Archive for November 13th, 2011
Road Safety Week 2011
This year’s UK Road Safety Week takes place between 21st and 27th of November, and is entitled “Too young to die”. It is organised by Brake, the road safety organisation
As well as useful resources for educators, you can also register for a free action pack
Visit the Zak the Zebra site for information on the Slow Down Kids About 20mph campaign.
Visit Tales of the Road, for some slightly gruesome, and unsettling, but thought provoking, games and activities, on road safety.
Spelling lists using Wordle
I don’t know about you, but when I set a list of spellings I try to make them relevant, and useful, for the curriculum elements we’re covering at the time.
Differentiation is valuable, essential and necessary, but can make some pupils feel a little self conscious because they either have a set of words that are seen to be “easier” than others, or another child can feel a little awkward because their list is “harder”. (Yes. That can happen).
Without realising it, we might restrict or limit one group or another. Here is a quick suggestion you might want to try:
Give everybody all of the spellings for that week. Do it in a Wordle. For each group, copy and paste their vocabulary in more frequently, (try 2 or 3 times).
Everybody gets all of the words, but… those who you might have defined as lower ability, could surprise you, and have a go at words that aren’t in their list.
For the top group, the other vocabulary is there to reinforce and revise spellings they might have forgotten.
On different levels, you have subliminal learning without restricting or insisting.
Something to think about, if only because the word lists look more attractive.
As well as our events, we like to share interesting, and more often than not, FREE tools, resources and ideas, some old, some new, and we hope you might find something useful. We'd love your thoughts. Tim & Sarah
