News
Lessons from Auschwitz
The Holocaust Educational Trust has announced the schedule for this year’s Lessons from Auschwitz project. The charity has been running trips to the camp in Poland for sixth formers for the past 13 years, and this year will run a series of courses, as well as pre- and post-trip briefings, including two exclusively for teachers. For details, go to www.lfaproject.org.uk.
Bridging the generation gap
The Technology Strategy Board is challenging schools to work with designers on ways to help older people stay in touch with younger generations. For more information, go to www.designcouncil.org.ukschoolschallenges.
Just one good reason
Authors John O’Farrell and Monica Ali have joined the Because I am a Girl campaign, run by Plan UK, to highlight inequalities faced by girls in the developing world. Supporting resources can be found at www.becauseiamagirl.org.
RE
What is it
This is a collection of 20 of the best RE resources, chosen by TES RE adviser Christopher Wheeler (TES Resources username BrummyBoy), who teaches RE and sociology at a secondary school in Cheshire.
How to use it
The collection has been created to support two themes: Holocaust Memorial Day (key stage 3) and teaching short-course RE (key stages 3 and 4), suitable for non-specialists. It is designed to provide inspiration and is a starting point for teachers new to the subject. One example is a retelling of the Rama and Sita story. This could be used as a platform to enable pupils to make a storyboard or produce a “freeze-frame” of a key narrative scene.
Other resources are self-contained, such as blank revision mind maps, while some are links to charities such as the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust or the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef).
Where to find it
The collection can be found at www.tes.co.ukBETT-RE.
Dates for your diary
Mr Wheeler will be running workshops for teachers to support both themes at the BETT show today and tomorrow. He will also be hosting a TES Community web chat between January 17 and 21, offering advice and guidance on how to approach teaching and learning about the Holocaust. For more information, go to www.tes.co.ukforums.
MFL
What is it
Music and song can be useful tools in language learning. Familiar tunes can aid the memorisation of key structures and vocabulary; writing and performing raps can develop creative-writing skills, embed grammatical knowledge and improve pronunciation and speed. Listening and responding to songs can also help to develop comprehension skills and enhance cultural appreciation.
This collection offers a wide selection of songs, chosen by Rachel Hawkes (TES Resources username rhawkes) who teachers MFL at a secondary school in Cambridgeshire.
How to use it
The collection includes a range of songs for learning French, German and Spanish. Examples include a song that puts the present tense of avoir to the theme from The Pink Panther cartoons, one on eating and drinking in German to the theme from The Addams Family and a Spanish song for learning parts of the body. Many of the resources include audio files alongside PowerPoint or Word documents. The collection has material suitable for key stages 3 to 5, with some for key stage 2.
Where to find it
The collection can be found at www.tes.co.ukBETT-MFL-songs.
Date for your diary
Ms Hawkes will be running workshops for MFL teachers at the BETT show today.
Maths
What is it
This is a collection of 15 of the best maths resources, contributed by members of the TES online teaching community, as recommended by Craig Barton (TES Resources username MrBartonMaths), an advanced skills teacher at a secondary school in Liverpool.
How to use it
This collection includes activities designed to make maths topics relevant and interesting. It includes an interactive resource to show how loci can be used to solve a practical problem, in this case working out an area of land on which a developer is allowed to build, and a variation on the Countdown numbers game to help pupils practise algebra.
The collection has material appropriate across the secondary age range, with resources including thinking-skills activities for Years 7 and 8 and revision cards for GCSE.
Where to find it
The “15 of the best” collection can be found at www.tes.co.ukBETT-maths.
Date for your diary
Mr Barton will be running workshops for key stages 3 and 4 at the BETT show tomorrow. The themes to be covered will include number and algebra, data and statistics, shape and space, GCSE revision, functional skills and real-life maths, problem-solving and thinking skills. Collections of resources to support all these themes are also available on the link above.
