Many children do not feel comfortable speaking publicly in class. When a question is asked these children will often break eye contact with the teacher, pretend to be deep in thought, write something in their notebook, squirm in their seat, or elbow the person next to them to in an attempt to distract others from […]
There are many possible reasons for a lack of engagement in the classroom. Often these are non-school related. For example, not getting enough sleep, spending too much time with peers or screens, having too many extra-curricula activities, ‘issues’ at home, or simply being ‘lazy’. However, school-related factors are among the more common issues reported by […]
While learning to read seems effortless for many children, for some it can be challenging. As children are assessed mid-year, alarm bells can start to ring for those children who have not shown appropriate literacy growth. The following inclusive strategies, will assist early readers and help reduce the impact of dyslexia on those who have […]
While learning to read seems effortless for many children, for some it can be challenging. As children are assessed mid-year, alarm bells can start to ring for those children who have not shown appropriate literacy growth. A specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia can be slow to manifest or be identified. For example, a young […]
It is not unusual for children to sometimes tell lies or embellish the truth, particularly in the preschool and early primary years. One of the most vexatious behaviour management situations for teachers relates to getting to the bottom of a conflict between children, where none of the protagonists will admit to being at fault, there […]
The question below was featured on our forum a few years ago. Since then we’ve had lots of people offer suggestions. We’ve summarised some of the responses below and added a few of our own. Question: ‘Hi, I have a student who has trouble getting his homework completed. This means he tends to hand in […]
Feeling shy can be a normal part of a child or young person’s life, especially when new people or situations are encountered. However, shyness becomes a concern when it occurs in most situations and interactions, and interferes with relationships and schoolwork, or if the child is frequently nervous, socially anxious or withdrawn. The revised ebooklet […]
For many students playing with others, and making and keeping friends seems to be quite effortless, but for a number it can be a challenge. Certain children find the unstructured nature of the schoolyard overwhelming, while others do not tolerate their peers for a variety of reasons. Unfortunately, about one in ten school-age children have […]
As the first day of school approaches many teachers will be planning how to maximise student engagement in the classroom. One of the best strategies is to build strong student-teacher relationships. Teacher-student relationships play an essential role in a child’s motivation and engagement.[1] Maulana R., Opdenakker M. C., Stroet K., Bosker R. ‘Changes in teachers’ […]
How are you feeling today? Exhausted? Sad? Relieved? Stressed? Excited? With only a few days (for those lucky ones) or a week or so until the end of the school year, you may feel like you’re limping along to the summer holiday finish line. Me too. Here’s what has been helping me get through the […]
Did you know that up to 20 per cent of students in any year are described as disengaged? [1]Angus, M., McDonald, T., Ormond, C., Rybarcyk, R., Taylor, A., & Winterton, A. (2009). Trajectories of classroom behaviour and academic …continue This impacts significantly of the student’s learning outcomes. Many do not catch up academically in later years. [2] Angus, […]
Emergency response drills require regular practice Schools have an obligation to provide a safe environment for children, staff, volunteers and visitors. Careful preparation, planning and regular practice drills are designed to equip staff to react quickly and calmly, to act in a coordinated and thoughtful manner and to minimize the risk of harm to all […]
It’s National child protection week. If you work in a school this is a good time to share information with your students about being safe, how to seek help, and who to seek help from if needed. Discussing protective behaviours is one way to do this. Protective Behaviours are based on two main concepts: Everyone has […]
In every class there are students who struggle to learn. Over time, some will begin to believe that even if they try, they will be unable to achieve. As a result, they may give up easily, be less willing to have a go, avoid trying new things, or asking for help, further reinforcing their perception […]
Children’s literacy skills begin developing long before they begin school. Some might argue that they begin in the womb, where we now know the foetus begins learning the difference between language patterns such as sounds, syllables and vowel lengths. [1]Partanen E, Kujala T, Huotilainen M, et al. Learning-induced neural plasticity of speech processing before birth. PNAS. […]
Recently a number of members have been asking for help in getting a hard to contact parent to attend a meeting at their school. To generate some fresh ideas we thought we’d publish some of the best suggestions posted on our old forum in response to the following question… ‘Hi, I was wondering if anyone has […]