Find Out Who Really Understands Without Setting a Test: 5 Checks That Work Inside One Lesson
Tests frighten children and eat your marking time, but you still need to know who is keeping up and who has fallen behind. Five quick ways to check understanding that the class never notices as assessment.
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What to Teach in the First English Lesson of Term (Answer: Don't Teach Yet)
New teachers pack the first lesson with content, when its real job is to set the ground rules and take the fear out of the room. A 50 minute plan that lays the foundation for the whole term.
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Your Grade 1 Writes b as d and p as q. Is That Normal?
Grade 1 children reverse letters and parents worry that something is wrong. Here is what letter reversals at this age really mean, and the order to teach handwriting in so the confusion clears on its own.
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Answer Keys Aren't Just for Marking: 4 Ways to Get a Second Round of Learning Out of Them
Most teachers use the answer key only to mark right and wrong, when it can teach the whole lesson a second time. Here's how to run peer marking, an answer key station, a live class vote, and corrections that earn marks back.
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How to Pick English Worksheets at the Right Level: 5 Checks Before You Hit Print
Too hard and children give up, too easy and they switch off. A five point checklist for teachers and parents to run through before choosing any worksheet, plus the 80 percent rule.
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Will English Cartoons Really Teach Your Child English?
Your neighbour swears her child learned English from cartoons. That story is only half true. Here's what has to be in place before watching turns into learning, and how to get real language out of screen time.
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Your Child Says They Hate English. What It Is Really Telling You, and How to Win Them Back
No child is born hating a language, so the dislike came from somewhere. The three most common root causes, how to spot which one you are dealing with, and a 30 day recovery plan that starts at zero pressure.
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Language Apps or Paper Worksheets: What Primary Age Children Actually Need
Language apps are fun enough that children won't put them down, so why do teachers still send home worksheets? What the screen does better, what paper does better, and a mix that works in an ordinary home.
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The Shy Child Who Won't Speak English: You Can't Force It, and Waiting Doesn't Work Either
Some children know the answer and still won't say it out loud. A step by step ladder that gets shy pupils speaking without ever having to face the whole class, plus the lines a teacher should never cross.
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