Teaching Strategies, Tactics, and Methods

Common exception words do not follow the common phonetic spelling rules children learn in years one and year 2.

Many of these exception words are used frequently, hence the use of ‘common’ in the name. Children are normally introduced to common exception words in their first year of primary school. They will also have lists of words to learn in years 1 and 2.

Examples of common exception words:

Now that we know a little bit about what common exception words are, here are a couple of examples from the spelling lists of year groups 1 and 2:

Year 1: today, his, by

Year 2: floor, because, many, Mr

What common exception words are on the spelling lists?

Since we’ve learned a thing or two about common exception words, let’s go into more detail about what words children will be expected to learn in each year group.

Years 1 and 2:

In years one and 2, children will be taught how to read and spell several common exception words. These words will contain grapheme-phoneme correspondences (GPCs) that children will not have conducted so far in their phonics lessons. According to the national curriculum, some of the words that children may encounter in year 1 include:

• The.
• Do.
• Has.
• Where.
• There.
• Here.
• Come.
• Some.
• Once.
• Full.

As they move up into year 2, children will also come across some trickier common exception words, including:

• Door.
• Floor.
• Behind.
• Hold.
• Told.
• Move.
• Should.
• Could.
• People.
• Children.

It’s important to note that the common exception words taught by pupils may vary depending on the program used.

Why are common exception words important?

One of the key reasons why common exception words are so important is actually in the name!

These are words that get used a lot in both speech and writing. As children begin to read longer and trickier texts, you can be sure that they’ll come across these words often. Teaching children words that don’t follow standard phonics spelling conventions will make them less confused when they come across them in their reading. This will, in turn, help to improve their reading fluency.

Moreover, teaching children how to spell common exception words will equip them with essential vocabulary. So, for example, common exception words in Unfailing to spell these words makes it tricky to form even a simple sentence. That’s why common exception words are so important for soon-to-be writers!

There are many interesting facts about Beowulf – here are our favorites:

1. There is only one medieval manuscript of Beowulf. It is believed that this copy was written in the early 11th century. The document has been preserved despite its age and surviving a fire in 1731. The manuscript is now kept safe at the British Library in London, where it remains to this day. It has also been digitized, which means it can be viewed directly online!
2. Beowulf has been called an inspiration by many fantasy and epic authors. It is one of the oldest examples of the genre and how it follows the ‘hero’s journey’ method of storytelling. You can see traces of Beowulf in the modern-day as it has inspired many authors.
3. An interesting linguistic Beowulf fact is that Wiglaf in Swedish means ‘remnant of courage. In the epic poem, Wiglaf is a great warrior who comes to Beowulf’s aid in his fight against the dragon. Although he is not as powerful as the hero, he helps Beowulf defeat Grendel and defends him from an attack by a mighty dragon.
4. It is believed that the Sutton Hoo ship has connections to the descendants of Wiglaf. The burial site was discovered in 1939 and contained a large bronze helmet that the Anglo-Saxon people of England had crafted. This spectacular find is now displayed at the British Museum in London.
5. The copy of Beowulf that now lives in the British Library has fire damage because, in 1731, a fire at Ashburnham house (where it was previously kept) nearly consumed it. It survived, however, and was later acquired by the library in 1823.
6. Our favorite fun fact about Beowulf is this: the poem comprises 3,182 lines! It has also been translated into many languages, including modern English.
7. Beowulf was a prince of his native Geatland, part of modern-day Sweden. It is said that the people of Sweden and Denmark were sworn enemies, and Beowulf killed a relative of his king to marry his wife. However, it’s also said that his people deeply trusted him and had many great victories for them during his reign as prince.
8. If you’re looking for a biblical Beowulf fact: Grendel is said to be a descendant of Cain (from the bible). She is trying to get revenge for Cain, who was cast out of heaven for killing his brother Abel (who he thought had more power than him).
9. It is a hot topic for debate between some people whether the story of Beowulf was passed down and told verbally (from memory). Some believe it is possible, given that it is very old, but there are no sources to suggest this was the case.
10. The poem combines fiction, legend, and history. There are historical references linking Beowulf to a hero of the tale called Finn MacCool, who was renowned for his strength and bravery. There are also links to the story of Hrólfr Kraki, king of Denmark. Some scholars believe that Beowulf is based on this character rather than historical facts. While experts debate many Beowulf facts, one thing remains clear: Beowulf was a great hero who inspired many exciting tales for young adventurers to enjoy.

Are your children learning about the solar system in their science lessons? Do you want to help them bring a fun and creative element to this topic? Then why not get your children involved in an exciting science project?

Creative projects can let your children explore different ways of learning. This is important since our children learn differently, and unconventional ways of learning can often help deepen their understanding. Arty and practical projects are also fantastic ways to engage your children in a topic, so it won’t even feel like work to them.

The solar system can often be a challenging topic for children to understand. A practical and visual project will let them explore how the solar system works for themselves. Here are 6 Solar System Model Project Ideas that you could try with your children:

Hanging mobile

This might be the most recognizable solar system project and perhaps the most simple to prepare. All you will need is a card and some string. Start by making your planets – cut out circles in different sizes according to which planets they will be. Don’t forget to check how the dimensions of the world compare to get your mobile as accurate as possible.

Next, color each planet in the correct color. Then, look at some of the details on each planet’s surface. You can draw these and use different colors to make your solar system mobile more accurate and beautiful.

Punch a hole in the top of each planet, then thread some string through the hole so they’re ready to be hung up. Next, cut a much larger circle out of a piece of card or cardboard to make the base of your mobile, then punch a hole for each planet around it. Finally, hang your planets on the floor in the correct positions by threading them through the holes and tying a knot to keep them from slipping out again.

Finally, attach some string to the top of the base, then you can hang your solar system mobile wherever you like! You might want to try the Solar System Mobile Craft Activity below for a simplified version of this project.

Solar system cake

Fancy turning the solar system into a tasty treat? A solar system cake will always be a popular choice. It may not be the easiest project, but it’ll be the most delicious.

A chocolate cake is usually the best type to make into a solar system since the dark color can represent space. But first, you’ll need to find some decorations representing your planets. Colorful coated chocolate sweets are ideal for smaller planets; you might want to use small biscuits or fondant icing for the bigger planets and the sun.

Once you’ve baked your chocolate cake base, cover the top with chocolate icing. This will be the glue to stick your solar system on top. Start by placing your sun in the middle. Then, using white icing, pipe eight concentric circles around the cake to represent the orbits of the planets. FInally, place each of your planets in the right order anywhere on their orbit ring. Once everyone has seen your creation, go ahead and eat it!

Playdough model

A playdough solar system model is an ideal project for younger children. It won’t be too challenging, and your children can learn from molding their models with their hands and exploring different shapes, textures, and colors.

If possible, try to find different playdough colors to match the planets’ colors. Then, mold each world using the right amount of playdough and paint to match the earth. If you’re feeling extra creative, you could use little bits of other colors to stick on your planets to add some details.

You can then arrange your model however you like. One idea is to get some black card or paper to use as a base, then place your planets on the form in the right positions. For added effect, why not use glitter on the paper to make a starry space background? If your children need some help with the order of the planets, the Planets in Order Display Banner could be a useful tool.

Snowglobe solar system

Why not make your solar system project an ornament you can put on display? A snow globe is a perfect way to do this, and it’s really rewarding to see your finished project.

To make your snowglobe, you’ll need a mason jar, glitter, glue, paint, water, fishing wire, and some molding clay that can be hardened. Start by making your planets out of the clay, making sure to make them small enough to fit in the jar. You should also poke a small hole in the top of the planets for the wire. Let the clay harden, then paint your worlds in the right colors. You might want to add a layer of gloss over this too.

Thread some fishing wire through the holes in the planets, then glue the other end of the wire to the bottom of the inside of the jar. When you hold the jar upside down, your planets should hang inside. Next, pour water into the pot, add glitter, and seal it. Finally, flip your jar upside down again and give it a shake to see the full effect of your mini solar system in a snowglobe.

Felt model

A felt model solar system brings a tactile aspect to a science project, which could be ideal for younger children. They can learn through touch as well as visual learning. For this project, you’ll need different colored felt to match the colors of the planets, as well as a large black piece to make the space background. You’ll also need a needle, thread, and some stuffing material.

Before starting this project, ensure your child is supervised using the needle and thread. You can use the hand for younger children while they show you what to do.

Start by cutting circles out of the felt to make your planets. You could use a pen to draw on any details. Then, sew each planet onto the black background with the needle and thread. This can help develop fine motor skills. Before you sew it around, remember to push some stuffing inside to make the planets 3-dimensional.

You could try using a black cushion cover as your base, leaving you with a fun solar system cushion! You might like to try the Fine Motor Skills Threading Cards to practice threading with your children before you start the real thing.

Giant chalk solar system

Looking for a way to bring your children’s learning outside? Then you could try this solar system project in the playground or a garden. All you need is a space with a dark tarmac floor, where you’ll be allowed to draw on it. You’ll also need a chalk set with various colors.

This solar system model would make a brilliant group project since your children must work together to get their solar system right. Start by drawing a big sun in the middle of the space. Then, draw concentric circles around the sun to represent the planets’ orbits. On each orbit line, remove the correct world using the right color chalk.

Once you’re finished, you’ll have the biggest solar system model out of everyone! Make sure to take photos of your model before it gets washed away by the rain.

Pom-pom solar system

For this project, you can choose how much of a challenge you want to take on. For example, you might like to buy some pom-poms to build your solar system, or you could go all the way by making your pom-poms! For this, you’ll need a cardboard template in a donut shape, a ball of wool, and some scissors. First, wrap the yarn around the template until it’s full, then cut the thread around the edge of the template, tying off the cut pieces. Repeat this until you have a pom-pom for each planet. Using different colors for each earth can make this effective.

Once you have your pom-poms, you can stick them onto a large piece of black card in the right order. You might want to draw the orbits of the planets on the card in white chalk. Alternatively, you could make a solar system jumper with your pom-poms. If you feel confident in your sewing skills, why not sew the pom-poms onto a plain black jumper? This will be an effective solar system model that you can show off to everyone you see when you wear it.

Fruity planets

Why not throw a healthy spin on your solar system project? There’s no need to stick to conventional materials to make a fantastic model, so get creative and try something different! If you like the solar system cake but you’re looking for a slightly healthier option, the fruity planets project could be perfect. First, you must find some different fruits representing your planets. Think about shape and color while you’re looking for the right fruits. For example, a green apple could make a brilliant Earth. Then, what about a nice orange and pink grapefruit for the giant Jupiter? A honeydew melon could be your sun.

To arrange your fruity solar system, there are several ways you could try. For example, you might make a mobile model by hanging each piece of fruit from some string. Or, you could cut each fruit in half, then place them on a flat black surface. But, of course, the best part of this project is that you can eat it once you’re finished! And, because it’s a healthy fruit, you don’t need to feel guilty about it.

Citizenship refers to an individual’s status from belonging to a particular country.

Each country determines the conditions under which its people are recognized as citizens and the states under which their citizenship can be withdrawn.

In most countries, recognition as a citizen of that country carries with it recognition of civil, political, and social rights that aren’t given to non-citizens.

In education

Citizenship education aims to develop the capacity of pupils to participate in a fair and inclusive society throughout their lifetime. It also teaches them the importance of independence of thought and recognizing the power of reflection and debate.

Citizenship education enables young people to explore personal and social values, as well as their peers’, in light of concepts such as diversity, equality, justice, and democracy.

“We believe that citizenship has a clear conceptual core, which relates to the induction of young people into the legal, moral and political arena of public life.”

— Done Rowe, The Citizenship Foundation

What is the history of citizenship?

Greek conceptions of citizenship

“To take no part in the running of the community’s affairs is to be either a beast or a god!”

— Aristotle

Before the Greeks, a person was connected to a tribe or kin group, such as an extended family. The concept of citizenship that tied the person to the state first originated in towns and city-states of Ancient Greece (around 700 BC) and applied to property owners. Women, enslaved people, and the poorer members of society were exempt.

Citizenship in a Greek city-state granted the ability to vote, and citizens were required to undertake military service and pay tax.

Roman conceptions of citizenship

Greek conceptions of citizenship, such as equality under the law, were carried forward into the Roman world. Up until 212 AD, citizenship was used by The Romans as a means to distinguish the inhabitants of Rome from people whose territories had been conquered by Rome.

As the Roman Empire expanded, citizenship was given to allies throughout Italy, and in 212 AD, citizenship was granted to all free inhabitants of the empire.

Modern conceptions of citizenship

Modern concepts of citizenship can be traced back to the 18th century during the American and French Revolutions. During these times, the term citizen came to mean the possession and protection of certain freedoms from the coercive powers of the monarchy. Today, in societies where monarchist powers no longer exist, coercive powers refer to the state.

Citizens could openly comment on and criticize government rulings in public places such as coffee-houses, museums, and restaurants.

How is citizenship acquired?

Citizenship can be acquired in several ways: being born in a country, descending from a citizen parent, marriage or civil partnership to a citizen, or through naturalization (applying for citizenship in a particular country).

Acquiring citizenship from birth is split into two systems: jus soli and jus sanguinis.

Jus soli refers to citizenship acquired from birth in a country, regardless of the parents’ citizenship.

Jus sanguinis refers to citizenship acquired when a person automatically gains citizenship of the country their parent is a citizen of, regardless of where they are born.

Sometimes, you can have dual nationality and be a citizen of two countries.

Rights and responsibilities

When we ask, “What is citizenship?” it’s important to consider what rights are and the kinds of rights afforded to citizens.

A right is something that we have a moral entitlement to have or do.

A human right is a right that belongs to everyone.

Generally, the basic rights normally granted to citizens are the right to a passport, the right to leave and return to the country of citizenship, and the right to live and work in that country.

Human rights

Human rights are important because they uphold key values in our societies, such as respect, dignity, fairness, and equality. When these values are not supported, our human rights give us the power to speak up and challenge neglectful treatment by a public authority.

Our governments protect our human rights through laws. However, in some countries, human rights are not always recognized, and many people do not have guaranteed protection for their human rights.

In the UK, The Human Rights Act of 1998 sets out the fundamental rights and freedoms to that every citizen of the UK is entitled.

Some examples of human rights in the UK include:

• The right to life
• The right to liberty
• Freedom of expression
• The right not to be discriminated against

Children’s human rights

Every child has rights, irrespective of ethnicity, gender, religion, language, abilities, or another status.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) covers all aspects of a child’s life (up until 18). It sets out the civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights to which all children, regardless of where they live, are entitled. The convention is an internationally binding human rights agreement.

Some of these rights include:

• The right to have their views respected and their best interests considered at all times.
• The right to education, leisure, culture, and the arts.
• The right to have their views respected and their best interests considered at all times.

Responsibilities and active citizenship

Active citizenship refers to a citizen who takes an active role in the community.

We’ve established that rights are a citizen’s entitlement to certain protections from the government. If a ruling body gives rights to its citizens, those citizens may have certain responsibilities to uphold.

For example, in the UK, citizens have the right to free health care. Still, voting in elections is not mandatory, even though many people would say this is a citizen’s responsibility. A citizen who partakes in elections is therefore said to be active.

Global citizenship

Global citizenship means being aware of the interconnectedness between people, societies, and environments around the globe.

Global citizenship emphasizes an understanding of identities that exist beyond geographical or political borders. When we refer to a global citizen, we mean someone aware of and understands the wider world – and how they fit into that. They actively work with others to make our planet a more peaceful, sustainable, and fairer place

Whereas active citizenship refers to responsibilities and participation in our communities on a more local or national scale, global citizenship emphasizes our part in the global society and economy.

Diversity and inclusion

The society comprises diverse groups and works best when people have a sense of belonging and respect for one another and appreciate the importance of working together.

This involves understanding other people’s cultures, communities, identities, customs, traditions, and festivals. It also means being unprejudiced and discriminatory towards others. Citizenship is about fostering a cohesive society.

Why is it important to learn about citizenship?

Citizenship is an integral aspect of society – it’s ingrained in everything we do. It’s also important in the classroom. Learning about citizenship at school prepares young people for adulthood and helps them play a positive and active part in the world around them.

Learning about citizenship gives children the knowledge and skills to understand, challenge, and engage with the democratic societies they will grow up in, including; politics, the media, the economy, and the law.

Global citizenship is more interconnected today than ever, but this brings many complex and difficult issues worldwide. Therefore, young people must develop compassion and understand how to be good citizens.

The next generation should feel equipped and empowered to deal with these challenges and strive to do good in their daily lives, communities, and the world.

Teaching children about other cultures and beliefs can foster acceptance of other people in schools, which helps shape children into open-minded adults.

It is also important to explore multiculturalism in citizenship, for it helps children from different cultures and backgrounds feel accepted and included. In addition, they can build confidence in sharing their culture with their peers.

Penguins are aquatic, flightless birds most commonly found in the world’s southern hemisphere. Penguins are black and white and, unlike most birds, don’t have wings but have flippers. We mostly know penguins for how cute and cuddly they look, but there is so much more to these animals than meets the eye. These birds are super intelligent and interesting, so let’s look at how penguins live their daily lives. These ten facts about penguins are a brilliant way to teach children about these fascinating birds.

1. Penguins have both animal and human predators.

Most of us love penguins and would never want to see them hurt, but that can’t be said for us all. Other sea creatures that are known to target penguins are sharks, orcas, and seals! These animals are far bigger than penguins, so they must keep out of the predators’ way. It is part of the circle of life that penguins should have predators as they eat other sea life, like krill. Although this is part of the circle of life, it doesn’t stop penguins from always trying to escape their predators. A way that penguins do this is by using their black-and-white appearance to their advantage. Penguins do something called countershading, which essentially acts as camouflaging when they are in the water. While they swim, the black on their backs makes it difficult for penguins to be seen by predators from above and the white on their bellies makes them appear to be sunlight shining through the water to the predators below. Penguins also protect themselves by living in large groups. Unfortunately, penguins were once hunted by humans for their oil and eggs. However, penguins are now protected by the law, making such hunting illegal.

2. Penguins swim about 15 miles per hour.

Penguins are thought to split their time equally between land and sea. Penguins head to the sea to hunt for food, and the flippers they have instead of wings mean they are very good swimmers. Penguins’ speed varies, but they can swim up to 15 miles per hour! Penguins are thought to reach these top speeds either when they are hunting or when they are being hunted. Penguins also drink seawater, which as humans, we can’t do; this is good since they spend so much time in the water.

3. Penguins love to toboggan.

Penguins walk upright on their feet, similar to how humans walk. While penguins are very good at walking and waddling on the ice, they also do something called tobogganing to get around faster. Penguins that live in the polar region can toboggan due to the climate. They will push off using their feet and slide on their bellies along the ice; they can reach some high speeds this way! However, too much tobogganing can result in the feathers on their bellies becoming thin and wearing away, which means they won’t be as insulated and warm. Penguins also use tobogganing as a great way to escape predators, quickly sliding out of their reach.

4. Penguins sometimes have a mate for life.

When Penguins choose a partner to mate with, they often stay with this mate for a very long period, which is uncommon in animals, and in some cases, they stay together for life. Female penguins lay one or two eggs at once, and the parents keep the eggs warm. Once the eggs hatch into chicks, the parents also share the responsibility of protecting and feeding the chicks. Emperor penguins incubate eggs using their feet! For a few weeks each year, thousands of baby penguins are left to wait together while their parents go off to forage for food. When the mother and father penguin return, they call out to their baby chicks. Each penguin has a unique audio frequency to their call; the baby chick listens out for this call so they can easily reunite in large crowds.

5. Penguins go through something called a catastrophic molt.

Once the adult penguins have returned to their chicks, they undergo a catastrophic molt process. This is where adult penguins lose all their feathers at once. However, penguins have adapted to condense this process into a few weeks. This is because penguins are forced to fast during this period, as they cannot hunt for food without their waterproof feathers. Because of this fasting period, when female penguins choose a mate, they will purposely seek out chubbier penguins as they are better set up for the fasting period!

6. Climate change is affecting penguins.

Climate change is a massive threat to penguin life. Global warming in the polar regions has caused the sea ice to melt partially. Penguins rely on the sea ice to hunt for food and build nests; this melting away threatens the penguin’s habitat. Rapidly changing conditions and with the way that the climate is deteriorating, it is predicted that Antarctica could lose most of its penguin life to climate change by the end of the century. To survive, penguins may need to relocate to new habitats.

7. Penguins can leap up to 9 feet.

To escape predators, penguins have developed different skills and methods to escape their clutches. For example, when a penguin is chased in the water, it can run to land to reach safety. In addition, penguins can leap up to 9 feet into the air coming from the water; this protects them from the creatures lurking in the sea below. Penguins also jump to heights when diving into the water to propel themselves to the deepest depths possible.

8. Penguins can dive down to 1850 feet.

Penguins can dive deep into the ocean to hunt for their food. Penguins are biologically designed to sink as this help with their diving. The deepest dive ever recorded was done by an Emperor penguin that reached a mind-boggling 1850 feet deep. Penguins have been known to dive for up to 22 minutes at one time- that’s a long time to hold their breath! However, penguins have adapted to dive deep and stay underwater for periods to hunt efficiently.

9. Penguins were as tall as today’s human man at one point in history.

In recent years, fossils have been discovered that indicate that one particular ancient species of penguin once stood as tall as the average human man. Standing at a whopping 5ft 10, these ancient species would tower over much of the human living today. It’s thought that the penguin would have weighed around 80kg. Today’s largest penguin is the Emperor penguin, which stands at an average height of 3ft 9in. The smallest penguin is the Little penguin which stands at a tiny 33cm on average- a little bit taller than a ruler!

10. Penguins are waterproof.

Penguins are waterproof, which is pretty handy considering how much time they spend in the water. Penguins produce a special oil through the preen gland to insulate their bodies. Penguins must stay as warm as possible, and this oil ensures they do! The oil also doubles up as a water repellant and helps penguins keep dry. When a group of penguins is in the water together, this is called a raft!

An effective school vision is clear, punchy, and reflects the ambitions of the whole-school community. It can bring a school together and ensure everyone is moving in the right direction and pulling towards the same goals. In addition, with an up-to-date school vision statement, school improvement planning is much easier and more meaningful.

Involving the views of the wider school community is one of the key indicators of a successful school vision. A new pack of resources breaks down this process for you and is easily personalized to your school, so you can effectively maximize outcomes and potentials within your learning environment.

What Is a School Vision, and What Is it Not?

The school vision statement outlines where you are holistically heading as a school. It is a dream, a hope, an aspiration. It takes the school community’s strengths and projects to fully realize what you could eventually become. Therefore, it is your hope for the school, which ultimately embodies your hope for the future of all pupils and the outcomes they will be able to obtain.

It is important to note, though, the school vision statement is not a set of shared principles or beliefs: they are your values.

It is not your way forward from where you are now: that is your mission.

It is not the actions you will take: that is your strategy.

Before you start creating or refining your school vision statement, you must establish your school’s values. Once these are found across the board, making your vision can begin.

Step 1 – Involve the Wider Community

The wider community are the families that belong to your school, the governors, and possibly other organizations, such as the Diocese, multi-academy trust (MAT), or affiliated schools.

The school vision statement must incorporate the views of these groups: what they perceive as the school’s strengths, what they would like to see more of, and what they hope for each child as they progress along their journey through the school.

Moreover, this is also an opportunity to listen and learn more about your school than you knew before. One way of doing this is to invite members of the wider community to an open morning/evening. This gives you something specific and positive on which to base a survey – or even better, a focus group discussion. What did they see? What did they like? What would they want to see in an ideal world for their child’s school?

Step 2 – Pupil Voice

School vision statements are also for the pupils. So, with this in mind, it should outline your aims and objectives for how children experience their journey through school and what they take with them when they leave. It’s important to remember that your pupils experience this first-hand; the challenge is to help them to communicate their current experiences to you.

That’s where the Pupil Voice Classroom Activities and Pupil Focus Group Discussion Prompts come in. These activities are designed to be used in a whole-class lesson and can be adapted to different age groups. Use the outcomes of these activities alongside a more in-depth discussion with either the school council or a one-off focus group. These will help to form your school vision.

Step 3 – Staff Meeting

After you’ve collated the findings from your pupils and the wider community, it’s time to work as a whole staff to make sense of what you’ve learned and explore staff views. It’s about asking the right questions – and listening to the answers – and the Whole-School Vision Staff Share will lead you through this with hands-on activities for staff. This slideshow is fully editable and can be easily personalized with your school colors, logo, and values so that your presentation has the authenticity it needs

Step 4 – Writing Vision Statements for Schools

The best way to put the school vision into words is to choose three or four creative staff members and governors with varying roles and experiences, to work together as a writing group. Of course, as a headteacher or member

The School Vision Statement Writing Guidance gives expert advice for the writing group, including success criteria and examples; it inspires creativity. In the end, your vision may look like a picture, a poem, a story, a song, or a sentence, but it will encapsulate what your whole-school community has said matters to your school.

Step 5 – Share and Review

All that remains is to share the draft vision with members of the school community and listen to their feedback. The writing group, alongside the SLT, will then make any changes and produce the final vision.

Step 6 – Publish and Implement

This is perhaps the most important part of the process: what you do with it counts. To make your school vision work, it should be visible around the school, on your website, in the school improvement plan, and – most importantly – in everything you say and do.

Using differentiation in teaching means tailoring learning instructions in classes to suit the needs of individual students. Differentiation in the classroom is a fantastic way to meet these different requirements, whether varied abilities or Special Educational Needs. There are a variety of learning processes, products, or learning environments that can be used to keep learning as fresh and appropriate as possible. Let’s look at how we can implement differentiation in the classroom.

• Content: This is what the student needs to learn and what learning materials they can access.
• Process: A learning activity or game used by the teacher to engage the student and make sense of the learning content.
• Products: A variety of projects designed to help the students apply their knowledge and challenge them to demonstrate it.
• Learning environments: How the classroom is set up and how it feels to learn in that environment.

Why is Differentiation important in the Classroom?

Differentiation in teaching is important in giving students the best education possible. The aim is to teach children of mixed abilities in one class by honing in on their strengths and weaknesses. By doing this, a teacher can still teach the class as a whole while catering to the individual needs of smaller groups within the class.

Effective differentiation could be teaching the same materials to all students using several learning strategies. It could also mean the teacher delivering lessons tailored to students’ differing ability levels. Here are some examples of differentiation that the teacher may use in the classroom:

• Creating various lessons that are based on different learning profiles in the class.
• Grouping students together based on ability, topical knowledge, or shared interests. For example, groups can be chosen based on similarity so that children can work through a task with other similar learners. Or, they can be found in various learning styles to utilize these different perspectives when working together on a group project.
• Assessing students by using ongoing formative assessments.
• Managing the classroom to create a space that promotes learning in a supportive atmosphere.
• Continuing to assess and modify lesson plans and their content to suit the needs of students.

What Are Some Examples of Differentiation Strategies In The Classroom?

Now that you have more background information about differentiation, it’s time to tell you about different differentiation strategies in the classroom. They’ll help you to ensure that the needs of all of your children are catered for and that your learning environment is inclusive no matter what.

Teachers must use several strategies to fulfill a differentiated learning program for their students. Here are five differentiated teaching strategies that can greatly benefit your class members.

Here are some of our top differentiation strategies in the classroom without further ado!

Learning Stations

Similarly to small group work, learning stations help children work at the right level. You can also ask children to choose which learning station they want to work at, giving them a chance to reflect on their level of learning.

You can offer students various types of content by setting up handy learning stations. Students can then rotate which station they learn from and gain information from each new rotation. These stations may include watching a video, making artwork, or reading an article. Then, once students have been to each station, you can hold a class discussion to cement their learning.

Student Interviews

Communication is very important in the classroom. Asking students questions about their learning and studying preferences will help you understand how to meet the needs of your class. For example, you can try pulling individual members aside to find out the following:

• Favorite lesson types.
• Most enjoyable class activities.
• What projects do they feel happiest about?
• What particular exercises do they find most useful?

Once you have gathered this information, you can determine which methods suit your students learning abilities.

Discuss Your Abilities

You can help your students become familiar with differentiated learning by explaining your learning abilities. For example, talking about your areas of strength and weakness allows children to learn that not all people learn the same way. In addition, you can explain some of the tactics that work for you and suggest that children try the same.

Target the Senses

Lessons that resonate with students are the ones that stick. Targeting different senses in class is a wonderful way to keep children engaged. Generally speaking, the more reasons you appeal to, the better! Why not try using a range of:

• Videos, infographics, and written instructions for visual learners.
• Audiobooks or spoken directions for auditory learners.
• Physical objects for tactile learners.
• You could even incorporate smells or tastes if appropriate!

Promote Student Ideas

Encouraging students to pitch their projects may unearth some surprising results and give you an insight into children’s minds. Students will have an idea of what kind of learning they prefer. So, considering their preferences when tailoring lessons is an interesting way to help you determine what suits their learning requirements best.

Assess children over time: Many teachers implement assessment into their teaching, but a more continuous approach to this will help you monitor where each child is at. From here, you’ll be able to employ differentiation strategies in the classroom more effectively.

Make the most of small-group work: Small groups, such as guided reading, are a great differentiation strategy for learning. This is because children will be grouped according to ability, giving them a supportive group of peers to bounce off. They’ll also get more one-to-one feedback from you, and you’ll get a better insight into where each child is at.

Choose differentiated resources: This strategy might be a given but super important one. Many of our resources on the Twinkl website are differentiated, catering to children of various abilities. These resources will also make differentiation in the classroom more straightforward for you.

Set up meetings with parents: Parent-teacher meetings are really helpful when creating strong links between school and home. They’ll also give you a better insight into children’s needs and abilities, as parents can usually give you an idea of children’s skills shown outside of the classroom.

Use teacher’s aides: Teachers are such an important part of the classroom and can help implement differentiation strategies in the school. TheIn addition, they give certain children in

Encourage children to set goals: This last strategy is another way to reflect on their level of learning. Not only is it a good exercise for them to do, but it will also give you a better idea of each child’s current abilities and allow you to differentiate learning accordingly.

What are Transition Activities?

Transition time is the (typically) unstructured period between tasks or activities when your students move around freely without direction – for example, going to (or coming back from) recess, lining up for lunch, or preparing for home. As many teachers will know, unstructured time can often lead to excess fidgeting, general unrest, and sometimes even flat-out chaos (yes, we’ve been there). That’s where transition activities and games come in – to fill the time and maintain order.

Why are Transition Activities important?

Having transition activities and games for elementary students in your arsenal is a pretty important facet of classroom management. We’re sure you can agree that you’ve often wasted valuable learning time trying to crowd-control your class during transition periods to get them centered and focused for the next activity. It happens to every teacher at some point, so it’s not a reflection of something you’re doing wrong. Instead, having transition activities for elementary students ready and waiting up your sleeve is just another one of the (many!) things you’re doing right!

Transitions? Our top tips! 

Before we run down our (totally terrific) list of the top 20 Transition Activities for Elementary Students, we’ve got a couple of tips and tricks we’ve gained over the years, working in the classroom ourselves. Hitting the spot with transition activities can be a delicate balancing act – so we’re here to give you some sage advice.

1. Keep it consistent – At first, you might be excited to test out many of these activities and throw them at your learners. That’s fine – after all, you’re not going to know what works without testing it out. But our advice is to start slow, build a core group of activities that works for you, and stick to it. Elementary-level kids can easily get bored and restless trying new things too often, which can sometimes be counterproductive. This is especially true if your kids don’t quite understand the activity yet – meaning that you can waste more time explaining things. As with most things in an elementary-level classroom, routine is key.

1. Don’t let it get stale – This tip might contradict the prior one, but they’re both true – such is the experience of teaching elementary-age kids – you just never know exactly what you’ll get! Don’t worry too much; we’re not suddenly reversing what we said in the last tip – having a core group of activities is the way forward. But every once in a while, it’s good to throw something new into the mix to keep kids engaged. Perhaps you could rotate one of the more fun games we have in store every Friday?

1. Not all time needs to be structured – The natural reaction might be to have transition activities for every single period in the day. But that’s something we advise against. Effective classroom management knows when to step back and let children learn the error of their ways. If every transition period is structured down to the second, kids will struggle to make their own choices (and learn from their mistakes) at every other opportunity without your guidance. So perhaps pick the busiest (and most disruptive) transition periods in your day to implement one of these activities or games. We typically find that recess and getting ready for home are the busiest for us!

1. Teach consequences – Even the best transition activities sometimes don’t work. Children are unpredictable by nature, and some days, nothing feels like it’s working. But, again, this is no reflection of you – but how things go. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get a handle on it. Teaching your kids that their actions have consequences is vital to their development. So, if your class doesn’t follow your transition activity, sanction their time, such as taking a couple of minutes away from their recess. Children quickly learn the value of time when missing out on something they enjoy!

1. Prepare – You may have children in your class with additional needs, so you must factor these children into your transition activities. They may find it more difficult to process the need to move quickly between tasks, but with a little planning, you can make this easier. If you’re lucky enough to have a classroom assistant, place them near the children who may need the additional support, ready to help. If you don’t, give the children who may need extra support a warning and give them a helping hand if necessary.

Top 20 Transition Activities for Elementary Students!

1. Sing Songs!

One of the best transition activities for elementary students (and probably one you remember doing as a student yourself) is to sing songs together. Nursery rhymes, counting songs, pop music – you name it. The attention your children will place on singing along to your chosen song usually distracts them from anything else and centers their focus right back on you.

2. 10, 9, 8…

One trusty method we recommend for transition time is to give your kids fair warning. Once you begin to count back from ten, they know they have ten seconds to get to where they need to be – be that lining up for recess, or sitting ready to learn. By the time you hit zero, quiet is expected.

3. Movement Madness

A super fun transition game for elementary students is to set a movement challenge. For instance – you might ask everyone to hop to the line when collecting the children from recess or maybe ask them to spin around several times in the bar. This is great for draining excess energy in your students while focusing them on a shared goal.

4. Sense Siren

One of the best transition activities for elementary students – particularly older ones – is to use their senses to know it’s time to move on to their next task. Some teachers use smells, such as essential oils. Others use a simple sound, such as the single bell chime. As your students get older, transitions can become simpler and calmer.

5. The Quietest Crowd

Many classrooms divide their students into groups to make things easier – you might have groups named after colors or animals, for example. Having these groups can make transition time easier – not only can you move your students around in smaller, controlled groups, but you can make a challenge of it. For example, the quietest group of children to line up will receive a special treat or prize – the element of healthy competition will make transitions a breeze!

6. Place and Order

Distraction is a key element of transition activities for elementary students – giving your students something to focus on to avoid them getting restless. One such technique is to challenge your students – for example, order yourselves in height from shortest to tallest as quickly as possible. Or, line up in order of birthday months. This activity will boost teamwork skills while focusing your class on a shared goal, leaving them too busy to be disruptive.

7. Tip-Toe Challenge

One of our super fun transition games for elementary students is the Tip-Toe Challenge. In this game, your students will be tasked with tip-toeing to the line to get ready to go home or for a recess (for instance). Most importantly, they must not make a sound the entire way, or it’s time to go back and start again! We don’t want to be late for recess, now do we?!

8. Mirror my Movements

One of the simplest transition activities for elementary students is to have your class mirror your movements. Wiggle your fingers, wrinkle your nose, shake your hips – there are no set rules! The idea is that your students are focused on their gross motor movement, meaning that they have little time to get distracted or chatter.

9. Transition Magician

A super fun transition game for elementary students is what we’re calling “Transition Magician.” Kids can put their hands into a box and pick out an object in this game. We recommend 2D shapes or items that are primary colors. Then, you’ll say that the children who picked a circle (for example) can line up for recess or home time. This will enhance shape and color recognition in your youngest students while laser-focusing your transition time.

10. Active Listening

To enhance active listening skills, the following technique is one of our most useful transition activities for elementary students. This activity works best when you must line up to leave the classroom – such as for recess or a school assembly. You will give a prompt, such as “Line up if you’re wearing a sweater,” and the children It’ll take some super listening skills for your students to identify themselves – as the prompts can be as specific as you wish, such as “line up if you’re wearing a red bow in your hair.”

11. Name Game

We have this “Name Game” activity for more active listening techniques. Your elementary students will need to sit and wait to transition into this activity. You will have a bowl full of their names – when you draw a word, that student may line up. This allows you to control the transition time and avoid too much distraction with a stampede of students.

12. Shake it Off

To make transitions between tasks easier, it’s sometimes helpful to allow your students to move. Give them 30 seconds on a timer to “Shake it Off” and get all their excess energy out. In whatever way they choose, that is fine – but once the 30 seconds are up, everyone needs to calm themselves down and prepare for the next task.

13. Quick Clean!

So the classroom is chaotic, and you’ve got limited time to fix the area before your next task. Don’t default to letting the adults take over and tidy – set your students a challenge for their transition game. Can they clean the classroom up in a minute or less? Direct your students to different areas to ensure the entire room is covered, and let’s get cleaning!

14. Move Your Body

A fun transition activity for elementary students is to see their gross motor skills in action. If you’re walking to lunch or leaving the classroom for recess (for example), why not mix it up by having everyone move the same way? You could all make lunges to the cafeteria or skip together. But no noise, please! Your students should be so busy focusing on gross motor movement the only thing you might hear is a gaggle of giggles!

15. Brain Break

Another transition we love is to have a minute or two for a brain break. You can check out awesome sites like GoNoodle with fun activities and dances for your kids based on the curriculum. If you’re killing time while waiting for the recess bell to ring (for example) and you’ve got tons to do, have your classroom assistant put on a video, so you can prepare for what’s next.

16. Simon Says

A classic transition game for elementary students is to play Simon Says (and if by chance you have a Simon in your class (which is awesome, by the way) – change the name!). It’ll take some keen listening skills from your students to follow your directions – or should that be Simon! And for additional benefits, the boost your kids’ gross motor skills will get is a bonus.

17. Ticktock Timer!

For a handy visual aid to teach your students the importance of good timekeeping skills, you can put a visual timer on your interactive class whiteboard. This transition activity will give your elementary students a certain amount of time (longer for younger students, shorter for older ones) to have their work spaces tidied away and be ready to transition into the next task, whatever that may be.

18. I Spy

I Spy is a fun game to play at any point. But you can make it into a fun transition activity. For example, when you say, “I Spy,” your students need to respond with, “What do you spy?”. Then you can describe something and see if they can point it out. And you could always implement this into cleaning your classroom – if you spy something that needs to be put away, be sure to let your learners know – they’ll be racing each other to put it away first!

19. Role-Model Line Monitors

This transition activity isn’t quite “divide and conquer,” but the premise is effectively the same. Look out for children trying extra hard to do the right thing, and make sure you let everyone know that you’re picking them as the front, middle, and back-of-the-line monitors for transition time. Emphasize that other children must follow their example if they want the next role. Trust us – you’ll be surprised how quickly that has your children ship-shape! A little healthy competition never hurts anyone, right?

20. The Sleeping Dragon

And finally, we couldn’t round out this list without one of our favorite transition games for elementary students. We’ve often played this super-fun game at home – as we know all too well that it can be a chaotic and noisy experience. But this game turns that into fun and will help your kids transition smoothly. You, as the teacher, play the role of the sleeping dragon with your eyes closed at the front of the classroom. Your classroom assistant will tap each child on the shoulder – one by one; everyone in the class needs to collect their belongings in total silence because if they make a sound, they’ll wake the sleeping dragon. One dragon-sized roar from you, and they’ve lost the game! This creates a fun team activity and will guarantee no fuss in collecting coats and bags.

A literature circle is a small-group learning exercise that can be used to get your class to think critically about texts while they explore teamwork and communication skills.

The students gather together to discuss a piece of literature in depth. This discussion will be guided by students’ responses to what they have read.

This discussion can be about the writing style, personal responses to the story, or events and characters within the book.

What makes literature circles different from regular text discussions is that the children are given roles that will help facilitate the conversation. This provides an extra structure that will make the debate more accessible and understandable to your students, especially those at the primary level.

This kind of literature circle task gives children a chance to engage their critical-thinking and reflection skills making them more comfortable reading and responding to texts.

It’s all about having a collaborative spirit, which also makes it more unique than a regular reading response, which is often very individual and solitary. As a result, students can find new meaning, And, of course, they will be able to come away confident about what they have read and inspired to read more in the future.

How to set up a literature circle

Book choice is the best place to start with a literature circle. You are looking for a text that will be exciting and relevant to your group. It should be within their reading level, with around 90% of the vocabulary familiar to them. Remember that this task focuses on responding to a text. Feeling comfortable with the language and themes will help encourage deeper comprehension skills, such as inferring and using context clues.

Choosing the roles

The roles within a literature circle session provide a great opportunity for your class to focus on one aspect of literature. Swapping their parts each session will add great variety to your lessons. Here are some main roles you can choose in a reading comprehension activity.

Role	Description	Skills Worked On
Discussion Director	The discussion director will develop a selection of questions to guide the session. They will also make sure that everyone gets their turn to speak	Questioning Inferring Listening
Word Wizard	The word wizard is responsible for sharing any new vocabulary when reading before finding out the meaning. The group members can also ask for these new words to be written down.	Dictionary Skills Monitoring and Clarifying
Creative Connector	This role is about finding connections within the text and explaining these to the wider group. The connections might be text-to-text, text-to-self, or text-to-world.	Making Connections
Summarizer	The summariser will start the session by identifying the text’s key ideas and end the session by summing up what the class has learned.	Summarising
Passage Finder	This group member will pick parts of the text to guide the discussion. The details they choose will be ones they find interesting or match the ideas being spoken about.	Prioritizing Identifying Importance Listening

Tips for Literature Circles

• Offer choices throughout. Literature circles encourage inquisitive learning by centering children’s voices from the text that gets covered to the selection of roles. Giving options at every level will promote this.

• Focus on one piece of text at a time. Some children read at different rates, so each session must cover a small, manageable text portion. Remember to remind your students not to spoil the ending, as not everyone will be racing ahead!

• Stay in the background. While your students might be used to you explaining the meaning of texts, that might stop children from sharing all of their ideas. Peer-to-peer exercises are helpful for this.

• Have a clear end-goal. This could be as simple as finishing the text or as full as writing a book review after the activity.

What is a line graph? For kids

A line graph is used to represent information that changes over time. A line graph is plotted with joined points to create a straight line. Children begin to learn about line graphs in Years 4 and 5 before making their own in Year 6.

Line graphs help with representing a value over time. Graphs are ideal for adding a visual representation to statistical data. They are brilliant for plotting data that couldn’t be shown in any other chart; for example, ‘How many school lunches are eaten each day?’ This question couldn’t be well represented in a pie or bar chart as the scale is overtime.

What are the five parts of a line graph?

• The Y-Axis – In a line graph, two axes represent two data types. The Y-axis is vertical (upwards). This is typically the axis that shows a measurement; it always starts at 0. All sizes must be split equally down the axis. For example, the number of school lunches would be measured here.
• The X-Axis – The X-axis is the horizontal (across/flat) line that often represents the names, dates, or times measured in the line graph. For example, the dates/ period of school lunches would be counted here.
• The Title – This is the first thing a reader will see when they look at your graph. It needs to be short, to the point, and answer exactly what the chart is about. For example, a title for the school lunch graph could be ‘Number of hot school lunches sold p/day: From the 10th of February to 10th of March‘.
• The Source and Data – Where did the information come from? What data have you collected to plot in your graph? Is there more than one set of data to represent? These questions are important to answer in your line graph. Make sure to credit whoever the source of information was from. If you need to show more than one type of data, for example, ‘Hot school lunches about 2018’, then you could plot two lines on your graph in different colors; it’s important to write a key on the side of your chart to show the reader what each line represents.
• The Legend – This is vital for showing the reader what each line means. Write a short sentence explaining each axis, e.g., ‘Number of Lunches sold (in hundredths)’ for the Y-axis and ‘Date’ for the X-Axis.