I have to admit that a lot of my time is spent thinking about myself- my teaching, my social life, my future holidays etc. One thing I have always done and will always try to do is to give back to society in some way. It is easy to figure out how this best works for you. Some find it to be volunteering, while others find taking part in organised events and some rather donate to specific causes. A charity that I have great respect for is Arc Cancer Support services. Most of us have been touched by cancer either through family, friends or personally. It is a horrible time and quite often people can feel lost and unsure of what to do. Arc provides support for not only those dealing with cancer but also their families. When you enter their premises on Eccles Street you are greeted with a warm welcome and endless support. Take a look at just some stories describing the impact Arc had on peoples lives here. I took part in this wonderful event last year and here is a little insight to how the day went.
We all met at the Wooden Bridge in Dollymount and headed towards the Sean O Casey Community Centre in Eastwall. Here we stopped for a while and had some tea and biscuits and a bit of a chat. At the same time the people from the southside gathered together. We then began to walk to the CHQ building, meeting the other group and crossing the Sean O Casey Bridge. Every person wore a white t-shirt, while anyone that has survived cancer wore blue. We then entered the CHQ building where the defence forces were ready and waiting to serve us dinner There were also magicians and face painters to keep the children entertained. The night finished with a performance from the Dublin Gospel choir and a very special guest. It is a great event and a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon. One thing Arc lack is the publicity that other charities have. So please go and check out their website! It would be great to get a huge crowd attending to raise awareness of this fantastic service! If you cannot go on the day you may want to donate to Arc directly or go and like their Facebook page and give them a bit of publicity!!
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Sorry for the lack of posts recently but I have been very busy recently. September is always such a busy month, especially trying to find a balance between work and personal time. I bought these large foam dice in Mr Price last week and I can't get over how much the children love to play with them! Simple games are usually the best! The first game we played was a simple adding activity which can be seen in the photographs below. Each student had two dice which they rolled. They then placed them on their whiteboard and added the two numbers together. Another game we played involved each of us having a dice. I counted to three and we each rolled our dice aiming for the centre of the table. The person with the highest value on their dice won. We made a simple scoreboard on a mini whiteboard and one child kept score.
I have also begun a new board on Pinterest for dice games! You can check it out here! Today I printed off a new pack of Dolch word flashcards. I got these from The School Bell.com.
I printed off each list and laminated them. They were then put together in bundles and put into a plastic folder. I think it is nice for the boys to choose one list at a time and when they know them they can put them in the Completed Dolch words folder. The process of putting them into another folder can be very motivational for some children. I am working in a Resource setting again this year and have just begun to give my groups spelling homework. Last week I tested each of my students using the Single Word Spelling test. This is the test used for both Learning Support and Resource classes in my school. At first the test looks a bit daunting but is actually very easy to follow. The children complete a test based on their age, the test can be given individually or as part of a group.They write their spellings on an answer sheet which the teacher then analyses for errors. There is also a correction sheet for teachers to use and it has a structured analysis of the specific spelling errors. This links in with a booklet full of structured spelling lists. I really like how specific this test is but also how user friendly it also is. http://www.gl-assessment.ie/single-word-spelling-test I typed out the spellings for the next few weeks. As you can see they are grouped very clearly and the children can see this. I stuck the spellings into the children's copies and asked the boys if they could see any patterns in the spellings. I also stuck a spelling menu into the front of each of the copies. The boys choose an activity they would like to complete that night. They will then mark the date on the activity. This is to ensure that they don't complete the same activity twice in one week. With previous classes I found that certain children only stick with the same activities and it is important to keep track of what they complete. |
AuthorI have been teaching for several years and hope to share some of my ideas and experiences with you. Archives
March 2020
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