Teaching Strategies, Tactics, and Methods

Why do we have Easter eggs at Easter? You might have asked yourself that question before. After all, the Easter story, as told in the Bible, doesn’t involve any eggs. So what is the meaning behind Easter eggs?

The tradition of making and giving decorated eggs didn’t begin with Easter. The practice of decorating eggs dates back nearly 60,000 years to the predynastic Egyptians. The ancient Egyptians would decorate ostrich eggs in gold and silver to honor their loved ones, who were buried with these intricate gifts.

As a long-standing symbol of life and death, the egg has popped up regularly throughout history by most civilizations. Now, nearly 2000 years later, Easter and the Easter egg have become a prominent part of our yearly festivities. You can find out more about why we have Easter eggs at Easter below.

Why do we have Easter eggs at Easter?

The story of Easter starts with the last supper. This was a meal that Jesus shared with his disciples before he was betrayed by Judas and executed. The Last Supper is a Jewish event known as Passover. Passover meals usually included a white egg.

It’s thought that the Christian custom of the Easter egg came from this Passover egg, which in the early days of Easter was dyed red to symbolize the blood of Christ that was spilled that Passover, and often adorned with a golden cross that was a depiction of the crucifix that Jesus died on.

Chocolate eggs

Using chocolate to make Easter eggs was a turning point in Easter egg history, and it all started in 1725 in the Court of King Louis XIV (14) in Versailles. The widow Giambone poured molten chocolate into empty chicken egg shells, and the first chocolate Easter egg was born.

During ancient times many people would give up dairy foods for Lent. This meant that by the end of Lent, so many eggs were left over, and Easter has always been about eating loads of eggs. Eventually, made out of chocolate, they were given as gifts. It was thought that the practice of exchanging sugary treats was because many people had started to give up sugar for Lent instead of dairy – but the egg remained.

Nowadays, many people give chocolate eggs to their friends and family to celebrate Easter.

In many European countries, such as Germany, Sweden, and Poland, the practice of coloring chicken eggs and using them as decorations around the home at Easter persists. Below you’ll find a list of fun ways to decorate real eggs at home.

The meaning behind Easter eggs

Eggs are an ancient symbol of new life and have also been associated with fertility and death. Throughout history, eggs have been associated with pagan festivals celebrating spring. Although Easter is a religious festival, some traditions come from pagan customs.

The meaning behind Easter eggs is significant in terms of Christianity. Because Easter is a holiday celebrating Jesus’ resurrection, Easter eggs are thought to represent Jesus emerging from the tomb and his resurrection.

Eggs were prized at Easter because hens never laid many eggs during winter before industrial farming. Because the production of eggs depends on light and there is a lack of sunlight in winter, there would be a lack of eggs during the colder months. However, hens began to lay eggs again when the sun came back out in spring, meaning eggs became associated with spring and, in turn, Easter.

Eggs were so valued that they became part of the payment for people’s salaries, including servants, people who worked at churches, and pastors.

Decorating tips and techniques for your eggs

You might want to decorate your eggs to celebrate Easter. You can use decorated eggs in your home to add some seasonal spirit. It can also be a great activity to do with children. Just be careful if you are using boiling water or beeswax.

Onion dye

Wrap raw onion skins around an egg and boil. The onion skins will break down and leave leaf-like markings across the surface of the shell. Adding dye to the water will color both the egg and the markings. This practice had gone on for so long that we’re not sure when or where it started!

Polish Pisanki Eggs

Using melted beeswax, you can draw a design across the egg by dipping the end of a pin into the wax and tracing it across the surface of the shell.

The beeswax will dry almost immediately onto the egg shell. However, ensure your egg has cooled to room temperature before beginning your design. Once you’re happy with how it looks, then you can dip your egg into colored water; once it’s dried again, carefully remove the wax, and your design will have been stained on the shell.

This practice dates to pre-Christian times and has been found all over eastern Europe. Unfortunately, onlyhey are fragile, only shell fragments have remained, but they have been unearthed at archaeological dig sites of the Piast era, a Polish dynasty from 960-1370.

Easter is also filled with great egg games!

Now you know why we have Easter eggs at Easter! But where do other eggy traditions come from?

The classic egg hunt is thought to have dated back to the early 1500s when Martin Luther, a German theologist, and priest, hid eggs around his home for women and children to find. The practice spread across Europe, and by the 1700s, the legend of the Easter bunny hiding eggs for children to find was born.

The bunny has also been associated with Easter because they appear in the spring. Other animals that tend to be associated with Easter are lambs and baby chicks. In Australia, there isn’t an Easter bunny – they have an Easter bilby, a cute mouse-like creature with big ears like a rabbit.

We’ve all run afoul (pun intended) of an egg-and-spoon race! This traditional race involves running from start to finish with an egg balanced on a spoon; if it drops and breaks, you lose. The race was first to run in England in 1894, and they were also a part of Queen Victoria’s 1897 diamond jubilee. Nowadays, people might use a ping pong ball instead of a real egg.

The word ‘antelope’ refers to many four-legged mammals living in Africa, Europe, and Asia. An antelope group is a miscellaneous group of even-toed mammals that are not bovines, sheep, or goats.

There are 91 species of Antelope, and the vast majority of these live in Africa. The word ‘antelope’ is an example of something called wastebasket taxon, which means that it is a word that classifies animals that do not fit into any other similar group. Antelopes are defined by being identical to, but not the same as, sheep, cattle, or goats.

This means a lot of diversity among different species of antelopes. They live in various habitats, from mountainous regions and swamplands to grasslands and savannahs. No antelope species are native to Australasia, Antarctica, North America, or South America.

Antelopes are popular for hunting, so several species have been imported to the Americas for use as game. Most of these are kept in reserves, but some wild antelope in warmer areas of America have escaped and thrived, particularly in Texas.

What is the Antelope Habitat?

Antelopes have a wide range of habitats depending on the species. These include plains, grasslands, woodlands, deserts, savannahs, and swamps. Each variety of antelope has adaptations that make it suitable for its habitat and protect against the predators that live there.

Antelope adaptations depend on their habitat, including their horns, legs, and hooves. For example, antelopes in flat areas have flat claws, while antelopes in rocky or mountainous areas have feet adapted for climbing.

Are Antelopes the same as Deer?

Antelope are not the same as Deer. Deer can be found in many places worldwide and can live in colder climates, whereas Antelopes are native to Africa and Eurasia and generally live in warmer temperatures. Antelope antlers are pointed, while Deer antlers branch out. Also, Antelope antlers grow continuously throughout their lives, while Deer antlers are shed yearly and regrow afterward.

What do Antelopes Eat?

Antelopes are grazing animals that eat grass, leaves, shrubs, and other small plants. Some antelope can stand on their back legs and reach up into trees for food, while others live in grasslands with plenty of food for them to eat. As they are herbivores, Antelopes have specially adapted teeth for chewing plants.

How do Antelope protect themselves?

Antelopes have many predators, such as lions, leopards, hyenas, cheetahs, crocodiles, and even pythons. Antelopes have adapted to run extremely fast to escape their predators, and they can also use their long horns for defense. Many Antelopes will gather in herds for protection, and they can alert each other to danger.

Some species of antelope, such as the Springbok, can bounce on their springy legs to indicate that they are frightened, alerting others to danger and causing them to flee. Other antelope species, such as the Wildebeest, can protect themselves from predators by kicking with their strong back legs.

Antelope Facts

• The horns of an antelope can be straight, short, spiraled, curved, or pointed, depending on the species
• Some species of antelope have four horns instead of two; these are called Four-horned Antelopes
• The largest species of Antelope is the Eland, which can grow to be 6 feet tall
• The smallest species of Antelope is the Royal Antelope, which is just 12 inches tall
• The Impala, a species of Antelope, is the second-fastest mammal after the cheetah
• Antelopes have a highly developed sense of hearing to detect predators
• Antelopes in Africa will sometimes follow Zebras around to find good grass to eat
• Some Antelopes, like Wildebeest, migrate in groups of thousands
• Antelopes make many sounds, such as a moo sound like a cow or a bark like a small dog
• All Antelopes have two toes because they are even-toed mammals
• Antelopes follow the rains to find fresh grass to eat
• All gazelles are antelopes, but not all antelopes are gazelles

A brief history of fairytales and folktales: The ultimate narrative shapeshifters

So, who wrote Jack and the Beanstalk? Well, it depends on whether you’re asking who created Jack and the Beanstalk or who was the first to write it down. The answer is a little more complicated than you would think! Folktales like Jack and the Beanstalk are integral to our storytelling culture, passed down through generations, evolving across seas and land via word of mouth. Fairytales are tricky to attribute to anyone because most were created before the days when most people could write. Fairytales, or folktales, were an important part of entertainment because, if you think about it, it was before the days of books or television; they were a wonderful way to delight, entertain, ‘instruct,’ and pass the time.

Fairytales, or folktales, were ‘shapeshifters.’ The story would differ depending on who told it and where. There are multiple versions of all our favorite tales, and Jack and the Beanstalk is no different! Fairytales generally define any short story that traveled orally. Although they would have the same basic prop devices and characters, the meaning and plot would change according to the times; hence why it’s tricky to trace specifically who wrote Jack and the Beanstalk. Fairytales are like a (magic!) mirror for the times they were spoken in, and they can tell us a lot about the ways of life and beliefs people had in the times they were said in.

Who first created Jack and the Beanstalk?

So, who created Jack and the Beanstalk specifically? Some folklorists now believe that they have traced the tale back by more than 5000 years, making it one of the oldest fairytales we know of! Although it was maybe not the version we know today, there was a boy, a ‘monster’ of sorts, and an ascent ‘upward’ into the sky. It’s thought it was part of a collection of stories called, ‘The Boy who Stole the Ogre’s Treasure.’

If we were to say who created Jack and the Beanstalk truly, the real answer would be a diverse and broad range of our ancestors. Fairytales were told while at work – while out in the fields, spinning or weaving, or nurseries – and at one point became so popular that there were designated ‘story-telling’ salons, which sounds like a lot of fun! The fact that they’re still around in various disguises, retold and performed and sung about today with delight and relish is a testament to how enduring fairytale’s powerful influence. Has anyone heard of Disney, by any chance?

Who wrote Jack and the Beanstalk first, then?

Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean (1734)

It’s thought the first written version of Jack and the Beanstalk was titled, ‘Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean.’ Published in 1734 in London by a certain J. Roberts, it was included in an anthology called ‘Round about our Coal Fire, or; Christmas Entertainment.’ The story itself is an exuberant and furious version of Jack and the Beanstalk (that is to say, pretty strange!), and the man who wrote it – Dick Merryman (thought to be a pseudonym) – claims it was told to him by his ‘old nurse.’ This would make sense considering that many fairytales of the time would have been exposed to children by their carers, often nannies or wet nurses. However, it seems apparent that this version of the story wasn’t written for children, and the character of ‘Jack’ was a lot more ambiguous than in later versions. The giant was named ‘Gogmagog,’ a legendary giant in Welsh and English mythology.

‘The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk’ by Benjamin Tabart (1807)

Then, in 1807, Benjamin Tabert included it in his ‘Collection of Popular Stories from the Nursery.’ This version was heavily ‘moralized’ – with Jack being a sympathetic character who was entirely justified in his treatment of the giant. This was when folktales started to become popular to be said to children with some element of ‘instruction’ in them (teaching children how to behave and the nature of right or wrong).

In this version of the story, Jack avenges his father. The moral implications of the story were more straightforward, with a concise narrative of ‘good’ triumphing over the ‘evil’ of the giant.

‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ by Felix Summerly (1845)

The next notable publication was ‘The Home Treasury’ in 1845. Written by Henry Cole, under the pen name of ‘Felix Summerly’ (which we think sounds like a clever writerly cat!), this version was accompanied by beautiful illustrations made from woodcuts of famous pictures. This made it more popular than its previous incarnations.

‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ by Joseph Jacobs (1890)

And lastly, the most reprinted version today was Joseph Jacob’s version, first published in 1890. Besides having a most magnificent mustache, Jacobs was a folklorist who was intent on writing down the stories his nannies told him when he was a child. Believed to be the closest to the oral tradition, Jacob’s version lacks the obvious moralizing of Tabart’s tale but generally synthesizes elements of those that had come before.

Before the more recent renditions of fairytales, with clear moral undertones, folktales were fascinating as they revealed the complexities and quirks of human nature, illuminating that the world is not black and white and everything is sometimes not all as it seems. This can promote interesting wee conversations with kiddos getting to grips with the concept of justice, right and wrong, and the power of kindness vs. cruelty. In addition, we can take a closer look at the subtext through the plot and characters. What is not explicitly stated in the story? And how do we know? Why did Jack take the beans in the first place, you think? Was he taking a calculated risk? Was he hungry? Or was he being plain silly?

“FEEEE, FIE, FOE, FUM! I smell the blood of an Englishman!”

So where did this monstrous rhyme come from, we wonder? Usually accompanied by the giant’s heavy ’footsteps,’ it’s synonymous with Jack and the Beanstalk and recalled with terror and delight by younger listeners. But, again, it’s unclear who made the rhyme as it’s most definitely older than the written story itself and was a common rhyme in England in the Middle Ages. It’s scattered through various plays and poems in different disguises, all with a slight twist on the alliterative first syllables. A version of it was even in Shakespeare’s ‘King Lear’ in 1606.

It’s thought that the enduring popularity of some fairytales relies on the repetitive nature of the rhymes and idioms contained within. For example, in the story of Little Red riding hood, we all remember, “MY! What big ears you have! Myyy. What big eyes you have!” Repetition is a crucial aspect of learning for children, as it aids memory and language acquisition. This is why we have so many popular nursery rhymes and songs that we teach our little ones from an early age. They’re fun and a fantastic way to introduce them to new vocabulary, rhythm, rhyme, and speech patterns.

“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairytales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them fairytales.”

It’s not for nothing that a very famous and delightfully scruffy scientist once said: “If you want your children to be intelligent, read theme fairytales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairytales”.

One of the fascinating parts of fairytales is reading children’s different versions and seeing how language affects their interpretation and where their sympathies lie. Do they think Jack is a foolish boy? Do they sympathize with the giant having to put up with an intruder? What about the giant’s poor wife, who only wanted to feed a ‘hungry’ Jack? Fairytales are powerful conduits to explore with children the character’s motivations and underlying subtexts that may not be apparent without some further digging and discussion.

The final answer?

So, who wrote Jack and the Beanstalk? Final answer? Collectively, Jack and the Beanstalk has been carved and sculpted from many different imaginations and circumstances, with varying intentions and underlying messages. Fairytales are like ‘cultural mirrors,’ shaping and being shaped by the people and traditions that carved them. But, if you want to ask, who wrote Jack and the Beanstalk as it’s known today? Joseph Jacob’s rendition may be your closest bet to the tale we know and love.

The future tense is a verb tense that describes actions that will take place in the future – this can be both the near future and the far future!

For example, take a look at these sentences:

‘I will play football.’

‘I am going to the birthday party.’

Even though there are no adverbs or descriptive words to indicate when these actions will happen, we can see that it will be some time in the future.

What are the four types of future tense?

There are four key future tense types: the simple future tense, the future progressive tense, the future perfect tense, and the future perfect progressive. In this next bit, we’ll go over each of them in detail and provide some examples of how they might be used:

1) Simple future tense

It’s used to talk about things that haven’t happened yet and will occur at some point in the future.

It generally relies on the word ‘will’ to indicate that something will happen in the future. For example:

I will go to the park tomorrow.

My dad will regret buying that shirt.

Katie will start university in September.

Simple future tense can also be expressed using the phrase ‘going to,’ as exemplified below:

I am going to learn to ski.

Oliver is going to get his degree.

Mum is going to see that movie tomorrow.

And with the addition of the word ‘not,’ we can turn the simple future tense into the simple future negative. Here are some examples of this:

I am not going to learn to ski.

Mum will not see that movie.

I will not finish my homework.

2) Future perfect tense

The future perfect tense uses the phrase ‘will have’ to indicate that a task will be finished before another one begins. Sentences in the future perfect tense are linked with temporal adjectives, like ‘by’ and ‘before.’ They connect the two tensed phrases. Here are some examples of this:

I will have baked this cake by this evening.

I will have hung my washing by the time you arrive.

3) Future Perfect Continuous (Progressive)

This describes events that will have been taking place over a long time without being finished.

4) Future Continuous (Progressive)

The future continuous tense describes things that will continue to take place over time. Here are a few examples of this form of the future tense in action:

‘I will be eating breakfast in the dining room.’

‘I will be traveling.’

Other ways to form the future tense:

Besides the four main forms of the future tense, there are also a few other ways that we can talk about things happening in the future:

Present Continuous for the Future

Although technically a present tense, the present continuous tense is often used to discuss future arrangements. This means an appointment or plan you have made to take place in the future. These can be arrangements between two people or between one person and a group. For example:

I’m meeting Katie tomorrow. (An understanding between two people)

I am spending Christmas with my mother-in-law this year. (An account with a group of people)

It’s not always necessary to be specific about whom the arrangements are with:

We are staying at home this summer.

I’m looking forward to seeing the Grand Canyon.

The present continuous tense is often used to describe something which the speaker is about to start doing:

I’m going to bed now.

I’m leaving to pick up Jane.

Usually, time expressions are used with the present continuous tense to discuss future arrangements.

We’re off to Tenerife this summer.

What are you doing for Christmas?

Present Simple for the Future

We can also use the present simple tense to talk about the future. It’s used to indicate when a particular event is happening in the future. This might be on a timetable or in someone’s diary:

The plane leaves at 10 pm.

I start my new job next week.

The present simple for the future has the same general structure as any use of present simple, but it includes a future adverb denoting time: “at 10 pm” or “next week.”

Likely To

The future tense denoting likely to is used to refer to events that are probably going to happen in the future. For example, you might say:

I’m probably going to skip the party.

Children with wealthy parents are more likely to get a good education.

This is used to identify events and plans that aren’t certain but are more likely to happen than not.

How to multiply fractions by other fractions

Working out how to times fractions might be daunting, especially when multiplying fractions with whole numbers, but we’re here to help. All you need to do is multiply the numerators and the denominators. You could even treat them as two different multiplication problems involving whole numbers if it makes the process easier. But first, let’s take a look at an example of how to multiply fractions together:

1. Let’s follow the steps of the poster above. So we need to work out 2/4 × 3/6.
2. Multiply the numerators first. That’s as simple as working out 2×3=6.
3. Next, we can focus on the denominators. Again, we can treat this as a multiplication problem involving whole numbers, so we work out that 4×6=24.
4. Now we can reconstruct our fraction to give us our answer of 6/24.

The last step in multiplying fractions is getting them into their simplest form. In this instance, 6 and 24 have a common factor of 6, so we can divide the whole thing by 6. Our final simplified answer is 1/4.

Now that we’ve covered how to multiply fractions for the first time let’s look at another example. Soon, your class will all know how to times fractions.

1. This time, we will work out the answer to 3/5 × 3/9.
2. Let’s start by multiplying our numerators. That’s as simple as working out that 3×3=9.
3. Next, we take a look at the denominators. For this, we need to work out that 5×9=45.
4. By putting the fraction back together, we’ve reached 9/45.
5. These numbers are divisible by 9, so we can go down to our final answer of 1/5.

How else can I help children with fraction multiplication?

Helping learners get to grips with how to multiply fractions can be challenging, especially considering that every child learns differently. Here at Twinkl, we’ve produced a variety of resources that will ensure that everyone can master fraction multiplication. They’ve all been curated by our team of experienced teachers and follow national curriculum standards. As a result, you can rest assured that children learn and apply only relevant skills and knowledge.

Self-assessment is a way of encouraging children to evaluate and assess their learning. It’s similar to peer assessment, but pupils give feedback to a partner instead of giving feedback to themselves. The advantage of teaching children how to self-assess their work is that they have to think about what they’ve done well and what they could do better next time.
It’s extremely important for children because it allows them to reflect on their work to improve and develop it further. Self-assessment encourages pupils to reflect and look at where they went wrong to help them improve for the future. Not only that, it’s a fantastic way to encourage children to strengthen their efforts and empower them to take control of their learning.
What are the benefits of self-assessment?
Using a self-assessment as an additional form of assessment for learning is a great way to promote reflection and responsibility for learning. Getting it right and self-assessment can help young people to develop into independent learners.
So what are the benefits of a self-assessment for learners? Here are six advantages of using self-assessment in your classroom:
1. Check Understanding: There’s a difference between acquiring knowledge and truly understanding something. Getting pupils to assess their response to something gives an insight into their comprehension. In other words, it can show you what they know instead of what they think they know. You can then use these gaps to help pupils to make better progress.
2. Promote Independence: Help your young learners to become more by getting them to identify how they could improve a response to something. No matter what level, subject, or topic, encourage pupils to identify improvements while recognizing what they’ve done well.
3. Consolidate Learning: Get pupils to evaluate a previous response to something in the light of new information. This can help remove misconceptions and demonstrate new learning.
4. Develop Evaluative Skills: Encourage pupils to decide what makes something good or bad. Let them determine the success criteria for a particular piece of work. This is a higher-order thinking skill that will help them make evaluative judgments.
5. Increase Engagement: By giving pupils ownership of their learning, you’re allowing them to become more engaged with their learning process.
6. Deeper Understanding: By actively engaging with what’s good or bad about a particular response, pupils will have to think much deeper about the criteria used to assess them for that task. Doing so can help them understand how to progress in a specific area.
What are the disadvantages of self-assessment in education?
When implementing self-assessment tasks in the classroom, look out for learners who are overly lenient or overly harsh on themselves. Those extremely forgiving may not understand the marking criteria, which means they might not understand what’s being asked of them. This can have broader implications for their learning, so it’s important to catch this and rectify it. For example, you could discuss what they’re being asked to do and adjust your teaching delivery to help them better understand.
Perhaps a more prominent disadvantage of self-assessment in education is children being overly harsh on themselves. This can similarly stem from a misunderstanding of the task and what they’re being asked to do, but it can also affect a child’s confidence and self-belief. It often comes from low self-esteem, which can hurt their future studies.
Don’t let these disadvantages of self-assessment in education dissuade you from implementing it in your classroom! On the contrary, self-assessment tasks are brilliant opportunities to identify children who have misunderstood the task or are struggling with low self-esteem. Once you’ve identified them, you can begin addressing the issues. In this way, these ‘disadvantages’ become more reasons to bring self-assessment to your classroom.
Still, wondering how self-assessment can be effective?
Here are ten examples of how self-assessment can make a real difference in progress in learning:
1. It helps pupils to reflect and self-correct.
2. It enables immediate feedback so that pupils can start improving straight away.
3. Self-assessment allows pupils to develop higher-order evaluative skills.
4. Pupils have to remember honestly, so it also builds integrity.
5. Self-assessment in itself provides another learning opportunity.
6. As pupils need to know the success criteria well, it offers potentially deeper learning.
7. It can help pupils keep track of their progress.
8. Formative self-assessment takes attention away from levels and grades.
9. It promotes autonomous learning.
10. For teachers, self-assessment can reduce marking time!

Halloween is a celebration that happens on the 31 October. It combines different cultural and religious traditions and can be celebrated differently.

How did Halloween start?

How Halloween Started is a fascinating tale. One smothered in history is where Ancient Celts created a festival named Samhain. Although like most things, cultural changes happen quite often, this festival was one of those changes because this festival was a non-religious celebration compared to all the other festivals.

Christianity was becoming the dominant religion worldwide, and many people within the Church despised the idea that people would celebrate non-religious holidays. So, in 800 AD, the Church decided to move the Christian holiday, All Saints Day, from Spring to November 1st so that people were still celebrating religion somehow. However, as years went by, Samhain became the more popular holiday; even with a name change to All Hallows’ Eve and Halloween, it became something people loved and admired.

How Halloween Started also came from the fear of spirits, but after a few ideas from people in small towns across the world, costumes and sweets became popular to help get everyone involved as well as help the Church like it.

What is the origin of Halloween celebrations?

It combines the same answer to dive into How Halloween Started and the origins of Halloween celebrations. Historically, Halloween was celebrated for two very different reasons. One reason was to celebrate the end of the harvest season, Summer’s End or Samhain, and the other was to celebrate the two Christian holidays called All Hallow’s Days.

Initially, Ancient Celts were the first people to celebrate Halloween. Having lived in Northern Europe, where people were superstitious, it was believed that the spirits of the dead roamed freely across many towns and villages on the 31st of October; this created fear that the spirits would harm people who damage crops, or worse, possess people who could then spread an incurable sickness.

They created a plan to keep the spirits away. The Celts dressed in scary costumes made from animal hides and fired up huge bonfires to try and scare the spirits away. It might have worked, but either way, this helped begin a wave of people dressing up as ghosts and other scary things on a spooky day.

Facts about Halloween

Whether it’s the fact that Halloween has become the second biggest festival after Christmas or if it is that it’s a time of the year that truly brings a community together in a time of need, understanding How Halloween Started and the facts within it allow you and your children to feel a part of the festivities.

Below are some entertaining facts about the special holiday that can be implemented into any classroom or living room discussion:

• No matter the day, Halloween always lands on the 31st of October.
• Trick and Treat began with ‘souling,’ which started with people getting soul cake rather than sweets.
• Halloween used to be called All Hallows’ Eve as it was a day to remember the dead originally.
• Black cats have always been associated with Halloween because they were believed to protect witches’ powers.
• Orange and black symbolize Halloween because it is located in autumn.

Halloween is an incredibly special holiday that allows teachers and parents to get creative on the best ways to help their children. A mixture of creative activities and fun resources can be used at any time to understand How Halloween truly started.

Why is Halloween so essential?

The questions of why Halloween is so essential and How Halloween Started all trace back to the same origins. It’s vital for many reasons, as it is believed that on the day of Halloween, the souls of the dead return to their homes; this is helped by the people who dress up for a holiday in costumes and light bonfires to ward off spirits.

With Halloween becoming so popular worldwide, it’s clear why the ideas of witches, ghosts, and goblins are all linked to the holiday; this is all because of the idea that death can be fun to celebrate.

It’s become such an essential holiday that people will wait all year round to be a part of something. That is what makes Halloween so vital to the local and national communities of people.

A benchmark is a standard, or point of reference, against which other similar things can be compared.

Usually, a benchmark provides a good example of how something should perform or function, and the things being compared should seek to emulate it.

Benchmarking is a broad term applicable in several contexts, such as technology, finance, business, and education.

Benchmarking in education occurs when standards are set that a child’s progress is measured against.

How is benchmarking used in schools?

Student attainment will often be measured against a benchmark appropriate to their age and year group.

For example, a child in Year 2 and a child in Year 4 will display different levels of attainment, so their progress will be considered against what is expected of a child of that age.

Children are expected to reach different educational milestones at different stages. These can include understanding a specific times table, mathematical concept, or development of vocabulary and handwriting.

These milestones are benchmarks for positive development.

Wow, words are advanced adjectives, verbs, and adverbs that can make a written work more vivid and interesting. These words are taught at KS2 to diversify children’s vocabulary and written ability. Teach your KS2 class about wow words today!

What are some examples of Wow Words?

Here are a few KS2 examples of wow words within the different word groups:

Adjectives: An adjective is a word used to describe or modify a noun or phrase. In some cases, they’re used to give essential information about the noun that’s being described. Here are a few examples of how adjectives can be used in a sentence:

“The expensive crimson boat sat in the harbor.”

“Grandma’s withered rug was scratchy underfoot.”

Complex adjectives can be great for use in creative writing or schoolwork, and pupils can elevate their writing skills by learning them. Here are some great adjectives that your pupils can use in their writing:

• Incredible
• Beautiful
• Terrifying
• Vicious
• Intelligent
• Exuberant
• Colossal
• Skillful
• Adventurous
• Abrasive

Verbs: A verb is a word that describes a state, occurrence, or action which shapes the main part of a sentence. They’re often called ‘doing words’ because they explain what the subject of the sentence is doing.

“Billy watched the autumn leaves drift along the floor.”

“The cat pounced atop the fence.”

Longer verbs can be great wow words and provide KS2 children with a more good vocabulary to use in their creative writing and essays. By swapping out normal verbs for these fancier ones, they can instantly boost any writing that they produce:

• Sprinted
• Whispered
• Drifted
• Zoomed
• Prowled
• Disturbed
• Persuaded
• Envisioned
• Concentrated
• Acquired

Adverbs: An adverb changes or modifies a verb, adjective, or clause. While verbs describe the action that has happened, adverbs can often show how, when, or to what degree it happened. Here are just a few examples:

“The mouse crawled quietly under the sofa.”

“Courteously, the gentleman held the door open.”

Adverbs can help to make writing rich and intense by adding a further description. KS2 kids can easily enhance their writing by memorizing just some of the ones on this list:

• Gently
• Suspiciously
• Genuinely
• Courteously
• Anxiously
• Eagerly
• Vigorously
• Excitedly
• Punctually
• Deceptively

A vowel team is when two vowels are paired together in a word and combined to make one sound. It is when two or more (but most likely two) letters work together to create a single vowel sound. Vowel teams often come together to make a long vowel sound, like the long e in “seat,” but that is not a rule. They can also create short vowel sounds, like the short e sound of “head.”

A word like read is a great way to see how vowel teams can make short or long vowel sounds, as it can be spoken with both a long and a short vowel sound to make a different word (she should read/she has read).

If you want a rule to follow to help with vowel teams, we love “when two vowels go out walking, the first one does the talking.”These patterns often follow the guideline of the first letter in each pair having the dominant sound, like “pie” and “beat.”

What are vowels in English?

A vowel is a letter used within all words in the English language.

The alphabet contains 26 letters in total. These are split into two classes of speech: vowels and consonants.

Vowels are different from consonants because of the way we say them.

Naturally, you breathe out when you say a vowel. Unfortunately, this also means your mouth doesn’t close. With a consonant, your mouth moves differently, and your lips touch.

Try saying each out loud.

They vary in sound, pronunciation, and volume.

Vowels and Consonants List:

There are 26 letters in the English alphabet, each falling into either a vowel or a consonant category. Take a look at this handy vowels and consonants list to see which letters are which:

Vowels: A, E, I, O, U.

Consonants: B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, X, Z.

Why do we need vowels?

Understanding vowels while reading aloud, singing, or simply doing comprehension and listening activities is essential. We typically concentrate on vowels over consonants to emphasize our words when singing. As a result, people are more prone to hearing vowels best over consonants.

Why are vowel teams essential?

Vowel teams are essential to learning because they are one of the trickiest parts of spelling. Take the long “o” sound, for example. You can create that with the following:

1. oa = boat
2. ow = glow
3. oe = woe
4. ough = though
5. ew = sew
6. o_e = home

With all those options, children need to learn which ones are the correct choices; otherwise, guessing on sound alone could leave us with boat as bowt, boet, bought, or bewt! So it’s no surprise that vowel teams can inspire some of the biggest struggles with learning spelling rules and making spelling mistakes.

But with 18 vowel sounds in the English language and only a measly five vowels, we need to use vowel teams to make this tricky language work!

The technical term for vowel teams is “vowel digraphs”; however, it might be easier for children to recognize these vowel pairings with a simpler word. It also helps us to describe how the vowels work together to create a sound. So, if you want to sound smart, next time someone asks, “what is a vowel team?” you can explain it and give it the technical name, too!

Vowel digraph list

1. OW – as in know or snow
2. UI – as in fruit or bruise
3. OE – as in toe or goes
4. OA – as in boat or road
5. EA – as in thread or lead
6. EA – as in read or beach
7. IE – as in pie or lie
8. IE – as in a field or chief
9. UE – as in glue or fuel
10. OO – as in wood or flood
11. EY – as in them or prey
12. AI – as in rain or pain.

Why do we use consonants in vowel teams?

The simplest answer is that English is an inconsistent and frustrating language that has taken on different rules from other languages over the years.

A more sensible answer is that English words are not intended to end in either “i” or “u,” and as such, we use “y” instead of the “i” and “w” for “u.”