Resources to share

Like many teachers I have always created resources to support lessons where needed... internet access has been a great tool for accessing material so I haven't had to do it all myself so I thought I would give back and share some of my stuff here as well as sharing links of things I have found useful... I know that the format of blogger isn't always great for this sort of thing but this is a wee start.
Hope that it is of some use to folk out there.

I will add to this as time allows.

Presentations 

Teachers Matter 2015 You Don't Need a Concrete Mixer slides
Samples of images that can be used to discuss resilience

Teaching Strategies and Tips: 

Routines that help with learning and thinking from Visible Classrooms 

Resources to share: 

The Emperors New Clothes- Poem 

I used this with a class of 6 and 7 year olds but it could work with older children too.
After reading the story I introduced the poem as a summary. We read the poem several times then before illustrating the poem we focused on blends. As a class we found the blends in the word 'clothes' then the children got their own highlighters out and highlighted as many blends as they could find... there were 52 in total I think!

I wrote this poem for our little man when he was in hospital recently and we have read it often. It has prompted a lot of discussion including where the big bad red bug might be hiding out, what the robot machine is doing, how the little army inside is working hard etc. Even though we are home my little guy asked me to read him the poem again and then exclaimed that the big bad red bug is gone with his cough and the robot machine has it... here's hoping!

Big bad red bug- A poem for Will 

By Megan Gallagher

The big bad red bug is lurking inside

It comes out and makes trouble and then it hides

My army of helpers that live inside me

Are searching throughout to find it you see

But that big bad red bug is sneaky it’s true

It hurts me and makes me feel hot and cold too

My army needs help so we call in the team

Doctors and nurses take some blood to screen

They’re looking for clues to help them to find

That big bad red bug and where it hides

The blood tests come back, a clue they all shout

Let’s give you some medicine to scare that bug out

The put a handy tube into my vein

So we can put an end to that red bugs’ mean game

It means that I have a special bandage to wear

And a robot machine that gets the medicine there

It takes a while for that bad red bug to be found

It knows it’s in trouble so it goes underground

But eventually big bad red bug is through

Thanks to my own army and the medicine too

I need lots of rest, fresh water and hugs

To recover from that mean nasty big bad red bug

Soon I’ll feel better and my own army will too

I wonder what colour your bug would be if this happened to you?


Brain Poems to share

These are poems that I have written for my class to remind them about how the brain works and how we can help it work better. It has been part of classroom discussions.

My growing magic brain

Megan Gallagher

Guess what I have between my ears

That changes and grows all the time

It’s my magical wonderful brain

And it’s all mine, all mine, all mine

Trying things that are hard or tough

Helps connections grow

The more I try, the better I learn

And the more I get to know

So I will help my magic brain

Make links and learn and grow

By being kind and trying hard

And giving new things a go!

Growing and Changing

Megan Gallagher

Egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly

Changing and growing fast

My brain changes when I try

I practice to make it last

A seed becomes a plant or tree

Branches grow like brain connections in me

When I try and have a go

My brain connections will grow and grow

I keep trying and what do you know

I change and grow and change and grow

Growing and Changing 2

Megan Gallagher

A baby changes and learns a lot because they try and try again,

An egg becomes a butterfly by changing and then flying.

A seed becomes a giant tree by growing a little every day,

And I grow and change as well by trying when I learn and play.