Tag: education
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Miss P’s Literacy Calendar 2021-2022
It’s that time of year again! As you all know by now, I love to plan ahead and each year I update what I call my ‘Literacy Calendar’ to include key dates, competitions, book awards, events, days and weeks that help to inform my school planning for the year ahead. This is my third year…
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The Literacy Calendar 2020-2021
Hello everyone, it’s finally here! For those who have been patiently waiting for this to be released, I do apologise. My Literacy Calendar is a little late this year for a couple of reasons. First, I have been busier than usual – adapting to teaching during lockdown and then returning to school with a bubble.…
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Children’s Literature: Summer CPD
CPD doesn’t have to be in the form of attending a course; professional learning as a process comes in many guises. It could be something as simple as joining in a twitter chat, attending a book festival, watching a Youtube tutorial or reading a book for pleasure! I am well aware that ‘Summer CPD’ is…
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#17 Easter Egg Treasure Hunt!
Hooray! It’s Easter Weekend – the perfect time to have fun with the whole family! There are lots of things you can do to bring a little magic into your Easter at home and an egg-citing (sorry!) treasure hunt is the perfect way to extend the fun! Today’s writing task is to have fun with…
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#14 My Favourite Place (Guest Blog)
This brilliant guest blog is from my awesome friend and colleague Miss E (who you will also find over on Twitter). We share a love of all things literacy and Miss E is full of wonderfully creative writing inspiration. She’s hugely passionate about English and has been keen to contibute with exciting ideas and writing…
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#11 Verb Charades!
Vocabulary games such as verb charades are a fun and high-energy way to build vocabularies, expand knowledge of synonyms and reinforce comprehension skills. This is a great game to play daily for 10 minutes, or when you have some free time. Activities 1) What is a Verb? To get in the mindset for verb charades,…
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#10 Nature Journals
Keeping a nature journal is a fantastic way to learn about the natural world. It encourages children to ‘slow down’, stop and look at things more closely. Nature journals are a creative and fun way to engage children in a combination of art, science and writing – and it doesn’t require many resources at all.…
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#9 Happy News!
Now, more than ever, the endless stream of negative news can really have an impact on our state of mind. While the current challenges facing the world are undeniable, they aren’t the only stories out there. Whether it’s a local school donating equipment to hospitals, children painting rainbows of hope in their windows or your…
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#6 Using Keys to Generate Ideas
Sometimes, the best writing starts with just a little inspiration. Today, that little bit of inspiration is going to be a key. Yes, a key! A key that could unlock the door to somewhere magical, special or even somewhere scary… Activities 1) Explore visual stimulus Have a look at some online visuals related to doors…
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#4 Word Detectives!
Kids love secret codes. They love playing detective and investigating things for themselves. In order to encourage children to become logophiles (word lovers), we’re going to unlock the meanings of words using a very special secret code – etymology! Etymology is the study of the true meaning of words. From personal experience, I think it’s…
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#3 Playing with Words (Poetry!)
This activity is inspired by Peter H Reynolds’ brilliant book The Word Collector. It’s a fun, creative poetry activity all about collecting and playing around with words! 1) Be inspired Watch this short Scholastic video* about The Word Collector by Peter H Reynolds. You can also read the story online here. *be mindful of adverts…
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#2 Create your own Imaginary Map
I have always loved maps within books. Much like novels themselves, maps can tell stories too. They often bring the real and the imaginary together. Maps are a brilliant way to explore imaginary lands inside our imaginations, providing a potential gateway to creative writing. Spending time creating illustrations gives us a starting point for bringing…
Literacy with Miss P 