Teaching Hints and Tips

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.

Interactive notebook activity for and against federation

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

3 Tips For Completing Your AITSL Teaching Standards Portfolio

aussiestarresourcesau · Jun 30, 2018 · Leave a Comment

What’s your Super Power? Mine would have to be procrastination. Yes, the force is strong in this one. I can find a million other things to do before completing tasks that need to be done. This blog post is the perfect example. Here I am on a Sunday morning, there’s washing that needs to be hung out, school uniforms that need ironing, dishes that need to be done and a four year old somewhere in the house still in his PJs. BUT because they are not very appealing tasks I’ve decided that writing a blog post is FAR more important so here I am. Could the blog post have waited? Probably but that’s the power of procrastination, it clouds your judgement, why fight it?

AITSL-Teaching-Standards-Portfolio-Blog-Pin-1

Are you procrastinating when it comes to your AITSL Teaching Standards Portfolio? I bet you are, everyone does! When it comes up in the staff room you can hear the groans for a 1km radius as teachers bemoan the AITSL Portfolio. Collating your teaching experience into one folder is HARD, reminding yourself to record details, take pictures and enter them in to your portfolio is easy to push down the list of priorities. Unfortunately, this usually means that we end up putting something together in a rush when a deadline such as a review is hanging over our heads. Here are a few tips and ideas to help you stay on top of your portfolio, update it regularly and ease your workload in the process.

Hold a Portfolio Party!

You won’t be the only staff member who is dragging their feet on your portfolio. Set aside time each month (or fortnight if you can manage) to come together with your colleagues to collate your evidence. You could meet at a local café, order in coffee and nibbles or bring afternoon tea to share. This kind of collaboration will allow you to bounce ideas off each other, gain clarification on the Standards and share stories and inspiration. It will also help set up a regular time for you to work on your portfolio.

Take photos and videos

I really wish I had done more of this in the classroom and organised it better. If your school permits it, use your phone to quickly snap examples of student work and activities, classroom displays and your planning. Save these in a separate album called Portfolio or AITSL so you know where they are for your Portfolio Party. If you are unable to use your phone keep a small digital camera on your desk charged and ready to whip out during a lesson or when you’re marking to take pics. Save these to a specific folder so you know where they are when you’re collating your evidence. If you have older students you could even ask them to remind you take photos – they love to have their work photographed and reminding the teacher to do something is an added bonus.

If you’re looking for an online portfolio that’s quick and easy to use check out our AITSL Teacher Standards Portfolio.

So that’s three ideas to help get you started. Oooh! One more! Factor your portfolio in to your planning, so that when you’re writing your plans you identify those lesson and activities that will meet a Standard and make a note of it in your planning to help you remember to document the lesson and add evidence to your portfolio.

I could add more but I think three (plus a bonus) is a good number to get you started and I’m sure you’ve already thought of some more while reading this post.

Good luck with your portfolio! I’d love to know if you have a Portfolio Part at your school or if you have helpful ideas and tips for collating your portfolio. Feel free to comment below.

Happy teaching

Amy

3 Essential Resources for Casual Relief Teachers

aussiestarresourcesau · Jun 24, 2018 · Leave a Comment

3 Essential Resources for Relief Teachers

Previously I picked the brain of Nikki Tester from Oceanview Resources to find out the best ways to get started relief teaching and some hints and tips to manage behaviour and tricky situations. Now we're ready to get set up with a relief teaching kit that will ensure we're armed and ready to take on a day of teaching at short notice.

What’s in your CRT kit? What are the top 5 items in your kit and why are they so essential?

I look like I am running away from home when I go relief teaching lol I have a craft bag on wheels which I find easy to manage. I have spare pencils, paper etc, and try to be as self sufficient as is realistic in this regard. I have 4 thumb drives- one for kinder, stage 1, stage 2 and stage 3. Stickers (I am not a bit fan of reward boxes-I think the expense is not worth the result to be honest), award cards, notes for the teacher (I have pre-prepared ones in a folder)

This YouTube video I made recently may be helpful.

three-essential-relief-teaching-resources

I like to plan my units of work (if nothing is left) around a theme, and picture books. Eg if I am looking at the Ocean for stage 1, I have a collection of great books eg Whale And A Snail, One Is A Snail Ten Is A Crab, Tiddler The Story Telling Fish, and I link all of my daily or weekly activities around that theme. It really is easy to do. In a SMART Notebook presentation I have all the links to great websites on the theme hyperlinked so that I just need to click and go. Any worksheets I have that relate are kept in a folder to go with those books so at any time I have up to a month if need be.

My thumb drives are great, and keeping them organised is vitally important too. I have backups of everything on my Dropbox account just in case!. There's nothing worse than losing all of that hard work

My personal care items are also included in my kit.

water
Panadol
food
tea
tissues
sunscreen
hat
whistle
anything that I may need but the school is unable to provide.

I keep my thumb drives and my whistle on my lanyard.

Do you have any funny or poignant stories about relief teaching?

Hundreds of them!!! But one of the funniest (although not funny at the time) was when I planned an excursion to the beach…….but didn’t check the tide chart. Unfortunately it was a king tide and there was very little beach when we arrived. To make things worse there was a wave surge and we sat and watched as about 4 back packs got taken out to sea!! Luckily the bus driver was a legend and dived into action and rescued them all!!!! Note to self…..always check the tide chart!!!.

Promo time – tell us about your resources for Relief Teachers!

I have created 3 major teacher reference books for teachers as well as a wide range of resources that are aimed at supporting teachers to create units of work with minimum effort and maximum results

casual-relief-teaching-survival-kit-image

My Survival Kit for Casual Relief Teachers is over 100 pages of links to websites across all subject areas as well as a range of activities that you can implement easily as I have endeavoured to include as many no prep ideas as I can- the images are all hyperlinked to some of the most amazing websites for teachers, which again I have chosen non-subscription wherever possible

ultimate-substitute-teacher-resource-kit

My Substitute Teacher Bundle - Planner Binder and Ultimate Sub Pack has been my biggest passion project/ resource taking over 6 months of constant work to compile and publish. It includes over 300 pages of printable master sheets you can use in the classroom for a variety of reasons from feedback, planning, number games and a whole host of ideas. I have also collaborated with some fantastic resource makers to compile this resource and they have generously allowed some free resources to be included in the kit. The remaining 270 pages are website links across ALL aspects of teaching from report writing, resume writing, finding resources and all subject areas. I have included everything I thought that an elementary/primary teacher might need as a basis for building a relief teaching kit.

Relief-teaching-resources-ideas-information

Have you bookmarked, pinned and saved hundreds of links?
Do you promise that one day you will sort them out?

This fabulous Relief Teacher Website Reference Guide may be the answer to your organisational dreams. It is designed to be an easy to use, interactive resource. It has been sorted into categories with links to provide answers and help for frequently asked questions posed in posts on Facebook and other social group forums.
400 hyper-linked web pages and PDFs! This small investment will save you hours of your precious planning time and money. By investigating the comprehensive list of websites and links to free resources you can inexpensively build on your vital pool of resources. It is estimated teachers spend $2000 annually on resources. Let this book help to keep some of this money in your pocket

I'd like to thank Nikki for sharing her wisdom with me and providing invaluable help to relief teachers to make it a little less daunting and a whole lot easier. You can follow Nikki's TPT store by clicking here and you can click here to follow her on Pinterest where she has even more helpful ideas.

Happy Teaching

Amy

Teaching Hints and Tips

3 Essential Resources for Relief Teachers

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