School World

Alphabet of a Teenager offer schools a highly effective and visual way of covering the entire PSHE curriculum with its drama production and subsequent workshop programme. Our story uses the experiences of a pupil called Michael as he progresses from Year 7 through to upper school to explore pshe and citizenship issues including peer pressure, bereavement, racism, bullying, drugs, exam revision, career planning….

Alphabet of a Teenager comes into your school and sets up and runs the drama production and workshops on the same day.

Since we bring this performance to you and cover everything in such a short space of time, this is a very cost effective way of delivering the PSHE programme. It can be organised as part of a specific day that your school dedicates to PSHE or can be run simply as part of your weekly PSHE lessons. We have even been known to perform as part of an extended assembly.

Please do email me if you would like to see a copy of our digital brochure with further details of our play. You can also watch a short video at www.alphabetofateenager.co.uk.

Kind regards

Adam
adam@alphabetofateenager.co.uk

PS. In addition to the benefits mentioned above, this package can also help with your OFSTED report as each student completes a questionnaire, demonstrating to outside inspectors that you are measuring how much PSHE content has been absorbed by your students. It also means that you can tick off each standard that has been met with regards to the curriculum.

Employability & Enterprise workshops for your school
Boardworks – free resources, lesson plans and teaching tips
Science Crosswords and Short Answer Tasks

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Employability & Enterprise workshops for your school

www.innovativeenterprise.co.uk
Innovative Enterprise Ltd, 1 Overtown Cottages, Overtown, LA6 2HT

Email: info@innovativeenterprise.co.uk
Phone: 0845 326 4818
Fax: 0845 050 5090

Innovative Enterprise has been delivering workshops to schools all over the UK since 2006 covering topics such as employability/careers, enterprise, environmental sustainability & financial literacy.

We work with groups from as small as 20 to whole school projects – all of which can have content tailored at no extra cost to ensure that your students get the most out of the programme.

The testimonials on our website offer you a frank insight into what schools think of our programmes and if you wish to speak with someone directly, we’ll be happy to put you in touch.

Contact us for more details.

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Boardworks

http://www.boardworks.co.uk/science_719
Units 5–7 The Gallery, 54 Marston Street, Oxford, OX4 1LF

Email: enquiries@boardworks.co.uk
Phone: 0845 0 300 400
Fax: 0845 0 300 200

Boardworks science blog contains free resources, lesson plans and teaching tips for KS3, KS4 and KS5 science teachers. Follow the weblink to download the resources free of charge or follow us on Twitter @BoardworksLtd.

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Science Crosswords and Short Answer Tasks

http://shop.firstandbest.co.uk
First and Best in Education, Earlstrees Ct, Earlstrees Rd, Corby, NN17 4HH

Email: sales@firstandbest.co.uk
Phone: 01536 399007
Fax: 01536 399012

Science Crosswords and Short-Answer Tasks GCSE Key Stage 4 is a photocopiable volume of over 40 crosswords and games focussing on GCSE topics in general through to pages on specific topics.

The pre-release booklet for Unit 3 is being made available later this month – so it’s ready, steady, GO!

The challenge will be to keep classes focused on issues relevant to Unit 3. Students will be expected to be familiar with all of the pre-release material and to be able to discuss it in depth.

How do you make sure your students stay focused and become confident with the material in the limited time available?

Pre-Release Resource Pack for the June Exam

Fortunately the ZigZag Education team is experienced in supporting this kind of exam (they publish the A Level AQA pack for GEO4B; see comments below). They will be working hard to bring you a detailed resource pack which will walk students through the material and give them confidence in the exam. Pre-order now – dispatch is guaranteed by 10th February 2012.

Pre-order now at http://zigzag.at/UL81 (the pack will be ready to send to you on 10th February 2011).

Here are a few comments from geography teachers who have used Pre-Release Packs from ZigZag Education…

‘A comprehensive and concise resource which took the stress out of planning and provided light at the end of a new specification tunnel. Students appreciated having everything they needed in one document which helped to guide revision… it is designed by a teacher who understands what the examination requires.’ (D Price, Assistant Head of Geography & Satisfied Customer)
‘It targets all abilities of students, stretching the highly able, yet still providing easier tasks for all abilities… This is a “must buy”.’ (A Norman, Geography Teacher at Greenhead College & Independent Reviewer)
The GCSE Edexcel B Unit 3 Pre-Release Resource Pack (UL81/4517) is available as a photocopy master with site licence (£49). Also available in: easy-printing PDF files (add 30%+VAT) or PDF with editable Word files (add 50%+VAT).

Pre-order now at http://zigzag.at/UL81

ZigZag Education, Unit 3, Greenway Business Centre, Doncaster Road, Bristol BS10 5PY

t: 0117 950 3199 | f: 0117 959 1695 | geographyUL81@zigzageducation.co.uk

Give your promotional code UL81 to get free postage!

An average of 18.6 per cent of 15-year olds in the UK fail to read at the level at which they can “understand, use and reflect on written texts”, according to the last Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) tests.

The recent Eurydice report (which analyses education systems and policies across 33 European countries) suggests that the best way to improve present reading standards is for primary literacy lessons to have a greater emphasis in reading comprehension.

In terms of comprehension, take this classic short poem:

“Algy met a bear,
A bear met Algy,
The bear was bulgy,
The bulge was Algy.

Most people who read this will understand Algy’s grisly fate, but there is nothing in the text that says Algy has been eaten. It is inferred – and that ability to infer has to be learned.

Comprehension is crucial to get pupils to the next step: reading for fun. When children enjoy reading, read diverse material and adopt reading comprehension strategies, they can attain a higher level of performance in reading.

Similarly, disadvantaged students who read a diverse range of texts and employ effective reading strategies tend to perform well in reading.

This is why we have developed ‘Comprehension in Themes’ for Year 3 to Year 6. Each photocopiable book contains a diverse collection of fiction, non-fiction and poetry texts grouped in themes suitable for the age groups covered.

The exercises can be used to prepare children for SAT style tests and can be matched to themes the class may be studying at the time or used on a weekly basis.

The question pages are split into three sections. Section A gives an overview of the text with missing words or phrases to find. Section B contains open-ended questions requiring inference and deduction. Section C is a relevant written challenge for more able pupils or those who work quickly.

Paper and electronic versions of the books are available.

If you’d like to see exactly how we have tackled this issue there are free sample pages available from our website. Click here for Year 3, here for Year 4, here for year 5 and here for year 6.

If you would like to know more please call 01772 863158
Or email enquiries@topical-resources.co.uk
You can order in any of these ways:

Online at the above web links
By phone on: 01772 863158
By fax: 01772 866153
By email: Sales@topical-resources.co.uk
By post: Topical Resources, P.O. Box329, Broughton, Preston, Lancashire PR3 5LT

In a teacher’s busy life it is often hard to find the time to come up with new ideas for workshops to stimulate your students’ acting skills. This book is the answer.

In 1984 Actors’ Lab was set up in Scotland as a drama workshop which concentrated solely on building acting skills. It was highly experimental and challenged many of the received opinions and conventions surrounding theatrical production. This book, written by a key player in Actors’ Lab and running to 104 pages, represents the distillation of many years of intense examination of acting methods and skills.

The Actors’ Lab Workshop contains 43 workshop units and is ideally suited to secondary school pupils with some acting experience. Each workshop is designed to fit into a two hour period and there are also suggestions for warm up exercises and follow up material. The book is not intended as a detailed guide on how to conduct a workshop but aims to provide a framework within which participants are free to experiment and adapt to suit their own skills and personalities.

You can see a full list of the topics and some sample pages at http://www.pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/drama/T1552.htm

Publisher’s reference: T1552EMN ISBN: 978 1 86083 598 8

Prices

Photocopiable book: £19.95 plus £3.95 delivery
CD with school-wide rights: £19.95 plus £3.95 delivery
Both the book and the CD: £26.94 plus £3.95 delivery
Prices include VAT.

You can purchase the report… please quote the order ref: T1552EMN

By post to First and Best, Hamilton House, Earlstrees Ct., Earlstrees Way, Corby, NN17 4HH
By fax to 01536 399 012
On line with a credit card at http://shop.firstandbest.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=28&products_id=406

Critical thinking is the skill which distinguishes A and B grade students from those gaining lower grades.

This book shows students how to recognise and evaluate arguments. It stresses that an ability to analyse arguments will help students in their understanding of the material in the subjects they are studying. For illustrations, it uses such topics as environmental issues, citizenship and medical dilemmas. It is therefore the ideal resource for class discussions.

It is available as a copiable book or on CD with a full photocopy license for use within your school.

ISBN: 978 1 86083 191 1

You can order in four different ways. In each case please quote our reference T1084emn. Sample pages can be viewed prior to ordering on http://pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/english/T1084.pdf

By post to First and Best, Hamilton House Mailings plc, Earlstrees Ct., Earlstrees Rd., Corby, Northants NN17 4HH

By fax on 01536 399 012

By phone with a credit card or with an official school order number on 01536 399 011

On line with a credit card at http://shop.firstandbest.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=54&products_id=154

Left to their own devices during playtimes and lunchtimes, some children will play in a very positive way. They will work together, mutually acknowledging the rules of their own games, helping and supporting each other and gaining much from the experience.

Unfortunately not all children do this. Some become isolated, some race around letting off steam and occasionally colliding with innocent by-standers, some become the victims of bullies, others become bullies.

A straightforward way to enhance positive play in the school grounds is to teach the children one game a week which they can then work on together. Some games will catch on and become continuing favourites. Others by the nature of things will fade after a few days.

But two great benefits will emerge from teaching children one game a week. Firstly the initial playing of the playground game by a group of children is always a highly rewarding experience. The sorting out of the rules, agreeing the fundamentals and, above all, working together are all fundamental to the development of the social aspect of each child’s life.

Secondly, although the suggested games will not motivate and engage all children, they will enthuse many, leaving teachers on duty a much smaller number of potentially problematic situations to deal with.

As a further benefit, extracts from the book can be given to parents so that they can encourage their children to play these games when friends come around at weekends or after school, or to give a greater structure to birthday parties.

PSHE in the Playground is a photocopiable book (also available on CD so that it can be loaded onto the school’s network) which incorporates enough games to last a full school year and includes games that are suitable for both key stage 1 and key stage 2 children. Most games can be taught to children in a matter of minutes.

Because the book is copiable only one copy needs to be purchased for the book to be used by all teachers in the school throughout the year.

An extract from PSHE in the Playground, ISBN 978 1 86083 726 5, order code T1691EMN is available at http://www.pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/primary/T1691.pdf

Prices

Photocopiable report in a ring binder, £24.95 plus £3.95 delivery
CD with school-wide rights: £24.95 plus £3.95 delivery
Both the Ring Binder and the CD £31.94 plus £3.95 delivery
Prices include VAT.

You can purchase the report…

By post from First and Best, Hamilton House, Earlstrees Ct, Earlstrees Rd, Corby, NN17 4HH
By fax to 01536 399 012
On-line with a credit card at http://tinyurl.com/npqers
By phone with a school order number or a credit card to 01536 399 011

When ordering the book please quote the reference T1791EMN.

An average of 18.6 per cent of 15-year olds in the UK fail to read at the level at which they can “understand, use and reflect on written texts”, according to the last Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) tests.

The recent Eurydice report (which analyses education systems and policies across 33 European countries) suggests that the best way to improve present reading standards is for primary literacy lessons to have a greater emphasis in reading comprehension.

In terms of comprehension, take this classic short poem:

“Algy met a bear,
A bear met Algy,
The bear was bulgy,
The bulge was Algy.

Most people who read this will understand Algy’s grisly fate, but there is nothing in the text that says Algy has been eaten. It is inferred – and that ability to infer has to be learned.

Comprehension is crucial to get pupils to the next step: reading for fun. When children enjoy reading, read diverse material and adopt reading comprehension strategies, they can attain a higher level of performance in reading.

Similarly, disadvantaged students who read a diverse range of texts and employ effective reading strategies tend to perform well in reading.

This is why we have developed ‘Comprehension in Themes’ for Year 3 to Year 6. Each photocopiable book contains a diverse collection of fiction, non-fiction and poetry texts grouped in themes suitable for the age groups covered.

The exercises can be used to prepare children for SAT style tests and can be matched to themes the class may be studying at the time or used on a weekly basis.

The question pages are split into three sections. Section A gives an overview of the text with missing words or phrases to find. Section B contains open-ended questions requiring inference and deduction. Section C is a relevant written challenge for more able pupils or those who work quickly.

Paper and electronic versions of the books are available.

If you’d like to see exactly how we have tackled this issue there are free sample pages available from our website. Click here for Year 3, here for Year 4, here for year 5 and here for year 6.

If you would like to know more please call 01772 863158
Or email enquiries@topical-resources.co.uk
You can order in any of these ways:

Online at the above web links
By phone on: 01772 863158
By fax: 01772 866153
By email: Sales@topical-resources.co.uk
By post: Topical Resources, P.O. Box329, Broughton, Preston, Lancashire PR3 5LT

There can be little doubt that where a child’s education focuses on language skills, then the child’s learning, thinking, social and emotional well-being will be enhanced.

But of course simply having an intervention programme is not enough. For the programme not only needs to focus on children’s language, it also needs to change classroom practice so that it can lead to an impact on learning, social development and emotional development.

And beyond that we need to be certain (through independent evaluation) that the programme does achieve what we want it to achieve.

This is exactly how our programme, Primary Talk, works. It supports the communication development of all children, including those with speech, language and communication needs, and in this way it helps schools improve pupil outcomes.

Better still, the University of Sheffield independent evaluation of the pilot programme found that Primary Talk has a significant impact on classroom practice and helps to improve school environments for all children.

As a result, in schools where Primary Talk has been implemented, teachers report that more children understand what is said in lessons, because of the strategies adopted.

Primary Talk provides a package of training, mentoring and resources for school staff and accreditation of primary schools. The programme is available to local authorities, individual schools or clusters of schools, and can be delivered directly by I CAN staff or via a project of training your trainers to deliver.

To see exactly how Primary Talk could work in the unique conditions within your school, please contact I CAN on 0845 225 4073.

Alternatively you can email us at primarytalk@ican.org.uk. Please provide your contact name, position, school name, address, contact phone number and the best time to reach you by phone.

If you would like to read more about this remarkable project and the way it is being applied in schools across the country, there is more information on our website.

The Schools Bible Project is a Religious Education project which offers an an opportunity for pupils at secondary schools to explore the New Testament.

It has now been running for over a decade and has been praised as a creative, lively, and interesting way of discovering the life of Jesus Christ.

This project is open to all students at secondary schools in Britain, and essays have to be submitted by the end of June. Prizes are awarded for essays on events in the life of Christ and are presented in a ceremony at the House of Lords.

Find out more from Christian Project at PO Box 44741, London, SW1P 2XA or visit our website at christianprojects.org.uk