Blog

What are your professional goals for the new school year?

aussiestarresourcesau · Dec 7, 2020 · Leave a Comment

Before you help your students make big plans for the year ahead take some time to focus on your own goals.

We often start the new year by setting goals and resolutions, don’t we?

Eat Better
Exercise More
Make more effort to catch up with friends.
Stop using the ‘floordrobe’ and hang your clothes every day.

Once we get started it can be hard to stop!

But how often do you set professional goals for the year?

Now don’t groan and roll your eyes at me young lady! I’m not talking about goals like getting your attendance in on time or getting to work half an hour early. I’m talking about your professional life, your ambition to improve your teaching, to stay inspired, and to feel confident in your skills and abilities as an educator.
Have you given these any thought? Probably not. And that’s ok because these things are easy to forget when we get into the rush of back to school time when planning and prep are your priority. I get it. So, let’s look at this now before we get on the crazy train.

Why setting professional goals is important

“If it’s not challenging you, it’s not changing you.” Rachel Hollis

Every day in teaching is different, that’s for sure, so why does every day feel like Groundhog Day? Why does it feel like you’re just going through the motions and when you get to the end of the week, term or year, you know you’ll just do it all again the same next year?

I’ll tell you – because it is! You know what needs to be done and you go to work, and you do it. Isn’t that what working is?

Well, yes and no.

Of course, you’ll have routine actions and behaviours, and the routine can be comforting, but without new challenges you’re always going to be heading in the same direction taking the same journey over again every year.
Setting new challenges, or goals, can add new ‘scenery’ and attractions to your journey, you can stop off and take in the view from new vantage points.

What do Professional Goals look like?

Setting goals for your professional life is a little different to making new year’s resolutions for yourself.

Scholastic.com created a list of goals for teachers in 2020. This list has lots of great ideas on it but the one I’m really interested in is Improve Your Skills. Yes, the others are all professional goals too but they’re more focused on your students rather than you and your professional needs. Teachers are life-long learners but while we plan a curriculum for our students, we often forget to do our own.

Ask yourself the following questions to help narrow down your professional goals for 2021:

What areas of teaching do I need to improve on?
This could be new skills, new technology, or improving your knowledge in a subject area. While PD in the subjects we love is more appealing, if we’re really going to kick some career goals we also need to work on our weaknesses.

Which one of these areas really truly inspires me?
Choose the one that stands out the most to you. Which one lights your fire? You’ll be more likely to stick at it if you’re genuinely interested.

How will this improve, inspire, re-ignite my teaching?
Make sure it’s something that will really impact your professional life. There’s no point doing further training unless it’s useful.

Once you’ve determined what your professional goals are for the year it’s time to make a plan that you can stick to. How often do we teach our class to set SMART goals? I’m not going to ask you to do that because I don’t think an acronym is needed here. What I am going to do is just list 6 key points to take into consideration when planning your professional goals for 2021

Growth – Do your goals lead to professional growth?
Relevance – Are your goals relevant to teaching and learning?
Aspirations – Are your goals pushing you professionally and do they set an high achievement standard for your teaching?
Career Focus – Are your goals centred on your teaching career?
Improvement – Will achieving your goals genuinely improve your teaching?
Excellence – Do your goals inspire professional excellence?

Woops I’ve accidentally created an acronym with my daughter’s name!
Setting professional goals for yourself is just as important as setting personal ones. To make it easier we’ve created a goal planning worksheet that’s available for download here. It’s nothing too onerous just a few prompts to get you started.
Whatever your goals for 2021 we wish you all the best for the year ahead and hope it’s one of success, both professionally and personally.

Happy Teaching
Amy

Subscribe to get Your
Goal Setting Workbook

By clicking Subscribe you acknowledge you will be receiving emails from Aussie Star Resources.

Our Latest Products

Planning your expedition into Australian Explorers

aussiestarresourcesau · Feb 18, 2020 · Leave a Comment

Expedition Planning Party
What a great way to spark enthusiasm and set off on your voyage in to your new unit. Before launching in to your new topic spend time with your students exploring the new topic, what it is about, why it is part of their learning journey and establishing what they already know. There are several ways to do this and we’ve created a solution for your but first let’s consider the possibilities.

Brainstorming
Generate discussion and thought by holding a class brainstorming session. You could follow the KWL method by sorting their responses in to what they already know (K), what they want to know (W) and how will they know they’ve learnt it, or at the end of the unit return to the chart and record what they’ve learnt (L)

Quiz time

A quick quiz can be an easy way to check for prior knowledge. This can be helpful if you have new students who may have already covered this topic at their old school. This could be an individual task or conducted as part of your class discussion. The Australia Curriculum flows nicely for students to progress to this topic after Year 4 but it shouldn’t be assumed that all students have followed this path as some States and schools have their own version of the National Curriculum.

Classroom display

Involve your students in setting up your Australian Explorers classroom display to help generate discussion, prompt them to remember prior knowledge and introduce them to the new topic. This could be as simple as sorting a set of Explorer posters in to chronological order creating a timeline.

'What If’ Scenarios and discussion prompts
These 16 prompts are a great way to generate discussion and debate amongst your students. Look out though, it could become one of those lessons that you just have to roll with once they get going! (these are sometimes the best lessons) Children can find it difficult to think beyond the here and now but these scenarios are sure to get them to consider what life might be like if Captain Cook hadn’t claimed Australia for Britain, if the British settlers hadn’t had guns and if only the east coast of Australia was settled as British territory. This activity also includes a recording sheet for students to record their thoughts for one scenario which could be completed with a partner to help them consider all the possibilities.

What is an Explorer?

This cute and easy to execute flip book is a great place to start to help your students consider what it takes to be an explorer, the character and physical traits required and the skills they would need. Your students will also be able to imagine their own adventures and discuss where they would like to explore!

Tracking Australia’s Explorers

Australia is a vast continent and by mapping their expeditions students can grasp they enormity of their achievements. This activity requires students to track the routes taken by eight of Australia’s explorers and discuss the possible reasons for their expeditions and the dangers they faced.

Navigating My Own Exploration
This is flip book is an alternative to a boring KWL chart and provides a record of individual student learning and progress from the start of the unit to the end. Asking students to record their own understanding and reflect on what they’ve learnt is a great way to help them take responsibility and ownership of their learning.

Explorer Topic Specific Spelling Lists

These lists are the perfect complement to your Australian Explorer teaching unit. These Look, Say, Cover Write, Check lists allow for daily practise and are designed to cater for three levels of ability. They are ideal for homework or as part of your daily routine.

Starting a new unit of work is an exciting time but it can also be a lot of work. Hopefully your students will remember the topic of Australian Explorers as fondly as I do! I also hope that these ideas and resources make it a lot easier and Don’t get bogged down in the preparation when the fun and joy of your job is in teaching and participating in lesson with your students.

Happy exploring!

Click here to receive your FREE Australian Explorers Intro Pack.

Expedition Planning PartyWhat a great way to spark enthusiasm and set off on your voyage in to your new unit. Before launching in to your new topic spend time with your students exploring the new topic, what it is about, why it is part of their learning journey and establishing what they already know. There are several ways to do this and we’ve created a solution for your but first let’s consider the possibilities.

Brainstorming Generate discussion and thought by holding a class brainstorming session. You could follow the KWL method by sorting their responses in to what they already know (K), what they want to know (W) and how will they know they’ve learnt it, or at the end of the unit return to the chart and record what they’ve learnt (L)

Quiz time
A quick quiz can be an easy way to check for prior knowledge. This can be helpful if you have new students who may have already covered this topic at their old school. This could be an individual task or conducted as part of your class discussion. The Australia Curriculum flows nicely for students to progress to this topic after Year 4 but it shouldn’t be assumed that all students have followed this path as some States and schools have their own version of the National Curriculum.
Classroom display
Involve your students in setting up your Australian Explorers classroom display to help generate discussion, prompt them to remember prior knowledge and introduce them to the new topic. This could be as simple as sorting a set of Explorer posters in to chronological order creating a timeline.

Aussie Star Resources has created the Australian Explorers Introduction Pack which is a quick and simple way to navigate your students to the topic of Australian Explorers – and best of all it’s FREE so you won’t have to dip in to your own slush fund or contact your ships Paymaster! In this pack you’ll find 5 great tasks to inspire and engage your students without having to spend your own time creating quizzes and resources – it’s all here ready for you. ‘What If’ Scenarios and discussion promptsThese 16 prompts are a great way to generate discussion and debate amongst your students. Look out though, it could become one of those lessons that you just have to roll with once they get going! (these are sometimes the best lessons) Children can find it difficult to think beyond the here and now but these scenarios are sure to get them to consider what life might be like if Captain Cook hadn’t claimed Australia for Britain, if the British settlers hadn’t had guns and if only the east coast of Australia was settled as British territory. This activity also includes a recording sheet for students to record their thoughts for one scenario which could be completed with a partner to help them consider all the possibilities.

What is an Explorer?
This cute and easy to execute flip book is a great place to start to help your students consider what it takes to be an explorer, the character and physical traits required and the skills they would need. Your students will also be able to imagine their own adventures and discuss where they would like to explore!

Tracking Australia’s Explorers

Navigating My Own ExplorationThis is flip book is an alternative to a boring KWL chart and provides a record of individual student learning and progress from the start of the unit to the end. Asking students to record their own understanding and reflect on what they’ve learnt is a great way to help them take responsibility and ownership of their learning.

Explorer Topic Specific Spelling Lists

What are Digital Interactive Notebooks?

aussiestarresourcesau · Jun 11, 2019 · Leave a Comment

It’s no secret I’m a huge fan of interactive notebooks. I love them for being crafty and hands-on but still totally dedicated to learning. Students love them too but sometimes it would be great to have something just as fun and engaging that didn’t require time at the printer and scissors and glue. Well, this is where Digital Interactive Notebooks come into play – they’re a total game changer. Digital resources are a relatively new thing in the resource development world and it’s been a steep learning curve to workout exactly how to design, create and publish these resources. That said, the end result is totally worth the effort and there will be many more to come. We’ve also had great feedback from teachers who have found their students really engaged with their learning through digital resources.

Let’s take a quick look at Digital Interactive Notebooks.

What is a digital resource and how can I access them?

Great question! I’m so glad you asked. A digital resource is a file that can be completed by your students on iPads, laptops or computers. There’s no need to print anything, the entire activity is completed online. Most digital resources we create are delivered via Google Slides which means they can be downloaded as a PowerPoint activity if required, alternatively if you have a Google Classroom set up you can issue the work straight from your Google Drive.

Being digital, you will be provided with a download link to access the resource. Most resources designers use Google Drive to store their digital resources and you will most likely be given a link to create a copy of a resource. You then save the file as your own Google Drive document or on your PC. All of our digital activities include comprehensive instructions on how to access and save your file in your purchase folder. We also include a handy document that provides instructions for the huge variety of digital learning platforms available such as Google Classroom, OneNote, SeeSaw and many others. It’s important you read the instructions fully and take the time to follow the steps. If you get stuck send us an email so we can help you out. Once you’ve done one you’ll be sorted!

What do digital interactive notebook activities look like?

Like printable interactive notebooks the digital versions feature graphics and images and interesting layouts. One of my favourite things is that they can be full colour because they’re not going to be printed. This makes them even more engaging and fun to work on. You’ll be presented with pages or slides that are A4 in size. The sections that would normally be on a printed version will be embedded into the page and text boxes are available for students to enter text.

Some digital resources feature moveable graphics that students can move around on the page using a mouse or their finger. This is great for timelines and sorting activities. You can see an example of the moveable pieces in our Economic Needs and Wants activity above.

In short they look really spiffy!

If you’re keen to checkout our range of digital resources click here to head to our growing range of Business and Economics resources. We’ll be adding more digital resources as we create new products and creating helpful videos to help you set up your own digital classroom.

If you have any questions about digital resources please leave us a comment below.

Happy teaching!

Amy!

Bring Your Lessons to Life with Interactive Notebooks

aussiestarresourcesau · Apr 25, 2019 · Leave a Comment

Make your HASS lessons engaging with Interactive Notebooks

Put your hand up if you’re tired of using worksheets for History lessons?

Put your other hand up if you’ve resorted to the book of black line masters.

Ok, put your hands down – people might be watching. 😉

I’ve been there. You’re faced with tricky topics. You’re short on time. And you want to get it done and black line masters are a very handy tool – sometimes a life saver.

Don’t get me wrong! I’m not criticising BLMs, they have a place. But I guarantee your students groan when they see those worksheets coming. If you’re looking for ways to spice up your HASS lessons interactive notebooks are a great solution.

So what are Interactive Notebook activities?

Interactive notebook activities are like the sexy younger sister of worksheets. You know – she’s way more fun and, while the two share a resemblance, she’s definitely more glam and happening. Regular worksheets are a page of text with questions presented in a linear format. Interactive Notebook activities are far more hands on and well…interactive. They usually include cutting and folding components to create foldable displays. They might include 3D elements, and are often more colourful. They can also include charts and diagrams to present ideas and concepts. Students love putting them together and take pride in their work.

My reluctance to teach Federation lead me to create interactive notebook activities. My students were crying out for something fun and interesting. Creating a visual display of their learning helps students to engage with the topic. I find that students remember the lessons that included an interactive notebook activity. If you’re recalling an idea or concept covered earlier in the year you’ll hear comments like:

“I know that the Local Government manages garbage collection and the Federal Government manages immigration. I remember because we sorted their responsibilities in to their ‘briefcases’ last term.”

I could go on forever about Interactive Notebooks. They’ll revolutionise your HASS lessons.

If you check out our store you’ll see there are very few ‘standard’ worksheets. Even the simplest resource has some form of interactivity in it. One of our favourites is our For and Against Federation Activity. Or our Free Goal Setting Flip Book.

If you’ve used our interactive notebook activities we’d love to know.

Happy teaching!

Amy

PS. Did you know that Interactive Notebooks can be digital? Look out for our next post which will explore all things digital.

5 Alternatives To Tests – Putting Assessment to the Test

aussiestarresourcesau · Apr 16, 2019 · Leave a Comment

Testing testing 123...just not all the time!

Now don’t get me wrong, tests definitely have their place in the classroom. They can be a very effective way of checking your students' ability to recall information with very little effort. They’re also easy to mark and report on. There’s nothing like cold hard data to help you write your reports. But they are not the best assessment solution for every subject. They are also limited in their ability to give you insight beyond a student’s ability to recall information. For example, during a test a student may be able to recall the Federation occurred in 1901 but it’s also important to check their understanding of why Federation happened, the significant events that led to it and the contribution of important figures such as Henry Parkes. Each student will explain their understanding of this important event in their own way and a test may not be a meaningful and authentic way to check their understanding.

So what are the alternatives to tests? Let’s look at 5 alternatives to tests that you might like to try in your classroom.

Multimedia presentations

This is a great opportunity to incorporate technology in to your lessons. Your students might like to make a news segment about a special event, or perhaps a mini documentary about their Earth Science topic or a mathematical concept. Maybe they can reenact a chemical reaction using stop motion or generate a PowerPoint presentation or slide show of their latest book report. The possibilities are endless.

5 Alternatives to Tests for valid assessment

Dioramas

Dioramas are a great way for students who love creating and crafting to show their understanding. I’m always amazed at how creative students (and often their parents) can be when creating dioramas. I’ve seen them made from LEGO, air dry clay, plasticine, wood and cardboard. While the construction and presentation of dioramas is important it’s equally important that students demonstrate their understanding of the learning outcome. This can be done with a written or oral component. A great idea is to have parents and other classes come through your diorama ‘gallery’ and ask the students to explain their diorama. Providing prompt questions can help or even preparing other classes with questions might help the process.

Teach the concept

Turn the tables on your students by asking them to teach you, their parents or their peers about a concept, topic or skill. They will need to carefully plan their lesson and write a detailed lesson plan including an objective and anticipated outcome- this should be directly linked to the curriculum outcomes. Students should also check for understanding and reflect and evaluate their lesson after to consider how they could have modified or improved their lesson to teach it better.

Write an instruction manual

This works in beautifully with procedure writing but can be linked to subjects such as maths, science and even PE. Rather than teaching the concept and having to speak in front of their peers (for some students this is a terrifying concept) students can write a detailed instruction manual with graphics and diagrams to help convey their knowledge and understanding. This could be completed on the computer or written by hand. Photographs could also be used to help present the steps. It can be helpful to provide examples of different types of instruction manuals to inspire students. To test their manuals students can swap their manuals and follow the steps to see how effective they are. Constructive feedback from peers could be written as part of the assessment task.

Design a board game

I have used this in maths as part of our unit on probability. Students love the opportunity to be creative and design the ultimate board game. Like all activities it does require guidance and scaffolding to ensure the learning objectives are not lost amongst the cardboard, straws, spinners and hot glue guns. A process journal can help with this so that students log their planning and progress throughout the construction to ensure they are on task and on track to reach their objective. It’s important to provide focused time for writing in a process journal - don’t rush it and provide helpful prompts to get them writing as it takes practice to master writing a process journal. When they’re all done it can be great fun to have a lesson for students to play each other’s games and provide constructive feedback.

Hopefully you’ve been inspired to try a few different assessment strategies. There are many more so follow our Pinterest profile to keep an eye on ideas we find inspiring. We have an entire board dedicated to meaningful assessment ideas which you can follow by clicking here. If you're looking for assessment tasks and activities with a difference check out our Australian Explorer Assessment Planner and our Earth Sciences Expo Assessment Planner.

Happy teaching

Amy

Testing testing 123...just not all the time!

Now don’t get me wrong, tests definitely have their place in the classroom. They can be a very effective way of checking your students’ ability to recall information with very little effort. They’re also easy to mark and report on. There’s nothing like cold hard data to help you write your reports. But they are not the best assessment solution for every subject. They are also limited in their ability to give you insight beyond a student’s ability to recall information. For example, during a test a student may be able to recall the Federation occurred in 1901 but it’s also important to check their understanding of why Federation happened, the significant events that led to it and the contribution of important figures such as Henry Parkes. Each student will explain their understanding of this important event in their own way and a test may not be a meaningful and authentic way to check their understanding.

So what are the alternatives to tests? Let’s look at 5 alternatives to tests that you might like to try in your classroom.

Multimedia presentations

Dioramas

Teach the concept

Write an instruction manual

Design a board game

I have used this in maths as part of our unit on probability. Students love the opportunity to be creative and design the ultimate board game. Like all activities it does require guidance and scaffolding to ensure the learning objectives are not lost amongst the cardboard, straws, spinners and hot glue guns. A process journal can help with this so that students log their planning and progress throughout the construction to ensure they are on task and on track to reach their objective. It’s important to provide focused time for writing in a process journal – don’t rush it and provide helpful prompts to get them writing as it takes practice to master writing a process journal. When they’re all done it can be great fun to have a lesson for students to play each other’s games and provide constructive feedback.

Hopefully you’ve been inspired to try a few different assessment strategies. There are many more so follow our Pinterest profile to keep an eye on ideas we find inspiring. We have an entire board dedicated to meaningful assessment ideas which you can follow by clicking here. If you’re looking for assessment tasks and activities with a difference check out our Australian Explorer Assessment Planner and our Earth Sciences Expo Assessment Planner.

Happy teaching

Amy

What are your professional goals for the new school year?

Before you help your students make big plans for the year ahead take some time to focus on your own goals.