Teaching Strategies, Tactics, and Methods

What is a Tornado?

A tornado is a giant tube of air that spins violently, extending from the thunderstorm to the ground. The wind inside the tornado spins incredibly fast and is encapsulated in a massive circle of wind, which creates its tube-like shape.

Tornadoes are extremely dangerous and pretty much destroy everything they touch. They are particularly dangerous for people in cars or mobile homes, as they can be lifted right off the ground and thrown into nearby buildings, trees, etc.

While tornadoes can happen anywhere, nearly three-quarters of the world’s tornadoes occur in the United States. Therefore, the middle section of the USA is known as ‘Tornado Alley’ because of the number of tornadoes that have happened there.

Tornadoes typically have wind speeds of less than 110 miles per hour (180 km/h), are about 250 feet (80 m) wide, and tend to travel a few miles before disappearing completely. However, some intense tornadoes have been known to have wind speeds up to 300 miles per hour (480 km/h). The severity of tornadoes is measured using the Enhanced Fujita scale, from EF0 to EF5. EF0 is for tornados that cause minor damage, and EF5 is for the ones that cause the most damage.

Several weather phenomena are similar to tornadoes and are often mistaken for them. They include the gustnado, dust devil, fire whirls, steam devil, and downbursts.

Fujita Scale of Tornado Intensity

SCALE	WIND SPEED	POSSIBLE DAMAGE	Enhanced Fujita Scale
F0	40-72 mph	Minimal damage: Branches may be broken off trees; minor roof damage to houses	EFO 65-85 mph
F1	73-112 mph	Moderate damage: Trees may be snapped in half; mobile home could be pushed off their foundations; roofs could be damaged	EF1 86-110 mph
F2	113-157 mph	Considerable damage: Mobile homes could be demolished; trees may be completely uprooted; even well-built homes may be unroofed	EF2 111-135 mph
F3	158-206 mph	Severe damage: Trains may be overturned; cars may be lifted clean off the ground; well-built homes could have their outside walls blown away	EF3 136-165 mph
F4	207-260 mph	Devastating damage: Houses may be leveled, leaving behind piles of debris; cars may be thrown 200 meters or more in the air	EF4 166-200 mph
F5	261-318 mph	Extreme damage: Well-built homes could be completely blown away, and missiles the size of cars could be thrown around	EF5 over 200 mph

Characteristics of Tornado

Tornadoes have a very distinctive look and have been depicted, most famously, in the film, The Wizard of Oz. The water droplets in the air make the spinning winds of a tornado visible. The visible tube of air is called a funnel cloud. A funnel cloud can be shaped like a cone, pillar, or tube. It can also range from only a few feet to hundreds of feet wide.

Once a tornado touches the ground, it travels around 28 miles (45 kilometers) per hour.

Here are some fun tornado facts for kids:

• The winds inside a tornado typically turn counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.
• Tornadoes usually move from west to east.
• Generally speaking, tornadoes only last for two or three minutes.
• Strong tornadoes, however, can last for 15 minutes or longer.

How Does a Tornado Form?

Most tornadoes are the product of thunderstorms. They require a combination of warm, moist air and cold, dry air to form. When these two air masses collide, they create an unstable atmosphere. A change in wind direction and an increase in wind speed with increasing height creates an invisible, horizontal spinning effect in the lower atmosphere. Rising air within the updraft, the upward moving air within a thunderstorm, tilts the horizontal rotating air, making it vertical. At this point, an area of rotation around 2-6 miles wide extends through most of the storm. Within this area, of course, the most intense and violent tornadoes form.

Tornado Facts for Kids

Tornadoes are fascinating, complex weather phenomena whose unpredictable nature makes it difficult for even the best scientists to understand fully. Enjoy these tornado facts for kids, which give an insight into this fantastic form of extreme weather:

1. Tornadoes reach from the ground to a cloud above.
2. Tornadoes are sometimes called twisters.
3. Some tornadoes are invisible, but their high wind speeds and fast rotation often form a visible funnel of condensed water.
4. Most tornadoes are only able to travel a few miles before dying out.
5. Intense tornadoes can sometimes travel over 100 miles (161kilometres).
6. In 1925, what is known as the Tristate Tornado traveled through parts of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana in the United States. It left behind a destruction path over 219 (352 kilometers) long.
7. The Tristate Tornado was the deadliest in US history. It killed 695 people.
8. In the USA, there is an average of around 1200 tornadoes yearly, more than any other country in the world.
9. Most of these 1200 tornadoes occur in ‘Tornado Alley.’
10. There has been a tornado in every state in the United States.
11. The states in the USA that are most frequently hit by tornadoes are Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Florida.
12. The deadliest tornado recorded in 1989 was in Bangladesh and killed around 1300 people.
13. Tornadoes that happen over water are often known as waterspouts.
14. Weather radars detect tornadoes and warn people that they are coming.
15. The safest place to be during a tornado is underground. This is why people often go into basements.
16. During a tornado, it is essential to avoid windows as the glass will likely shatter.
17. Scientists don’t fully understand how tornadoes are formed.

 

Originating in Ancient Greece in 776 BC and revived in the 19th century, the Olympic Games are the world’s most significant sporting competition. From Greek gods to world records and some of the most critical moments in history, Olympics history is genuinely fascinating, and you can learn all about it with the help of this Teaching Wiki.

The History of The Olympic Games

The earliest evidence of the Olympic Games taking place is in the form of written records from nearly 3,000 years ago.

Olympics History – Ancient Greece

How Did the Olympic Games Begin?

Legend has it that Heracles, son of Zeus, founded the Olympic Games, eventually becoming the most famous sporting festival in Ancient Greece. So, the Games were initially held every four years during the religious festival that honored the Greek god Zeus. This is where the Games get their name, as they were held in the sanctuary of Zeus, located in Olympia, Greece. The first officially recorded Olympic Games were held in 776 BC in Olympia.

Early sporting events included:

• Athletics
• Combat sports
• Horse and chariot racing

The names for the races were: the diaulos, the dolichos, and the pentathlon.

Who could compete in the Olympic Games? Only freeborn Greek men could compete; women were not allowed to compete. These men represented the different city-states of Ancient Greece

Why Did The Ancient Olympics End?

The decline of the Olympics in the Roman Empire

After the Roman Empire conquered Greece, the Olympic Games began to decline in importance. In 393 AD, Emperor Theodosius I banned all “pagan” festivals and events, ending the Olympic Games. Theodosius II, his successor, then called for the destruction of all Greek temples.

Revival of the Olympics – 1,500 Years Later

As with the revival of interest in the Ancient World and it’s philosophers, architecture, art, and much more, it was in the 19th century that the Olympic Games were revived.

Who Invented The Olympic Games?

Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who dedicated himself to promoting physical education, became interested in reviving the Games after visiting an ancient Olympic site in Greece. Many also spurred this interest during the Greek War of Independence in 1821. In 1892, Coubertin proposed his ideas, arguing for the Olympic Games as a leading international sporting competition. This was approved, and the International Olympics Committee (IOC) was founded.

In 1896, the first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece. The Games brought together 14 nations and 280 participants, competing in 43 sporting events. Sporting events included:

• Track and field
• Swimming
• Tennis
• Wrestling
• Gymnastics
• Cycling
• Weightlifting
• Shooting
• Fencing

The Olympic Games continued, held in a different host city and country every four years during the summer. However, 1924 is commonly believed to be the year in which the Games became the leading sporting event they are today, with 44 nations and 3,000 athletes competing.

Where Were The First Olympic Games Held?

After their revival, the first modern Olympic Games were held in its historic birthplace, Greece. The 1896 Olympic Games were held in the capital city of Athens.

Who Designed the Olympic Symbol?

In 1913, Pierre de Coubertin, the inventor of the modern-day Olympics, designed the Olympic symbol – the Olympic rings.

What Do The Five Olympic Rings Represent?

The five interlocking rings colored blue, red, black, green, and yellow on a white background represent the five continents united by the Olympics. Each color represents the colors present in every nation’s flag.

What Are The Official Olympic Sports?

There are 35 official Olympic sports. The Summer Olympic Games now consist of 28 sports and 38 disciplines. The Winter Olympics consists of 7 sports with 15 disciplines.

Summer Olympic Sports

Archery	Artistic Swimming	Athletics
Badminton	Baseball	Basketball
Basketball 3×3	Beach Volleyball	Boxing
Breaking	Canoe Slalom	Canoe Sprint
Cycling BMX	Cycling Mountain Bike	Cycling Road
Cycling Track	Diving	Equestrian/Dressage
Equestrian Eventing	Equestrian Jumping	Fencing
Football	Golf	Gymnastics Artistic
Gymnastics Rhythmic	Handball	Hockey
Judo	Karate	Marathon Swimming
Modern Pentathlon	Rowing	Rugby
Sailing	Shooting	Skateboarding
Sport Climbing	Surfing	Swimming
Table Tennis	Taekwondo	Tennis
Trampoline	Triathlon	Volleyball
Water Polo	Weightlifting	Wrestling Freestyle
Wrestling Greco-Roman

How Many Olympic Games Have There Been?

Since their revival in 1896,  28 Summer Olympic Games have been held in 23 cities.

List of Olympic Games (1896 -)

• Athens – 1896
• Paris – 1900
• St. Louis – 1904
• London – 1908
• Stockholm – 1912
• Antwerp – 1920
• Paris – 1924
• Amsterdam – 1928
• Los Angeles – 1932
• Berlin – 1936
• London – 1948
• Helsinki – 1952
• Melbourne – 1956
• Rome – 1960
• Tokyo – 1964
• Mexico City – 1968
• Munich – 1972
• Montreal – 1976
• Moscow – 1984
• Seoul – 1988
• Barcelona – 1992
• Atlanta – 1996
• Sydney – 2000
• Athens – 2004
• Beijing – 2008
• London – 2012
• Rio de Janeiro – 2016
• Tokyo – 2020
• Los Angeles – 2028

Winter Olympic Games

A significant moment in the history of the Olympics was the first Winter Games held in 1924 in Chamonix, France. The Winter Games were born out of a desire to feature more snow and ice sports that couldn’t be held during the summer and, therefore, couldn’t feature in the Olympic Games. The Winter Olympics are held every four years, two years after the Olympic Games.

Here’s a list of sporting events that are included in the Winter Olympics:

• Alpine skiing
• Biathlon
• Bobsleigh
• Cross country skiing
• Curling
• Figure skating
• Freestyle skiing
• Ice hockey
• Luge
• Nordic combined
• Short track
• Skeleton
• Ski jumping
• Snowboard
• Speed skating

Paralympic Games

Another important event in Olympics history originating in 1948, the Paralympics, was born by Sir Ludwig Guttmann, promoting the rehabilitation of injured soldiers after World War II.

Guttmann held a sporting event between hospitals that coincided with the 1948 London Olympics. Then, in 1960, 400 athletes went to Rome to compete in what was known as the “Parallel Olympics”; this was the first Paralympics. This continued, and since 1988, the host city for the Olympic Games has also hosted the Paralympics.

Essential Events in Olympics History

Being the world’s leading sporting event, bringing together nations and competitors from around the world, and being televised since 1948, the Olympics has been host to some of the most significant sporting achievements. Along with this, the Olympics has seen critical political events taking place:

• 1900 – Women were allowed to compete in the Olympic Games. Hélène de Pourtalès, from Switzerland, became the first woman to compete and the first female Olympic champion.
• 1916 – The Olympic Games are canceled due to World War I. This is the first time the Olympic Games have been canceled.
• 1936 – Nazi Germany hosts the Olympics. Many chose to boycott the Games due to the racist policies of the Nazi party and the fact the Nazi party saw the Olympics as an opportunity to fuel their Aryan racial supremacy beliefs. This was the year African American athlete Jesse Owens won four gold medals. Jesse Owens’s victory has been one of the most significant moments in Olympics history.
• 1940, 1944 – The Olympic Games are canceled due to World War II.
• 1948 – Germany and Japan are banned from competing in the first Olympic Games, held in London, post World War II.
• 1968 – U.S. sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos performed the Black Power salute to protest their country’s treatment of Black citizens during the award ceremony. This year also saw protests in the host city of Mexico City; students opposed the use of government funding for the Games.Top of Form
• 1980 – The U.S. boycotted the Moscow Olympic Games with the Cold War ongoing.
• 1996 – The 100th Olympic Games are held in Atlanta. During the opening ceremony, Olympic gold medallist Muhammad Ali lit the Olympic flame.
• 2008 – During the Beijing Olympic Games, American swimmer Michael Phelps, and his teammates break the world record in the relay event. In addition, Phelps won the most gold medals won in a single Olympic Games – eight gold medals.
• 2020 – The Tokyo Olympics are canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the third time in history that the Olympics have been canceled.

10 Facts About Olympics History

• The symbol for the modern Olympic Games is five interlocking rings. These represent the continents of North and South America, Asia, Africa, Europe, and Australia.
• The 2012 Olympic Games were the first in which all participating countries sent female athletes.
• Olympic gold medals are mostly made of silver.
• Two thousand twenty marks the first year the Olympics have been canceled since World War II.
• Some of the most prosperous countries in the Olympic Games include the U.S., China, the U.K., and Russia.
• The Olympic flame is always lit. Several months before the Olympic Games begin, the Olympic flame is an important symbol of the Olympics and is lit throughout the ceremony. The Olympic flame symbolizes the continuity between ancient and modern Olympic Games, lit in Olympia, Greece, and burning for the duration of the games.
• The 2012 Olympic Games allowed women to compete in every sport.
• The longest Olympic record has been held for over 50 years. Bob Beamon won the long jump in 1968 in the Mexico Olympics. His jump measured 8.90 meters, and he still hasn’t been beaten.
• During the ancient Olympic Games, an Olive wreath was the prize for the winning athlete. This is still an important symbol in the Olympic Games.
• British long-distance runner, Sir Mo Farah, is the most successful British track athlete in Olympics history. He holds gold medals for the 5,000-metre and 10,000-metre races.

The five oceans are the Pacific, Atlantic, Southern, Arctic, and Indian. These are large bodies of water that separate the seven continents of Earth. Each ocean has unique properties and, therefore, extraordinary marine life.Top of Form

Let’s break down the five oceans in more detail:

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest ocean in the world. It is located between the continents of Asia and Australia to the west and the Americas to the east. It covers about 32% of the Earth’s surface and accounts for around 46% of its water surface.

The Pacific Ocean is home to the Mariana Trench in the north-west. This is the deepest point on Earth and reaches 35,853 feet.

It is sadly also home to the great Pacific garbage patch. This area of plastic waste is three times the size of France!

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest ocean in the world and covers around 20% of the Earth’s surface. It sits between the Americas and Europe, and Africa. Similarly to the Pacific, the Atlantic is split into the North Atlantic and South Atlantic.

The Atlantic Ocean has many places where fish are abundant and is very popular for fishing. The Atlantic is teeming with popular fish such as cod, haddock, plaice, and sole. Some animals, such as the Atlantic ghost crab and the grey Atlantic seal, are unique to the Atlantic.

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third-largest ocean in the world and accounts for roughly 20% of the world’s water surface. Asia surrounds it to the north, Australia to the east, Antarctica to the south, and Africa to the west.

The west of the Indian Ocean is home to the world’s largest phytoplankton concentration. This brings an abundance of marine life to the ocean to feed. The Indian Ocean is one of the most popular fishing spots for tune and shrimp.

Southern Ocean

The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, surrounds the Antarctic continent. It is the fourth-largest ocean out of the five oceans.

The ocean is home to various animals, including fish, birds, and mammals. Penguins, seals, orcas, and albatrosses are some of the varied animal life.

Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean is the smallest, shallowest, and coldest of the five oceans. Eurasia and North America surround the Arctic Ocean. The ocean is mainly covered with sea ice throughout the year and almost entirely in the winter.

Many animals are unique to the Arctic Ocean, such as polar bears, beluga, and bowhead whales.

What’s the difference between oceans and seas?

Generally, oceans are much larger than seas. Seas are also enclosed mainly by land or where the land and ocean meet. Some notable seas you may have heard of include the Mediterranean, Caribbean, and Dead Sea. You may have heard of the term ‘the seven seas.’ This is an old term used for popular trade routes and bodies of water. There are no actual ‘seven seas.’

To make things even more confusing, the term ‘seven seas’ can refer to the North Atlantic, South Atlantic, South Pacific, North Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and Southern Oceans. However, these are still classed as oceans!

A report is a concise piece of writing that uses facts and evidence to look at issues, situations, events, or findings. Reports are informative texts that analyze different topics with a specific purpose and audience.

Reports are a form of non-fiction and aim to be as objective as possible, focusing on facts. This differentiates them from other forms of non-fiction, such as essays, that are heavily opinionated (though they may use statistics and factual information to persuade).

How to Structure a Report

Reports are usually structured using subheadings, numbered sections, and subsections. In addition, critical information can be listed using bullet points, including features such as statistics, graphs, or quotes as evidence to support its analysis.

Reports also tend to follow a structure that progresses through the following sections:

• Introduction. State what the report is investigating and its aims and objectives. Also, identify your hypothesis (a theory you’re trying to prove).
• Methodology. Write about how you approached the investigation, collected data, and analyzed it. For example, if you got your data through a survey, you conducted, write about how many people you surveyed, where you found them, how they communicated with you and what you did with the information. You could have gone about this in more than one way, in which case you can use subtitles to break down the different methods you used.
• Results. What were your findings? This isn’t the part where you interpret or analyze what you found; you share the results of your investigation. Continuing with the above example, what did the survey participants say?
• Discussion. This is where you interpret the results. What insights do you have into the information you collected? Did it support the hypothesis that you wrote earlier?
• Summary. Without introducing any new information, summarise your findings and what you learned from the investigation. You can also include recommendations here that relate to your results.

This is commonly referred to as the IMRAD report structure (Introduction, Methodology, Results, and Discussion) and is the standard way to approach report writing. However, if unsure, check the required format with your teacher, professor, mentor, manager, etc.

What language should you use when writing a report?

Clear, objective language. Report writing should not include emotive words and should focus primarily on being transparent, accurate, and concise. This is because the goal of a report is to communicate the facts, as opposed to convincing readers to think or feel a certain way. Aim to use Standard English and a straightforward vocabulary.

Inference

Inference means arriving at a conclusion using reasoning or evidence, which makes them more than just assumptions. Making inferences is a valuable skill for children, as it will help them pick apart texts and uncover meanings, themes, and character motivations.

What does inference mean?

Inference can be thought of as any step in logic that allows someone to reach a conclusion based on evidence or reasoning

In any situation where something is uncertain, and there are bits of evidence or clues, we’re likely to make inferences. For example, when we make inferences while reading, we use the author’s evidence to draw our logical conclusions.

A writer doesn’t always state specific facts about a character or situation. Instead, we can use the information given to us to figure certain things out for ourselves.

Synonyms of the term inference include:

• Conclusion
• Deduction
• Consequence

What are the forms of inference?

Before we learn more about inference and discover the difference between imply and infer, we must understand that we can make two kinds of speculation: inductive and deductive.

Let’s break these two types down:

• Inductive inference begins with making observations or carefully reading a piece of text. By reading and analyzing, you can notice patterns and start to form your own opinion or conclusion. A vital part of this inference is using evidence to prove the conclusion or inference drawn. Then, you can combine the evidence, patterns, and observations to create your hypothesis.
• Deductive inference works oppositely – you begin with an idea or theory. Then, you test the idea by collecting observations to address it. Once enough observations and evidence have been collected, the original concept will either be proved or disproved.

The two forms of inference work in opposite ways. An easy way to remember the difference is that inductive inference creates an inference at the end, whereas deductive inference begins with one. Making inductive inferences is more open-ended and leaves more room for exploration – it’s about developing an idea rather than proving or disproving one!

In school, children will be taught inductive inference. First, they’ll be taught to read and observe, then use evidence to conclude from what they’ve read.

What are some examples of inference?

Before we compare imply and infer, let’s strengthen our knowledge with a few examples of inference. This will help us to see how we make inferences in our everyday speech and writing:

1) Everyday speech:

Using clues, you can use inference to find out about a person’s actions or intentions. We use deduction a lot in everyday life – not just in reading. Here are a few inference examples to show you how we might make an inference in our everyday speech:

• ‘She’s making herself a snack, so she must be hungry.’
• ‘He’s taken his coat, so it must be cold outside.’
• ‘They’re an animal lover, so I bet they love cats too.’

These inferences are based on something seen, and there’s evidence to back them up.

2) Inference in reading:

We can also make inferences when we’re reading a text, whether a story or a poem. Authors rely on us to make inferences to get their meaning across in a more subtle (and usually more creative) way.

The author gives us clues about what’s happening; we, the reader, are left to figure it out for ourselves. If it was all spelled out for us and there was nothing left to infer, there wouldn’t be much room for imagination!

Not all inferences are ‘correct,’ though. Sometimes we can jump to conclusions without much evidence to support them. This is particularly common in mystery and detective stories, where the writer might use red herrings to trick the reader into a false conclusion.

Let’s break down how we can infer something from a piece of text:

• Feeling excited, he packed his swimming trunks, sunglasses, and sun cream into the suitcase and was good to go.

From this example, we can infer that the character is getting ready to go on holiday. The swimming trunks, sunglasses, and sun cream are all items we’d associate with a holiday, so it’s a logical inference. However, he’s also ‘feeling excited,’ which means he is about to leave for the holiday and not packing up to leave.

However, we can’t blindly trust what the author tells us! Sometimes, they throw in red herrings, which causes us to infer the wrong thing.

3) Other uses of inference

The term inference is also used in science or maths about data.

For example, suppose scientific research shows that a particular age group is more susceptible to heart problems. In that case, scientists may infer that this age group isn’t getting enough exercise or is leading less healthy lifestyles.

Inferences in science and maths need to be backed up with evidence and data – they should be much more accurate than if we’re inferring a character’s actions in a book.

What is the difference between imply and infer?

Now that we’ve learned a bit about inference and seen it in action let’s look at the difference between imply and infer. These words are somewhat related but have different meanings, so it’s important not to get them muddled up!

Infer, as we know, means to make an inference.

Imply, however, means to suggest something without explicitly saying it.

But while we can now see that imply and infer have opposite meanings, they are still related. Both imply and imagine things that we use a lot in communication.

For example, a writer might imply that something is the case without explicitly stating it. This means it’s up to us, the reader, to use our best judgment and infer what the writer means. We’re also likely to imply and infer in regular, everyday speech. When someone subtly implies something rather than outright stating it, some reading between the lines and inference might be needed to understand what’s being said.

When we infer something, we call it an inference. However, implying something is called an implication.

Why are inferences meaningful?Top of Form

We’ve learned about inferences and the difference between imply and infer, but why do inferences matter?

Inferences help us decipher and reach conclusions to find meaning based on what someone says or writes. Without speculation, we would treat what we hear or read in a very literal sense. Inferring is to read between the lines and make assumptions based on more minor details.

Drawing inferences is also essential for understanding the world around us. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to understand much at all. Even with evidence and proof of something, we still need to be able to make inferences from that evidence to understand its meaning.

Imagine a world without inferences: What does that mean if you saw snow falling outside? It’s snowing, yes, but what else? From the snow, we infer that it’s cold because it needs to be below 0 °C for ice to form. If we didn’t make that inference beforehand, we’d have to go outside and feel the freezing air first.

Inferences and being able to imply and infer are also essential skills for children as they progress through their English education. Making inferences will help them unpack more complex texts and make crucial judgments about their meaning.

Let’s get the most important question out of the way and figure out what the present tense is.

The present tense is one of the three main tenses, along with the past and future tenses, in which verbs will often appear. As the name suggests, the present tense is used to show that something is happening in the current or right now.

The present tense has four variations: present continuous, present perfect continuous, present perfect, and simple present tense. In this teaching wiki, we’ll cover each of them in detail and explain how they might be used in a sentence.

What are three examples of the present tense?

But first, let’s boost our understanding of the present tense by taking a look at a few examples alongside their past and future forms:

Past: He took a bus into town.

Present: He is taking a bus into town

Future: He will take a bus into town.

Past: She cooked dinner for her family.

Present: She is cooking dinner for her family.

Future: She will cook dinner for her family.

Past: The football team competed in the tournament.

Present: The football team is competing in the tournament.

Future: The football team will compete in the tournament.

From these examples, you should understand what a sentence written in the present tense looks like. Now without further ado, let’s look at each of the four different forms of the present tense:

What are the four types of present tense?

1) Simple Present Tense

The simple present tense is used when events happen continually over some time in the present. For example, when activities are done daily or by expressing thoughts and feelings.

Check out these examples of Simple Present Tense:

• Carl goes on holiday every year
• I feel ill
• We wake up for work at 7 am

You might like to challenge your pupils to add simple present-tense examples to this list.

Learn how to form the Simple Present Tense:

First-person singular: I dance

Second-person singular: You dance

Third-person singular: He/she/It dances (note the ‑s)

First-person plural: We dance

Second-person plural: You dance

Third-person plural: They dance

2) Present Continuous Tense

The present continuous tense describes an ongoing action that is happening right now, which is in progress or hasn’t been completed. The present continuous tense is used to write about events or actions that are happening currently.

We typically use the present continuous tense with the appropriate ‘to be’ verb and a dynamic verb. A dynamic verb shows action and/or process.

Check out these examples of Present Continuous Tense:

• It is raining.
• I am not going out after work today.
• James can’t come to the phone because he is making tea.

Learn how to form the Present Continuous Tense

First-person singular: I am

Second-person singular: You are

Third-person singular: He/She/It is

First-person plural: We are

Second-person plural: You are

Third-person plural: They are

3) Present Perfect Tense

The perfect form is a verb tense that consists of the present perfect, the past perfect, and the future perfect. We use it when talking or writing about actions completed by the present or a specific moment in the past or future. For example, the present perfect tense is used for repeated actions that began in the past but are not finished yet.

Check out these examples of Present Perfect Tense:

• I have guitar lessons every Monday.
• We have known each other since school.
• There has been an accident.

How to Form the Present Perfect Tense

First-person singular: I have

Second-person singular: You have

Third-person singular: He/She/It has

First-person plural: We have

Second-person plural: You have

Third-person plural: They have

4) Present Perfect Continuous Tense

And finally, we have the present perfect continuous. This will likely be the last of the present tenses you teach your little ones in KS2. The present continuous tense indicates that an action or condition is happening now, frequently, or may continue.

The present continuous (present progressive) tense is a way to convey any action or condition that is happening right now, frequently, and maybe ongoing.

Check out these examples of present Perfect Continuous Tense:

You can use some of our simple examples of present continuous tense to help explain how to identify and use the formula of this tense form.

• He is going to the library.
• We are coming to shopping in this market.
• You are shopping in that market.
• I am writing articles on different topics.
• He is reading various kinds of books.
• They are playing football now.

What are Present Tense words?

We’ve looked at each of the four present tense forms and read through a few examples. So, let’s briefly explore some valuable words and phrases that you or your learners can use when forming sentences in the present tense:Top of Form

Present tense	Word Bank	Example Sentence
Simple present tense	Every day, month, week, year, consistently, sometimes, never, frequently	Steve runs three miles every day.
Continuous present tense	I am, is, are	The boys play netball after school. We are visiting the museum in the afternoon.
Perfect present tense	Has, have	John has taken Sarah’s advice. They have fixed the fence.
Perfect continuous present tense	Has been, have been, haven’t been	I have been watching TV for hours. Nat has been learning ballet for seven years.

A consonant cluster, also known as a consonant blend, is where two or more consonant sounds appear in a word with no intervening vowels. Unlike consonant digraphs, where the consonants represent just one sound, each consonant sound in a blend can be heard when it’s sounded out.

What is a consonant blend, and what are some examples?

Consonant blends, also known as consonant clusters or adjacent consonants, is the phonics term given to two or more consonant sounds positioned side by side in a word with no intervening vowels.

Here’s the significant bit: unlike digraphs or trigraphs, where the letters all form one sound, each of the consonants in a cluster can be heard when the blend is sounded out. For instance, we say all three letter sounds of the ‘str’ blend in the word ‘string.’ If two or more consonants represent one sound, we’d call that a consonant digraph. Some examples of those include ‘sh’ or ‘th’.

Consonant clusters are often found at the beginning or end of a word. In the front, they’re never longer than three consonants long, such as the ‘s,’ ‘p,’ ‘l’ in splash, or ‘s,’ ‘p,’ and ‘r’ in a sprain. Three-letter consonant clusters always begin with the letter ‘s.’

At the end of the word, they can be up to four consonants long. A good example is the ‘l,’ ‘f,’ ‘th’ ‘s’ in twelfths. Although there are five letters there, there are only four consonant sounds, as /th/ is a digraph.

Consonant clusters in phonics can appear at the start of a word, for example:

• /s/ /t/in stay
• /f/ /r/in friend
• /c/ /r/in croak

Or at the end of a word:

• /s/ /k/in task
• /s/ /t/in fast
• /n/ /t/in went
• /n/ /d/in sound

What are some of the different consonant blends?

Now that we’ve seen some examples of consonant clusters in different words let’s look at many of these different blends themselves. There are dozens of various clusters in the English language, and children are likely to encounter many of the most common ones during their phonics education. Once you’ve become familiar with many common ones, you’ll know how to teach consonant blends more effectively.

Here are some of the most common two and three-letter clusters, as well as some example words:

Two-letter clusters:

Two-letter blends	Examples
bl	Blue, blob, bloom
cl	Climb, cling, clean
fl	Flu, flood, fly
gl	Glue, glass,
pl	Play, place, plan
sl	Slot, slide, sly
br	bread, break, brain
cr	crumb, cream, crab
dr	dream, dry, drop
fr	friend, fry, frost
gr	grow, grain, green
pr	pray, price, print
tr	tray, try, trust
sc	scan, scrap, scoop
sk	skip, skin, sky
sm	smart, smug, smear
sn	snake, sneak, snout
sp	span, spend, sponge
st	stay, star, store
sw	sweet, swim, swung
tw	twist, twig, twelve

Three-letter clusters:

Three-letter blends	Examples
shr	shrink, shred, shrew
spl	splash, splat, split
squ	squash, squid, square
str	street, strong, straight
thr	throw, three, thrill

What is the difference between consonant blends and blending?

By now, you’ll no doubt be knowledgeable about consonant clusters and some of the most common examples. But before we discuss the importance of these clusters and how to teach consonant blends, there’s the elephant in the room that we need to address, and its name is blending!

Although they’re both parts of phonics and are related, it’s important not to get blends and to blend mixed up.

• Consonant blends, as we know, are where two or more consonants are next to each other in a word with no intervening vowels, and each one is heard when the word is sounded out.
• When we talk about blending, though, we’re referring to one of the phonics methods through which kids learn to decode and read words. During phonics, children will learn to segment (or break down) a word into its sounds before blending them all to reform the word.

Now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s move on and explore why blends are essential to teaching and how to teach consonant blends!

Why do we learn about consonant clusters?

Consonant clusters are all well and good – but why do we need to learn about them? There are two main reasons why consonant clusters are essential to be aware of.

Consonant clusters are essential for early readers. Learning to decode a series of consonants can be tricky for young children because it is harder to distinguish between two or more individual sounds. Singular consonants, separated by vowels, are much easier to read and spell, and children might trip up when they encounter a new string of consonants to sound out, they can trip up. This is why it’s a good idea for them to know what consonant clusters are.

The other core reason consonant clusters are an essential teaching point is for those learning English as a foreign language. Consonant clusters in English can trip up speakers of other languages, and they might not know how to pronounce them correctly. They might also get them mixed up with consonant digraphs. Making them aware of clusters, digraphs, and the difference between them can help with their pronunciation and fluency.

1st Grade Animal Trivia

Which is the largest species of cat in the world? (a) Tigers (b) Lions (c) Panthers. Answer: (a) Tigers.

What is a baby cow called? (a) A puppy (b) A foal (c) A calf. Answer: (c) Calf.

What color are ladybugs? Answer: Red and black.

How many legs do insects have? Answer: Six.

What is the fastest land animal in the world? Is it (a) An antelope, (b) A cheetah, (c) A hippo. Answer: (b) Cheetah. 

What is the national mammal of the United States? Answer: The American Bison.

What is the largest land animal in the world? Answer: African Elephants.

What color are polar bears? Answer: White.

What makes dalmatian dogs so unique? Answer: Their spots.

1st Grade Bird Trivia

Which bird lays the biggest eggs? Answer: The ostrich.

What type of bird eats animals that are already dead? Answer: Vultures.

All birds are related to dinosaurs. True or false? Answer: True.

Which bird has the largest wingspan? (a) The wandering albatross, (b) The bald eagle, (c) The great white pelican. Answer: (a) The wandering albatross.

What species of bird were Skipper, Rico, Private, and Kowalski in the movie Madagascar? Answer: Penguins.

Which bird goes “hoot” in the night? Answer: Owls.

Which pink-colored bird is famous for standing on one leg? Answer:  Flamingos.

On Thanksgiving, it’s traditional to eat roast duck. True or false? Answer: False.

What do you call the soft and sometimes colorful things that cover a bird’s body? Answer: Feathers.

1st Grade Space Trivia

What do you call the bright lights in the sky at night? Answer: Stars.

In space, there’s no gravity. What effect does this have on astronauts? Answer: They float.

Which planet is surrounded by a set of rings? (a) Mars (b) Saturn (c) Jupiter. Answer: (b) Saturn.

What does the Earth orbit around? Answer: The sun.

What orbits around the Earth? Answer: The moon.

What is the name of the galaxy to which our solar system belongs? Answer: The Milky Way.

1st Grade Movie Trivia

What’s the name of the villain in the Lion King? Answer: Scar.

Which animal does the Grinch have as a pet? (a) A dog, (b) A cat, (c) A parrot. Answer: (a) A Dog.

What’s the name of the snowman in Frozen? Answer: Olaf.

Scooby-Doo’s real name is Scoobert Doobert. True or false? Answer: False (it’s Scoobert Doo.)

Which Mexican holiday is Coco based on? Answer: Day of the Dead.

In Ratatouille, what secret talent does Remy the rat have? Answer: He’s a chef.

Madagascar is based on the lives of a group of (a) Farm animals, (b) Zoo animals (c) Wild animals. Answer: Zoo animals.

What is the name of Shrek’s four-legged sidekick? Answer: Donkey.

Complete the title of this classic Disney tale: Snow White and the Seven _____. Answer: Dwarves.

1st Grade Food Trivia

What are the two main toppings on a Hawaiian pizza? Answer: Ham and pineapple.

Which country does spaghetti come from? Answer: Italy.

What do vegetarians not eat? Answer: Meat.

What do vegans not eat? Answer: Meat and dairy products.

U.S. baseball fans eat over 25 million hot dogs every season. True or false? Answer: True.

Brisket, sirloin, T-bone, and tomahawk are all cuts of what meat? (a) Chicken (b) Pork (c) Beef. Answer: (c) Beef.

Which country do burritos, guacamole, and tacos come from? Answer: Mexico.

What are the three main ingredients in s’mores? Answer: Marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate.

Which vitamin do oranges contain? Answer: Vitamin C.

What types of food are Monterey Jack, mozzarella, Gouda, and Swiss? Answer: Cheese.

1st Grade Nature Trivia

What do you call a large, cone-shaped rock formation that spews out lava? Answer: A volcano.

What do you call water that has frozen due to cold temperatures? Answer: Ice.

What do you call a dangerous storm that starts at sea? Answer: A hurricane.

What’s the name for the fluffy white shapes you can see in the sky? Answer: Clouds.

What’s the highest mountain in the world? Answer: Mount Everest in Nepal.

What is the longest river in the USA? Answer: The Mississippi.

The highest temperature ever recorded in the United States is 134 degrees. True or false? Answer: True.

What do you call the ball-shaped pieces of ice that sometimes fall from the sky? Answer: Hail or hailstones.

Where is the coldest place in the United States? Is it (a) Fairbanks, AK, (b) Saint Paul, MN, or (c) Cheyenne, WY? Answer: Fairbanks, AK.

1st Grade U.S. Geography Trivia

Which two countries border the United States? Answer: Canada and Mexico.

The largest city in the U.S. is Los Angeles. True or false? Answer: False; it’s New York.

What is Las Vegas famous for? Answer: Casinos.

How many states are there in the U.S.? Answer: 50.

Of these three U.S. states, which is the largest: (a) New York, (b) Alaska, (c) Texas? Answer: Alaska.

Which is the smallest U.S. state? Answer: Rhode Island.

1st Grade Seasons and Holidays Trivia

What date is Christmas? Answer: December 25.

In which month does fall begin? Answer: September.

Name three things you do on Halloween. Possible answers: Trick or treating, wear a costume, decorate your home, eat candy.

Which religion celebrates Hanukkah? Answer: Judaism.

Easter happens in the summer. True or false? Answer: False; Easter occurs in spring.

What happens to trees in the fall? Answer: Their leaves change color and fall to the ground.

During which season is it most likely to snow? Answer: Winter.

What is the name of the reindeer with the red nose? Answer: Rudolph.

In which season do people celebrate Thanksgiving? Answer: Fall.

1st Grade Sports Trivia

In which sport might you hear these words: bogey, eagle, and birdie? Answer: Golf.

How many strikes are batters allowed in baseball? Answer: Three.

What do you call the player who directs their team’s play and calls all the shots in football? Answer: Quarterback.

Who invented Lacrosse? (a) Native Americans, (b) French settlers, (c) Civil War soldiers. Answer: Native Americans.

Which sport can you play on grass and ice while wearing rollerblades? Answer: Hockey.

Name three events you might find during your school’s field day. Possible answers: Ring toss, relay race, obstacle course, and sidewalk chalk.

A touchdown is scored in football when the ball is kicked through the goalposts. True or false? Answer: False.

Which of the following is a natural swimming stroke? (a) the caterpillar, (b) the butterfly, and (c) the worm. Answer: The butterfly.

What color are tennis balls? Answer: Green.

1st Grade U.S. Politics and History Trivia

What year was the Declaration of Independence signed? Answer: 1776.

Who was the first President of the United States? Answer: George Washington.

Who is the current President of the United States? Answer: Joe Biden.

How many stars are there on the American flag? Answer: 50.

What is the name of the U.S. national anthem? Answer: The Star-Spangled Banner.

The United States has never had a female president. True or false? Answer: True.

The United States flag contains three colors. What are they? Answer: Red, white, and blue.

What are the two main political parties in America? Answer: Republicans and Democrats.

Where does the President of the United States live? Answer: The White House.

1st Grade Around the World Trivia

Which country are the Harry Potter stories set in? Answer: England.

Where does sushi come from? Answer: Japan.

In which country would you find a giant panda in the wild? Answer: China.

France, Italy, Germany, Spain, and Portugal are part of which continent? Answer: Europe.

Where does The Day of the Dead initially come from? Answer: Mexico.

Which country eats the most chocolate? Is it (a) Switzerland, (b) Canada, or (c) Brazil? Answer: Switzerland.

On which continent are you most likely to see zebras, lions, giraffes, cheetahs, and elephants in the wild? Answer: Africa.

Where is Greta Thunberg from? Answer: Sweden.

Scotland’s national animal is the unicorn. True or false? Answer: True.

Which English city does Paddington Bear travel to? Answer: London.

What is a Finite Verb?

A finite verb is a type of verb that shows agreement with a subject and can be in the present tense or past tense.

Finite verbs can be easily identified if they are the only verb within a sentence or the central element of the main clause. They can even be imperative verbs!

Finite Verb Examples

James does the washing every day (present tense)

Even Dave did the washing yesterday (past tense)

Do the washing, Josie! (imperative)

Non-Finite Verb Examples 

To understand finite verbs more clearly, take a look at some non-finite verb examples:

I have done the washing (combined with the finite verb have)

I will do the washing (combined with the finite verb will)

I want to do the washing! (combined with the finite verb want)

What is numerical order?

Numerical order is a way of arranging a sequence of numbers. This could be in ascending or descending order. For example, if you ordered a set of numbers in ascending order, such as 2, 55, 103, 256, 802. This can make searching through a large group of numbers a lot easier. Plus, it can help with analyzing numbers and working with statistics.

You put things into the correct place when ordering something by following a rule. There are lots of different rules for ordering you can follow. You can even make up your own rules for ordering. For example, you could order shapes by how many sides they have. Or, order a set of numbers from lowest to highest.

What is ascending order?

Ascending order is arranging numbers from the smallest to the largest. This is usually done from left to right. A good way of remembering this is remembering that ascending means going up. So, the numbers have to go up. In English, this can also be when letters are arranged from A to Z.

You might be wondering where you can find ascending order in real-life situations. Here are a few examples that can help you out:

• Staircases: If you imagine a staircase, it’s the perfect example of ascending order. You start on step 1, and as you climb the stairs, you start going up more and more steps. If you picture a number on each step, beginning at 1, you’ll see ascending order.

• Height: As you grow and get taller, your height will be in ascending order. If you note your height yearly, you’ll see the numbers increase as you grow. It will be different for each person, but everyone grows.

• Money: If you gather some coins, you can display your ascending order. Start with 1p, then 2p and work your way up the coins. Eventually, you’ll have presented coins that go in ascending order.

• Shopping: When you’re out at the shops, count how many items are in your basket or trolley as you go around. The total number of items in your basket or trolley will be in ascending order. So as you go around the shop and add to it, the number of things increases.

What is descending order?

Descending order is the opposite of ascending order. It’s when the numbers go down. You can usually reverse your ascended order numbers to find the descending order. An excellent way to remember this is by thinking that descending starts with a D, which means down.

Here are some examples of where you can find descending order in real life:

• Flights: When an airplane is ready to land, it has to make a descent. This is when the plane starts to move back toward the ground. The number of feet the plane is in the air begins to decrease. If you noted how high the airplane was every minute, you would have numbers in descending order.
• Pyramids: The pyramids in Egypt are very famous. You could see for miles if you stood at the top of one of them. Also, you’d notice that they are set in descending order. From the bottom, thousands of blocks make up the base of the pyramids. Then as they get taller, the amount of blocks begins to get smaller and smaller until you reach the top.
• Slides: If you’ve ever been on a slide at the park, you’ll know the feeling of descending. Slides are a great example of descending order. They’re just like the example about planes. For example, if you measure someone’s height off the ground at the top of a slide, the numbers would be in descending order at intervals on the way down.

BODMAS

BODMAS is a way for children to remember what order of operations they need to do when working out problems. It stands for ‘Brackets, Order, Division, Multiplication, Addition, Subtraction.’

BODMAS is related to numerical order because it is an order of what operations to do. The different operations follow a particular rule in a set order. However, the Order’ section of BODMAS doesn’t mean numerical order, but orders of numbers such as squaring numbers.

What are some ways to order things?

There are lots of ways to order things. Sometimes you don’t just need to organize numbers, but you might need to organize items or shapes. This is a quick list of different ways you can manage numbers and other things:

• Ascending: This is usually used to organize numbers. You put the lowest number first and the highest number last. This is generally done from left to right, too.

• Descending: This is the opposite of ascending order. You have the most significant number first and work to the smallest number. Descending order is still done from left to right.

• Size: This is usually used for shapes and objects. Ordering by size is taking the smallest object and putting that first, then building up to the most prominent thing.

• Groups: Ordering things and numbers by groups can be a suitable method. For example, you could order fractions, prime numbers, or even odd numbers by groups. In addition, objects could be categorized into groups of the same color or size.

• Location: Things can be ordered by location. If you were organizing objects in a house, you could manage them by room. Or, if you have many items from different countries, you can order them by where they came from.
• Alphabetical: One of the oldest and most straightforward ways of ordering things is in alphabetical order. This can be done with an object by the first letter of the object’s name. So, for example, a spoon would come under ‘S,’ and an apple would come under ‘A.’