Teachers Resource Force Blog

How to make your lesson objectives pop!

29/8/2013

Here's a novel way of making your objectives stand out in your classroom!

Who's to say the objective has to be on the board all the time? After all, the objective is the main focus of the lesson and is what should be referred to constantly, so why not make it a feature of the room instead of getting lost on the board?

The great thing is, this can be moved around to wherever you like in the room and it's great at drawing students' eyes to the "focus frame"!
Read on to see how simple this is to recreate and personalise to your room!

All you need for this project is a photo frame and some wrapping paper... that's it! You probably have some of these items lying around the house too, so get digging and get creative!

I started by raiding the pound shop for a cheap frame; I found this decently sized one with a gold frame which was ideal! It was also wooden so simple enough to paint if I wanted to.

I then picked up some wrapping paper from Marks & Spencers for 2.50 because it was quite neutral and the pattern wasn't too distracting. Remember, the text on the glass needs to be legible so don't choose anything with too many bright colours on it.

Then it's a simple case of removing the insert and cutting the wrapping paper to the same size as that insert so you know it will fit perfectly.

Then just grab a regular dry wipe whiteboard pen and write away! The pen wipes off cleanly just as on a whiteboard (better actually) so you can swap your objectives easily. It could even change location every lesson to keep the students on their toes and looking out for it!

Finally, if you like to have more than one focus in your lesson, for example a separate literacy focus or learning focus then you can have more than one frame in your room too! If you prefer to keep your objectives on the board then why not try sticking these frames on the board instead?
Have fun coming up with different frame and paper combinations to help make your objectives pop in your lessons!

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Plan your school year with ease

20/8/2013

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Having a view of the plan of the year can be incredibly valuable to visually scan and plan at a glance! We often get sent those year planners which are fine, but who has the wall space to display those enormous posters on?!

Frustrated with this dilemma, I created a mini year planner in which the most important dates for the diary can be easily seen; great for seeing meeting dates, any deadlines and of course those holidays...!

It is a Word document so you can easily modify and tailor it to your needs. This can also be given to your students to help them plan their deadlines out and organise their time, or simply displayed in your classroom. It can be kept as an A4 piece of paper for your wall or folder, or blown up to A3 if you prefer; the possibilities are vast for this resource!

Get organised and plan your year in a convenient and simple way!

P.S. Click on the "previous" button below to see more blog posts!

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How to organise meeting minutes

11/8/2013

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Are your meeting minutes scattered around on random pieces of paper hidden in all sorts of crevices in your desk and bag? Well fear not, as I have a great solution to keep all your notes organised in one place!

They're called Project Books and they are widely available. This one I picked up from a Supermarket for only £2.50, but I have also seen them in pound shops if you are on a tighter budget. This one is great quality though.

This is a spiral wound A4 book with a polypropylene cover and is divided into 5 sections with polypropylene tabbed sheets which can be moved around easily.

Also, as the tabs are made from polypropylene, it is possible to use a label maker or a sharpie to label the tabs for each of the meetings you attend, be it faculty, steering groups, SLT, SEN, middle managers etc.

At time of purchase there wasn't a selection of designs to choose from, but this one is nice enough; you can always personalise the front cover if you are that way inclined!

The pages are also perforated so you can neatly rip them out, hole punch them and put them in the appropriate coordinating file if you wish. Alternatively you can just keep them all contained in the book; it is quite handy being the only one in the meeting who is able to confidently quote from previous meeting minutes if you do this!

Enjoy being more organised in your meetings!

P.S. Click the "previous" button below to see more blog posts!

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