Saturday 23 November 2013

Key Stage 2 English Practice exercises: Diary of an Edo Princess Activity Pack

Key Stage 2 English Practice exercises: Diary of an Edo Princess Activity Pack uses text dependent questioning to scaffold students’ close reading of text so that they are able to:

·        Read like a detective and write like an investigative reporter.

The book provides reading comprehension and writing exercises that will motivate students to:

·        Use evidence from the text to support their reading comprehension questions responses.
·        Have a real purpose to write for a variety of audience.
·        Produce and publish their writing in a variety of formats including electronically.
·        Carry out full scale researches on a variety of topics   and improve their knowledge of popular primary and secondary topics like: World Trade and Commerce.

This book will help students grow in confidence as able writers as they progress through the activities, enabling them to be well prepared for secondary and college work and for the world of work.

Teachers will find the book an aid to teaching features and structures of all text genres and helpful when selecting samples of students writing for moderation exercises. Parents will find it a useful handbook to help them guide and support their children’s writing development.


This book is suitable for end of primary school and lower secondary use and is a companion to Diary of An Edo Princess.  

Purchase from: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stage-SATs-English-Practise-Exercises/dp/1494252325/ref=sr_1_18?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1385295543&sr=1-18

Sunday 17 November 2013

Key Stage 2 history

National curriculum in England: framework document (September 2013). 

Key Stage 2: a non-European society that provides contrast with British history; Benin (West Africa) c.AD 900 – 1300

Kingdom of Benin Short Stories


Read these two beautiful books on Ancient Kingdom of Benin stories. Readers of every age will be able to empathize with the adorable and vulnerable characters who face every day challenges with very positive outlooks. Both are guaranteed to entertain you. 




Click on the qr code on the right to view and purchase from Amazon.

Sunday 1 September 2013

New curriculum books

With effect from today, 1st September 2013, the DFE has disapplied the current curriculum so that schools could begin to teach the 2014 curriculum framework.

Help your teachers get to grips with the changes with the books below:

Years 3 and 4

English


Mathematics


History Key Stage 2
History: a non-European society that provides contrasts with British history - Benin (West Africa) c. AD 900-1300.



Years 1 and 2 
Mathematics 

Year 6
Grammar, spelling and punctuation 



All required elements of the new national curriculum are covered in step by step details to enable easy access for teachers, pupils, parents and private tutors.

Wednesday 28 August 2013

Disapplication of the current national curriculum

With effect from September 1st 2013, the current national curriculum has been disapplied. This is to enable schools begin to teach the national curriculum which comes into effect in 2014.




All foundation subjects have also been disapplied for Key Stages 1 and 2.
Equip your teachers to teach key Stage 2 history requirement study of: a non-European society that provides contrasts with British history - Benin West Africa.  


Visit the Kingdom of Benin website for schools: http://kingdomofbenin.weebly.com/index.html



Saturday 17 August 2013

The New National Curriculum for History (July 2013)


Here is a web site where you can find comprehensive teaching materials to meet the requirements for:

Key Stage 2 objectives: a non-European society that provides contrasts with British history - Benin (West Africa) c. AD 900-1300.

You can get all you need to teach the topic on this single website with related external links. 

There are background information, teacher and kids sections with video clips to support. Excellent ideas for developing writing through drama and role play are included too.




Enjoy.

Friday 2 August 2013

Complete Mathematics Workbook: Essential revision and practise Years 1 -2: with answers


This is the third and last mathematics book for the primary phase.

The book is a complete practise and revision mathematics book which covers requirements of the new national curriculum framework for mathematics for years 1 – 2 released in July 2013. Extension activities from the Year 3 teaching and learning objectives are also included.

The book contains units for every area of mathematics corresponding to the Key Stage 1 mathematics curriculum including new areas like robot programming in geometry.

It is ideal for use in school or at home. Parents and private tutors will find this book an invaluable all in one handbook ideal for working with a single child or more children.

Used in phase sequence, all three books are guaranteed to improve children’s mathematics skills, preparing them well for the next stage of learning and help them achieve outstanding results in tests and other examinations.

The other two books are:

• Complete Mathematics Workbook: Essential Revision and practise Years 2 – 5

 • Key Stage 2 SATs: The Complete Mathematics Revision and Practice book: Levels 3 - 5 with Answers (Key Stage 2 SATs: Mathematics revision and practice
Amazon link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_15?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=fidelia+nimmons&sprefix=fidelia+nimmons%2Caps%2C395

Thursday 18 July 2013

Complete Mathematics Workbook: Essential revision and practise: Years 2 - 5 with answers


This book covers all aspects of the new national curriculum for mathematics (July 2013). Detailed step by step worked examples followed by ample exercises for students to practise skills shown make every area of mathematics easy to understand.   

Working through this book will support students well at school and prepare them for both internal school based tests and assessments as well as other crucial examinations and tests like the 11+ and other secondary school selection tests.  

Wednesday 3 July 2013

English Reading Comprehension, Grammar, Punctuation, Spelling and Writing practise book: Essential revision and practise: Levels 2 – 4


This book contains complete English revision for children at Key Stage 2 (years 3 to 5). Learners from upper key Stages who need to revisit some areas of English Language will find the detailed step by step explanations in each section a good scaffold for their current work.
 
Each chapter comprises:
1. A reading text 

2. Related reading comprehension questions  

3. Grammar work covering English word classes and detailed explanations of key terms  

4. Related exercises to afford learners opportunity to practise new knowledge and skills  

5. Spelling and dictionary work based on key learning objectives for the Key Stage  

6. Writing composition exercises which relate to the reading text: each writing activity is supported by questions and planning frame to ensure successful written piece for the chapter genre. 

Parents will find all they need in this book to teach and support their children at home. Children can work independently by themselves using answers at the back of the book to check their responses.  

Private Tutors will find the book an invaluable handbook for teaching learners from ages 7 to 12; and slower learners above this age group.

You can purchase this book from Amazon on this link:

Saturday 29 June 2013

Great web sites


Reading comprehension resources from Readworks:  http://www.readworks.org/

 Here is a link to Letia Cooper’s website with great resources including monthly calendar of curriculum resources and web links: http://www.techwithtia.com/home.html

Great free resources


Here is a link to Letia Cooper’s collection of great livebinders.

There is sure to be something for everyone here: 

 http://www.techwithtia.com/livebinders.html



Wednesday 19 June 2013

English Reading Comprehension, Grammar, Punctuation, Spelling and Writing practise book: Essential revision and practise: Levels 2 – 4


This book contains complete English revision for children at Key Stage 2 (years 3 to 5). Learners from upper key Stages who need to revisit some areas of English Language will find the detailed step by step explanations in each section a good scaffold for their current work.                                                   

Each chapter comprises:
1. A reading text

2. Related reading comprehension questions 

3. Grammar work covering English word classes and detailed explanations of key terms 

4. Related exercises to afford learners opportunity to practise new knowledge and skills 

5. Spelling and dictionary work based on key learning objectives for the Key Stage  

6. Writing composition exercises which relate to the reading text: each writing activity is supported by questions and planning frame to ensure successful written piece for the chapter genre.

Parents will find all they need in this book to teach and support their children at home. Children can work independently by themselves using answers at the back of the book to check their responses.

Private Tutors will find the book an invaluable handbook for teaching learners from ages 7 to 12; and slower learners above this age group. 

Tuesday 28 May 2013

Writing Composition Made Easy


Pictures give writers ideas for their writing and provide a scaffold throughout the compositional and transcriptional stages.  
During the compositional stage, writers can discuss and unfreeze the picture scene to role play, get into the character, complete speech and thought bubbles and add to the narrative.

During the transcriptional stage, writers through discussions with the teacher will have sufficient generated vocabulary to help them put their ideas down on paper.
Success during the compositional and transcriptional stages, lead to quality writing from all abilities of learners. EAL writers find this method particularly helpful with the discussions and vocabulary generated and can access otherwise difficult concepts.
Here is the link to the flickr site I created to provide photographs that enable discussions on different subjects and characters:
 There are photographs of buildings, objects, people and scenes which have been carefully selected to enable open ended discussions between the teacher and the learner.

 Ideas on how to use the photographs in structured writing teaching steps can be viewed on the site:

 
Also take a look at other sections of the site; there are lots of other helpful guides and tips.

GO4IT (Go for it) and good luck.
 Fidelia Nimmons

Friday 24 May 2013

Assessing science units


Here is a link to the complete primary science vocabulary list: http://iyiomonscience.blogspot.co.uk/

The science vocabulary lists can be used as an essential part of ongoing teacher assessment of science study units.

Below is how these could be used to support teacher ongoing assessment using the KWHAQ steps during each stage below:
Stage 1: Initial assessment 
K: What do I know about this topic?
W: What do I want to know about this topic?
Stage 2: Main study – enquiry and investigations
A: What actions or steps will I take to find these out?
Stage 3: review and final assessment
L: What have I learnt from doing this topic?
Q: What new questions do I now have?
For stage 1 initial assessment:
1.    Log onto the above website and select your relevant year group from the menu tabs at the top of the screen
2.   Find your current study unit on this page

Guidance on using the listed vocabulary to assess learner’s knowledge of the topic
Tell the class what topic they will be working on and that to help you plan appropriate learning activities for them; you need to find out what they already know about the topic.

For Younger children:
Read the words with groups, pairs or individual pupils; ask them: ‘Show me something that is this word or mean this word.’ 'What is this word?'
For older year groups:
Give pairs or individual students copies of the vocabulary list. Ask them to sort these into three categories of:
1.    I know this word
2.   I do not know this word
3.   I think that I know this word but I am not sure

Next ask them to add their current definitions of their known words to the category of words.
Collate the results onto a whole class copy or sugar paper. Retain this for comparison with stage 3 results below.
This activity should reveal the whole class and individual’s competencies in the topic.
Stage 2:
From stage 1 result and using the learning objectives on the home page of the web site, find your year group (you may need to scroll down one or two pages to older posts), select the relevant unit and use the objectives to plan the main teaching and learning activities.  http://iyiomonscience.blogspot.co.uk/

Stage 3: final assessment
Do the stage 1 activity again, this time comparing the shift of numbers of words from each category for each individual or groups of children and the whole class overview.
Also compare learner’s initial definition of their known words to their current definition. How have these changed?
These activities are guaranteed to reveal each learners competency in the study unit and areas for further work.
True or false activity
Another way to use the science words at stage 3 is to give learners different scenarios which relate to the unit vocabulary and ask them to say whether these are true or false or depends and to give their reasons for their choice using the correct science vocabulary to support.
Ability to explain science vocabulary in context is an effective way to assess learner’s understanding of key concepts.

Wednesday 22 May 2013

The Phonics and Spelling Book: With dictation exercises


Written to support the new National Curriculum for English Key Stages 1 and 2, The Phonics and Spellings Book is a practical book which provides guidance on using systematic and structured teaching of spelling as a means to both teach spelling and knowledge of word structures and to simultaneously secure good reading and writing skills. It includes the first three thousand words or 84% of written text coverage which are essential for achieving good grades in exams at both primary and secondary school.

Written by an experienced English Specialist Teacher, the book includes tried and tested teaching reading and spelling skills methods which work with all abilities of children.   Sections in the book include:

·        Year 1 phonics tests papers

·        Comprehensive grapheme tests for all phases; with instructions

·        Step by Step Phonics and Learning to Read guidance

·        Complete spelling list which include academic words lists for secondary school

·        Graded dictation exercises which link the spelling lists to writing

·        Weekly Dictation sentences and passages for each year group

·        Ideas for fun and engaging teaching spelling activities

This book can be used by teachers for whole class, group or individual work. Adults working with children on interventions programmes will find the grapheme tests helpful in identifying their specific needs. The book can also be effectively used for Private and Home tutoring where the learner needs to secure good word and vocabulary skills for performing well in exams. This is a one off purchase spelling book for up to end of secondary school requirement.

You can purchase this book from Amazon through the link below or by clicking the qr code on the right:

Friday 10 May 2013

Spelling fun


Good spellers are good readers and writers. Children enjoy spelling tests and when in the form of a competition against their peers, this takes it to a different level; the competitive edge encourages children to learn their words with rigour becoming effective spellers in the process.

Here is a link to how spelling tests can be turned into fun competitive experiences for children and your class. The format could be used for individuals, pairs, groups or whole class.

 
Spelling Champ:
·        Caters for all spelling abilities in the class.

·        Promotes good teamwork.

·        Builds confidence in the learner as an able speller; good spellers are good readers and writers.

·        Enables all learning styles – visual (see), auditory (hear) and kinaesthetic (write).

·        Makes testing spelling fun.

 
Give it a try.  

Sunday 14 April 2013

DE - Draft National Curriculum


Here is the link to the Department for Education:

The National Curriculum in England - Framework document for consultation. 

Release date - February 2013.  
https://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/n/national%20curriculum%20consultation%20-%20framework%20document.pdf

Saturday 13 April 2013

Free Teaching resources


ARKive Education

Check out this web site for great science and other cross curricular teaching resources.

There are sections for 5 – 7 (Key Stage 1);  7-11 (Key Stage 2); 11-14 (Key Stage 3); 14 -16 (Key Stage 4) and 16 – 18 (Advanced level).

Other resources on the site include video games and short video clips for education which can be used for supporting various topics.

I have used some of the teaching resources for teaching 1:1, groups and whole class teaching. For example, as part of our rainforest study and of endangered species, I have used the Key Stage 2 ARKive School Museum teacher plans for hours of cross curricular fun activities.  

Children find the video and games section good support for their homework.  

Here is the link to the site: http://www.arkive.org/education/

Have fun.

Saturday 30 March 2013

Reward certificates


Reward your pupils and students when they achieve a goal or target in any area; this will not only motivate the recipient, others will want to emulate the effort in order to be so rewarded themselves.  

Certificate of achievement motivates every student to keep on task.

 Here is a link to free various occasions reward certificate maker: http://www.123certificates.com/



 
Good luck.

Saturday 23 March 2013

National Science and Engineering Week activity packs


Download free packs of hands-on science and engineering activities and projects for use with your class, a group, a club or for use at home here.  

Produced by the British Science Association for the National Science & Engineering Week each year, the packs are available to download at any time during the year.

You need to register on the site before you can download packs but registration is very simple, only your email address is required.

Follow this link to view the full list and to down load a pack:

Sunday 3 March 2013

Key Stage 2 SATS Spelling Test Practice


Written to support the new National Curriculum for English Key Stages 1 and 2; Key Stage 2 SATs: Spelling Test Practice Papers provides a weekly spelling test and words revision for children.  With the sole aim of aiding the teacher to identify class and individual grapheme teaching and learning needs, the words have been carefully selected from the primary spelling words list. Good spellings motivate children to read and write more extensively on a variety of subjects, this book will help children become better spellers.

Good spellers are good readers and good writers.

There are 720 sentences in the book for word classes’ work and 720 primary revision words to aid spelling patterns.

This spelling test book can be used by teachers for whole class, group or individual work. It is also suitable for Private and Home tutoring.