Friday Freebie - Better Late Than Never...!

Howdy Folks!

Like many of you, I'm still getting to grips with my classes for this year. But I don't use the word "classes" loosely. I teach around 150 children every week - that's about 5 full classes in normal teaching terms...

Phew!

My Weird and Wonderful Job

You may have gathered that mine is not a "normal" teaching job. For example, tomorrow I will go into two different schools, teaching around 40 children in the first and 11 in the second. Tuesday is busier as I am in a High School. On Wednesday I visit three schools. Thursday is just as busy - two schools with around 40 children. On Friday I have three schools just in the morning! But at least by then it's Friday... I have to travel in between all of these schools, so much of my time is spent rushing to make the next lesson, and if I'm very lucky, grabbing a quick bite of a sandwich on the way.

 

Weekend..? What Weekend...?

I spent yesterday drawing up individual targets for all the sweeties I teach - that took some time, I can tell you... But at least my mind is now fully focused on what each child needs to achieve in order to make progress with their English language. I thought I might have had time for a cheeky glass of Chardonnay in the evening, but that wasn't to be.

Today came and went... The planning process began in earnest. I started at 10am and am still hard at it - it's 9pm here (OK, so I'm  taking a small break to talk to you - a girl needs a coffee break from time to time...). Every child is different, each one is at a different stage in acquiring the language and all have very individual needs. I'm frazzled..! They are all grouped according to their language ability (so I often have Reception (G1) children grouped with Year 6 (G5) children. This is not as problematic as it might sound, as it is usually children who are new to English language who fall into this category.

So far, I have only managed to complete plans for the children I will teach tomorrow... ooh Er! Next thing on my list is to pull together the huge variety of resources I will need. And this is where the Powell Planning Machine has slowly ground to a halt. See, I just haven't got it in me. So here's the dilemma: do I give it one final push now, or do I leave it until the morning and run around like a headless chicken..? No contest really.. But however much I try to convince myself that it's the wise and sensible thing to do, I just can't seem to haul myself out of my chair - I am well and truly super glued in place...!

A Treat - Just For You

So, for any of you who are feeling the same way as me tonight, here's a little treat you can use in class over the next week or two. It's a set of apple bookmarks - a colour version that you can laminate and give out to your kiddos (attach a bright tassel through the holes to make them really colourful), and a black and white set that the kiddos can colour themselves. You choose.

As I missed the weekend - and Freebie Friday - I'm doing it now. Better late than never, as the saying goes. The bookmarks are free to download in my Tn and TPT stores so make sure you bag yours now.

Whatever you're doing today, enjoy the end of the weekend..

Fall Picture Book - The Apple Pie Tree. And a 50% Sale

Hello friends!

Season of Mists and Mellow Fruitfulness... (J. Keats)

At this time of year, we all turn our minds to autumn - changing seasons; the wonderful paintbox colours of the leaves, nuts, berries and gorgeous fruits;the excitement of Hallowe'en and Thanksgiving; and, for us in the UK, Bonfire Night with toffee apples, candy floss, fireworks, sparklers, hot dogs... I will always remember, with amazement and delight, stumbling upon a farmers' market in the middle of New York City at this time of the year - stalls full of ripe apples, plump pumpkins and gourds in a catalogue of shapes and colours, scarecrows, wonderful autumn smells... I could wax lyrical about autumn all night.

Classroom Ideas

This season is just perfect for the classroom - so many activities, so much inspiration. Last year, we made a huge window display of a bare tree, and decorated it with red, gold and brown leaves, and giant acorns. Each child wrote a word or two on their leaf or acorn to describe autumn. I had some great responses from the kids (Yr 3, so G2) - chocolate brown, nutty caramel, misty mornings. We laminated the leaves and added them to the tree, some on the branches, some floating down to the ground, most in a pile on the ground with a squirrel asleep underneath. In time, the tree became a winter tree, when all the leaves were replaced with snowflakes, baubles and decorations. Spring brought leaves and blossom, and summer saw the tree in full leafy regalia.

Crispy, Juicy, Tangy, Delicious, Golden..... Apples!

The obvious choice for teaching about autumn is the apple, especially as the end of this month sees the birthday of Johnny Apple Seed. Last week I posted about an apple packet that I had been working on. The packet is based on the wonderful book "The Apple Pie Tree" by Zoe Hall, which I have added to my shelf as a recommended read. Check it out here.

The Best Bit - Apple Activities at a Discount!

The packet provides a huge selection of activities that you can teach as a stand-alone unit, or use separately in Literacy/Writing Centres. Everything you need is there, and can just be printed off and used with minimum  preparation and effort. It includes:

• Before reading inference using the cover as a prompt
• After reading discussion prompt cards
• Record sheets
• Editing sentences
• Alphabetical ordering
• Phoneme count
• Syllable search
• Sensory poem writing activity
• Word wall
• Story sequencing - the tree
• Story sequencing - baking a pie
• Story sequencing - the Robin family
• Storyboarding
• Four seasons of an apple tree - posters to collage
• Teacher answer keys where applicable

For a limited period you can get the whole unit for the introductory price of  50% off at my Teachers Notebook store. Why not pop along over and take a closer look? Click on any picture to take you there.

Have a wonderful weekend, Y'all