraction with 3-1.

4 3 12

1 7 –

———-

2 5

As you can see, we now have an overall answer of 25, which we have reached by using subtraction with borrowing.

When do I use subtraction with borrowing?

Subtraction with borrowing is used alongside the column method – where numbers are placed vertically, and you work through one place value column at a time.

We use this technique when the maximum number in a column is smaller than the bottom, as seen in the example above. In this case, the 2 in 42 was smaller than the 7 in 17, so we needed to borrow ten from the next column.

This method makes taking away much more straightforward, allowing children to complete subtraction questions involving two, three, or even four-digit numbers.

Antarctica is a continent almost completely covered in ice. Read on to learn about the climate, animals, and science of the largest desert in the world.

Climate of Antarctic

Antarctica is the coldest, windiest, and driest continent in the world sounds like an excellent place to live! But, unfortunately, it gets very little rain each year and suffers from the fastest wind speeds in the world. There have even been wind speeds of more than 350 kilometers per hour.

The continent of Antarctica also has another, less known, title. It is the largest desert in the world! Unfortunately, most people don’t picture snowy mountains when they think of a desert. For scientists, any place where the climate has hardly any rain is called a desert because all the water that reaches the largest desert in the world arrives as snow, not liquid water.

Even though Antarctica is the largest desert in the world, it is freezing. The lowest temperature recorded there was in 1983; it was -89.2°C. The average temperature is slightly warmer but still cold at -10°C along the coastline.

The whole continent is completely covered in ice and snow. The conditions are so cold and dry that NASA has used areas of Antarctica to test equipment and rovers for missions to Mars and deep space.

Geography of Antarctica

Although Antarctica is a vast continent (twice the size of Australia), it is still only the fifth-largest continent. The coastline comprises an ice sheet covering more than five million square miles.

Antarctica is also home to the southernmost active volcano in the world, Mount Erebus. Again, most people don’t imagine icy cold places like Antarctica to have things like volcanoes, but swirling inside the crater of Mount Erebus are the world’s only molten lava lakes.

Antarctica earned its name from being ‘opposite’ to the North Pole. Its name comes from the Greek term ‘antarktike,’ which means ‘opposite to the Arctic. The Antarctic is very different from the Arctic, even though they are covered in ice and snow. If you take out a shovel and start digging in the Arctic, you’ll find more and more ice. Likewise, you’ll find Earth, rock, and soil if you dig in the Antarctic.

The weight of the ice pushing on the earth beneath Antarctica is moving it into the Earth! If the ice were to melt, the land would rise by around 500 meters; this would happen very slowly, likely over 10 000 years or more. This process is still happening in Scotland and Scandinavia following the last ice age.

Animals and Plants in Antarctica

The number of animal types in Antarctica is relatively low; most animals cannot handle the intense cold and wind of the continent. However, the animals there have adapted over millennia to control the climate.

Whales and seals can often be spotted in the ocean surrounding Antarctica, but Emperor penguins are one of the few species that live and breed in Antarctica all year round. They make up for the lack of predators on the continent, as there are almost five million penguins!

Along with the whales and seals in the water are a range of fish that the penguins like to feed on. These fish have a unique adaptation; they have ‘anti-freeze’ in their blood, which stops them from freezing solid in the water.

Antarctica’s climate means there aren’t many plants, either. That’s because there isn’t much sun, and the soil isn’t excellent for growing plants- oh, it’s freezing.

There’s one strange kind of fish in Antarctica called the ice fish. They don’t have any hemoglobin in their blood to carry oxygen around. But because the temperature is so low, oxygen dissolves better, and they have more evident blood; this makes them a ghostly white (spooky).

Who lives in Antarctica?

Antarctica is the least populated continent ever because no one lives there permanently. Instead, researchers and scientists from different countries make up a significant number of the population of Antarctica. They travel to the icy continent to study Earth’s animals, climate, and history.

Thousands of tourists travel there yearly to see the amazing animals and more. But researchers only tend to be based there for one year, and no one lives there all the time.

Since any country does not own Antarctica, there’s a treaty that says that Antarctica is only allowed to be used for peaceful purposes such as scientific research. The Antarctic Treaty of 1961 is now signed by 53 countries and states that ‘the area is to be used for peaceful purposes only.

Eighteen countries regularly send groups of scientists to Antarctica to study the continent. These include the USA, Russia, Chile, Argentina, and Australia, holding the largest stations. The most significant research station is McMurdo Station, where more than 1,000 scientists work there during the summer.

Antarctica is a good place for scientists to study meteorites. Because of the white snow and ice, they can be relatively easy to find, and the ice keeps them in place.

Space, known as outer space, is the area d outside Earth’s atmosphere. Space starts at the Kármán Line, about 100 km or 62 miles above the Earth. There is no air in space, and astronauts must have spacesuits to travel there; this also means that space is entirely black, as there is no air to scatter sunlight and create a blue sky as we have on Earth.

This lack of air also means that space is completely silent. Space is a vacuum, an area completely free of any matter, like air. However, air molecules transmit sound, so in space, sound can’t exist without it.

What is in Space?

We typically picture a big, empty void when we think of space, but many things exist. As we know, there are a vast amount of stars, as well as all of the planets in the Solar System. Some people think these are the only things in space, but there are lots of other exciting things up there:

1. Asteroids
2. Comets
3. Meteoroids
4. Meteors
5. Meteor Showers
6. Meteorites
7. Dwarf Planets
8. Kuiper Belt Objects
9. Oort cloud Objects
10. Robotic Spacecraft Explorers

What Do Astronauts Do in Space?

While being an astronaut may seem glamorous and exciting, living on the International Space Station involves performing many ordinary, mundane tasks. For example, the crew is responsible for maintaining the station as they would their own house, cleaning, checking equipment, and repairing or replacing anything broken. In addition, there are often lots of science experiments on board, so astronauts have to ensure they are operating correctly.

Spacewalks are probably the part of an astronaut’s job that we are most used to seeing on TV and in movies. They usually happen if the astronauts have to perform work outside the ship and can be extremely dangerous.

Something you may not know is that astronauts are required to do two hours of exercise every day. Being an astronaut is physically demanding work, so everyone must stay in excellent shape. Another reason why astronauts have to exercise so much is that, due to the lack of gravity in Space, it is easy for your muscles to go weak as you aren’t using them to walk around, etc. Astronauts have special machines that allow them to be strapped down to a treadmill to keep their bones and muscles active and strong.

Types of Astronauts

Two types of astronauts are sent into Space:

1. Mission Specialist Astronauts

These astronauts usually come from an engineering, science, or medical background. They work with the pilots to conduct experiments, launch satellites and maintain the Spacecraft and equipment.

1. Pilot Astronauts

These astronauts work as pilots and commanders for the Space Shuttle and International Space Station. Their job comes with a great responsibility as they must oversee the entire crew, the mission, and the safety of the flight.

Countries with Space Programmes

Across the world, a range of countries has space programs. The most active and prominent countries with space programs are as follows:

• USA

One-third of the operational spacecraft in space belongs to the USA, making it one of the most prominent countries with space programs. The most famous and groundbreaking feats of space travel and exploration that the USA space program has launched include the Apollo moon-landing missions, the Skylab space station, the Mars Exploration Rover, and more.

The USA’s space program is led by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, commonly known as ‘NASA.’

• China

The second-largest fleet of operational spacecraft currently in orbit belongs to China. Currently, China operates a range of navigation satellites, remote sensing satellites, communication satellites, surveillance, and spacecraft.

Interestingly, China is one of just three nations worldwide capable of launching and carrying out a human-crewed space mission. Some of China’s most famous feats of space travel and exploration include the Tiangong-1 space station and the Chinese Lunar Exploration program.

China’s space program is led by the Chinese National Space Administration, also known as CNSA. However, the design and development of their launch vehicles, satellites, and commercial launch services are handled by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, also known as CASC.

• Russian Federation

The Russian space program started in 1957, and the nation launched the world’s first successful orbital launch with Sputnik on the 4th of October 1957. Sputnik 1 was an artificial satellite. Since then, Russia’s space program has grown significantly, and it is now in control of the third-largest fleet of spacecraft in the world.

Some of Russia’s space program’s most famous space travel and exploration missions include the Soyuz series of spacecraft, the Salyut 1 space station, and the Lunokhod 1 space rover.

All of the civilian activities that are carried out as part of Russia’s space program are led by the Russian Federal Space Agency. The military and defense area of space travel, on the other hand, is handled by the Russian Space Forces.

• Japan

In February 1970, Japan launched its first satellite into space, a few years after Russia. Japan then became the fourth nation in the world, after Russia, the USA, and France, to have the ability to launch its satellite into space. Today, Japan’s space program has expanded to include a fleet of communications, meteorological, earth observation, and astronomical observation satellites.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, also known as JAXA, is responsible for the nation’s aerospace research and development activities. Some of the most notable Japanese space travel and exploration missions include the Japanese Experiment Module, known as KIBO, Japan’s first human-rated space facility.

• United Kingdom

Next up on this list of countries with space programs is the United Kingdom. In 1962, the United Kingdom launched its first satellite, Ariel 1, into space; this made it the third nation, after Russia and the USA, to launch a satellite into orbit. The nation’s space program has grown massively since Ariel 1 and now operates a range of civil and military communications satellites, earth observation satellites, and scientific and exploration spacecraft.

The United Kingdom Space Agency is responsible for the nation’s civil space program. Moreover, the United Kingdom also contributes financially to the European Space Agency, known as the ESA.

• India

Since its establishment in 1975, the Indian space program has launched over 80 spacecraft. India’s first feat of space travel and exploration was the launch of its satellite, called on Aryabhata, which occurred on the 19th of April 1975.

The Indian Space Research Organization manages India’s space research activities, i.e., the ISRO. As it stands, India operates a range of communication satellites, earth observation satellites, and navigational satellites.

• Canada

Canada launched its space program in 1962. The program started with the launch of Canada’s first satellite, Alouette 1. Nowadays, Canada has an entire fleet of satellites in space, including earth observation satellites, communications satellites, and science satellites. In addition, the nation also has a selection of spacecraft.

The agency in charge of the Canadian space program is aptly named Canadian Space Agency, also known as the CSA. Currently, Canada does not have its launch system and relies on the USA and Russia’s facilities to launch its spacecraft.

5 Fun Facts About Outer Space

• Space is completely silent

Unlike here on Earth, Outer Space has no atmosphere, meaning there is no way for sound to travel around.

• The footprints on the moon left by astronauts will last 100 million years

The moon has no atmosphere and wind, so its surface doesn’t get eroded over time. There is also no water on the moon, so the footprints won’t be washed away.

• Venus is the hottest planet in our solar system

The average surface temperature of Venus is around 450 °C, which is 162 °C higher than Earth.

• It is impossible to count the number of stars in Space

Space is so massive that it is impossible to say how many stars there are accurate. However, scientists and astronomers can use the number of stars in our galaxy, The Milky Way, to estimate between 200-400 billion stars.

• One day on Venus is longer than a year on Earth

Venus has a slow axis rotation, which means it takes 243 Earth days to complete just one rotation. The orbit of Venus around the Sun takes 225 Earth days, meaning that a year on Venus is 18 days less than a day on Venus.