P2 for probation
Posted by frw8384
I’ve got a P2 class for my probation next year. Does anyone have advice on “getting to know you” activities or how to decorate the classroom?
Posted by pinkfairy2
For P2 an alphabet is good, as well as sounds. Word wall with common words (Instant Displays has bricks you can download free, then edit yourself). Also handy to have mats with sounds, words, alphabet on them for use during writing.
Numbers to 20 and possibly a number 100 square; different mathematical language; 2D3D shapes. Some children may be beginning 2, 5, 10 times tables, so numbers going up in 2s, 5s, 10s.
I like to have a seasonal display, so lots of words, pictures of summer things and you could put their work up. Usbourne’s Summer Things To Make and Do has great artwork ideas.
Also, with Building the Curriculum 5, there is an emphasis on out-of- school achievements, so design some way of displaying those (for example, an achievement tree).
For golden time, I find it effective to have organised activities they sign up for (it can just be things like Lego and board games, but I usually have a structured art activity with maximum numbers for each activity).
For “getting to know you” activities, you can do lots of circle games for learning names (throwing ball and so on); toilet paper game (take as many pieces as you want, for each piece you took you have to say one thing about yourself).
There is the traditional holiday postcard as a writing exercise to determine their ability. Maths games like bingo for addition bonds to 10 and 20. Lots of counting up and counting back, counting in 10s.
I plan to have one week per capacity, for example:
Week 1 Confident individuals: lots of activities to allow children to feel confident in their classroom. Try labels, birthday chart, things I am good at, sharing their talents, identifying their own space in the room.
Week 2 Responsible citizens: rules, behaviour contracts, what is expected, safety in the classroom.
Week 3 Successful learners: lots of ICT, focus on homework, reading, writing, maths.
Week 4 Effective contributors: working in groups, focus on good ideas, possible enterprise.
I start each week with circle time discussing what each means and how they can show they are being . I have reward cards where they collect stickers for showing each capacity and get a certificate if they collect a certain amount.
Remember, have a good holiday - you need the rest! Good luck. I had P2 for my probation and loved it.
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