Barrie's Store for Teachers and beyond - opened May '16
Average Rating4.42
(based on 32 reviews)
I will be posting imaginative, creative multi-media lessons using PowerPoint presentations with embedded videos, and supported with Word based worksheets and Kahoot quizzes where applicable.
I will be posting imaginative, creative multi-media lessons using PowerPoint presentations with embedded videos, and supported with Word based worksheets and Kahoot quizzes where applicable.
A variety of exercises to give children practice at using prepositions.
See Prepositions and Pronouns for a package on both Prepositions and Pronouns.
Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions, and a BIG BIG thanks for looking (as a full time practicing teacher, I KNOW how time consuming this process can be).
ALL my postings are FULLY "classroom-tested" - before I publish, my lessons are tested by both myself and colleagues, rigorously evaluated and discussed, and continually updated to maximize their effectiveness. But there is always the possibility of error and room for improvement, so do please provide constructive feedback.
Search words: literacy, grammar, prepositions, pronouns, worksheets
Vector graphics are computer graphics images that are defined in terms of points … connected by lines and curves to form polygons and other shapes. (wikipedia)
Computing is about so much more than just programming, and Inkscape is a great way to introduce students to vector graphics. Although those with an artistic flair will particularly love this series of lessons, they were extremely popular with ALL students.
The course is delivered in 6 x 60-minute lessons, using stimulating PowerPoint presentations with embedded videos, and includes worksheets to accompany the lesson, plus a Kahoot quiz.
This series looks at
Digital Images and a first look at Inkscape
Exploring Inkscape v0.91 features and the Node Editor
Project one: Penguin, Pac-man baddie, Elephant, Turkey
Free exploration, self assessment and Kahoot quiz
Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions, and a BIG BIG thanks for looking (as a full time practising teacher, I KNOW how time consuming this process can be).
ALL my postings are FULLY “classroom-tested” - before I publish, my lessons are tested by both myself and colleagues, rigorously evaluated and discussed, and continually updated to maximise their effectiveness. But there is always the possibility of error and room for improvement, so do please provide constructive feedback.
Teacher/Author: Barrie James
There are so many really great sites offering Scratch Project ideas. However, many tend to be like recipes - follow the instructions and you’ll create a cake. The problem I find is that the students almost mechanically enter code and create “delicious cakes”, but without learning an awful lot about Scratch.
My goal is to get students to create a fun project, whilst at the same time learn how the instructions work and fit together. To this end, I use the following approach:
break the project down into manageable chunks
present students with an algorithm for each chunk
provide students with the instructions for each algorithm, but jumbled up
In this way, students learn about algorithms (a VERY important part of coding), and have to understand the instructions in order to sequence them to correctly match the algorithm.
The lessons comprise:
a PowerPoint with introductory slides, together with the project instructions
a Word document with the PowerPoint instruction slides printed 2 to a page as a handout for students to follow
accompanying fully-working Scratch project files for teachers that match each chunk of the project
Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions, and a BIG BIG thanks for looking (as a full time practicing teacher, I KNOW how time consuming this process can be).
ALL my postings are FULLY “classroom-tested” - before I publish, my lessons are tested by both myself and colleagues, rigorously evaluated and discussed, and continually updated to maximise their effectiveness.
But there is always the possibility of error and room for improvement, so do please provide constructive feedback.
Teacher/Author: Barrie James
Search words: scratch, computer, programming, coding, algorithm
These exercises challenge students to find better alternatives for the often over-used and unimaginative words: "very", "nice" and "said".
The ever expanding Code Club first promoted Scratch, and I loved it – creating and successfully delivering a range of lessons for Junior students.
Code Club is now promoting Blender ,and I think I love it even more!
I’ve created and delivered a series of lessons for Junior students this year, and the response was overwhelming. Students loved learning about 3D graphics and went on to produce some amazing creations of their own. While I thought it might be too advanced, students as young as 8 have grasped and loved using it.
3D GRAPHICS REALLY IS A USEFUL SKILL FOR THE DIGITAL FUTURE.
The lessons assume absolutely no knowledge and build up in a gradual way
Lessons 1-2 (FREE)
What is Blender
The Blender interface
Navigating the 3D view port
Lessons 3-5
Transforming objects
Creating, selecting and duplicating objects
Project: create a snowman
Lessons 6-9
Rendering, colours and lighting
Editing objects
Project: create a donut
Lessons 10-13
3D Text
Box modelling - extruding, loop cuts, insets, bevels
Project: create a Treasure Chest
Lessons 14-15
Animations using Timeframes
Animations using Rigid Bodies
Each lesson is delivered via an animated PowerPoint with an accompanying Workbook, and follows a similar format:
A short video to inspire (embedded in the PowerPoint)
Explanations about any new concepts and skills
A demo of what will be covered (Blender demo files included)
Working together trying out these new concepts and skills (Workbook and Blender exercise files are provided)
Free exploration
A project bringing it all together (a finished Blender file is provided)
Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions, and a BIG BIG thanks for looking (as a full time practicing teacher, I KNOW how time consuming this process can be).
ALL my postings are FULLY “classroom-tested” - before I publish, my lessons are tested by both myself and colleagues, rigorously evaluated and discussed, and continually updated to maximise their effectiveness.
But there is always the possibility of error and room for improvement, so do please provide constructive feedback.
This is a series of 12 by 30-minute lessons looking at the topic "Getting on and Falling out".
The lessons cover:
- what is friendship
- types of friends
- being a friend
- conflict
- resolving conflict
- what is anger
- levels of anger
- managing anger
Each lesson is presented through a colourful and stimulating PowerPoint presentation, with clearly defined Learning Objectives and embedded videos and is accompanied with worksheets.
Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions, and a BIG BIG thanks for looking (as a full time practicing teacher, I KNOW how time consuming this process can be).
ALL my postings are FULLY "classroom-tested" - before I publish, my lessons are tested by both myself and colleagues, rigorously evaluated and discussed, and continually updated to maximize their effectiveness.
But there is always the possibility of error and room for improvement, so do please provide constructive feedback.
Teacher/Author: Barrie James
Keywords: epr, friends, friendship, conflict, anger
A FREE sampler of my Maths Starters resources.
There are a number of cost effective options for purchasing these resources:
- a bundle of 3 PowerPoints
- a mega bundle of all 6 PowerPoints
This is part of a set of top rated, “turbo-charged” (just take a look), self-contained (what every teacher craves), stimulating (genuinely loved by students and also great for VERY high ability students) morning starters, each with a main task, plus an extension for those who solve the challenge more quickly (this should avoid the question… “I’ve finished… what should I do now?”).
Each challenge is self-explanatory, and should take approx. 15 - 30 minutes to investigate/solve.
The tasks are presented in a visually exciting PowerPoint (which I loved creating), with a logical progression of clues guiding students towards the solution. The slides are animated where appropriate to provide clearer explanations and are designed to encourage students to adopt a “mathematical brain” (no sledgehammers allowed! - a slogan my students now associate with me!).
Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions, and a BIG BIG thanks for looking (as a full time practicing teacher, I KNOW how time consuming this process can be).
ALL my postings are FULLY “classroom-tested” - before I publish, my lessons are tested by both myself and colleagues, rigorously evaluated and discussed, and continually updated to maximize their effectiveness.
But there is always the possibility of error and room for improvement, so do please provide constructive feedback.
Teacher/Author: Barrie James
*** NEW FOR SCRATCH V3***
In my series of Scratch projects, students are encouraged to learn through doing - creating projects that encourage learning.
In this NEW series of lessons for the latest Scratch 3, I provide a more structured approach, looking in detail at Scratch programming tools. Each tool is explored through simple projects, and students then go on to further explore using guided project worksheets.
What is Scratch v3
Events and Triggers
Controls
Motion and the Stage
Data Variables
Operators - number
Operators - text
Debugging
The lessons comprise:
a fully animated PowerPoint with explanatory slides, together with the project instructions
a Word document with the PowerPoint project instruction slides printed 2 to a page as a handout for students to follow
accompanying fully-working Scratch project files for students and teachers
Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions, and a BIG BIG thanks for looking (as a full time practising teacher, I KNOW how time consuming this process can be).
ALL my postings are FULLY “classroom-tested” - before I publish, my lessons are tested by both myself and colleagues, rigorously evaluated and discussed, and continually updated to maximise their effectiveness.
But there is always the possibility of error and room for improvement, so do please provide constructive feedback.
Teacher/Author: Barrie James
Search words: scratch, computer, programming, coding, algorithm, debugging
A pixel is generally thought of as the smallest single component of a digital image. (wikipedia)
Using technology to create art has become extremely common and popular (and also, financially lucrative!). Furthermore, students love designing and creating sprites and animated GIFs.
This series of 4 one-hour lessons looks at
digital images - bitmaps and vector graphics
using the piskel web app to create sprites
using the piskel web app to create animated GIFs
I have used it very successfully with students in grades 4 through to 8 (with slight modifications), and all have absolutely loved the topic.
The lessons comprise:
a fully animated PowerPoint with explanatory slides, together with embedded videos (to extract, click here)
worksheets, ideas and self-evaluation documents
Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions, and a BIG BIG thanks for looking (as a full time practising teacher, I KNOW how time consuming this process can be).
ALL my postings are FULLY “classroom-tested” - before I publish, my lessons are tested by both myself and colleagues, rigorously evaluated and discussed, and continually updated to maximise their effectiveness.
But there is always the possibility of error and room for improvement, so do please provide constructive feedback.
“The low-level software that supports a computer’s basic functions, such as scheduling tasks and controlling peripherals.” (dictionary definition)
So, what is an Operating System - our computers, tablets, smartphones, etc all need one, but what do they actually do?
The course is delivered in 4 x 60-minute lessons, using stimulating PowerPoint presentations with embedded videos, and includes worksheets to accompany the lesson, plus a Kahoot quiz.
This series, for absolute beginners, looks at
how computers worked before the Operating System
the role of the Operating System
managing things and user interfaces
examples of Operating Systems
Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions, and a BIG BIG thanks for looking (as a full time practising teacher, I KNOW how time consuming this process can be).Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions, and a BIG BIG thanks for looking (as a full time practising teacher, I KNOW how time consuming this process can be).
ALL my postings are FULLY “classroom-tested” - before I publish, my lessons are tested by both myself and colleagues, rigorously evaluated and discussed, and continually updated to maximise their effectiveness. But there is always the possibility of error and room for improvement, so do please provide constructive feedback.
Teacher/Author: Barrie James
This is a series of 45-60 minute lessons that will give students (and often, teachers) a much greater understanding of what the internet is, how it works, what the World Wide Web is (no, it is not the internet) and how to create a web page.
Each lesson comprises a fully animated PowerPoint with explanatory slides, loads of embedded videos, worksheets and self-evaluation files
This bundle is a cost effective way of purchasing the following items, available separately.
what the Internet is (FREE)
the Internet and the World Wide Web
what a web page is, how HTML works, creating a web page using HTML
ALL my postings are FULLY “classroom-tested” - before I publish, my lessons are tested by both myself and colleagues, rigorously evaluated and discussed, and continually updated to maximise their effectiveness.
But there is always the possibility of error and room for improvement, so do please provide constructive feedback.
Click here for a full listing of all my Scratch Projects
In this project, students create a toy bear, using sprites to simulate “touch pads” -making the bear smile, blink, change colour, etc. Enhancements include using the keyboard instead of sprites, and adding sound.
There are many sites offering Scratch Projects. However, many tend to be like recipes - students almost mechanically enter code and create “delicious cakes”, without learning a lot about Scratch.
My goal is to get students to create a fun project, and at the same time learn how the instructions work and fit together. I use the following approach:
- break the project into manageable chunks
- present “pseudo-code” for each chunk
- provide the Scratch commands to implement the pseudo-code, but jumbled up
In this way, students learn about pseudo-code (an important part of coding), and have to understand the Scratch instructions in order to sequence them correctly to match the pseudo-code.
The lessons comprise:
1. a PowerPoint with instructions
2. a Word document with the instruction slides printed 2 to a page as a handout
3. accompanying Scratch files for teachers that match each stage of the project
ALL my postings are FULLY “classroom-tested”, and continually updated. But there is always the possibility of error and room for improvement, so please provide constructive feedback.
This is Part 1 only.
This complete topic comprises 7 by 1-hour lessons, broken down into two parts
Part 1 - The fascinating History of Numbers
tally marks, Sumerians & Babylonians
Egyptians and Romans
Mayans and Hindu
Part 2 - Binary numbers
the binary number system - how it evolved and how it works
how computers use binary numbers, looking at text and images
Each lesson comprises:
a fully animated PowerPoint with explanatory slides
loads of embedded videos (to extract, click here)
worksheets and self-evaluation documents
I have used it very successfully with students in years 5 through to 7 (with slight modifications), and all have absolutely loved the topic.
Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions, and a BIG BIG thanks for looking (as a full time practising teacher, I KNOW how time consuming this process can be).
ALL my postings are FULLY “classroom-tested” - before I publish, my lessons are tested by both myself and colleagues, rigorously evaluated and discussed, and continually updated to maximise their effectiveness.
But there is always the possibility of error and room for improvement, so do please provide constructive feedback.
Teacher/Author: Barrie James
Search words: numbers, binary, ascii, bitmap, transistor, computer, programming, coding, algorithm, digital, image
“Social media is a computer-based technology that facilitates the sharing of >ideas, thoughts, and information through the building of virtual networks and >communities.” (dictionary definition)
Social media is everywhere… it is certainly of our time. Students spend hours on it and that is not likely to diminish, so these lessons try to promote and encourage the safe use of social media.
This series of 4 one-hour lessons looks at
what social media is
privacy
profiles, friends and posts
digital footprints
safety on line
Each lesson comprises:
a fully animated PowerPoint with explanatory slides
loads of embedded videos (can be extracted if necessary)
worksheets and self-evaluation documents
Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions, and a BIG BIG thanks for looking (as a full time practising teacher, I KNOW how time consuming this process can be).
ALL my postings are FULLY “classroom-tested” - before I publish, my lessons are tested by both myself and colleagues, rigorously evaluated and discussed, and continually updated to maximise their effectiveness.
But there is always the possibility of error and room for improvement, so do please provide constructive feedback.
Teacher/Author: Barrie James
Search words: computer social media facebook twitter pinterest youtube tiktok instagram snapchat post profile privacy friends
Whilst I was creating my Memory resources, I thought that memorising a set of Christmas images would make a great game to play with the class as Christmas approaches.
The children are shown a slide with a number of Christmas images which they need to try and remember. Then, the same slide is shown but with one or more images missing. They have to write down what the missing image or images are on their whiteboards - ideal as a CLASS ACTIVITY. This is then repeated several times with different images removed.
ALL my postings are FULLY “classroom-tested” - before I publish, my lessons are tested by both myself and colleagues, rigorously evaluated and discussed, and continually updated to maximize their effectiveness - but there is always the possibility of error and room for improvement, so do please provide constructive feedback.
I think this is pretty much all you'll ever need on the topic of Triangular Numbers - with 11 self-contained, graded worksheets!
It uses animated PowerPoint presentations to drive the session with links to web-based videos and music where appropriate, and is accompanied with a Workbook containing self-contained Worksheets, ordered by level of difficulty, with a separate section containing answers for teachers.
ALL my postings are FULLY "classroom-tested" - I have delivered these lessons successfully on numerous occasions. Before I publish, my lessons are tested in the classroom by both myself and colleagues, rigorously evaluated, and continually updated to maximize their effectiveness.
Let me know if you have any questions, and a BIG BIG thanks for looking (as a practicing teacher, I KNOW how time consuming this process can be).
Packages in this series: Square Numbers, Triangular Numbers
Search words: maths, numeracy, numbers, square numbers, squares, sequences, patterns, worksheet, triangular numbers
This PowerPoint illustrates the fairly well known "Stroop Effect".
Slides show color-words written in different colors and the task is to first read the word, and then to say the color.
Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions, and a BIG BIG thanks for looking (as a full time practicing teacher, I KNOW how time consuming this process can be).
ALL my postings are FULLY "classroom-tested" - before I publish, my lessons are tested by both myself and colleagues, rigorously evaluated and discussed, and continually updated to maximize their effectiveness.
But there is always the possibility of error and room for improvement, so do please provide constructive feedback.
Search words: starters, challenge, brain, stimulate, problem, mental, thinking, abstract
There are many sites offering Scratch Projects. However, many tend to be like recipes - students almost mechanically enter code and create “delicious cakes”, without learning a lot about Scratch.
My goal is to get students to create a fun project, and at the same time learn how the instructions work and fit together. I use the following approach:
- break the project into manageable chunks
- present “pseudo-code” for each chunk
- provide the Scratch commands to implement the pseudo-code, but jumbled up
In this way, students learn about pseudo-code (an important part of coding), and have to understand the Scratch instructions in order to sequence them correctly to match the pseudo-code.
The lessons comprise:
1. a PowerPoint with instructions
2. a Word document with the instruction slides printed 2 to a page as a handout
3. accompanying Scratch files for teachers that match each stage of the project
Lessons in the series:
FREE introduction to Scratch.
Moving a sprite through a maze.
A question and answer type quiz.
A game where students move a sight with the mouse to shoot ghosts.
A Music Player with layers of menus.
Simulates a toy bear with touch pads.
Drawing shapes and repeating patterns.
Alien spacecraft attack a base that must be defended.
An Octopus must swim through walls of hungry sharks.
Navigate through different worlds
Bundle I-III
Bundle IV-VI
Bundle VII-IX
Bundle I-IX
ALL my postings are FULLY “classroom-tested”, and continually updated. But there is always the possibility of error and room for improvement, so please provide constructive feedback.
This is just a fun activity that should fill a spare 10 to 15 mins.
Without talking, and with hands behind their backs, children must arrange themselves in order of height, shoe size, etc...
A great way to explore and develop non verbal communication skills.