Hints from teachers
Maths pack
Here is a maths game that can be tailored for any year. Once you have made the cards you can use the game to fill spare minutes as a written activity or to practise mental maths. Make a set of cards which have mathematical properties on them, such as odd numbers, even numbers, prime numbers, multiples of two, etc. Each player takes a turn to select a card from the top of the pile. The players must write down as many numbers for that property as they can. Score two points for each correct number and three points for a correct number no other player has. Set a deadline or limit the numbers to between 1 and 50. The winner is the person with the highest score. This game can be played in small groups or as a whole class, perhaps in teams.
H Roebuck
Q is for line - up
To avoid jostling at the classroom door, have a regular alphabetical line, with labels to help children remember their place in the alphabet. So a food line, for example, might run Coconut Carl, Peanut Pete, Sponge Cake Sarah etc. Younger pupils find this amusing, and can leave a gap when someone is away. They also line up more quickly.L Hardcastle
Naughty snapshots
Have a cheap camera with you when teaching, and when misbehaviour starts click it. You don’t have to use the photo, but it’s unquestionable evidence. I’ve even used a camera without a film - it’s just as effective (for while, anyway).
L Hardcastle
Literacy taped
A teacher in York told me about yellow highlighting tape from Nexus (Tel: 0800 137 245). It’s the right width to highlight words, phonemes, or chunks of text in a Big Book, and it’s detachable and reusable. Give pupils a book and some strips and let them highlight, for example, all the commas, pronouns or words with a particular spelling pattern.
Sue Palmer
We will pay pound;30 for each tip printed. Send brief ideas for teaching, admin or how to cope in school to TES Primary, 66-68 East Smithfield, London E1W 1BX, or e-mail primary@tes.co.uk. Please include your full name and school or home address.