Education
Learning in Disguise
24th November 2008
Parents can help children “learn in disguise” at home with national curriculum matched educational games and online paperless books from Keen2Learn
Recent research shows that 80% of a child’s academic success is a direct result of support learning at home from parents, but before tired mums and dads across the nation groan in despair at the thought of sitting down with grumpy children and dog-eared homework books – there is a fantastic educationally-approved solution!
At the click of a mouse, Keen2Learn’s (www.keen2learn.co.uk) website reveals an extensive range of educational games and toys to provide the whole family with a huge amount of fun whilst learning through games, DVD’s, activities, worksheets, puzzles and online links about literacy, numeracy, science, ICT and other subjects. Used by teachers nationwide, as well as parents, these educational fun games are matched to the national curriculum’s Key Stages, and encourages proactive play and learning which makes a significant difference to the child’s understanding and learning retention.
Intel award-winning website Keen2Learn’s resources are geared from foundation stage through to Key Stage 4 (age 3 to 16), as well as resources for parents and teachers especially designed for children with special educational needs, including gifted and talented, learning difficulties, and hearing and visually impaired children.
The Mighty Book paperless online book service on the Keen2Learn site is a fantastic way of parents reading regularly with their children in a fun, educational way without the need for expensive books – it’s much better for the environment too, and at just £16 for a year’s unlimited access subscription, is absolutely the most cost-effective way of enjoying regular reading with your child.
Reading is encouraged through highlighted scripts and animated stories, which engages the child’s imagination and allows them to learn to read at their own speed accompanied by their favourite adult! The books are written mainly by schools, teams and individuals and Keen2Learn is currently running a competition to write a 2000 word minimum story which will be judged by a children’s author and turned into a Mighty Book by the end of January 2009.
Find a Tutor
Tutor Hunt is a new site that seeks to match pupils and tutors, allowing both to advertise and search online for free, and covering most of the main academic subjects. They do not endorse any of the tutors but will remove any they deem unsuitable. They act as a clearing house so that no personal details are published online, keeping the service confidential.
Can't Cook, Will Cook
Cookery lessons are to be compulsory in England's secondary schools for children aged 11 to 14, in a move aimed at cutting the national obesity crisis, and to promote healthy eating. Pupils will learn to cook for an hour a week for one term, and poorer pupils' ingredients will be subsidised.
Cookery is a currently a ministerial "expectation" but, as an optional part of the design and technology curriculum, is not currently taught in all schools.
The move is part of the strategy to tackle obesity, as experts believe 1m children will be obese in a decade.
The Department for Children, Schools and Families says that about 85% of secondary schools do offer cookery in some form.
It wants those schools to make the change immediately, and the rest by 2011.
The aim is to train higher level teaching assistants to do some of the teaching and to recruit more food technology teachers.
Schools Secretary Ed Balls wants to see 800 cookery teachers trained:
"I think it is important to act now and maybe we should have acted earlier," he said.
"It's not going to be just the technology of food, it will be how you can use simple ingredients, simple recipes, so that children and young people can be prepared for adult life."
Rowdy classes?
Boring teachers to blame!
| Schools watchdog Ofsted has blamed rowdy behaviour in schools on boring, repetitive and badly planned lessons. Instead of blaming yob culture or irresponsible parenting for persistent poor discipline, Ofsted said that the teaching profession was guilty of failures that disheartened pupils and staff alike:
“In most cases, behaviour issues stemmed from students’ frustration with unsatisfactory teaching in a few classrooms and a curriculum that did not motivate a vocal minority. ”
The report drew a predictably irritated response from the National Union of Teachers.
Ofsted’s verdict coincided with the publication of a new study from the IPPR think-tank, which claimed that Britain’s teenagers were among the most unruly in Europe.
But the watchdog noted that poor behaviour was neither inevitable nor entrenched. It could often be turned around “in a reasonably short time” with a fresh approach from teachers.
Too often children acted up in class simply because they did not find their lessons interesting and did not like their teachers. At the same time teachers often failed to implement the school’s own rules on behaviour, the report, based on 71 secondary schools in England with unsatisfactory behaviour records, found.
Teachers could improve discipline and motivation quickly if they gave more varied classes and formed better relationships with pupils, the report suggested.
Some pupils disliked individual teachers so much that they would bunk off if certain members of staff were in school rather than turn up to class. This particularly affected schools with a high turnover of staff.
“Students were fed up with changes in teachers and with temporary teachers who did not know them or how the school worked. Indeed, in one school, staff reported that students inquired whether particular teachers were in school that day before deciding to walk through the school gates,” the report said.
Some heads were unable to tackle discipline problems because they were distracted and too busy working on bids to take part in some of the Government’s school reforms.
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Playing hookey
Parents are risking fines by taking their children out of school to take advantage of cheaper holidays or enjoy day trips because it is 'more convenient', according to new research. Many miss whole weeks when their families take advantage of cheaper holidays. Often those who go on short breaks or one-day outings often tell teachers their children are ill, feeling the lie is justified because their work patterns make it difficult for their families to spend time together.
The study of 1,000 parents visiting major theme parks during term time found that children in four out of 10 families questioned were playing truant. Organisers at Flamingo Land, North Yorkshire, and Pleasure Island, East Lincolnshire, calculated up to 456,000 children each year miss a day of school to visit the attractions.
Synthetic phonics rule
The national curriculum in England is to be revised so children are taught to read primarily using the method known as synthetic phonics.
The approach is a key recommendation of a review headed by former Ofsted inspections director Jim Rose.
He says phonics - letter sounds - must happen alongside paying attention to speaking and listening.
The government and the Tories back the findings. The Lib Dems say it should be for teachers to decide what is best.
Useful link:
http://www.greenteacher.com/
Welcome! Green Teacher is a magazine by and for 
educators to enhance environmental and global education across
the curriculum at all grade levels.
Fifty pages of ideas and activities, four times a year.
Each issue contains:
Perspective articles — ideas for rethinking education in light of
environmental and global problems.
Practical articles — reports of what successful teachers, parents and other youth educators are doing.
Ready-to-use activities — cross-curricular activities for
various grade levels
Resource listings and reviews — evaluations of dozens of new
books, kits, games and other resources
Announcements of all kinds, and much more! |