There’s times throughout your teaching career that people show you resources or websites which really blow your mind. You vow that they are the resources that you’ll use everyday. But eventually, in the business of everyday they often get left behind. Here are the resources that have assisted me in 2020.
This was shown to me by my very capable assistant principal and is a gem of a resource for all things comprehension! While it is US based it has a multitude of resources to assist in teaching comprehension strategies to your students.
Developed by Shell Cove, Public School this rubric follows all key areas of comprehension and allows you to plot students. This is very similar to a comprehension interview I was recently introduced to in my own setting. I find it beneficial that the document provides learning goals (or learning intentions) and the success criteria that students can easily identify with. It also provides a number of prompts which never go astray!
I only recently got a copy of this book and I’m in love! While it offers a different reading experience to a grab and go strategy type book, it delves deep into why students are not successful in creating large slabs of writing when foundation skills have not been taught. This has impacted on my teaching hugely and I’ve really pulled back on sustained texts and focused on my students developing really specific writing skills that have made a huge difference to their micro writing.
This is definitely one I start using religiously for a while and then it drops off my radar. It provides a screen which can be shared onto a smart board / television that includes features such as volume level icons, timers, post it notes and the list goes on. It’s super handy to help students develop independence in their learning.
A great tool which we use across the school. At first I was sceptical with teaching stage 2 about the benefits of Seesaw over Google Classroom. While I still believe they both definitely have their place, Seesaw has worked wonders for building connection with parents in what has been a very very strange year. My favourite feature has been using announcements to share instructional videos with parents for them to see how we are teaching in the classroom and be supported to help their chid learn at home.
Which One Doesn’t Belong (WODB)
A great website which encourages dialogue around mathematics with the focus on discussion rather than correct answers. No single picture is correct and students develop skills in articulating their answers around why any one picture may not belong. We have used these a lot in stage two to develop students vocabulary.
Hopefully these help you out if you’re looking for some solid resources to get started within a classroom or even if you’ve been teaching for years! Feel free to share your favourite resources in a comment.
Angela
iTeach 