text:
Constructing schemes of work and curriculum documents in drama to meet the needs of the department and OFSTED is one thing. Providing the rationale behind the work of the drama department is another. As is providing teaching material for colleagues who are not drama trained, and yet find themselves teaching drama lessons.
I am sure that for those who were drama trained it is all a straightforward process – but for those who were not, there is a need for support.
One possible way forward is through the use of the copiable book "Alive and Kicking" (also available on CD so that it can be loaded onto the school's learning network – which means everyone can read the scheme of work at any time).
It provides a series of templates for all three years of Key Stage 3. There are schemes of work taken term by term, with three distinct modules per year. There is a detailed scheme of assessment criteria tied in to an expectation of many students going on to GCSE courses but also tied in to National Curriculum Level equivalents. There is also a package of resource materials for use with the modules, most notably a series of mini-scripts for children to work on in combinations of twos, threes, fours or fives.
The list of contents is huge – for example within the section on classroom practice there are articles on:
Rules of the studio
Key concepts and key words, year by year
Solo work (from simultaneous solo activities to audition speeches)
Use of Games
Alternative strategies
Other chapters cover key skills, assessment, reporting – and of course the complete year by year schemes of work. There is a sample chapter available on-line at http://www.pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/drama/T1650.pdf
Cat No: 978 1 86083 569 8; Publisher reference no: T1650emn
Photocopiable report in a ring binder, £29.95. plus £3.95 delivery
By phone with a school order number on 01536 399 011
Is it possible to make sense of the new EYFS?
What is the best way of providing children with opportunities for playing and exploring, active learning and creating and thinking critically?
In short, what is the most effective way of meeting the requirements of the new EYFS curriculum?
In many ways the new framework is better than the old one. It simplifies assessment for a start. There are no longer 69 boxes to be ticked for each child.
Gone is the requirement that 80% of assessment must be from child-initiated activities. (Not that we're advocating a return to teacher-led activities. But – admit it – sometimes trying to catch children demonstrating that they know how to do something, and having pen and pencil to hand at just the right time to record it, was a challenge!)
There are other important changes. Gone are the six key areas. In their place there is now much more emphasis on the three prime areas, those that lay the foundations for children's school readiness and future progress: language and communication, physical development and personal, social and emotional development.
Literacy, mathematics, understanding the world, and expressive arts and design (as they now call creative development) are still very much part of the curriculum, but are now called specific areas.
One thing we can guarantee the new EYFS curriculum does – it makes all your old planning documents out-of-date!
That's where our Activities for 3-5 Year Olds series comes in.
The 10 books in the series all contain enjoyable play activities designed to develop children's important preschool skills and a deeper understanding of the world around them. They also help develop key skills in the three prime areas. Even better, each activity clearly shows how it links to the new areas.
The books' topics comprise: All About Us, Gardening, Caring & Sharing, Pets, Colours, Shopping, Families, Water, Food and Weather.
All the books in the Activities for 3-5 Year Olds Series contain tried-and-tested play activities. They are an invaluable source of easy-to-use ideas for all early years settings, from preschools and nurseries to reception classes and day nurseries.
You can order the Activities for 3-5 Year Olds Series in any of these ways:
On our website
By phone on 01449 766629
By fax on 01449 767122
By email to orders@tradecounter.co.uk
By post to Brilliant Publications, c/o Trade Counter Distribution, Mendlesham Industrial Estate, Norwich Road, Mendlesham, Suffolk, IP14 5ND.
Profit is a doddle. Isn't it ?
Polly Peck and Ratners were widely used in the 1980's as case studies on how a perfect business should be run, clearly as time has progressed this perhaps was not true.
There is no perfect way to run a business and lessons unfortunately are often learnt and understood the hard way – when something goes wrong.
In order that students might see how things can go wrong, and how they can go right, we've put together a great business exercise designed to put the theory of business studies into practice.
"Jot Pad" is suitable for KS4 and Sixth Form. Students are divided into teams who act as small businesses that produce Jot Pads.
Each team elects a management team who plan the task, cost out and project how many jot pads the production team can make, forecast profit margins and secure a signed contract with the buyer. They must negotiate pay and working conditions with the production team and buy all the resources to make the jot pads.
At the end of the exercise they calculate the actual profit made compared to the proposed profit calculated in the preparation stage. The production team agree the best production methods and actually produce the jot pads. Hard work, competitive – just like the real business world.
This resource contains teachers' guidance notes explaining how to run the exercise, plus detailed time guidelines and a list of resources required.
Also included is the exercise brief that explains the task to the students, management team briefing notes and production team briefing notes.
A financial analysis worksheet is incorporated, along with a purchase contract and the final debrief questions
There are more details at…
http://c-l-e.co.uk/buy-teaching-resources-online/jot-pad-exercise/
You can pay and download the exercise direct from our website using Paypal or you may wish to pay with a purchase order number.
Please phone or fax your order to 0113 3909814 or e-mail your purchase order number to Julie@c-l-e.co.uk. Your order will be dealt with within 24 hours.
Modern Foreign Languages Information and Services
A language lab at a fraction of the normal cost
Three Minutes, Please!
Boardworks – free resources, lesson plans & teaching tips
www.keylinkcomputers.co.uk
Keylink Computers Ltd, 2 Woodway House, Common Lane, Kenilworth, CV8 2ES
Email: vll@keylinkcomputers.co.uk
Our Virtual Language Lab allows you set up a language lab without buying new hardware and lots of expensive equipment.
It runs on your PC network using the multimedia facilities to provide a sophisticated learning environment which both the students and yourself can control.
Suitable for all key stages, our VLL is supplied with teaching material ranging from KS2 to A level in French, German and Spanish. VLL includes full student monitoring with remote control and intercom facilities making it ideal for classroom use.
For a free demo or more information go to our website –www.keylinkcomputers.co.uk/ and click on Virtual Landing Lab on the left hand side or email us for a free disk.
http://www.viewtech.co.uk/mfl.htm
Viewtech Educational Media, 7-8 Falcons Gate, Dean Road, Yate, Bristol, BS37 5NH
Email: mail@viewtech.co.uk
More DVD resources from the producers of our best-ever-selling series of DVD resources for Language education, Trois Minutes, S'il Vous Plaît! / Drei Minuten, Bitte! / Tres Minutos, Por Favor! Preview video clips online and quote promotional discount code: HHM210 at the checkout for a 10% discount!
http://www.boardworks.co.uk/mfl_89
Boardworks, 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 MFL blogs contain free resources, lesson plans and teaching tips for KS3 and KS4 teachers. Follow the weblinks to download the resources free of charge or follow us on Twitter @BoardworksLtd
What is the best way to promote the safe use of social media by staff
A total of 43 teachers were referred to the General Teaching Council for England in 2011 for unprofessional conduct related to the use of social media sites.
14 of these teachers were suspended and 18 were placed on probation.
As a result the NUT have recently advised all schools that they should have policies in place making it clear what teachers should and should not do in the virtual space.
Which is in fact a lot more difficult than it sounds, not least because of the fact that social media is changing day by day.
To help overcome this problem we have liaised with internet and teaching experts to create a trusted, cohesive, accessible and robust school-wide policy that provides clear distinctions between public and private use of the medium and which covers the safe and appropriate use of social media by members of staff.
The policy document is available to download online from www.iTeachingResources.com. It can be purchased as a stand-alone document and then distributed in electronic or hard copy format within a matter of minutes to all members of staff.
The resource helps educational establishments to ensure that the use of social media by staff ensuring that the usage:
Does not bring the school into disrepute
Does not bring the teacher into disrepute
Does not expose the school to legal liability
Reflects 'safer internet' practices
Minimises risks associated with the personal use of social media by professionals and
Reflects the school's standard of behaviour and staff code of conduct.
The safe use code was written by teacher Tom Tolkien, a Senior Manager with extensive experience of whole school assessment, internet and e-safety as well as initiative and policy development.
The document provides practical step-by-step guides to applying recommended privacy settings on popular social networking sites, with explanations on how to determine if posts, comments, images, links and videos shared on a profile by a teacher are appropriate and transparent.
The policy also includes information for teaching staff about maintaining privacy and keeping personal information such as phone numbers and addresses private while using their own or school equipment.
Detailed guidelines regarding communication with parents and pupils cover sites like Facebook and Twitter, acceptable content for social network profiles and how to respond to initiated contact from pupils. The policy concludes with guidance on recognising exceptions and reporting abuse or cyber bullying.
The policy document for acceptable use of social media by staff in educational establishments is priced at £49.99, but you can save 5% by quoting HH12SMP when you order from www.iTeachingResources.com
Email: orders@iteachingresources.com
Post to: iTeachingResources, Allerton House, 75 Allerton Hill, Leeds, LS7 3QB.
What is the most effective way to challenge the youngsters who get every spelling right, all the time?
It's the same old story: Letters and sounds. (Or put another way: Lttrs n snds).
How can we persuade children who get 90% or more in all spelling tests to develop an interest in the written language?
To practise spelling children need to use letters and sounds over and over. They need to embrace letters, get to know spellings, and in essence see the written language as a central part of their lives.
This means practice and exercises – and that is what makes up the books we sell. We provide structured, organised, practice and exercise.
But we would also suggest that sometimes it is worth stopping the lessons and playing a little game.
Such as getting the children to wrt wrds wth th vwls tkn out. A e i e ooas ae ou. (And then with the consonants taken out). Strange that, isn't it, that words without consonants are harder to decipher than words without vowels? But it generally doesn't take children long to work out why – and playing games with words and letters enhances their grasp of what is going on.
Sometimes they might be asked to write their names backwards. There's one colleague who even got so far as to read out the class register with the names backwards. Never has registration been so enjoyable.
Does it help them to spell? There's no real proof. But it is a spelling activity that genuinely is highly enjoyable for the children. (It is one of the activities that most children report to their parents that evening and remember for years to come.)
Quite simply because it makes letters and spellings interesting – not so much alien abstracts sent to torment children but rather items to be played with, experimented with, have fun with. And through that process – learned.
It is the theory of the "occasional pause". The stepping back from a theme can re-motivate the children. (It can also be a game that parents can play with their children at home.)
So the message is, sp*ll*ng has to be learned, but can also be f*n.
Free sample pages of our Spelling Practice KS2 revision (Phases 3-6) and Spelling Practice KS2 Extension (Phase 18+) books are available on our website atwww.topical-resources.co.uk/literacy
(And just to be clear, we don't have words with vowels removed in the test. That was just our way of stressing the point: we all see the written language through different eyes.)
If you would like to know more please call 01772 863158 or email us at enquiries@topical-resources.co.uk
You can order in any of these ways:
By phone on: 01772 863158
By email: Sales@topical-resources.co.uk
By post: Topical Resources, P.O. Box329, Broughton, Preston, Lancashire PR3 5LT
Enterprise Education The Course Book
So fundamental is the notion of Enterprise to our society that it is rather sad to think that many young people leave school – and indeed many leave university – without much of an idea as to what enterprise is all about.
One way or another they earn money, and generally speaking they spend it. But the whole basis of the system, and their part within it, can often remain a mystery.
It was because of the utterly fundamental nature of enterprise within our society, and the fact that so many young people don't seem to grasp what it is all about, that we commissioned "Enterprise Education: The Course Book".
Written by a teacher who went on to set up his own successful business this copiable volume starts from a detailed review of what Enterprise Education is, and then helps the students come to terms with what the world of business is all about.
The volume explores the notion of Enterprise and how it can be applied throughout the school, as well as examining the career implications of enterprise.
The volume then covers the setting up of a work-related programme before going into examples of enterprise opportunities including simulations, school generated projects and engagement with business.
At the end of the book there is a set of forms that can be used in terms of an agreement with companies over work experience, report forms, placement letters, etc etc.
Enterprise Education: The Complete Coursebook includes everything that is required for the successful implementation of the Key Stage 4 Enterprise Education programme, from classroom teaching materials to an in-service training programme, from work-based learning modules to simulations and live enterprise projects.
Enterprise Education: The Complete Coursebook is available as a book or on CD and includes:
INSET activities – as a result of which staff will feel confident in their knowledge and understanding of the enterprise culture within industry and how it will impact on pupils who are exposed to it.
Champions of Enterprise: Pupils can evaluate local business enterprises and draw their own conclusions as to which firms are truly involved in enterprise culture.
Simulations: Mini-enterprises in which pupils can engage in an enterprise activity in a controlled environment.
School generated projects: Pupils organise an actual event or act in the local environment in a planned and organised way.
Real life situations: The Coursebook sets out programmes which ensure that the organisation, the school and the pupil all work together to generate a true understanding of enterprise.
The copyright licence allows the copying from either the book or the CD, so that all students can have pages relevant to their study at any time. It is also possible to place the CD on the school's learning platform, so that students may access it at any time.
ISBN: 978 1 86083 8606
£25.95 for the book or CD, plus £3.95 postage.
£32.94 for the book plus CD, plus £3.95 postage.
You can order in four different ways. In each case please quote our reference T1790emn. Sample pages and a contents list can be viewed prior to ordering on http://www.pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/business/T1790.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
Quartz and Radio Controlled clocks for schools New website offer for schools
Simply enter Promo code AUT2012 at checkout for 10% discount
Sizes range from 25cm classroom clocks up to huge 600cm Exam and Hall clocks.
Safety glass lenses are a superb feature for schools making them vandal resistant and safe.
Clear Easy to read dials
Radio controlled clocks set themselves to correct time and automatically adjust for summer and winter time, saving you time and making sure all clocks are always correct.
For more information or to place an order go to www.ravencourt.com
Or phone: 01780 489100, fax: 01780 489099
Automatic 30 day account for all UK schools and colleges.
Ofsted and the digital natives
It is a requirement of Ofsted that pupils need to develop an engagement with and commitment to learning. As such the school needs to use well-judged teaching strategies which both challenge pupils and match individual pupil needs accurately.
In developing such strategies, however, one needs to bear in mind that children not only engage with digital media, they prefer digital media. For them the medium through which a message is transmitted affects their willingness to engage with the message.
For yourself this impacts on the Ofsted requirements for the achievement of pupils at the school. Ofsted states that in outstanding schools pupils read widely and often across all subjects while developing and applying a wide range of skills. In other words they become exceptionally well-prepared for the next stage in their education, training or employment.
As a result, engagement with digital media can be found to generate a greater commitment to learning and a greater willingness to accept the challenges that the material they work with gives them.
Our aim, therefore, is to give access to a wide range of resources that allows pupils across differing abilities to be challenged and to progress at their own pace within a lesson/learning plan using the digital skills that they already have.
Autology is able to offer this support and challenge because it contains over 4,500 Education Sites linked to the curriculum, plus access to hundreds of E-Textbooks and Encyclopaedia from the leading publishers across all subjects, exam boards and examination levels.
As this is an on-line service these resources are available for pupil access both at school and at home, via PC, Tablet and Smartphone.
Through a series of simple user interfaces and resource filters, Autology promotes independent learning which allows children to both research and learn independently. It is, in fact, a most significant step towards an outstanding grade from Ofsted.
Because the learning is under the control of the pupil, guided by the teacher in a manner that the child welcomes, grades, commitment and enthusiasm in relation to learning are invariably seen to rise. Additionally, parental engagement is enhanced as a result of parents seeing their child's renewed commitment to the work.
At the same time, parents are assured of the safety of the site since the walled garden approach means that while the pupils can access over 4,500 Education Sites indexed to the curriculum, the pupil is simultaneously safeguarded.
Autology is available for just £99 for a 1 year school licence, and as a promotional offer will also provide 30 Days free trial access to premium resources from Heinemann, Letts Lonsdale and World Book. For more details please see http://uk.autology.org/promo/
Alternatively if you would like to talk through any aspect of our service please call 01244 560966 or email keithe@autology.org
Using flights to take students on music study trips can be cheaper than travel via the traditional coach and ferry
This sounds like a surprising claim – but it certainly can be true. School journeys for music students via air can be less expensive than travel by conventional methods.
The reason is that the bulk booking of a school can push down airline prices, especially where there is little flexibility over when the flight is taken.
And of course there is a second bonus of timing. Instead of a third or even a half of a school overseas trip being taken up by travel, the journey can be reduced to just a few hours.
This is turn reduces costs (in that coaches may be cheaper to hire, but your trip will be booking a coach with driver/s for a longer period).
Given that it is normally possible to fly from an airport near to the school, to an airport close to the final destination, such arrangements can add up to three more days spent in the desired destination, rather than on the road and at sea.
Additionally you have the option of choosing the hotel that is right for you and your students, rather than one selected by the tour operator. You can choose the price range, and you can choose a hotel near the airport or within the city or region that is your final destination.
At GTC Travel Group we understand that each group is unique and we know the importance of finding out the exact needs of your individual group and so we will offer you the best advice to make your journey as stress free as possible.
Better still, our reservation technology enables us to give you the most up-to-date travel options, all the time. We book and issue our own tickets enabling us to keep full control of your booking and ensure your journey meets your needs.
What's more, as we are ABTA and ATOL holders you can be assured that you and your students are fully protected should the airline fail (as recommended by the Health and Safety Executive for schools).
Because we have so many locations to and from which we can fly, the best way to explore the possibilities is to either call one of our specialist group reservation advisors on 020 8429 2900 or email us at groups@gtctravelgroup.com with the details of your requirements.
You can also go to our website – www.gtctravelgroup.com/info/school-groups/ for more information.
Either way we'll come back to you with our suggestions and prices. You'll be surprised how much time can be saved and how low group air fares can be.
Looking for an innovative way to introduce your students to Byron, Shelley and Keats?
Try Romantics specialist John Webster's engaging new audio release 'All About the Younger Romantics', a six-CD boxed set with narrative by Benjamin Zephaniah and music by indie folk group Brindaband.
Supported by online resources that can be used to enhance classroom use and private study, 'All About the Younger Romantics' includes:
– Six CDs with a total of 22 song versions of key lyrics by the poets, drawing on around two dozen core poems and fragments.
– Songs which present the poets' lyrics in an approachable format to introduce and familiarise students with their work. Spoken word narratives voiced by Benjamin Zephaniah on Shelley's life and work (The Shelley Story) and Byron's last years (Lord Byron and the Greek War) provide background for the poems and biographical detail.
– Also includes four CDs in the format of contemporary music releases:
'John Keats's sublime single' – song versions of two Keats poems together with a mini-biography of the poet written and narrated by John Webster.
'Courageous Heart: seven Byronic songs' (reworked songs from Lord Byron and the Greek War, presented as an 18 minute EP).
12 song 'solo album' 'Percy Bysshe Shelley: Rock Star' of songs drawing on Shelley's work.
14 track 45 minute compilation CD ('The First Fab Four') with songs based on all the poets' output (also from their associate Leigh Hunt), and delivering a unique overview of the group's literary achievements.
Presented as boxed set, ideal for school libraries. Excellent value at £29.95 (saving of £18.75 on total published prices) plus £3.95 p&p. A total of 3hrs 45 min. of programming together with extensive online resources (photographs, lyrics and commentaries, study ideas, suggestions for classroom use, and essays).
From the educational press (on The Shelley Story and Lord Byron and the Greek War):
'knowledgeable and authoritative' School Librarian;
'highly appropriate for post-16 studies' National Association for the Teaching of English in Schools magazine.
'I liked these CDs, not just for their quirkiness but for what they're trying to do' Times Educational Supplement
More information on the CD collection, including a complete list of the poems covered, reviews, song samples and links can be found at: http://www.pathfinderaudio.co.uk/boxed_set.html
To order: Email: pathfind.orders@gmail.com. Tel/Fax: 01865 765436
Post: Pathfinder Audio, 57A Old Road, Headington, Oxford OX3 7JZ
Girls in Physical Education Increasing Participation and Success
With the onset of adolescence, participation rates in physical activity often tend to decline. Many PE teachers have noticed that participation rates for girls drop off more rapidly than for boys.
Why is it that involvement in physical activity for girls drops off more rapidly than for boys?
This is a serious concern as participation in school physical education programs has been shown to have a positive influence on a person's physical activity later in life.
Conversely, bad experiences at school can often be detrimental in shaping people's life-long attitudes to physical activity.
Girls In Physical Education – Increasing Participation & Success is a 23-minute DVD programme that examines some of the reasons why girls lose interest in physical education and then focuses on a number of strategies to help teachers tackle the problem.
Available on approval from Viewtech Educational Media. To order online click on the title links above and then add to order – quote promotional discount code: HHM110 at the checkout for a 10% discount!
If you'd like any further information or assistance please contact:
Viewtech Educational Media
7-8 Falcons Gate
Dean Road
BS37 5NH
email: info@viewtech.co.uk
http://www.viewtech.co.uk
Viewtech Educational Media is the trading name of Viewtech Audio Visual Media Limited, a company registered in England and Wales under number 4205240. A member of the British Educational Suppliers Association. E.&O.E
English Information and Services
Free dictionaries for your students …..Is it really true?
English education news
Daily news service that helps to raise standards in literacy across the curriculum
Boardworks – free resources, lesson plans and teaching tips
Free Dictionaries for your students ….. Is it really true?
www.signposteducational.co.uk
Signpost Educational Ltd
Email: signpost@talk21.com
Well yes, it really is true!
With 384 pages and a clear, easy to read typeface, the "New Choice" dictionary is an excellent choice for your KS 3,4 and GCSE students. It's the normal paperback size (196 x 128 mm) and costs only £1.99
So where do the free copies come in?
Simple. Just order 100 or more copies and you'll get 50% extra free of charge.
Order 200 and you'll get another 100 copies free. There's no limit to the quantity you can order and you'll always get an extra 50% free with orders over 100 copies.
What's more you can get the same deal with the "New Choice" Thesaurus which is also £1.99. In fact you can combine your free copies to include both dictionary
AND thesaurus eg.Order 100 dictionaries and 100 thesauri and you could get 100 Dictionaries or 100 thesauri free…or 80 dictionaries and 20 thesauri free. It's your choice!
www.schools.co.uk/subscribe.html
Hamilton House, Earlstrees Ct., Earlstrees Rd., Corby, Northants NN17 4HH
Email: Tony@schools.co.uk
English Education News is a free weekly newsletter written, as the title suggests, for English teachers.
Each week we cover a different story, generally trying to focus on something that may not have been covered elsewhere. Quite often we also highlight free resources, interesting web sites, or pronouncements from the government on a topic related to English.
What's more, if you have a question you'd like to put to other readers about resources, exams or any specific topics, you can just email in and we'll pass the message on to all our readers.
To subscribe free of charge just go to www.schools.co.uk/subscribe.html The service is always free, we guarantee never to pass on your email address elsewhere, and you can stop receiving the newsletter with one simple click.
A daily news sevice that helps to raise standards in literacy across the curriculum
www.theday.co.uk
The Day chooses three of the most interesting stories in the news each day and provides analysis, background, curriculum links, further research ideas, activities and debates – all on one sheet of A4 or online.
For a free trial click http://www.theday.co.uk/register/school?from=hh201205
http://www.boardworks.co.uk/english_626
Boardworks English blog contains free resources, lesson plans and teaching tips for KS3, KS4 and KS5 English teachers. Follow the weblink to download the resources free of charge or follow us on Twitter @BoardworksLtd
The simplest way to a higher grade for Cambridge IGCSE History
When it comes to preparing for exams, providing students with PowerPoints that link directly to the syllabus can be a major benefit, especially for those who have difficulty with focussing on the key elements in the syllabus.
Which is why our resource – Cambridge IGCSE History PowerPoints CD – covers the syllabus requirements and provides the essential foundation for achieving at least a grade C.
What's more, it will whet the appetite of students and encourage them to do more detailed research in order to achieve higher grades.
Following each section there are review questions for students to privately test themselves or to serve as assessment material.
The core content of the PowerPoints includes:
The Treaty of Versailles, focusing on its effect on Germany
The League of Nations, exploring successes and failures in addition to detailed studies of the Manchuria and Abyssinia crises
Chronologically describing the collapse of international peace from Versailles in 1919 to Hitler's invasion of Poland in 1939
The beginning of the Cold War from 1945-1949
Considering the case studies of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War, the USA's attempts to contain the spread of communism
Resistance to Soviet Power, case studies; Hungary, 1956, Czechoslovakia, 1968 and the Polish Solidarity movement of the 1980's, and finally
How effective has the United Nations been? Case studies; civil war in Congo and the war in Korea.
The depth study selected for this scheme of work is Germany 1918-1945. The lead questions are:
Was the Weimar Republic doomed from the start?
Why was Hitler able to dominate Germany by 1934?
How effectively did the Nazis control Germany, 1933-1945?
What was it like to live in Nazi Germany?
The PowerPoints are illustrated throughout with political cartoons, photographs from the time and maps, giving the opportunity for further discussion and exploring the wider meaning.
The slides themselves can also serve as revision flash cards.
This resource contains 160 slides which are available as a download or on a CD. The price of £59.99 + VAT is the same for both formats.
Once purchased the CD can be freely copied and networked throughout the school.
To see sample pages please email sales@classroom-resources.co.uk quoting the order code 7157.
You can order the Cambridge IGCSE History PowerPoints CD in any of these ways:
By phone on 0117 940 6409
By fax on 0117 940 6408
By email (quoting a school order number) to sales@classroom-resources.co.uk
By post to: Classroom Resources, PO Box 1489, Bristol, BS99 3QJ
The European Day of Languages
Did you know that it is the European Day of Languages on the 26th of September? Do you have anything planned? Why not simply let the children listen to a story from another country, in a different language?
Every year we open up our website which has over a hundred stories from all over the world, in lots of different languages. For example,
Beauty and the Beast- from France
Little Red Riding Hood- from France
Cinderella – originally from China
Sleeping Beauty –from France
The Frog Prince- from Germany
Goldilocks and the three bears, from England
Rare Bog, from Scotland
Four Little Friends, from Bhutan
To access these stories simply go to:
www.growstorygrow.com/story-of-the-month
By the way, they're free.
Val Thornber
val@growstorygrow.com
GrowStoryGrow, the story-telling resource for learning languages
Art and Design at Key Stage 3
Art and Design at Key Stage 3 provides students with support, advice and information about their course and the subject and the skills, methods and materials that they will use. The book contains details of the requirements of the course, followed by a large number of projects which will build knowledge, understanding and skills.
The projects require students to look critically at other artists' and designers' work and then show evidence of a clear line of visual enquiry in art work. All projects cover the areas of exploring and developing ideas, investigating and making, reviewing, adapting and researching into the work of others, and making critical analyses of the work they review. Hand drawn illustrations are included.
The projects in Art and Design at Key Stage Three are divided into section by year group which are intended to be given as handouts to students. For example Year 7 covers Texture and Mark-making, Colour theory, Portraits, Mixed Media, and Ancient Egypt. There is also a comprehensive selection of extra lessons.
It is available as a copiable book (also available on CD Rom so that it can be loaded onto the school's learning platform).
You can see a full list of the topics at http://www.pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/art/T1711.pdf
Publisher's reference: T1711EMN ISBN: 978 1 86083 791 3
You can purchase the report… please quote the order ref: T1711EMN
Why we want students to engage with society
Encouraging students to join a local volunteer group, encouraging them to contacting a politician to express their concerns about a topic important to them, and encouraging them to take an active interest in their local environment are all issues that many of us would feel very positive about.
They are in fact part of the notion of learning about Citizenship – a process of education which aims to give students an understanding of the role they play in society.
There are three main concepts to cover in any citizenship programme of study:
Democracy and justice – the roles that can be taken in the political and justice systems including law, fairness authority and accountability.
Rights and responsibilities – exploring the different kinds of rights including political, human, social, civil and moral.
Identities and diversity – looking at the diverse society in which we live including immigration and how this can affect cultural changes to society
As it is a subject area that relates the individual to the wider society, it is vital that the student knows how the social system works at a local, national and European level. Only in this way can students learn how they can take an active part in their community.
It is for this reason that we have produced our wide array of lesson plans to cover topics including critical consumers, diversity, democracy, rights and responsibilities, the media, human rights, volunteering, active citizenship, local action and politics. There are also some useful assembly projects and a citizenship assessment tool, all designed so that they can be used across a range of learning styles and abilities.
These Citizenship lessons can be used to support learning outcomes for Skills Towards Enabling Progression "Step Up" – Aspects of Citizenship from City & Guilds. These lessons are also suitable for use with Citizenship Studies from OCR.
You can read more about our resources at http://www.teaching-resources-uk.com/2012 .
A house ideal for young teachers
OK, I know, on this site we don't generally talk about houses for teachers, but I was a young teacher in the dim and distant and I know how difficult it was for me to find the right sort of accommodation.
Of course I made life difficult by teaching in the nation's capital, but if by chance you are working in Northamptonshire, then there might be something that is right up your street.
It is a "Terrace Plus" house that is being worked on by the make-over firm Mandy Tobin Homes. This company only does one make-over at a time and uses its own small team of workmen to do all the work.
What is special about this house is not just that it is reasonably priced, but that for a terrace house it is huge – because it has large rooms that have not been divided up and a big garden out the back.
The house is in Rushden, Northants, and is near to Wellingborough, Kettering, Corby and Northampton – plus the smaller towns such as Irthlingboro.
If you are interested, please do take a look at http://www.northantshomes.info/
How prepared are you when you come across a child with SEN?
The number of children who have special educational needs has increased hugely in recent years, and the wide variety of syndromes and conditions they experience, often as a result of developmental delays, can be daunting for both the parents and the staff who support them. This rise in cases is evidenced by Government findings that 21% of today's pupils have Special Education Needs, nearly double the total for 1990. 10% of pupils with Special Education Needs have been given statements.
Many parents find it extremely difficult to manage their child's behaviour or even understand the causes.
To help support staff and parents in Children's Centres the details of 43 of the most common and equally most often misunderstood special needs are given in 2 books: A Guide to Syndromes and Conditions and A Guide to More Syndromes and Conditions. In each case the condition is defined in terms of the characteristics and symptoms and then details of strategies and treatments followed by details of other useful resources.
These books are available from www.behaviourmatters.com/syndromesoffer
Details of purchase for this photocopiable resource:
£25 plus £2 postage and packaging (if one book purchased)
£40 plus £4 postage and packaging (if two books purchased)
How many schools have sublimation printers, and what do they use them for?
In a survey we conducted last term, 41% of heads of Design & Technology who replied said that they had a sublimation printer. Around half the schools with sublimation printers used them for enterprise products (such as the production of mugs, mouse mats, etc) while 55% use them for fabrics and textiles.
The main reason for using the printers again and again was quite simply, the "wow" factor which arises when students see that the result is as good as something that one might buy in a shop.
Given that the overwhelming majority of D & T Departments which had sublimation printers were using them and were very happy with them, the question arises, why do the other half not have sublimation printers?
As one might expect, the main reason given is that of funding not being available. We've been working on this, and now have a sublimation package for just £495.
This specially priced package includes a Ricoh A4 printer and mug press, 4 x Sublijet prink ink cartridges in black, cyan, yellow and magenta, free-of-charge download of Power Driver software, 110 sheets of sublimation paper, 36 sublimation mugs and 2 x rolls of 16m heat tape.
Thus the cost is coming down as the quality of the printer's output is rising, and with the addition of a flatbed press it is now possible to produce professional quality products such as clocks, jigsaws, coasters, bags and place mats from sheet material or pre-prepared blanks.
As a result, sublimation is ideal for all students, whatever their ability.
More details on our specially priced package can be found on our website.
Also, click here to see the list of consumables that can be used with our sublimation printers.
If you would like to know more about our sublimation printers, please do call us on 01223 893900.
FRED PRESENTS SHAKESPEARE'S The Merchant of Venice
FRED presents Shakespeare's most controversial, yet one of his most human, plays in a stripped down and boldly imaginative promenade experience.
From within the tumult of Venice's markets emerges a young man who needs credit to pursue his love. Antonio offers help, but in turn needs to raise credit from a moneylender. A deal is struck with a fatal forfeit if Antonio's investments fail. Love is won, but cargo lost. The moneylender comes to collect his pound of flesh, and with it revenge for years of abuse.
Performed against the stark interiors of @A.E. Harris in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter, FRED's production focuses on the play's language and conflicts. It asks, is there hope for a better future?
This production is especially suitable for school parties. The text has been sensitively edited to reduce the overall running time to a little over two hours, and there are additional mid-week matinees which we hope will make it easier for school parties to attend. FRED also offers a range of supporting events and materials for schools; full details of these can be found on our web site.
FRED is committed to developing the theatre audiences of tomorrow, and is offering up to 20 free tickets to one school for the preview performance of The Merchant of Venice. Full details of this offer, together with information on how to apply, may be found on the schools' support page of FRED's web site.
FRED's mission is summed up as CLASSIC DRAMA—CONTEMPORARY THEATRE. We are looking for ways for old plays to tell new stories, to re-engage with the classics in contemporary styles. And, to do all this while maintaining affordable ticket prices.
PERFORMANCE & BOOKING INFORMATION
Dates: 9-13 October, 2012 at 7.30pm, matinees 10, 12 and 13 October at 2pm
Tickets: £12.60 (£8.40 concessions and groups)
Venue: @A.E. Harris, 110 Northwood Street, Birmingham, B3 1SZ
Booking for The Merchant of Venice is via our box office partner, the Crescent Theatre.
Telephone: 0121 643 5858, or online at www.crescent-theatre.co.uk
Please note, some tickets will be available on the day on the door, but we can only accept cash payment for these.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO TALK TO FRED:
www.fred-theatre.co.uk
A world news newspaper for KS3 and KS4. And it is free for two months.
The chances are that for many young people today newspapers are either something that exist in other households but not their own or they are gossip columns with very little international news.
Which is why Newsademic exists – for it is an international newspaper written and edited for KS 3 and KS 4 students.
To date we have over 30,000 readers – which is why we know there is a demand for such a publication.
It is also why we are happy to offer a free two month subscription to the paper. We know that schools that see it, like it.
The publication supports the PSHE, History, Geography, Science, English and RE curricula though its focus is on international news events that shape and affect the world that we all live in today.
Newsademic carries no advertising. Neither does it feature articles about television, sport, computer games, pop music or celebrity culture.
The newspaper is distributed fortnightly as a PDF file by email or as a download. Although it can be read on screen it is designed to be printed out and read as a paper copy. An intranet licence allows all students to access an HTML searchable version of Newsademic via their school network. Two levels of activities, based on some of the featured articles, accompany each issue.
Annual subscription rates start at £24.00 and schools can photocopy any part of the newspaper as many times as they wish for use within their school.
To subscribe free of charge for two months please go to: www.newsademic.com/promo/h0112
For more information visit www.newsademic.com
What's the biggest problem with having a school minibus – and how can it be fixed?
The fact that over half the secondary schools in the UK have at least one minibus is not a surprise. But what is a surprise is that a recent survey conducted by the School of Educational Administration and Management found that over half of those school minibuses are over 5 years old.
Of course there's nothing wrong with an older minibus – except for the fact that, as with all vehicles, as they get older they need more attention, cost more to run and take up more time in maintenance.
Plus there is the point that minibuses are, according to the survey, increasingly being used for regular journeys to other schools, colleges, swimming pools and the like, as well as occasional visits organised by departments.
All of which means that vehicles are not only on average older, but they are also being used more – and this adds to the problem.
The simple solution (buy a new minibus) is often an impossible option, which is why the older vehicles are being kept on the road.
However, there is an alternative, which is to lease a minibus. At present around 20% of school minibuses are leased – but the SEAM report shows that well over half of schools are now considering financing their next minibus via a lease.
What's more, leasing still allows the school to have the school name and logo on the side of the bus – with a full range of models available.
If you would like to see what models are available, do take a look at our website – www.minibusleasing.co.uk/school-minibus.php
One final bonus: not only does leasing overcome the question of funding, it also offers the opportunity of putting the maintenance with the leasing company – thus ensuring that the bus is fully serviced throughout the year and running at the highest safety standards.
If you would like more information please email us at Minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk or call us on 01753 859 944.
Study tours for school parties that know where they wish to go and what they wish to see
One of the problems with many school trips to Europe is that much of the time set aside for the event is taken up with the journey.
Although sometimes this may not be too much of a problem, where the aim is for the students to gain experience of the country whose history they are studying, it can mean that much time is spent on the coach and ferry rather than assimilating the culture and the historical context.
It is for this reason that increasing numbers of school visits organised by history departments incorporate travel by air, rather than coach and ferry.
Given that it is normally possible to fly from an airport near to the school to an airport close to the final destination, such arrangements can add up to three more days spent in the desired destination rather than on the road and at sea.
At GTC Travel Group we understand that each group is unique and we know the importance of finding out the exact needs of your individual group and so will offer you the best advice to make your journey as stress free as possible.
How can assembly songs provide a positive and hugely creative experience for young children?
SEALSONGS is a collection of assembly songs which aims to get children engaged through the experience of making and creating music. The lyrics were written with considerable input from Year 4 and 5 pupils, so speak from children to children, and the musical backing tracks were professionally recorded.
But the resource goes further and offers teachers detailed advice on writing new lyrics, leading singing and other ways that SEALSONGS may be used in the classroom. Thus it enables teachers to give young children the positive experience of working with others in creating new songs within the SEAL framework. There is also guidance for non-specialists in how to teach songs.
The SEAL themes are:
Song 1: New beginnings
Song 2: Getting on and falling out
Song 3: Say no to bullying
Song 4: Going for goals!
Song 5: Good to be me
Song 6: Relationships
Song 7: Changes
Two further general songs – one about writing songs and one providing a Rhyme Game – are also included in the pack.
JENNY MOSLEY (Founder of Quality Circle Time) said "SEALSONGS is a wonderful gift to any adult who wants to truly help their class or school embed SEAL as a way of 'being' with ourselves and others. We all know that song can lift you to a different spiritual dimension – David Stoll has given us the perfect package to help even the most music-shy amongst us to engage young people in the process of creating heart-warming songs as part of a creative team….. This is an excellent resource."
HOWARD GOODALL (National Ambassador for Singing) said "These SEALSONGS have the authentic ring of children's ideas and feelings in every line. This, for me, makes it a valuable and empowering set of musical tools….. with excellent supporting materials and explanations."
The SEALSONGS book and CD are now available as a download for £10 plus VAT. This price includes a licence for full use of all the material within the school, including recording new versions of the songs. The complete package is split into different files so that schools may choose which elements they wish to record or print.
Sample music can be downloaded from www.pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/music/SEALSONGSSamples.zip and you can purchase the book and CD on-line with a credit card at http://shop.firstandbest.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=739
FREE IT Disposal and Recycling Service
We offer the following FREE services:
Professional solutions for the removal and recycling of redundant, surplus and excess IT equipment
Fast collection service
Our services are available to everyone; schools, universities, libraries, businesses and local government
Environmentally friendly licensed disposal
All drivers are CRB checked for your peace of mind
FREE Nationwide Collection Service
We remove surplus, redundant, excess and end of line IT equipment and associated peripherals,
Free of charge nationwide*!
Items that can be recycled include:We perform all collections under licence from the Environment Agency.
Desktop personal computers
Portable and notebook computers
networking equipment (Hubs, fire walls, routers etc.)
Printers including lasers, inkjet & photocopiers
FREE Data Destruction Certificates
We operate to a very strict code of conduct concerning the destruction of personal, private and sensitivedata. Simply deleting data or reformatting a hard disk drive does not remove the data – it can be retrieved!
We destroy all residual data on redundant media to DOD 5220.22-M standards, thus ensuring full compliance with the Data Protection Act. The process involves multiple overwriting a specific and complicated pattern of controlled data to the media up to fifteen times. This process is slow but it works,
data is eradicated FOREVER!
Non-Working hard disk drives along with hard disk drives that cannot be successfully overwritten are physically destroyed before being recycled.
We then provide you with free certification as evidence of this process for your records.
FREE Phone Number
We even pay for your call – call us now on
Please visit our website at www.prmgreentech.com for further details of the free IT disposal and recycling service we offer.
*excludes Northern Ireland, conditions apply. Free nationwide collection service is conditional and requires a minimum of 30 qualifying items. Qualifying items are as follows:
PC base units, CRT monitors TFT Monitors, Servers, Laptops, Server racks, Switches, Telecom Switches and Printers.
PRM Green Technologies Ltd.
recycle@prmgreentech.com
www.prmgreentech.com
19 Kimberley Business Park, Kimberley Way, Brereton. Rugeley, STAFFS, WS15 1RE
A GCSE Drama Course Book
This second edition of this core text covers the practical options common to all the current examination boards at GCSE level. Guided by the teacher, pupils can work their way through improvised and scripted work that will allow clear opportunities for assessment and monitoring progress throughout the course. Activities are all clearly described and are supported by guidelines for successful performance.
There is a section which helps students find the right approach to the different written elements included in the current GCSE courses. The book provides guidance on the use of terminology in written work and a glossary of theatrical words and phrases. There are extracts from scripts with comments on language, character and technical considerations. Each section is self-contained and students are given guidance on how to achieve their true potential.
Sample pages can be viewed at http://www.pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/drama/T1785.pdf
'ENHANCING YOUR CHILDREN'S RECALL…IS YOUR MOST IMPORTANT TEACHING TOOL'
Make it fun and informative too……….look no further than Niggly Noo!
Click the link below
http://www.rss-publishing.com/niggly-noo/
Series of 8 Books containing 3 stories each
for children 3 -6 yrs
The Adventures of Niggly Noo
Book 1 & CD
Jilly Peters and narrated by Timmy Mallett
SCHOOL PRICE £5.00 inclusive postage & packing
Niggly Noo's Christmas Book free with Book 1 for limited time
OFFER CLOSES: 21/09/12
Book 2 & CD available October 2012
Remaining books to be published at 2 monthly intervals
Schools Special Offer: £5.00 inclusive p& p held for remaining books on purchase of Book 1
(we will give you a unique order number)
Online download available end September 2012 with new illustrations.
Mechanical information:
Size: A5 Glossy wipe clean cover
60 pages of verse and illustrations
ISBN 9781870910019 – Book 1
ISBN 9781870910026 – Niggly Noo's Christmas
Contact: The Schools Co-ordinator
RSS PUBLISHING. TEL: 01386 764820 Email: admin@rss-publishing.com
Address: RSS PUBLISHING, BASEPOINT BUSINESS CENTRE, CRAB APPLE WAY EVESHAM WORCS. WR11 1GY
People and the Planet: A 72 page full colour set of worksheets for just £10 plus VAT
This is the GCSE Geography Revision Guide for the Edexcel B syllabus Unit 2, People and the Planet.
For each topic it covers the key terms, and asks and answers fundamental questions such as "how and why is population changing?"
It also covers specific issues of interest, such as the particular situation affecting Russia's declining population, while Yemen's population is growing quickly.
There are detailed graphs, analyses of the factors driving change, the advantages and disadvantages of having an aging population, and numerous examples of differing government policies.
The full contents list is…
Topic 1: Population Dynamics
Topic 2: Consuming resources
Topic 3: Living spacesTopic 4: Making a living
Topic 5: Changing cities
Topic 6: Changing countryside
Topic 7: Development dilemmas
Topic 8: World of Work
At the end there are practical exam questions for each topic.
The volume is only available as a download – not as a printed book.
There are sample pages at http://www.pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/authordownloadsamples/T1774samples.pdf
GCSE Geography Revision Guide: People and the Planet is published as a download so that you can receive immediately a copy onto your computer which you can print out for colleagues as often as you want. You can also put it on your school learning platform so all staff can access the document – and indeed you can make it part of the induction documentation for new members of staff.
You can obtain GCSE Geography Revision Guide: People and the Planet by going to http://shop.firstandbest.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=749
The price is £10 plus VAT (the VAT can be reclaimed in most cases by the school).
GCSE Geography Revision Guide: People and the Planet is published by First and Best in Education, part of the Hamilton House group. If you have any enquiries you can call 01536 399 011, or email sales@firstandbest.co.uk or write to us at First and Best, Hamilton House, Earlstrees Ct., Earlstrees Rd., Corby, Northants NN17 4HH.
For other Geography revision guides that can be bought as downloads from First and Best please go to http://shop.firstandbest.co.uk/index.php?cPath=76_112
First and Best in Education
Earlstrees Road
NN17 4HH
Website: www.shop.firstandbest.co.uk
Email: sales@firstandbest.co.uk
Twentieth Century History – brought to life in the places it was made
YOU know that Berlin is the place to visit for pupils studying almost any part of twentieth century German history – Weimar Republic, Reich or Cold War.
WE know Berlin best!
We have been taking school groups there since the days when the Wall was still standing and we know the ins and outs of this magnificent city.
You will have the personal attention of our Berlin and Central Europe expert throughout the planning of your tour and whilst you are away; so you can be sure your pupils will get the most appropriate experience for their studies. Visits are themed to suit your syllabus.
Central hotels and single rooms for staff
Wherever possible, we use three-star hotels rather than hostels, and accompanying staff have single room accommodation. Unlike many other school tour operators, we include all visits, guiding and entry fees in the price of your tour. We are confident that on a like-for-like basis, even with all these pluses, you will find our prices very competitive.
Extend your tour beyond Berlin
You might extend your tour and discover the wartime history of Theresienstadt and Prague or of Kraków and Auschwitz, or you could visit the immense Rally Grounds and the courtroom of the War Crimes Tribunal in Nuremberg.
For Cold War studies, why not add on Leipzig, scene of the anti-government demonstrations through 1989 which culminated in the fall of the Berlin Wall and the East German state, together with a selection of the intra-German frontier fortifications.
Whatever your requirements, Culture Trails are experts in school travel so please call
01691 88 61 61 to discuss your plans or e-mail: hugh@culturetrails.co.uk
Take a look at some of our ideas at:
http://www.culturetrails.co.uk/berlin1.htm
Culture Trails, Travel House, Llwynmawr, Llangollen LL20 7BB
Auditory Learners and Religious Studies in the Digital Age (and a Free Podcast!)
As all good teachers know, a lot of people learn best by listening. That's fine in the classroom, but send them home with some reading to do for homework and it just doesn't sink in. These auditory learners don't get on as well with the written word. Fortunately for today's 'digital natives', there are a wealth of programmes, videos and podcasts available for immediate download across the Internet.
But, as ever, the key to exam success is to make sure what they listen to is relevant to the specification. That's where Topical Podcasts for Religious Studies come in. Not only does each article cover a topical issue in relation to religious morality and ethical theories according to the exam board specification, they also include tasks and discussion questions, leading up to exam-style questions to help you prepare them for the exam. The accompanying printed materials mean both your visual and auditory learners will keep pace.
Specification-specific editions are so far available for:
GCSE AQA B Unit 3: Religion and Morality (18 articles)
For GCSE Religion and Morality we look at the whole range of issues, from 'Matters of Life' (e.g. IVF; selling kidneys) to 'World Poverty' (e.g. why religious people help the poor at home and abroad; fair trade). Preview and order at www.zigzag.at/MoralityPodcasts
AS Edexcel AS Edexcel Ethics (10 articles)
Ten articles cover all the key ethical theories students need to look at, applying them to topical debates such as 'Does religious morality protect girls?' or 'Would Joseph Fletcher give Terry Pratchett the right to die?' Preview and order at www.zigzag.at/Pratchett
Lecturer of Religious Studies Ms B Knibbs says 'textbooks often focus on theories and thinkers without applying them to the modern world which is what students actually have to do in their exams… the issues covered are bang up to date – MPs' expenses and hacking scandals… I like the clear language used to explain them. It has tasks that will stretch students whilst also starting from basics so it caters for all abilities.'
Free Podcast!
Listen to 'Article 2: Would Joseph Fletcher give Terry Pratchett the right to die?' for FREE now at www.zigzag.at/Pratchett (Bookmark it and you can play it to your class when you start looking at situation ethics and euthanasia! It's a great way to kick-start debates, with questions at the end to guide the discussion.)
ZigZag resources are available as 'copy masters' or in editable format and come with a site licence, allowing you to pay once and copy as often as you need, or put on your server for multiple use – and students can download the podcasts to their MP3 players. All resources come with a quality-guarantee, 10-day sale or return period.
The Topical Articles and Podcasts are available as photocopy masters with a site licence (£59). Also available in:
Easy-printing PDF files (add 30%+VAT), or
PDF with editable Word files (add 50%+VAT).
ZigZag Education, Unit 3, Greenway Business Centre, Doncaster Road, Bristol BS10 5PY
t: 0117 950 3199 | f: 0117 959 1695 | UR40@zigzageducation.co.uk
Give your promotional code UR40 to get free postage!
UCAS Personal Statement App
"A brilliant app! I love the fluidity of the app, making the whole task of the personal statement easy, practical and enjoyable."
Emily Folkes
The most time-consuming part of the UCAS process is the personal statement. It needn't be. This app helps create the best possible personal statement as straightforwardly as possible – from start to finish.
" As soon as I opened the app I felt comfortable. I knew I would be able to use the app and the statement would be achievable!" Mitali Agarwal
Designed by a sixth form tutor for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, the app allows your students to plan, and structure their statement in easy stages – maximising their time. It explains the UCAS system and what university admissions officers are looking for. Then it shows students how to create, shape, edit and view their statement – wherever they are. They simply follow the app's step-by-step advice to write a highly effective and individual personal statement.
5th, 6th and 7th September – half price – only £1.49!
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ucas-personal-statement
"I know how difficult it can be for students to put together an impressive personal statement. This app allows students to read a section for advice and then apply that advice to their own statement all on the same place. It's intuitive and easy to use, providing practical assistance for the daunting task of writing your personal statement.
Well done for bringing UCAS advice into the 21st Century!" *****
Alex Newman, sixth form tutor, Yarm School
More reviews below
The App:
Speeds up the process
Saves time for Sixth Form Heads, tutors and students
Gives weaker students a structure to follow
Allows high-flyers to concentrate on their studies
Instills confidence in the student handing them the initiative
Achieves excellent statements
Maximises students' use of time
Makes a daunting process straightforward
Provides step-by-step no-nonsense stages
Removes pressure at a stressful time for students and tutors in their busiest term
Guides students through the essential redrafting process
Includes a range of highly successful university commended statements
Displays the full statement in pdf or plain text ready to print
Allows statement to be cut and pasted into UCAS Apply
Includes character and space count keeping the statement to the required length
Advice you can trust
Based on a best-selling book used by many of the best schools and colleges in the UK, the UCAS Personal Statement App is packed with experience and expertise, tried and tested information and advice that you can trust.
The App's creator, sixth form tutor, Paul Telfer, has been guiding his tutees through their personal statements for over 25 years.
"The personal statement process can be so much more immediate on an App. Students simply read the advice and apply it there and then."
"It's sharp and clear, but most importantly not condescending – it has heart unlike so many other apps on the market."
"The interface is great on my iPhone, the app is fast and I like the small touches such as character count.
"I LOVED how it was all split up into the five stages. This is the main reason I would recommend it. It made the personal statement seem achievable."
"The screen where you can draft the statement is very easy to use, particularly the fact that you can navigate through the different sections of your statement and see the character count."
"Brilliant to use on the iPad."
The app is great. The 5 steps of writing the statement break everything down concisely and effectively.
Fantastically simple to use. For the help and confidence it's given me I'd seriously recommend it.
Great app for anyone attempting to write a personal statement – clear guidelines and simple to use but with some expert advice.
Really helps you get started. Simple and easy to use. Lots of advice. I actually feel like I can do this now!
"The app is great, really easy to use and will definitely help me with my statement. My dad was really impressed too!"
This is fantastic! So easy to navigate, concise and inspirational. I would recommend this app to anyone about to write their personal statement and if you have already composed yours, download this anyway and then take a second look at it!
This is a great app. The book got interviews for my two children at Oxford and Cambridge. The app is even better!
Android and Blackberry versions to follow
www.perfectstatements.co.uk
Raising Grades through Study Skills
How well a student does in an exam is generally down to two factors:
how much the student knows
how good the student is at reproducing that knowledge in an exam or via coursework
Self-evidently, if the student can know more, and can also become more adept at reproducing this knowledge in a meaningful way when required, then the student's grades will go up.
However, it is a fact that although in every single subject there are many resources that cover the facts of the course, there remain few books which help students to learn and subsequently reproduce the knowledge they have.
This is where Raising Grades through Study Skills comes in. The volume, which is available either as a photocopiable master or on CD (so that it can be placed on the school's learning platform) focuses on the ways in which students can help themselves by learning more quickly and more effectively.
22 separate methods of learning are detailed in the volume, plus details of 10 teaching methods which can be used to help develop the learning approaches. There are also a series of active learning assignments and a further 15 sections on memory and how students may enhance their own memory abilities and increase their ability to utilise the knowledge that they have learned.
Of course, most schools recognise that the benefits of a study skills programme throughout the school are overwhelming, as the natural way in which most students learn is very inefficient.
But it is quite clear that once students have been shown how to enhance their learning processes and how to ensure that they can remember and use the material they learn, the motivation and self esteem gained from rapid success that results, becomes a factor in motivating them to ever higher goals.
The activities developed in this volume need not be set up as separate lessons (although this remains an option) but can be integrated into the existing timetable.
Raising Grades through Study Skills by Tony Attwood includes all the skills that pupils will need to improve their study skills and raise grades throughout secondary school.
It is available as a photocopiable book or on CD Rom which can itself be copied or loaded onto the school's learning platform or intranet.
Sample pages can be viewed at http://pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/education/T1787.pdf
Photocopiable report in a ring binder, £24.95 plus £5.95 delivery (approx AU$48)
Both the Ring Binder and the CD £31.94 plus £5.95 delivery (approx AU$58)


Telling if your are over/under training.
For those that were 5" and made it to 6"
Does weight lost increase NBPEL?
Just got an extender. Am I doing this right?
Starting with well below average girth.
After years studying P.E. and reading success stories, I am finally commited to it.
How do you hang (with weight)?
My n00b status so far..ps: PE Works!


Hi ya'll!! How are you guys doing today? I want to say thank you so much for all the love from my blog post yesterday about my grandma. I really appreciate it.
My momma is the sweetest. She sent my husband and I this card to celebrate our 6 month anniversary. She also sent us a giftcard to our favorite restaurant. She is the best!
My husband picked up this popcorn from Trader Joes the other day… I may have eaten almost the whole bag in one sitting. Oops.
An easy omelette dinner while my husband was on a business trip. So good!
This is Rhodes. He has so much energy. Never stops.
He sat like this with my husband for about .0005 seconds.
Bought my first few watermelons of the season. Not the best, but makes me so excited for summer watermelon!!
My mother-in-law and I made these breakfast cookies yesterday and they are amazing.
I had two this morning with a smoothie and was full until lunch.
They are full of healthy ingredients like walnuts, coconut oil, carrots and quinoa!
Kale salad for lunch with walnuts, craisins, strawberries, quinoa, and avocado.
Have you guys tried this dressing? I saw it at the grocery store and had to try!
The verdict? I LOVE it. So creamy and delicious.
So our dining room chairs needed some work. We decided to recover them while I continue to convince my husband to build me a new table and chairs. The old covers were dirty and worn out.
My mother-in-law and I headed to the store on Friday to look for new fabric. Dallas has a huge fabric district with lots of stores close by with tons of fabric options. We looked at a few and ultimately decided on the beige to keep it simple.
My mother-in-law was the project leader and made our idea happen. She is so great at all projects.
The end result. I know it doesn't look much different than the before, but trust me, in person it makes a huge difference.
The dogs were not fans of the staple gun.
Last night we went to Bistro 31 for dinner and it was amazing as always.
We got the tuna tartar for an appetizer and did not disappoint. It had spicy mango and avocado alongside the tuna… to die for!!
I am so predictable and got the grilled salmon and veggies, but it was delicious!! I love perfectly grilled salmon.
My husband got some sort of pear mascarpone pie for dessert and loved it.
I have the best mother-in-law in the world! So blessed!
I wasn't really feeling a run today, but knew I would feel better if I did. So I turned on a show (How to Get Away With Murder) and ended up running 5 miles and watching the whole thing. Love when that happens!!
My run was followed by a large smoothie with spinach, flaxseed, banana, mango, kiwi, strawberries, and orange juice and a couple of the breakfast cookies we made yesterday!
That is all for today!! Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I will be back on Monday for a recap of our fun adventure we had this morning!!
Do you order the same things when you dine out or switch it up?
Tell me what you had for lunch today!
What are your Saturday night plans?
So much yummy food here!! Today for lunch I had a sweet potato with almond butter, asparagus, and some cottage cheese with fruit 🙂 My Saturday night is going to be low-key: just watching tv with some friends! Hope you have a great night Taylor!
I try to order things I wouldnt normally cook or dont feel like cooking when I go out! I'll have to look for that dressing–it looks so good!


WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is giving Shell permission to fully drill an exploratory well in the Arctic Ocean and burrow into potential oil-bearing rock thousands of feet below the seafloor that previously was off limits.
The newly modified drilling permit, issued Monday by the Interior Department's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, gives Shell a chance to complete its Burger J well before a Sept. 28 deadline to finish the work.
Shell has already been drilling the well for more than two weeks. But BSEE had ordered the company to halt after completing the top 3,000 feet, because critical emergency equipment — and the icebreaker used to deploy it — were not nearby to safeguard the work.
That icebreaker, the MSV Fennica, was damaged in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, and sent to a Portland shipyard for repairs. It arrived near Shell's ongoing drilling in the Chukchi Sea on Aug. 11.
"Now that the required well control system is in place and can be deployed, Shell will be allowed to explore into oil-bearing zones for Burger J," said BSEE director Brian Salerno, in a statement.
BSEE officials are stationed around the clock on the Transocean Polar Pioneer, which is drilling the Burger J well.
Shell spokesman Curtis Smith said crews aboard the rig "continue to make progress" on the well.
"We remain committed to operating in a safe, environmentally responsible manner and look forward to evaluating what could potentially become a national energy resource base," Smith said.
Shell executives are hoping to find a multi-billion barrel cache of crude at the site, based on information gleaned during earlier drilling in the late 1980s and later geophysical research.
Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben van Beurden told reporters in a July 30 earnings call that the Burger prospect "is huge." But he stressed that it is a long-term play; if the company finds oil and decides to develop it, the project would not deliver oil production until 2030, at the earliest.
The company still can do other work after Sept. 28 — and up to Oct. 31 — including excavating a 20-foot by 40-foot hole at another well known as Burger V that is about nine miles away. That would provide a foundation for additional drilling in 2016, when Shell has said it intends to return to the region.
Shell had hoped to bore both of those wells at the same time, but Interior Department regulators ruled that existing wildlife protections require a 15-mile buffer zone between simultaneous drilling.
That limitation remains in place.
Monday's approval was widely expected but still marked a defeat for environmentalists who have challenged Shell's Arctic drilling venture. Federal regulators had reviewed Shell's drilling plan and well design as a part of their initial permit review, before the icebreaker carrying an emergency capping stack was damaged.
"Calls for the government to prioritize stewardship ahead of Shell have fallen on deaf ears," LeVine said.
Greenpeace USA executive director Annie Leonard said the Obama administration was being "deeply hypocritical" by allowing the additional Arctic drilling a week after President Barack Obama detailed his plans to tour the Alaska Arctic and talk with residents on the front lines of climate change.


Diabetes is a serious, chronic disease that occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin (a hormone that regulates blood sugar, or glucose), or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces (WHO,2016). It is one of the four priority, Non-Communicable Disease affecting millions of lives yearly.
WHO (2016) report states, globally an estimated 422 million adults were living with diabetes in 2014, compared to 108 million in 1980. The report also indicates a steady increase in diabetes around the world, reason being the disease is not solely a preserve of the rich, as considered formally. Changes in lifestyle behaviours and lifestyle choices have also significantly contributed to this increment.
The global prevalence (age-standardized) of diabetes has nearly doubled since 1980, rising from 4.7% to 8.5% in the adult population. Consequently to diabetes and its associated health risk factors (overweight, obesity and physical inactivity) has been on the rise, hence the need for increased awareness and prevention campaigns.
The risks factors associated with diabetes are also linked to other diseases. Thus diabetes awareness and prevention campaign ultimately seeks to kill two birds with one stone .i.e. diabetes, and other diseases with similar risk factors such as overweight, obesity and physical inactivity.
The 14th of November is World Diabetes Day, and the theme is WOMEN AND DIABETES OUR RIGHT TO A HEALTHY FUTURE. The International Diabetes Federation states diabetes as the 9th leading cause of death in women globally. In Ghana statics reveal, diabetes and other related risk factors are more predominant in women than men.
It's against this backdrop the Global Zion Missions Initiative, Ghana, (GZMI) is organising a health walk and health screening exercise on the 25th of November 2017 dubbed WALK AWAY FROM DIABETES to raise awareness on diabetes. The Health Screening takes place at the Madina No. 1 school park. Hence is inviting the general populace to the health screening exercise.
Global Zion Missions Initiative is a registered non-profit organisation wing of the A.M.E Zion Church, Western West Africa Episcopal District ( Ghana, Cote D'Ivoire, Togo, and Liberia).The organisation reaches out to the community in four key areas i.e. Good Governance, Education, Healthcare Livelihood.
Precisely which is near to my heart… Thank you! Where are your contact details though?


While the aids instill the moral hazard in resource usage, vested interest groups gain from such myopic belief. Under the rug of humanitarian action, government and taxpayers of rich countries bear the cost of giving aids but leaving some interest groups better off.
What happens when we do stop helping the poor?
Helping the poor will create dependency and moral hazard, leaving lack of or no incentive for the poor to manage their limited resources.
Who is "we"? A particular nation? All nations? Any organization at all? Every individual? All of the above?
By your use of the word "must," do you mean that it is necessary for survival? If so, whose survival- the rich nations' or the world's? Or do you mean that they are bound by some other imperative requirement, such as a promise they made to their citizens found in their respective laws?
Helping the poor won't solve the problem of hunger. Even if the aid is in the form of helping countries increase their resource production (e.g. food), the central problem of ecology (i.e. excessive demand of resource) won't be solved. The central problem of hunger is overpopulation.
It leaves future generation worse off because we consume too much today.
World has limited resources. Ensuring everybody to get a "fair share" of resources will lead to resource crisis.


Episode 2: What's hawt? | MADRAS INK.
A question to all women out there.
Would you like to be seen kissing someone toad ugly?
Yes? My number is… .
But the point is that just like men are hesitant to date… well… aesthetically challenged women, women too stay away from the uglies.
So why just blame the men for being Shallow Hals?
Who would you date if you had to choose between Abhishek Bachchan and Yoda?
Abhishek Bachchan obviously, because he's a great guy irrespective of how good he looks.
So if you can find men who are good-looking, smart and nice at heart, isn't it inaccurate to assume that all good-looking women are dumb?
Most good-looking women are smart because they know how to get their men.
But first, what kind of women do men find "hawt"? What do men consider "hawt"?
The fair? They like Naomi Campbell, Jada Pinkett Smith, Halle Berry.
The well toned? They love Shakeela and Tamil heroines of the 1990s.
The tall? Rani Mukherjee is a five-footer.
The skimpily clad? Then, why do they love Nandita Das?
The point is: to be "hawt," a woman need not necessarily have any of the qualities listed above.
Any intelligent woman today knows that being smart or well dressed is paramount simply because she applies the same rules to a guy.
Smartness is defined by the way a person carries himself.
If it means men need to shave, it means women also need to er… file their nails.
If it means men need to smell good, it means women need to smell better.
If it means men need to look "hawt," it means women too must.
If it means men date smart women, it just means smart women are dating smart men.
And, in their spare time, men like reading books on intelligent female space scientists. Oh, and watching action movies that comprise women mathematicians breaking impossible codes.
Because, while women go for men with brains, and a sense of humour, men go for women who are… um… hawt.
I'm not saying all beautiful women are dumb. But, a woman who thinks a new shade of hair colour can bring world peace is far more likely to find a date than a man who has more hair gel than grey matter between his ears.
Because, if you're a man, you don't have to spend hours at the gym working on those pecs in the hope of impressing the `gals.' You far more likely to have hoards of them putting your number on speed dial if you can make them laugh, and treat them with respect.
What else explains the beautiful-woman-dating-very-ordinary-looking-guy syndrome that you see at every shopping mall, and every party?
And would we kiss a toad? Of course. Ever wondered what the significance of the story of the Frog Prince is? Well, when the princess kissed the frog, it turned into a prince in her eyes. And that's because he was a prince deep inside, and how he looked just didn't matter.


The HCC Educational Foundation's Vino Scholastico wine tasting fundraiser supports college programs and scholarships for HCC students. The event will take place on Friday, April 26, 2019 in the Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) Building.
Christine H. Fox, assistant director for policy and analysis of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, in Laurel, Maryland, will present a community talk on Tuesday, April 23 at 7 p.m. at Howard Community College.
To meet the growing demand for employees in the construction management industry, HCC will offer Maryland's first Construction Management Apprenticeship Program with a combination of credit classes and on-the-job training hours. Learn more!
HCC, along with all of Maryland's 16 community colleges, is proud to highlight the impact and role of the state's community colleges in providing educational opportunities for Marylanders. Check out these facts about Maryland's community colleges.
Howard County was recently announced as being among the Top 10 Healthiest Counties in the nation. Check out 10 ways HCC supports the well-being of our students, staff, faculty, and county. Read more!
Howard Community College is pleased to announce the arrival of two exhibitions in the college's galleries April 1– May 6, 2019: "Bats in Belfries" and "Entranced."
Celebrate three inspiring takes on artistic storytelling at HCC. March 29-31, 2019, "Destination: Interfusion x 3" offers audiences an open mic, improvisation mash-up, and a cabaret from the talents of HCC students, staff, faculty, and community guests.
22 students participated in the college's first ever Code-A-Thon that included a top prize of one summer internship with NewWave, the sponsor of the event. Learn more!
Each year, the Silas Craft Collegians and Howard PRIDE programs select about a dozen men to represent the college at the annual Black Brown and College Bound Summit, one of the nation's preeminent forums. Learn more about their experiences!
On March 11, 2019, hundreds gathered at Hunan Manor Restaurant to enjoy a gourmet buffet, mark the 20th year of the Silas Craft Collegians Dinner, and raised $37,000 for the college program. Learn more!