I found this on the Australian Teacher Librarian website and thought I'd share it with you.
It could be handy for anyone checking on whether something is 'fake news' or misinformation. I usually use Snopes.com - but this one could be easier for students to navigate.
Welcome back - Semester 2 and here we go again.
The new timetable is out and I have updated the booking sheets - hopefully I have it right. Any extra bookings that teachers may have had last semester are now cleared, so if you need something, it is a first come, first served basis.
A reminder that the keys to the laptop trolley in the Science lab need to be booked/checked out through me so that they don't grow little legs and disappear.
Also a reminder that if you are looking for anything that may have screened on TV, I can have a look and see if I can access it from our TV4ED system and download if possible.
Any questions, please ask.
You've got this!!
School break is upon us!
Make the most of it - and enjoy some quality reading time. Research suggests it calms the mind and lowers the blood pressure - something we could all probably do with about now.
See you all back here for Semester 2 - bright-eyed and bushy tailed.
A few links to check out and see if there are any hidden gems that you can use....
https://www.edutopia.org/article/5-review-activities-kids-actually
https://www.edutopia.org/article/simple-strategy-encourage-student-reflection-and-improvement
https://www.edutopia.org/article/using-inquiry-based-learning-create-culturally-responsive-classroom
An oldie but a goodie - Freerice is an educational online game that helps kids with Vocabulary, Maths - including Times Tables and Basic Maths - along with a wide range of extra categories, such as: Flags, Countries, Ancient History, Movies, Quotations, Chemical Symbols, Biology, Languages, Foods of the World, Current Affairs....
For
each correct answer, 10 grains of rice are donated to feed people dealing with
famine in Third World countries through the United Nations World Food
program.
The best part? The game is self-levelling so it adjusts to the level the kids are working at, but keeps making it a little more challenging to increase their capabilities, without making it so hard that they don't want to do it. I realise that many of the subjects probably sound out of the park for a lot of our kids - but because it adjusts to their level, it isn't beyond the realms of possibility.
https://freerice.com/categories
This could be useful in most learning areas - maybe a class competition? Teams to compete against each other? Hmm - maybe a teacher competition?? 😉
Check
it out when you get a moment.
(Re posting this as it accidentally got deleted!)
One of our recent activities with
our beautiful Special Ed group was making Purple People Eaters - and playing
the song along with actions .. which certainly tickled Isiah's fancy!
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I've sent the song link through to Ms. Juliet for the class to listen to again - and we all think that it would be a great idea if Ms. Fransina would demonstrate the song and the actions for us all. 😉😉
Okay
- a bit of a hiccup to the start of Term 2 - nothing is ever meant to be easy but let's get this back on track again.
Below
are some links from Edutopia - mainly about Game-Based Learning. As I am
not a teacher, I have no idea of how useful these could be, but I am just
tossing it out there for you on the off chance that there may be something that
you can use. It is a US based site and probably a 'slightly' different
clientele than ours, but you never know – there may be a small gem you can use
or adapt for your needs.
https://www.edutopia.org/article/10-free-financial-literacy-games-high-school-students
https://www.edutopia.org/article/using-gamification-increase-engagement-during-hybrid-learning
https://www.edutopia.org/article/game-based-learning-middle-school-math
https://www.edutopia.org/article/turning-math-game
https://www.edutopia.org/article/does-our-natural-affinity-games-have-place-classroom
https://www.edutopia.org/article/when-implementing-games-your-classroom-dont-forget-about-chess
https://www.edutopia.org/article/coding-across-curriculum
This has been a tough week .. or weeks even - so this is just a very quick post to remind you all that you are truly wonderful and fantastic - and that, whether you realise it or not - you have GOT this.
The weekend is here - and we have 2 weeks to go to Term break. We can do this!
Just carry on being the AWESOME people that you are!
This year Earth Hour has partnered with Cool Australia to create an extensive curriculum toolkit. Teachers can download lesson plans, digital worksheets, Smartboard activities and a host of other resources to teach lessons that will last a lifetime.
Earth Hour is a WWF-Australia initiative, and is the world’s largest community-driven climate change campaign. At the center of Earth Hour is switching off lights to show a commitment to taking action. Thousands of teachers use Earth Hour’s education program to enrich their curriculum and provide pathways for young people to create change in their world.
Download the Earth Hour starter kit for your school: Earth Hour for Schools and check out the link below for a range of curriculum ideas and activities.
https://www.coolaustralia.org/unit/earth-hour-primary
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/QR-codes-teaching-andrew-miller
https://besthistorysites.net/ancient-biblical-history/general-resources/
https://www.bighistoryproject.com/home
https://www.abc.net.au/education/#!/home
Above are a few weblinks that may be helpful for either teachers or students. Two are history based and the other is our ABC education page - which covers a large range of materials. Check them out if you have a free moment or two. There is also a link with 12 Ideas for teaching with QR Codes.
Just a couple of Edutopia links to round off the week and give you something to think about. I also have the Edutopia site on the Blog Roll on the right hand side of the post, as there is lots more there to check out, if you are interested.
https://www.edutopia.org/article/5-ways-unleash-student-creativity-and-reduce-fear-failure
https://www.edutopia.org/article/3-steps-getting-started-pbl
Just a reminder that you can always get your students onto snopes.com to check out the truth - or otherwise - about things that appear on Facebook, or all over the Internet.
Below are a couple of links to some of the more current things that people have been asking about recently - but there is so much more to be found. Take a look at the Crystal Pyramid one if you get a moment.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/crystal-pyramid/
https://www.snopes.com/news/2022/02/25/tank-kyiv-car/
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/putin-hitler-time-magazine/
