SPHE: Growing and Changing

January and February bring a change to the theme of SPHE and this time around we have to focus on growing and changing, which can be a difficult topic to teach. The most important thing is to teach it with confidence. To introduce the topic, I got the students to brainstorm ‘what is growing and changing?’ We then held a group discussion on it. I first discuss how we go through different changes. I focused on physical change and emotional changes. As a class we made our own definition of what puberty is.

To get the students involved, I lay out sheets of paper on the ground. Then one student lay on the ground and the others drew around the shape of their body. I got them to make two body shapes. One was labelled ‘boys’ and the other was labelled ‘girls’. I split the students into two groups. Then I asked the students to label and list any changes that they are aware of. Then after a few minutes we stuck the images on the whiteboard so that the whole class could see them. The students were then encouraged to identify any changes that happened to both males and females. The students understood that change happened to everyone, it just might happen at different times.

The students were then given out strips of paper with changes on them. They had to decipher which happened to girls, boys or both. I then gave the students an opportunity to write any questions that they may like to be answered over the next few sessions.

Quote of the Day

Section D: The Question of Faith

In today’s climate, the question of faith is a significant issue. Families no longer go to mass each week, many pledge that they don’t believe in God, while schools are homes to a variety of different faiths. Thus studying the question of faith will be very different to how it was a few years ago.

I start these lessons off by finding out what the students know first. I ask students in their groups to brainstorm what is a religious belief and what is a religious practice. From there we make a class definition of what each one is. Then the students are divided into different groups again and they discuss how religion is practiced in Ireland today. They then divide the page into two. On one side they write how religion is practiced today and on the other side they write how it was practice years ago. Each group then sticks up their sheets on the whiteboard. Everyone goes up to the board with their notebook and takes note of similarities and differences between the practices in the past and present.

I then go through the following PowerPoint with them. I try to constantly build on the information that they already know so that they feel that they are part of generating the information.

Recap on Religious FAith and Practice

I would then end the lesson by getting the students to write on a post-it one thing they already knew a

Silver Linings Playbook and The Search for Meaning and Values

Ms. Donnelly's Blog

Recently while looking for suitable films to watch with my fifth year class about the Search for Meaning and Values, I came across Silver Linings Playbook. The film follows Pat (Bradley Cooper) as he tries to rebuild his life following a mental breakdown and an 8 month stint in a mental institution. Pat is determined to win back his ex wife Nikki going to extreme lengths. This task becomes a little more challenging when he meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) who has her own set of problems. The film documents both Tiffany’s and Pat’s search for meaning after both have encountered tragedy within their lives.

The students thoroughly enjoyed the film. Although a comedy the film does explore serious issues such as mental illness, early death, sexual adventurism, self improvement, football fanaticism, OCD, illegal and degenerate gambling and corrupt family dynamics. The film also helped the students to understand the importance…

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Tabloid Newspapers

Teaching about Newspapers was always a favourite topic of mine. I have taught this topic many times throughout teaching practice and my students really enjoy it. I always start the lesson by brainstorming ‘Newspapers’ with the class to help identify what they already know. Then I bring in newspapers and the students look through them and try to identify the difference between the different style of papers. Then I focus on Tabloid newspapers as students are generally more aware of what they are. I hand out a photocopy of the front page of a Tabloid newspaper. In groups the students then identify what is on the front page of a newspaper and label each feature.  Then I go through all of the features of a newspaper on a PowerPoint and the students label and describe each feature. Below is one of the PowerPoint I have used in the past. I hope this helps.

Tabloid Newspapers lesson one

Twitter noticeboard

For the past few months I have been trying to think of different ways that my students could reflect on what they have learned. I had been using post-its at the end of every week. I would get students to write down two things that they enjoyed learning about this week and one thing that they found difficult. This worked really well but I felt that their reflections should become part of the classroom. I searched through Pinterest for different ideas and I liked the idea of using a twitter board as a way of reflecting on the students’ learning. This is my first week to use it but so far so good. The students love the idea that they are tweeting about their learning. It has really helped engage them in their learning, especially during the tough first week back after Christmas.

It is so easy to accomplish. All you have to do is print the twitter logo, the twitter name, the twitter bird and a sign saying ‘What is trending in learning today?’. Then I printed out speech bubbles for the students’ tweets. I laminated these, so that each week the students can reflect on their learning with whiteboard markers. Then the next week they can read their  reflections, wipe them off and reflect on how they have learned.

My classroom:

How Post-Its Can Change Your Teaching

Ms. Davey's Blog

I’ve been using this little gem since I started teaching. It’s tried and tested and….it works!

Grab a stack of Post-Its and give one to each student. Tell each student to write on the back of the Post-It (below the sticky piece). Then at the end of the lesson / topic / whenever you feel like it, ask the students to write down one question they have about the topic. Then get the students to fold over the Post-It so that it’s sealed. You can either take them up and address the questions straight away, or take them up at the end of class so that you can read through them in advance and possibly research some answers.

This is one of the most simple and easy teaching tricks, but its so effective. Immediately you can see if there are any gaps in your students’ knowledge, or if they have…

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Quote of the Day

I lover this proverb, it really helps remind both students and teachers that a teacher can only do so much. A teacher facilitates a student’s learning, but they cannot learn for their students. Their students must enter the door of learning by themselves.

Happy Christmas to all of my followers!!

I just want to wish all of my followers a Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

I hope that everyone is enjoying their holidays and I wish everyone the best in the new year.

Voki: Is it a worthwhile educational tool?

What is Voki?

Voki is a free service that allows you to create customised speaking characters. It is as cool as it sounds. Imagine back to when you were at school, what would you have thought if a teacher came into a class with an interactive speaking character? Yes, you would probably initially think your teacher had lost it but then once you saw the character you would realise the creativity and ‘coolness’ of the service.

Voki is a creative, easy-to-use tool that helps motivate students and improves lesson comprehension and student participation. It is simple to get started creating your very own Voki. Using the simple interface, customize the look of your Voki; choose your head, clothes, and accessories. Give your Voki a voice and add a background. It literally takes minutes to set up. Customize your Voki character to look like historical figures, cartoons, animals, etc. Teachers and students can create different avatars to help students leans in a more engaging way.

It is just as easy to share your Vokis. Voki gives you the chance to share your Voki through email, Facebook, Twitter, WordPress and so much more.

Voki even has an area which consists of lesson plans and lesson ideas for teachers. Voki is a very useful website for teachers as it also offers tutorials and a blog for different tips and hints. Voki allows the teacher to create a class username and password, rather than having to get pupils email addresses and own username.

Voki also has a Voki Classroom section and a Voki Presenter Section.

Personally I think Voki is an intriguing way of getting students involved in their learning. They could use Voki to create presentations based on famous people they are learning about or use them to create characters for English.

So to answer my question… Is Voki a worthwhile educational tool? Yes, I think Voki is a worthwhile educational tool as it allows students to virtually see their learning come to life.

For some reason I cannot share my Voki on my blog, but pop over to my twitter account where I have shared my Voki.