Recent Random Reads (or PDA, OCD & Penguins!)

A picture of a penguin and text: Random Recent Reads or PDA, OCD and Penguins

For me, one of the silver linings of the Covid pandemic was the establishment of little free libraries in many cities. These took the form of phone boxes or cabinets attached to garden walls or railings for passers-by to pick up or leave books. Although these are still thriving in Bristol where I previously lived, they don’t seem to be as evident in Cardiff where I now live. However, almost all of my reading material comes from charity shops or bookshelves with donation box in supermarkets. I love the randomness of this approach to book acquisition, you never know what you will find and often select books that you wouldn’t see or choose in a book shop.

An example of a book swap in Bristol. For those of you in the UK, there is a Facebook page dedicated to little libraries.

In this blog I will share my two most recent reads I picked up randomly that surpassed my expectations.

  1. Saturdays at Noon by Rachel Marks

I chose this book based on its reviews, with no idea of its core theme. As you can see, the book itself was a little water damaged!

While Saturdays at Noon is predominantly a novel about relationships, at the heart of the story is a young boy, Alfie, with a PDA and OCD profile. By coincidence, this week is OCD Awareness Week, so it turned out to be very timely! It is Rachel Marks’ debut novel and was inspired by her son.

The chapters alternate between the two adults giving their perspective on unfolding events; but interspersed are some beautifully written chapters in Alfie’s words that express his emotions and explain his behaviours in a profoundly moving way. In reality most children are not able to convey their experience so articulately or, as Alfie says, they don’t want to accused of being weird or silly so they keep it to themselves. Of course, they may also not understand that their reality is different to others’. The way Rachel marks gives Alfie a voice is such a powerful way to help readers get a glimpse of what day-to-day life challenges children with OCD and/or PDA struggle with.

The scene when they are trying to get to school on time when Alfie is having a ‘funny hand day’ and can’t touch the door handle or the seatbelt, but can’t explain this to his father is told form his perspective.

“I hold my hand out in front of me with the fingers spread so that they don’t touch. Some days I don’t mind touching things. I don’t even notice. But other days, my brain says if I touch things I have to say it out loud or I have to wash my hands. I can’t say it out loud because Daddy will get cross and say, ‘What are you on about, Alfie? and when I say, I have to say it; he’ll say, ‘Stop being silly’, but I’m not. When I’m silly, it’s fun. like being silly, but I don’t like it when I have my funny hand days.”

He goes on to explain that if the teacher won’t allow him to go straight to the toilet so he can wash his hand:

 “I’ll have to hold my hand out until she lets me go and the other children will say, ‘Alfie’s trying to touch me’, and I’ll cry because I’m not.”

In another chapter Alfie gives examples of other challenges at school. He outlines how being asked to retell Aliens Love Underpants is distressing because he is unable to suppress memories of a dream featuring the aliens where they tried to blow up the world. The writing process is complicated further by knowing that if he gets his letters the wrong way around he’ll have to erase and rewrite them, will finish last and there will only be carrots left for snack. Navigating break times is also difficult. Alfie doesn’t want to be alone because negative intrusive thoughts creep up on him, but he struggles to play with others when they don’t follow the rules / script leading to angry arguments and reprimands.

These vignettes are interesting from an educator’s point of view. Have you supported children with similar challenges? I know I have. How can we try to be more understanding of children’s needs and make it possible for them to thrive at school? The descriptions capture a class of six year olds perfectly, so it came as no surprise to read that the author was previously a primary school teacher!

As readers, we learn alongside Alfie and the adults as the story unfolds about his conditions and some approaches to making life better for children like Alfie.

In Alfie’s words:

“They say I have PDA and a little bit of OCD. I’m not sure why they have funny letter names instead of real names – they don’t even spell anything. Emily says what the funny letter names mean is that I have a superhero brain so it works a bit differently to the other children’s and that’s why I get sad if people don’t follow my rules or if they make me do things that I don’t want to. And the OCD bully is the one that puts the horrible thoughts in my brain”

The Mental Health Foundation have this to say on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD):

The phrase OCD is often used casually to describe certain behaviours or personality quirks, but this can result in the condition being overlooked or dismissed.

So, what is OCD and why does the language around it matter?

OCD is a mental health condition that anyone can have. It usually starts in early adulthood, although it can start at any age. It involves obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours which can be distressing and interfere with your daily life.

How we speak about OCD matters. This OCD Awareness Week and beyond let’s challenge assumptions and stigma, and show people living with OCD that they are not alone.

For more on children with PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance), I highly recommend a recent video series by Dr Naomi Fisher and Eliza Fricker https://www.autismcentral.org.uk/news/navigating-education-and-working-well-school

2. The Penguin Lessons A True Story by Tom Michell.

There’s not much i can say about this without spoiling this magical account of the life of an English teacher with a penguin in 1970s Argentina, so I’ll keep it brief! Another beautifully written book that also tugs at the heart strings. Another aspect in common with the previous book, is how it is thought provoking for educators, especially the chapters near the end where a shy under achieving boy’s self esteem and status are transformed through his relationship with the penguin.

As I read, I kept thinking of the wonderful Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers and wondering whether it was inspired by this real life adventure. If you enjoy Lost and Found, you’ll love this. Since reading, I have seen that it was made into a film starring Steve Coogan this year, but I can’t find where to watch it. This video talks about making the film. I also feel torn as whether I want to watch it. There is however and audio book read by Bill Nighy and you can watch the actual footage of the penguin on YouTube!

a photo of the front cover of Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers

What books have you read recently that you would recommend?

Tuition – a trustworthy, nurturing service or an unregulated industry with the potential for exploitation?

A cartoon drawing of a student and tutor at a whiteboard holding pens. Both are smiling.

There is no doubt that tuition boosts students’ confidence and achievement and provides tutors with a career that is rewarding and fulfilling. However, recent news has highlighted worrying shortcomings in the legal status of tutoring in the UK that have allowed serious abuse to take place.

In my last blog I announced the launch of my tutoring service, Tutoring with Fiona . In the same week, there was a shocking news story of private tutors exploiting their students. The BBC news article revealed that more than ninety private tutors have been convicted of sexual offences in the UK over the last twenty years.

The situation was discussed on the BBC Breakfast television show with a parent whose children attended classes with one of the convicted tutors and John Nichols, President of The Tutors’ Association. John explained that currently there is no legal definition of what a tutor is–meaning anyone can call themselves a tutor regardless of their qualifications, skills or background. Even a person who has a criminal record. Some then go on to work one-to-one with children and young people. When everyone who works in an education institution from sports coaches to lunchtime supervisors must undergo checks and be aware of safeguarding policies, this is a huge loophole in the law.

The Tutors’ Association TTA is a non-profit professional body for tutoring, (with company and individual members), recognised by the UK government. TTA are calling for a statutory definition of what a tutor is and as a minimum mandatory standard for all tutors to have a DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service previously known as CRB Criminal Record Background check). As tuition is currently unregulated, a register of approved tutors should be put in place. All members of TTA have a DBS and they can perform daily checks for tutors on the update service.

You can watch a recording of the show here.

Towards Trustworthy Tuition

A cartoon drawing of a student and tutor at a whiteboard holding pens. Both are smiling.

Parents / Carers – Choosing a tutor you can trust

Tutoring is an investment in a child’s learning journey and future success, but for many families it’s an expense that’s a struggle to meet. Offers of cheap tuition on social media sites are therefore very tempting, but how can you be sure that the tutor can be trusted? What about going on a recommendation from a friend or colleague? This is not a guarantee of safety, as the  parent explained on the BBC show. So what precautions can you take?
The key action you can take is asking questions and to see evidence, (not just empty reassurances).
1. Tutor credentials: a DBS check is essential. You may also ask about references (tutors working for agencies should have supplied both). Enquire about membership of professional organisations. Ask about training (education staff in schools are required to complete refresher safeguarding training annually).
2. Policies and Procedures: these should be in place for safeguarding, e-safety and privacy. Policies should be available to see on websites and reviewed annually.
3. Terms and Conditions: ensure you read these and pay attention to any requirements relating to safeguarding (e.g. supervision of students).
4. Check reviews.
5. Trust your instincts, if something doesn’t seem right, look elsewhere.

Don’t be afraid to ask, a professional who has students’ welfare as a priority will not be offended by a parent / carer doing their due diligence!

During Tuition

  1. 1:1 Tuition: Remain in eyesight and/or earshot
    This doesn’t mean supervising or even overlooking the session as this can inhibit the child and tutor! However, even in schools teachers will avoid being alone in a room with a closed door with a child, so they should not object to you being nearby. It can also be helpful if anything is needed for the session.
  2. Online Tutoring:
    Talk to your child about e-safety and respectful online behaviour. Remind them about not sharing personal details, what to do if they feel uncomfortable or unsafe. These topics will all be familiar from school. Set up their device in a way that protects their privacy; consider what will be seen on screen, if it’s difficult to find a neutral space in your home you should be able to blur the background. Check the settings on the device ensuring that parental controls are in place.
  3. Monitor moods:
    Be open to any signs that your child is unhappy or uncomfortable with their tutor.

See below for more information on online safety and a PDF you may download.

A chalkboard with a chain of outlines of people and the words Together Towards Trustworthy Tuition.

Tutors – Safeguarding your students

Tutoring is a great option for part time or retired teachers, but how do you ensure that you are setting up in a responsible manner in an unregulated industry? Having recently set up my service, I am happy to share the steps I have taken. These are relevant for UK-based tutors.

  1. Obtain and maintain background checks
    In the UK, this is an enhanced DBS on the update service, it costs £13 a year.
  2. Stay up to date with safeguarding
    Refresher courses should be taken annually as there are often changes, especially as technology is ever-evolving. be aware of any new legislation or guidance.
  3. Join a professional membership organisation
    The Tutors’ Association (TTA) will support with background checks, training and allow you to use their logo once you are a member.
  4. Follow and review policies
    If you are an independent tutor, you should draw up your own safeguarding, e-safety and privacy policies. Editable templates can be obtained from TTA or Twinkl, it’s also good to look at policies on tutor websites for inspiration.
  5. Set out safeguarding guidelines in your Terms and Conditions
    This ensures that parents are aware of their responsibilities. Embedded safeguarding protects the tutor as well as the student. T&C templates can also be found and examples viewed online.
  6. Protect your clients’ privacy
    Be aware of data protection regulations, GDPR courses are available online. If you are keeping any personal data, (inevitably you will be), you will need to register with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Further information on online safety

Keeping up-to-date. The online landscape is ever-changing and trying to keeping up with new developments can be bewildering, especially as younger generations discover new games, social media and other apps. A good place to get the latest advice is Common Sense Media. It is primarily an age-based reviews and ratings site that covers film, games, apps, books and more. There are sections for parents and educators, including lesson plans, research and guides. In my experience, it is always up to date and a great way to find out about the latest app trending amongst young people or to decide whether a film might have upsetting content to a particular child.

Guidelines for supporting children of different ages/abilities. NSPCC also has lots of information divided into parent and professional sections. There is great advice on how to broach talking about sensitive areas within online safety in an age-appropriate way. For example, using the Techosaurus activity packs with little ones or using the Lego Build and Talk programme with older children. They have guides for setting up phones for children and agreeing on a ‘phone pledge’ for safe usage. If you’re not sure about how to set up parental controls, this is a good site to explore.

Interested in learning more about online safety for children and young people? Nip in the Bud have lots of information on smart phones, algorithms, social media and discussion point suggestions. The emphasis is on wellbeing and mental health.

If you are a tutor or engage a tutor outside of the UK, please share your experience of ensuring safeguarding is in place in the comments.

I’m back! News & Updates

Line drawing of woman at laptop with words"I'm back, news and updates".
Line drawing of woman at laptop and words "I'm back, news and updates".

For anyone who has checked in to this site over the last couple of years I apologise for neglecting it! Seeing the last blog post about dice games reminds me of the time I worked on that resource when I was caring for my mother in her last days. More recently I have been spending lots of time supporting my father. Moving home was a long drawn out process that meant I was unable to commit to long term work so it has been hard to focus. I say this not for sympathy or an excuse, but in recognition that we all have so much going on in our lives. This is why with Teachers Telling Tales I aspire to provide quality resources that are free or affordable; to ease the workload of educators, who have so many other demands on their time and energy.

It has been so rewarding to see that it has been self sustaining. The amount of downloads from tes.com has now surpassed 10,000, and although I don’t know the exact figure for Teachers pay Teachers, it will be much higher than tes; this makes me feel so proud.

Although tes is mainly used by educators in the UK, it’s also interesting to see from the map that there are fans around the world.

Free downloads from tes over the last quarter, September 2024

Since starting Teachers Telling Tales in mid 2019 there have been so many changes globally and in my little world; when the pandemic struck I left my nomadic lifestyle in Asia to settle back in the UK and be close to family. After a series of temporary accommodation I rented a flat overlooking the most congested (and surely one of the most chaotic) streets in Bristol, then in July I moved to new home in Cardiff. My unsettled life meant a series of temporary work roles including support roles in schools, nurseries and a pupil referral unit. I worked as a tutor in schools, online and in an adult education centre with learners that were mostly refugees or asylum seekers.

Throughout all that time it has been reassuring to see the steady flow of visitors to this site and the Teachers Telling Tales social media and stores despite my lack of input recently. Thank you! I do hope to write blogs more often and add more resources. It takes time to polish them to a high standard for sharing, but now that I’m finally settling hopefully that will happen!

So what’s new?
I am launching my own tutoring service. I love the creative challenge of curating lessons to meet the needs of students, whether it’s to understand a maths topic, build confidence in exam technique or develop a love of creative writing. The satisfaction of hearing that a child you tutored had the pick of both schools they applied to after eleven plus tutoring or the student with ADHD doing a happy dance after the session because they didn’t think they would manage 30 minutes but completed an hour. I love how it’s possible to build the learning around their favourite subject, whether it’s axolotls, Disney princesses or constellations. It has been great to draw on some Teachers Telling Tales resources for my sessions and I’m looking forward to the tutoring sessions inspiring more resources to share.

The Teachers Telling Tales ‘If Fairy Tales Had Phones’ resource in action during online tuition to develop dialogue and convert speech bubbles to direct speech.

If you are looking for a tutor for child, or know someone who is, please take a look at my website http://fiona.tutorbird.com and get in touch.

Logo featuring a line drawing of a tutor at a laptop and the words 'Tutoring with Fiona'.

Roll, Play! Dice Learning Games

Inexpensive, easily portable and with endless possibilities for games, dice are an essential in the educator’s toolbox. They are adaptable for differing ages and abilities and transcend language barriers.

A small tub full of dice is relatively cheap, light to carry and has endless possibilities!

Dicebreaker!

Last year, I had a wonderful experience supporting with some refugee children from Afghanistan on their first days in a school in Bristol. A boy, about seven years old was wary of joining the other children; he stayed at the back of the class and took his time to observe the class and get his bearings. Finally, I engaged him through rolling large dice together. Without any shared language, we soon established a simple game that whoever rolled the highest was the winner. Soon we were exclaiming our triumph or disappointment in our own languages, learning numbers and most importantly, sharing smiles and laughter. It got me thinking about the potential of dice for play and learning and interested in their history.

In this blog, I will outline some facts about dice, tips for using them and links to resources.

Did you know the dots on dice are known as ‘pips’? Read on for more facts about dice and tips for using them in learning games.

Top Tips

Choosing Dice

As well as the traditional 6-sided die, dice come in a range of materials, shapes with varying numbers of faces and corresponding pips, numbers or symbols.
Materials: I bought my favourite set of dice while teaching in Cambodia, they are hand made in colourful cotton. Large and soft enough to play with indoors and outdoors and perfect for younger children. While working in a volunteer team in the Maldives, we produced a resource pack of dice games for schools and the teachers made dice using offcuts of wood. While I generally prefer natural materials for learning resources, in the case of dice I find plastic is a good choice – it’s durable and easy to clean. The colourful, transparent dice are attractive to children. Interestingly, did you know casinos often use transparent dice to show that they are not loaded?

Shapes and Numbers

As well as the standard traditional six-sided cube with dots (pips), there are other common shapes and numbers available, including:
– tetrahedron (4 faces)
– octahedron (8 faces)
– pentagonal trapezohedron (10 faces)
– dodecahedron (12 faces)
– icosahedron (20 faces).

Traditional dice with dots enable children to practise the important skill of subitising, (learning to visualise numbers and recognise amounts without counting). Dice with numerals are also useful for number recognition. Having dice including zero and / or with numbers up to twelve is good for times tables games.

Adaptations:
– Add stickers to cover existing numbers and make the numbers lower or higher.
– Make your own dice using net templates (see download link below).
– Order custom dice.
– For visually impaired learners tactile dice can be made or purchased.

D-eyes! maker and photographer unknown

Tips for Playing Dice Games

Remote Teaching?

Use an online random dice generator:

calculator.net allows you to choose any number of dice to roll, vary the numbers of sides on the dice and find the sum and product.

online-stopwatch.com has a fantastic range of dice, including a shaker and my favourite, the pop-up die.

Ideas and Resources

Dice are just random generators; as well as numbers they can also feature words or pictures making them a valuable tool for a range of activities and subjects. For example, the My Amazing Monster resource pack I created uses dice to generate a monster name as a phonics activity and to select story elements for a creative writing exercise.
However, the area where dice really shine is in mathematics. There are so many games that can be played where maths skills can be sneaked in almost without students noticing!

When I started online tutoring in 2020, I incorporated lots of dice games into sessions as they made great starters, brain breaks or upbeat ways to end lessons. Now that I am delivering tuition in schools I have continued to use them; finding and adapting more games along the way. I have compiled the games I found, adapted and created into a document for easy reference. It can be cropped into 30 cards for easy reference, perfect for giving to adults working with a group in class. As well as simple instructions, the cards have suggestions for variations to make games simpler or more challenging to meet the needs of students.
Skills include: calculation using all four operations, comparing numbers, place value, doubling, odd and even numbers, times tables, square numbers, number bonds, probability, rounding, power of 10, negative numbers, fractions, sequences, area and perimeter.

To purchase the Roll, Play! dice games pack go to your chosen store, Teachers pay Teachers or Tes from the links on the home page.

Top of the Pips – for the fact fans!

Links

Check out the Teachers Telling Tales Pinterest board for these and additional links / ideas.

Dice Games:
https://icebreakerideas.com/dice-games/
https://the-teacher-next-door.com/math-games-using-dice/
https://numberdyslexia.com/dice-games-to-teach-multiplication-facts/
https://openiun.com/fun-and-easy-dice-games-to-play/
https://www.goldencarers.com/6-fun-easy-dice-games-for-the-elderly/6622/
https://www.math-salamanders.com/math-games-using-dice.html
https://www.mentalmathworksheets.org/math-dice-games/



Make your own dice: printableshub.com
Tactile dice for visually impaired: https://shop.rnib.org.uk/leisure/indoor-games/dice, https://www.shapeways.com/shops/dots-rpg-project-dice-shop
Online dice: https://www.online-stopwatch.com/online-dice/, https://www.calculator.net/dice-roller.html

Facts about Dice:
https://www.onlineunitedstatescasinos.com/blog/national-dice-day-7-fun-facts-about-dice-you-didnt-know-23936/
https://www.awesomedice.com/blogs/news/history-of-dice
verybesttop10.com/facts-you-might-not-know-about-dice/
https://www.gmdice.com/blogs/dnd/how-are-dice-made
https://fact.directory/dice-facts

Pollution Peril, a fishy tale!

An interactive story to illustrate water pollution and its impacts

I came across this fantastic idea while working as an environmental educator in Belize, (see references below). I went on to share it with educators and students I worked with in the Philippines and Fiji Islands as I love how it actively engages students in telling the story and provides a strong visual impression of the problem. I have since updated it with Causes and Consequences cards and photographs to make the instructions clearer.

The story involves a fish travelling from its home through connected ecosystems and encountering different sources of water pollution in each. Substances like soil and soy sauce are added to the water to represent the pollutants and students consider the effect on the fish. At the end they discuss whether the fish will survive and whether it would be safe to eat it, making the link to how pollution also effects humans. A great follow up activity is asking the students to the to remove the pollutants from the water. Other ideas could be exploring how to prevent pollution at source or creating a story map.

If you would like a free download of the lesson plan including instructions, cards and editable scripts go to one of the Teachers Telling Tales online stores:

Teachers pay Teachers

tes

screenshots of some of the files included in the free pack

References

This activity is adapted from ‘Fishy Tales’ lesson in the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef Systems (MBRS) Project guide for primary schools. They cite their source as: Utah Lesson Plans, adapted from Chilton-Stringham, P., Wolanin, J., (1995). Water, Stones, and Fossil Bones. “Fred the Fish.”

Vocabulary

To dive deeper into the vocabulary linked to water pollution, take a look at an example of a quiz on Quizlet

Adapting to Digital Learning, try Easel by TpT

A child with a laptop on the sofa and title: Adapt to digital learning, it's easy with Easel.
A picture of a child on a sofa with a laptop. Text reads: Adapt to digital learning? It's easy with Easel!

Photo by bruce mars on Unsplash

Have you used Easel by Teachers pay Teachers for distance or digital learning? Although I taught remotely from January to July and share resources on TpT, I didn’t start to explore Easel by TpT until the summer holidays. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to use and impressed with its potential to create engaging resources.

Having spent a great deal of time searching for suitable resources and adapting them for online teaching, I was interested to see how Easel could make this process more effective and streamlined.

Some screenshots from my online sessions this year.

(see below for links to updates of these resources)

How Easel by TpT works:

Creating and Converting Resources.
Easel is a simple and straightforward way to create or convert worksheets or assessments. Simply upload a PDF or create a blank page, then add images, and text instructions. You can then add movable objects (words or images) or answer boxes. Students can annotate using type, pen and highlight tools. As work is set individually, it’s great for differentiation. For live lessons, it is possible to use the ‘view as pupil’ preview mode as a digital whiteboard through screen sharing.

If you share resources on TpT, you’ll see that there is the option to opt in PDF files.
For documents within a zip file you need to add Easel files, I tried and it’s easy to do.
I recommend watching this video and having a go!

Sourcing Resources
There are thousands of ready-made Easel activities and assessments listed on TpT, you can tick the box to filter for these in your search. You will see a tick and ‘Easel activity’ when you select a resource in the format section. You can customise the files to suit your needs.

Will Digital Learning Decline Alongside Covid?

Are Easel resources likely to become redundant as we recover from the pandemic?

I don’t think so. Of course, we’re all hoping for face-to-face teaching in the future, but should we need to teach remotely again, we will be so much better prepared. It’s certainly worth selecting resources that have Easel files in case. This article outlines how it is a good idea to have parallel plans; the in class resources and a parallel set in case learning needs to be completed at home.
Digital resources also have so much potential for use in a range of circumstances such as for homework, to be completed on tablets or computers in class (this may make learning more accessible for some children), for tutoring and sending work home.

If you would like ideas for teaching online and using Easel, you may find this blog helpful.

If you’d like to try out some Easel activities, here are some of my free ones, (links below):

Free Resources with Easel Files

All of these free activities have linked paid resources, many of which now have been updated with Easel files.

Updated Resources with Easel Files

Links to Resources:

New Resources with Easel Files

I am currently in the process of polishing the resources I created for online teaching to share; where relevant I will try to create Easel versions for all new resources.
Here are the first batch I’ve uploaded: Monster Balloon Party games, My Amazing Monster literacy lesson, Little Monster Balloon Party games, Count the Coins challenges, Place Value Problems,.


I’d love to know your experiences with Easel and online learning. Please share your thoughts or tips in the comments.

Teachers pay Teachers Tips

If you’re new to TpT, there’s a few features it’s good to know about:

  • Follow stores. Many (like Teachers Telling Tales!) discount new resources by up to 20% when they are first uploaded.
  • Earn credit. After trying a resource leave a review to earn credits for future purchases. (It also brings a big smile to the face of the creator and may even prompt a happy dance!)
  • Subscribe to the newsletter. It comes every Sunday with 10 freebies, links to blogs and details of any sales (which happen quite often).

A ‘How to’ for Teaching Homophones: tips and tools

Question: Which fruit sounds like it should come in twos? Answer: Pears!

I have been planning lessons for the UK National Tutoring Programme which has been put in place to help students catch up with some of the curriculum content they may have missed due to Covid19. For one cohort of students my focus is on spelling.
Homophones feature prominently in the UK spelling guidance, (see link below), beginning in Year 2 and continuing through to Years 5 and 6 (age 10-11). They can be very confusing, so I decided to look into how to support students with learning them.

What is a Homophone?

The word homophone comes from two Greek words that have been put together – homo meaning ‘same and and phone meaning ‘sound’. Put simply, they words that sound the same, but with different meanings and spellings.

While there are many pairs of homophones, there are some with multiple words, for example, the commonly confused to, two and too.

 What did one homophone say to comfort the other homophone?

Their, there, they’re.

Resource Development

I was really inspired by the wonderful images created by Bruce Holden in his blog, Homophones, Weakly and had so much fun creating my own pairs of images in a similar style. As I wanted to use the images to engage children, I added the jigsaw element and bright colours then created versions without words for quiz activities.

A banner showing pictures to represent pairs of homophones, e.g.which witch.
Can you guess all the homophone puzzle pairs? Image by Teachers Telling Tales.

Resource Aims:

  • To engage children and make learning fun
  • To succeed in helping children with spelling

To make lessons enjoyable, they use quiz and games formats. Homophones are also great for incorporating humour in the form of jokes, riddles and tongue twisters. To give children the tools to support spelling, I built in mnemonic activities.

Mnemonics

A mnemonic is a tool for remembering. There are lots of these for spelling including acrostics, small words in big words, rules and so on.

Creating a visual image can help with recall. As well as sharing mnemonics, creating them is a powerful way to fix them in the mind.

Resource Packs by Teachers Telling Tales

Pairs or Pears Homophone Games

Which Witch Homophones Quiz

Which Witch, by Teachers Telling Tales, presenter view

As I had created twenty pairs of images, I decided to split these into two quiz presentations so it would not be too long for students. There are two versions of the presentation:
Annotate, with just pictures. This is more challenging for spelling!
Label, where words are provided and can be dragged to the correct picture.
The introduction is tongue twisters and the activity at the end is to create a mnemonic.

You can purchase both resources together at a discount, available from Teachers Telling Tales online stores at:
Teachers Pay Teachers
TES

Useful Links:

UK Statutory Guidance publications
Homophone resources (lists, jokes, riddles, quizzes, flash cards, worksheets and more

Themes of the Week

Themes for days of the week using alliteration, e.g. Mindful Monday.

In education we often work with themes or topics over a week or block of weeks, however, having a theme for each day can also work really well. An established structure and routine gives students security and it makes planning easier for educators.
On social media hashtags for each day, for example, #TBT, (Throwback Thursday) provide themes for people to contribute to and this concept can also be applied in education to create a sense of community. At the time of writing, distance learning is common in many places and stuck at home, the days tend to blur, so having a theme for each is a good way to give structure to the week. Participating in a themed welcoming / starter, like a circle time activity, brings everyone together. Themed days are also good for home schooling and can become family traditions like ‘taco Tuesdays’ or ‘fish finger Fridays’!

Here are some ideas and brief explanations of how you could use them. The same theme could be repeated weekly, or choose a different one each week. If changing, it is useful to provide the themes in advance, (e.g. on Friday for the week ahead), to give students time to prepare if needed.

  • Missed you … share weekend news
  • Make/Made it … follow instructions or share something made before
  • Mindful / Meditation … read a guided meditation or share one from Cosmic Kids, Go Noodle or similar
  • Moustache … everyone sticks or draws on a moustache!
  • Musical … listen or play together (teacher / students share)
  • movie a short film to introduce or recap topics and engage students (see resources below)
  • True or False … a quiz to engage and assess understanding, could be thumbs up / down for true / false
  • Talent … take turns, a few students each week
  • Tuneful … sharing a song or repeating vocal patterns for concentration
  • Tongue-twister … a fun way to wake everyone up and share laughter
  • timehop could be past or future, history or imagination
  • Wonderful … share an achievement, observation, or ‘I wonder‘ question
  • Where in the world … show a picture or (change your video background) a building, map, food or artefact
  • Workout (exercise) or Work Out a problem or puzzle
  • Would you rather … give 2 options to choose (can use show of fingers for choice 1 or 2)
  • wisdom an interesting quote to think about / discuss
  • Three things … is a versatile theme, e.g. three things I learned this week / I am good at / I know about ___ etc.
  • This or that … like ‘would you rather’
  • Thumbs up … something you like / agree with , opinions and preferences
  • Then and now … for history, events or personal, ‘I used to ___ but now I ___’
  • Thinking … a problem solving challenge, (see resources below)
  • Thoughtful … an act of kindness
  • theatre share a clip or a drama game
  • Share a Funny joke, a favourite or something Feelgood to round the week off on a positive note
  • Fact or fiction … getting to know you or assessment activities
  • Friendship … is nice for recognising kindness and social skills
  • Footloose … cut loose and dance!
  • Fan Club … share a common interest
  • fun games or activities suggested by the students as a reward / celebration

This one’s for you!

What do you do at weekends to recuperate? Educators are forever filling others’ buckets, so they need to refill their own too.

Get Your Themes

If you would like high resolution versions of the daily themes for yourself, you can download printables for a set of cards with the day and ideas on the reverse. These work well printed on card and stored in a business card holder or laminated with a hole punched through with a ring to keep together.
A chart showing all the days in a grid can be printed and stuck in your planner or on the notice board. Portrait and landscape versions can be downloaded and PNG files are included in addition to PDF so you can adjust the size to suit.
All the Themes of the Week resources come in UK and US spelling versions.
Available from tes or Teachers Pay Teachers

If you would like a personalised set of cards or chart contact me at fiona@teacherstellingtales.com

Update 22nd January 2021

During online tutoring sessions I have explored some of these themes in more depth and they were a big hit with the students! I have updated the resource packs with further resources including ‘Would You Rather’, ‘This or That’ and ‘Friday Faves’ cards, lists of discussion points for Would You Rather and This or That and blank cards to be adapted. It’s all in presentation form with PNG files so flexible to educator’s needs.

Resources

Monday Movies / Friday Films

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/teacherstellingtales/theme-of-the-day/friday-films-monday-movies/

Thinking Thursdays

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/teacherstellingtales/thinking/

Terrible Tales of Fear and Forests

There’s a Monster in my Kitchen

As Hallowe’en approaches and scary stories send chills down spines, Greenpeace have released a terrible tale with a powerful message. The new animation follows on from the hugely successful short film ‘Rang-tan: the story of dirty palm oil’. In ‘Monster’ we meet the fearsome Jag-wah and learn how his rainforest home is being destroyed for industrial meat production.

The expressive language, rhythm, rhyme and repetition make it a rich learning resource. The illustrations capture the contrast between the beauty of a forest and the horror of its destruction.

Greenpeace have produced resource packs (for 7-11 and 11-14 year olds) that are free to download from the link below. On this page there is lots more information, tips and a calming ‘five minutes of serenity’ rainforest video.

https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/take-action/forests-lets-explore/

There’s a Rang-tan in my Bedroom

Rang-tan has been watched millions of times and there is also a book telling the tale of the baby ape who has lost its mother and home through the creation of palm oil plantations. Like Monster, it is told it two parts: the child and the homeless animal. They both end with the child taking action, spreading awareness so the problem can be resolved.

There are lots of teaching resources inspired by Rang-tan, produced by Greenpeace and others. Here are some to check out:

https://www.teachingideas.co.uk/video/Rang-tan

https://www.hachetteschools.co.uk/hachette-schools-resources/hachetteschools-resources-key-stage-1/2019/12/12/theres-a-rang-tan-in-my-bedroom-free-resources/

Tecuani and the Duende – The Voice of the Jaguar

The first animated short film from Belize, Tecuani and the Duende also features the iconic jaguar and tells a tale about the impacts of unsustainable human consumption and its impacts on the precious biodiversity of rainforests. Can a young girl be the voice of the jaguar and prevent humans from making the same mistakes again?

Do you have any favourite films or resources for teaching the rainforest topic?

One class I taught were big fans of this song and its lovely animation:

https://youtu.be/gBgV75NQRlQ


Follow the Teachers Telling Tales Pinterest board below for more Rainforest inspiration.

Socks Rock!

Any suggestions for songs by The Odd Socks?! Illustration Fiona Childs.

What are your favourite themes for projects?
I love project based learning with a theme that feeds into cross curricular exploration and ‘socks’ is one of my faves!
Socks are familiar to every student, everyone has their opinions about them and they lend themselves perfectly to creative and mathematical investigations and challenges.

An illustration demonstrating how a socks topic can help with teacher number concepts to young children.
illustration Fiona Childs, Teachers Telling Tales
An illustration of how a socks topic can be used to teach aspects of patterns.
illustration Fiona Childs, Teachers Telling Tales
Rhyme and word play examples related to socks (itsy bitsy spider socks, fox in socks, sock-topus)
illustration Fiona Childs, Teachers Telling Tales

Pairs

As socks come in pairs they lend themselves to paired activities which, in turn, are great for deepening communication and collaboration skills. For example, designing a matching pair of socks using stickers and drawings to create a pattern. Students add elements to the design for their partner to match. To make it more challenging, students can describe what they are doing without their partner being able to see. It’s lots of fun!

Awareness and Wellbeing Days

There are two main international awareness days that use socks as a focus:
1. #oddsocksday on November 16th as part of Anti-Bullying Week. Learn more and download resources here:

https://www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/anti-bullying-week/odd-socks-day/odd-socks-day-2020

2. #LotsOfSocksDay on Down Syndrome Day, 21st March. Learn more here:

https://www.worlddownsyndromeday2.org/

Holding a Crazy Socks or Silly Socks Day has become popular for spirit days and for awareness and fund raising events as it’s a simple but fun way to get everyone involved.

Teaching Resources

I have had a lot of fun creating a range of resources inspired by socks using the themes listed above: patterns, counting, matching, design etc. As usual they are available from the tes online shop and Teachers Pay Teachers online store (see buttons on home page).
There’s a free pack and options to get all the packs in a bundle at a discounted price.


If you try them please remember to add a quick review and any pictures of the resources in action or finished work would be much appreciated!
For more patterns ideas follow this Pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/teacherstellingtales/patterns/