Get resourceful

Jobs toolkit: Resources. Aimee Fagan of TES Resources offers some help on how to prepare a lesson to impress
15th January 2010, 12:00am

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Get resourceful

https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/get-resourceful-0

The “interview lesson” presents a great opportunity to show a headteacher what you can bring to the school, highlighting your creative and imaginative abilities. Resources that you create for the lesson will not only reflect how well you are able to engage with the pupils, but will gain the attention of your interviewer. Make sure you are well prepared, though, so you get their attention for the right reasons.

Top tips

Research

Sometimes all you need is a little inspiration - the TES Connect site (www.tes.co.ukresources) provides access to over 40,000 tried and tested resources - take a look at the highest-rated ones to see templates that teachers have approved.

Get support

Turning to the TES Connect community (www.tes.co.ukcommunity) for support will help you feel more confident with the finished product. Teachers use this space to let off steam, swap ideas and ask for advice.

Be creative

Michele Thorn, head of training at Holy Cross School, says not to stick too rigidly to old methods that have been used before - the best trainees give it some extra thought. Think about interactive whiteboards, video clips and printable resources that will make your lesson fun and exciting.

Try and test

Once you have created a resource, share it with other teachers by uploading it to TES Connect to get feedback.

Know your limits

Ms Thorn says the best trainees always seek out innovative ways of doing the same things, bringing their personalities into the mix. But it is far more effective to teach three things really well and provide a solid base for pupils to build on than trying to teach 10 things and doing them badly.

Survival gear

Setting up the class

Resources required to set up an inviting, attractive and stimulating classroom can be the most time-consuming to produce. Download posters, displays and stickers from the collection below to help free up more of your time for preparing and planning lessons.

- www.tes.co.ukstickers-posters-display

Starter activities

Some great ideas have been shared to get pupils talking about themselves, including introductory exercises such as “Who am I?”

- www.tes.co.ukstarter-activities

Behaviour management

One of the most difficult tasks for any new teacher is keeping control of the class. Maintaining class control is something that gets easier with experience so use the tips below and remember, don’t panic.

- www.tes.co.ukbehaviour-management-resources

Interactive resources

An effective way to engage pupils and impress an interviewer is to incorporate the Wow factor into your lesson, which can be achieved by using a range of interactive resources.

- www.tes.co.ukprimary-interactive-resources

- www.tes.co.uksecondary-interactive-resources

Special educational needs resources

“A little time invested in developing good-quality resources can pay dividends when working with children with special educational needs,” says Sarah Lynch, deputy headteacher, Brent Knoll School (mixed special school). “It is important to keep the appearance simple and not too visually demanding. The use of photographs or symbols can be highly effective. Simple cue cards to reinforce appropriate behaviours such as ‘good listening’ can be useful.”

- www.tes.co.ukbrent-knoll

WHAT ARE TES RESOURCES?

www.tes.co.ukresources

- Free - 40,000 resources across all key stages and subjects including videos, interactive whiteboard material, lesson plans, schemes of work, worksheets, posters, labels and more.

- Accessible - all resources are available for instant download.

- Tried and tested - resources include comments and ratings from a wide network of teachers.

- Popular - more than half a million resources are downloaded every week and 200,000 teachers regularly visit the website to do just that.

OBSERVATION CHECKLIST

Turn these handy hints into your pre-interview mantra ...

- Know the lesson.

- Know the equipment (projector, whiteboard, DVD).

- Have back-up - problems can always arise when using technology, so make sure you have extra paper-based resources like handouts, cards or worksheets, just in case.

- Research, research, research - don’t get caught out. Try to gather as much background as you can about the class, the set-up and school policies.

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