Monday, May 22, 2017
New Blog and Website!
I'm pleased to announce that Galarious Goods now has its very own website, complete with product information and blog. You can find all the old blog posts, plus new and exciting ones, at GalariousGoods.com
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Using Printable Resources When You Have A Photocopy Limit
Photocopy limits are the pits! I once taught at a school with a ridiculously tight budget and found myself almost in tears when something copied out wrong - all those wasted copies! They can be particularly frustrating when we come across wonderful printable resources which we'd love to use with our students. Luckily, thanks to the help of some of my fellow 'Down Under' teachers, I've discovered some great workarounds which allow teachers to use the printables and stay within their copy budget.
1. Embrace the Laminator
Laminate, laminate, laminate! One of the best purchases I've made as a teacher is my own laminator. You can laminate fact sheets, task cards and task cards to be used over and over again. You can also laminate worksheets to use with whiteboard markers - allowing you to use them with different groups of students. (I particularly loved these as a substitute teacher!). One excellent tip from Mrs Manning's Classroom is to use magic erasers to help clean the laminated sheets when students are finished, while Teach Travel Learn recommends laminating a few extra for the inevitable use of permanent markers.2. Laminator Alternatives
Don't have a laminator? Run out of sheets? Don't have the time to laminate everything? Tech Teacher Pto3 shared these awesome ideas with me - reusable write and wipe sleeves, where you just stick in whichever sheet you're working on (these would also work great to protect task sheets or fact sheets) and the DIY alternative, using plastic sheet protectors and folders.3. Work in Groups
I love rotational groups. My photocopy budget does too! Breaking the class down into four or five groups allows you to change up what they're working on - some might be engaged in discussions, writing tasks, games or work with the teacher, while another group engages with the printed resources. Using the laminator or laminator alternatives, you can simply prepare enough printables for the group, then reuse them as the groups rotate around. If your students aren't great at returning the materials, nominate one student to be the collector or number the materials to allow students to keep track of what's coming back in.4. Reduce and Share Space
Lots of printables take up a full page - this means it's time to make friends with the reducing option! Some printers will help you reduce sizes as you print, or you might like to use the features on the photocopier to reduce the sizes. When you have 2 reduced copies, you can print them side by side - effectively getting twice the copies! Little Library Learners suggested the use of miniature clipboards to hold the reduced copies - perfect for smaller hands!5. Check The Work
Sadly, some printable resources just won't work with your photocopy budget, no matter how much you laminate, use group work or reduce. So how can you avoid buying resources which won't work for you? One thing you can do is read thoroughly through descriptions which come with the products - many include page counts and descriptions of the included features. Check out any previews which come with the product - many of them show you exactly what you're getting. Look for resources which include task cards which can be shared between students, files which can be displayed on devices or with projectors or other resources which can be reused within the same class or from year to year. When you're well informed about what you're purchasing, you'll feel good about what you're buying and using it in your classroom!Looking for some resources with presentation files? These Getting Involved citizenship resources allow you to cut down on photocopying by providing a file which can be easily viewed with projectors or on devices. Get them at Galarious Goods today.
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Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Using Badly Written Texts in the Classroom
Often when we present work to our students, we are showing them exemplary work. But what if we showed them something which was less than perfect?
When we teach different types of texts to students, we often share mentor texts with them. Mentor texts allow students to see what the texts should look like and gives them something to aim for with their own writing.
Another way to explore writing with students is to present them with a text which is written badly on purpose. Students work to identify where the text needs to be improved and how to improve it.
There are a few different ways you can use a poorly written text with your class:
- Work as a whole class to identify where the text could be improved and how to improve it. Students work collaboratively to identify the best replacements for the poor writing
- Students work in small groups or pairs to rewrite assigned parts of the text. They might identify the places to improve the text themselves, or this might be done as a class first
- Ask students to focus on particular aspects of the text like paragraph structure, sentence structure or vocabulary
- Students work independently to improve the text
- Students work together to identify where the text can be removed. These elements can be covered through mini lessons before students work on rewriting the text
Freebie
Want to use a poorly written text as an activity your class? Children Shouldn't Eat Junk Food: A Very Bad Persuasive Mentor Text is available as an exclusive freebie with this newsletter.
Looking for some persuasive writing prompts? The Persuasive Writing Prompt Bundle includes extended task sheets, task cards, organisers and a marking rubric - and because it's a bundle, you know that you're saving money!
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Thursday, February 23, 2017
Where Can We Explore Persuasive Writing?
Writing persuasively is a skill which often serves our students beyond the classroom. So what are some of the different ways we can fit it into our busy classroom schedules? How can we integrate it with other subjects?
1. In English Classes
This feels rather obvious, but as well as explicitly teaching persuasive writing there are opportunities to explore it in other areas of English lessons. Debating or persuasive oral presentations allow students to explore ways of creating and arranging effective arguments, while hearing how they sound - so often we get a different impression of our writing when we hear it spoken out loud.Persuasive writing can also be explored in reading lessons as students explore texts, find evidence and write their ideas about the text.
2. In Art, Music or Drama Classes
When we come across a really great piece of art, music or drama we often want to share it with everyone. But many people find it hard to effectively write an effective recommendation - to explain why people should see or listen to your favourite thing.By writing extended recommendations, students can take a closer look at the elements which make the work excellent. This allows for discussion about staging, colour or rhythm - elements being taught in class - while persuading people to enjoy their favourite works.
3. Holiday Celebrations
Holiday celebrations are a great opportunity to explore persuasive speech while acknowledging events occurring throughout the year. Students could even brainstorm topics to write about in the lead up to the celebration.
Interested in a holiday persuasive writing prompt resource? This Halloween Persuasive Argument pack will have you well prepared!
4. In Different Subject Areas
History, civics and citizenship, social lessons and health lessons are all great areas to explore persuasive topics. Discussing and formulating arguments can be small or whole group activities, developing group work skills, and students can incorporate research skills to assist them in creating more persuasive arguments. Persuasion can also help students to develop a better understanding of the work historians or political commentators do and to understand that they don't always agree on historical or government topics.
One example of a subject area persuasive writing task is the Voting Should Be Compulsory Persuasive Argument task at the Galarious Goods store.
Looking for more persuasive writing prompts? The Persuasive Writing Prompt Bundle includes extended task sheets, task cards, organisers and a marking rubric - and because it's a bundle, you know that you're saving money!
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Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Making Contact With Parents
My son has taken his first steps into formal schooling this year and it's been fascinating seeing it from the other side. He's enjoying it throughly and has a wonderful group of educators, but it has made me think about how parents and educators communicate - and how teachers can ensure that they effectively communicate with their students.
1. Let Parents Know How They Can Contact You
Whether it's in-person, through email, through notes or on the phone - let parents know how they can get in contact with you. Give them all the information they might need (to include the name/class of their child, to visit at a certain time in person, to leave a return phone number) - anything to make it easier for them and for yourself. Some parents might find it difficult to make contact, so offering a couple of options with some clear information can make it easier for them and help you establish a good relationship with those parents.
2. Reach Out to Contact Parents
There are a number of ways you can make contact with all your parents - through a website or social media page, through email or paper newsletters, through open nights or events where parents are invited. These are wonderful opportunities to let parents know abut curriculum, about behaviour and organisational expectations, about homework and outstanding work. It can be a great way of getting everyone on the same page and can help you create a classroom community which goes beyond you and your students.
3. Contact Parents About the Good Things
This one comes from an old principal of mine. He challenged us all to ring a number of parents each week to share the good things our students were doing. It had an amazing result for our students and their parents - some parents had never had positive news come casually home from school before. It doesn't take too long to identify a couple of parents to phone and a couple of talking points, but it might make a huge difference to them.
4. Be Consistent With Your Contact
Lots of us start off the school year with great intentions, but it can be easy to let it fall aside as other responsibilities pile up. Try to be consistent with at least one kind of contact - even a brief note or blog post can maintain the relationships you have.
Maintaining contact with parents might not seem like the most important thing to do in the very long list of things teachers do, but it's one of those things which means a lot to parents and can help you build a community which helps you out when you need it the most.
You can save time with Back to School and other resources from Galarious Goods. You could spend the time with the photocopier . . . or you could spend it organising how you'; contact parents!
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Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Classroom Organisation for the Unorganised
I wish I was one of those 'born organised' people. Sadly, I am not, and my classroom (or at least, my teacher desk) has definitely reflected my struggles to stay organised at times. But over the years I have learned a few things to help even the disorganised among us keep a more organised classroom.
1. Label Everything
Whether you use a label machine or some of the amazing looking labels you can find over at TpT, try to label everything. There's nothing better than being able to put your hands on what you need right away. Up the organisation by using colours in your labelling - you could divide your subjects by colour or your different year levels.2. Discard When You Can
Your students have done their diagnostic tests, you've recorded their scores - do you still need to keep the test papers? Maybe you do - so file them away (more on that in a moment), but if there's no need to hold onto them, feel free to relegate them into the bin. This can apply to all sorts of papers - file or toss.Taking a bigger look - what are you keeping in your classroom that you don't need anymore? Teachers can be champion hoarders, but consider whether you really need all your resources. Are you keeping (and not using) things that are easy to replace? Are you keeping things that you don't want to move if you get a new classroom or move to a new school? Less stuff makes it easier to keep things organised, so devote 30 minutes or so a week to removing some of the items you just don't need.
3. Get Help With Your Filing (And Other Stuff)
Have a lot of student papers which need filing? Get your students to help you. Students can definitely put their own work into folders and bring them back to you - you can even organise them to bring things back in alphabetical order.Make sure your students also take responsibility for the classroom - it belongs to them as well. Shared work areas should be tidied before they move on to new activities and personal work areas should be tidied each day. Organisation is an important skill for studying and learning, so it's ok to bring it in as something you all learn together.
4. Provide Your Students With Personal Lists (and Make One For Yourself Too)
I spotted this one the other day and was amazed I hadn't thought of something so simple before! A new school student had a thin, laminated list of things they needed to bring to school each day attached to their bag. You can adapt this idea to steps which need to be done to organise each working area or desk. Students can refer to the lists before moving on to new activities or classes.You can totally make one for yourself as well. What do you need to get done before class starts? Or what do you need to get done before you leave each day to make the next morning run smoothly? Even a list of things you can do when you have 5 minutes spare time can help you be more organised if that happens. Writing it down means you don't have to keep it in your memory and makes it more likely that things will regularly get done.
5. Set a Timer and Check Out Pinterest
It's totally ok to learn from our more naturally organised colleagues and other naturally organised people. Set a timer for 20 or 30 minutes (so you don't get sucked into the Pinterest Vortex), create a new organisation board and get searching. Five minutes into a search on Pinterest and I'm totally making Ikea plans!Remember not everything on Pinterest will work for you, so allow a cooling period before you go to the shops and buy a lot of expensive storage systems. Take one or two ideas and think about how they'd operate in your classroom. Think about whether you'll need to adapt them in anyway or how you can ensure you'll use them properly. Make sure you've got the best possible solutions for you!
I hope these tips can help you become more organised! Feel free to add your own organisation tips, posts or pictures in the comments!
You can save time with Back to School and other resources from Galarious Goods. You could spend the time with the photocopier . . . or you could spend it organising your classroom!!
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Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Taking Care of Ourselves as Teachers
Teachers work hard. It's not unusual for teachers to put in long hours, to have teaching constantly on our minds and to put our work before other things. That's not always a good thing, though. Overwork can lead to exhaustion, illness and burnout - leaving us as less effective teachers.
So what can we do to combat the 'work yourself to the bone' attitude? How can we take care of ourselves as teachers?
1. Eat Proper Meals and Stay Hydrated
As a constant visitor to that box of fundraising chocolates, I'm the last person to tell you to cut out all chocolate. However, eating proper meals and staying well hydrated can definitely help when you're trying to avoid burnout. Think about scheduling time into your week to plan meals, cook ahead and freeze if you can, even planning what you're going to take for lunch each day can make the meal time planning easier. If you're bringing food to school for lunch, invest in a lunchbox that makes you happy - you're more likely to use it if you like looking at it!
A water bottle which makes you happy can also help you drink enough water - especially if you remember to use it. Use your break times to refill it, take it out on playground duties or supervisions, keep it in a place in your classroom where you're sure to remember it!
A water bottle which makes you happy can also help you drink enough water - especially if you remember to use it. Use your break times to refill it, take it out on playground duties or supervisions, keep it in a place in your classroom where you're sure to remember it!
2. Find Moments of Positivity
When you're feeling worn out with work, it can be easy to fall back on more negative thoughts - especially when the news of the world isn't terribly happy. This can have the result of making you feel more worn out. Find the places where you can get a positivity fill - it might be an Instagram feed with beautiful photos (a friend once suggested following florists!), affirmation cards you keep on your desk or in your planner, positive quotes to share with your students, a beautiful picture to look at, or a positivity podcast.
You might also like to undertake a challenge to be a source of positivity in the world. Look for the times when you can compliment the people around you, play a beautiful or funny piece of music for your students, bring in a treat to share with colleagues or take your family on an outing to a place which is uplifting to you all (we love our local coast town around here - instant mood lift!)
3. Use Your Time At School Effectively
Time at school is so precious, so make sure you use it! Try not to get distracted by side subjects or talking about non-related stuff with colleagues. Use your planning, marking and organising time to plan, mark, organise, talk with parents, answering emails - things that help you do your work better!
To do this, you might need to find out what helps you focus when you're at school. You might need to spend 30 seconds tidying your workspace or 30 seconds writing a list of things to work on. You might need to invest in a pair of headphones and some music without words (I have a classical music playlist that works for productivity every time!). You might need to close the door to your classroom to let your colleagues and/or students know that you're working. You might need to break big projects down into smaller ones or use a timer to keep yourself on track.
The more you can get done in school time, the less you bring home. Plus you get those warm fuzzies because you've worked hard in the time given to you for working hard!
4. Don't Become Too Focused on School
It is possible to become too entranced with school, but it's so important to maintain a life outside of being a teacher. Make time for yourself and the people around you - even if you need to officially schedule it into your phone, planner or calendar.
One of my former colleagues used to schedule an outing with her young son after school on Fridays. It was the day she'd leave the building right on time, making sure that they got the most of an afternoon treat. Your schedule might include coffee or a walk with friends, an exercise class which leaves you happy, a subscription to the theatre or the ballet, or making time each week to enjoy a hobby or favourite television show. These are the things which bring joy into your life - and they make you a better teacher for it.
You can save time with Back to School and other resources from Galarious Goods. You might not want to spend the time you save with the copier, but it's good to know you'll have the time there when you need it!
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