Are you a champion energy saver?

Did you get the opportunity to award some green certificates this week?

There are five to choose from, just perfect for rewarding the more environmentally friendly members of your class. You can find them in the Teacher Toolkit module in the contents panel. There must be a Champion Paper Re-user amongst your pupils!

Here in our Oxford offices we have just had new light switches installed – if you go into a meeting room the lights come on automatically and when no movement is detected they switch off again.

Years ago when I was lucky enough to teach in a brand new classroom we had the same thing fitted – after school I would sit at my desk marking and occasionally be plunged into darkness as the switch didn’t realise I was still there.

I used to challenge my class to sit as still as they possibly could at their desks to see if the same thing might happen when the room was full of children – no prizes for guessing that they never managed to fool the switch!

So if you’re not already part of the Eco schools initiative, perhaps its time to sign up now. Another place that has lot of ideas for getting green at school is Eco Friendly Kids, I really like their section about recycling.

I have a really handy gadget that lets me know just how much electricity  is being consumed in my house, and more importantly – how much it is costing. It’s a really big incentive to get me turning off lights and making sure nothing gets left on standby.

 

And this week after the fortnightly rubbish collection we were left with a little treat  – a handy brown box with a lid so that we can now collect any leftover food which will now also be recycled.

So now I can recycle my leftover food, glass, plastic, paper and card, drinks cans, tin foil and garden waste – and with very little effort required from me thanks to my local council. Now I should turn my attention to reducing the amount of food I put into that food caddy….

What can and do you recycle in you school? Do you use paper recycling bins What happens to your canteen waste? The Teacher Zone at Recycle Zone has some really practical ideas for what your school could do about the amount it wastes.

So who are the Champion Recyclers in your school? It would be great to hear about them.

Kate, KnowledgeBox publisher

Have fun spinning – with this week’s Sentence spin!

Sentence spin

Have you tried this week’s Sentence spin yet? 
It’s on the KnowledgeBox Home screen this week and you’ll always find it in the Teacher Toolkit module in the Contents panel.

Sentence spin is an interactive game that’s ideal for your whiteboard. It  lets you create your own silly sentences from a ready made sentence starter, plus banks of verbs, nouns and and adjectives. All you have to do is spin the word wheels and see what comes up. If you want to keep a particular sentence you can add it to the print page.

That’s fine in itself but the fun ( and the learning) really begins when you type  in your own sentence starter, and verbs, nouns and adjectives into the word banks. When I played it with my seven year old daughter and her friend they had soon come up with some highly imaginative word banks and of course their favourite sentence was ‘Out of the bedroom came a hairy Mum‘!

One of the ideas they came up with was to put in the names of their favourite book characters and to build the verb and adjective banks around these characters. Lots of fun when they are all muddled up and some great sentences that could be used as story starters.

We’d love to hear from you if you use Sentence spin in your classrooom so do get in touch.
And don’t forget that there are some Letter spin activities in the Teacher Toolkit as well.

Have fun spinning!

Catharine

Big Schools’ Birdwatch

I hope you’re all enjoying getting involved in the Big Schools’ Birdwatch which is running from the 18th January to the 1st February. There are so many fun activities to choose from and get involved in.

When the weather report forecast more snow this week we got busy and made the speedy bird cake at home.

Mixing the lard, raisins, cheese and peanuts.

Thankfully the snow didn’t arrive but the birds seem happy with what we produced.

Don’t forget about the great activities on KnowledgeBox that you can use as well. The Big Schools’ Birdwatch Question path is a really good starting point for finding out all about different British birds and how you can encourage them to visit your school environment, and the Identifying birds print activity is a useful framework for researching and recording information about all the different birds you might see.

There are plenty of other bird-related resources you can use on KnowledgeBox, doing a simple search for ‘birds’ will bring up a range of resources and activities.

So get your binoculars out and start spotting the birds that visit your school grounds.

Hmm - something not quite right here...

Happy twitching!

Kate

Happy New Year and Welcome Back!

A quick post to wish you all a very Happy New Year.

For those of you who didn’t get the chance to use them last week,  the New Year’s Resolutions and Christmas Recycling Question paths are still available in the Events and occasions module in the Contents panel. Just click on the January folder and you’ll find lots of ideas and resources to use in your teaching.

Robin

If you get the chance, take a look at the Big Schools’ Birdwatch Question path accessible on the Home screen, ready for next week. This is a great event to take part in and the Question path provides you with everything you need to get started.

Happy New Year again and happy bird-spotting for next week.

Catharine

Hanukkah, Christmas and the end of term

As we get close to breaking up I hope you’ve had time to enjoy both our Christmas and Hanukkah resources in the last days of term.

I showed the Hanukkah animation to my two sons as my husband’s family are Jewish and I wanted them to give the boys an understanding of what the festival is all about. Following on from that I took my youngest son into Oxford at the start of the week to see the twelve foot high Hannukah menorah (sometimes called a hannukiah) that currently stands in Broad Street and is illuminated each evening up to the end of the eight night festival. I thought this was particularly impressive until I saw this one which is currently residing in Trafalgar Square.

Taking a closer look.....

My children are still quite young and there is a lot to understand so I asked members of our family what Hanukkah meant to them as children.

My husband took some time to recall and then came back with these thoughts:

The candelabra that remained unused all year suddenly became the centre of attention for those special eight days of the year, and as children we all wanted to do was light it each evening. The story of Hanukkah tells of resistance and bravery, what better way to celebrate this than with laktas (potato pancakes) and beef brisket. And most importantly Grandpa always left large bars of chocolate for all of us.

And my sister-in-law didn’t really have particular Hanukkah memories to draw on but is now celebrating the holiday with her own children over in Guernsey. Each night they light the candles and say the blessings. And every night there is a small present for each of them (although it is rumoured that the presents ran out by the third day…)

Well whatever festivals and celebrations you are enjoying as you count down to the end of term, on behalf of everyone here at KnowledgeBox I’d like to wish you a happy Hanukkah, a merry Christmas and I look forward to seeing you back here in the New Year.

Kate

Publisher

What does Advent mean to you?

Chocolate for breakfast? That’s what it meant in my house this morning. For the first time ever I have given in and purchased Advent calendars that don’t have a nativity theme - this year we’ve got the character ones my boys really wanted. The truth is that I couldn’t find any representing the birth of Jesus – so we’ve got ones that count down until the time that Santa comes. I was slightly appeased however to find that the first chocolate was shaped like a carol singer….

Opening window number one.....

So what does Advent mean to the children in your class? A very useful starting point to your discussion could be the KnowledgeBox Advent Question Path – type ‘advent’ into the quick find to bring this up plus lots of useful photographs illustrating the different aspects of advent.

Also take a look at the different Advent customs and traditions from both a Christian and historical perspective.

I do have very happy memories from my teaching days of of lighting an Advent candle at the end of the school day and reading a Christmas-themed story by candle light. Someone always tried to blow it out whilst I wasn’t looking but it did give the room a magical atmosphere.

Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/29766713@N00/3074691365/

But of course my favourite memory of Advent involves two wire coat hangers, some tinsel and four jam jar lids – here’s one I made earlier…

Let us know what you do to mark Advent, and enjoy those chocolates!

Kate

Road Safety Week Reminder

Just a quick post to remind you that this week (23rd-29th Nov) is Road Safety Week .

 Even if you haven’t the time to look at this in great detail in your classroom, it’s something that could be tackled in an assembly.
All you  need as a starting point is the KnowledgeBox Road Safety Week Question path. From this resource you can find out all about Road Safety Week, why it’s an important week, and how to keep safe on the roads. 

Road Safety Week Question path

In a week where it seems to be dark as early as 4 pm and the roads are covered in wet leaves, the importance of Road Safety becomes even more obvious.

If you do a have a bit more time to work with this theme, then you could use it as an opportunity to do some really interesting science work about forces and friction. Discuss the effect that wet leaves have on friction, experiment with different lubricants when trying to move objects down a slope, look at ways in which we try to increase friction ( e.g. car tyre treads) and situations where we want and don’t want friction.

Just type ‘Friction’ into KnowledgeBox Quick find and you’ll find plenty of resources to help you explain this force.

Have a safe week,

Catharine
Producer

Anti-Bullying Week

This week (16-20th November) is Anti-Bullying week.

www.flickr.com/photos/bullyinguk/3566673322/

The theme for Anti-bullying week 2009 is Cyberbullying.

Remember to check out the great resources on KnowledgeBox: Teasing or Bullying? Interactive Photo Album KS1&2. Type bullying into Quick find or go to the Events and Occasions module in the contents panel and click on November.

Also visit the official site for some great free resouces and videos. The Beatbullying site is also worth a look, and finally Say No to Bullying includes material for lessons and ideas for a topical assembly.

NEW BBC Active iPosters now available on KnowledgeBox

I’m sure you’ll have noticed the banners on the KnowledgeBox home screen this week, announcing that BBC Active iPosters are now available on KnowledgeBox. This new series of resources are proving to be very popular and no doubt the amazingly good value, price tag of £39.99 (RRP)  is helping enormously!

The titles are:

Earth, Moon and Sun
Evacuees
Rainforests
Recycling
Being a Hindu
Being a Muslim

Speak to our friendly customer services team on 0800 587 8032 now, to trial or buy any of these titles for your KnowledgeBox.

Find out more

iPosters are a new range of interactive posters for your whiteboard, designed for whole class teaching and learning. Explore different aspects of the poster through a series of on-screen hot spots to create an active and engaging resource, perfect for a thematic approach to the curriculum.

Each hot spot leads through to carefully selected resources, including BBC video clips, interactive activities and audio and visual stimuli, all of which build skills and understanding.

Each iPoster covers a different topic and is designed to engage pupils and help you cover important curriculum objectives in a creative and stimulating way.

• A creative and dynamic approach to learning, which is simple and easy-to-use
• Child-friendly, curriculum-focused topics, including literacy skills, to engage your whole class
• The Teacher’s book and on-screen notes provide advice and support for making the most of the resource
• Accompanied by a printable  poster of the main screen for classroom display
• Excellent value for money – only £39.99

Earth, Moon and Sun

Earth, Moon and Sun (Age 7-11) is an invaluable resource for KS2 science. Watch and learn about all aspects of our planet, its Moon and the Sun. Examine themes including the phases of the Moon, ancient civilisations worshipping the Sun and Moon, and space exploration through time. A strong cross-curricular focus covers science, history and literacy.

Evacuees

 

Evacuees (Age 7-11) is the ideal resource when you are teaching about World War II. Watch and learn about the reasons for evacuation during the Second World War. Get an in-depth look at life of an evacuee, looking at where they went, what they took with them, daily life, and whether evacuation still happens in modern times. Get a true insight into life during the war with archive footage and audio and visual sources from the era.

Rainforests

Rainforests ( Age 7-11) is a great resource for teaching right across the curriculum and has particularly strong links to literacy and PSHE. Watch and learn about tropical rainforests, examining their unique ecosystem and inhabitants. Investigate what is happening to rainforests and why they’re under threat, and why their preservation is important to the planet. Help promote involvement in this topic through what can be done to help protect rainforests.

Recycling

Recycling ( Age 7-11) is the perfect resource to support the Eco-schools initiative.  Examine the impact of waste disposal on our environment, controversial aspect of recycling, and what we can do to reduce the waste we produce.  A cross-curricular focus makes this resource suitable for both geography and PSHE lessons. A citizenship theme runs throughout the resource, encouraging pupils to ‘Take action!’ and become active global citizens.

Being a Hindu

Being a Hindu ( Age 7-11)  has a strong focus on both RE attainment targets – learning from and learning about religion. Learn about the Hindu faith and explore living life as a Hindu. Looks at many key aspects including where and how Hindus pray, the circle of life, and important stories including Ganesh and Ram and Sita. Get a sensitive insight into the religion to enable you to teach this area with confidence.

Being a Muslim

Being a Muslim ( Age 7-11) also has a strong focus on both RE attainment targets – learning from and learning about religion. Learn about the Islamic faith and explore living life as a Muslim. Looks at many key aspects including daily prayer, places of worship, the importance of the Qur’an and the Hajj pilgrimage to Makkah. Get a sensitive insight into the religion to enable you to teach this area with confidence.

So why not arrange a trial of one of these titles for your school? Just speak to our friendly customer services team on 0800 587 8032 now and you could be using these resources in your classroom tomorrow!

Catharine
Producer

Black History Month

As you are probably aware, October is Black History Month. A time to celebrate the  African and Carribean heritage of the United Kingdom.

It looks like some schools have already been very busy with their celebrations, there are lots of different ways you can get the children in your school interested and involved.

Links with history could include looking at the life and work of Mary Seacole.

Use the KnowledgeBox Mary Seacole animation to find out about Mary Seacole’s life and the resources in the Question path for follow up activities. 

BBC Active’s new ‘Find Out About Famous Men, Women and Children‘ has a whole unit of resources about Mary Seacole. Here you’ll find dramatised video clips about her life plus drag and drop sequencing and labelling activities  – all ideal for your whiteboard.

There is also a whole unit about Nelson Mandela which could provide the stimulus and information for some Literacy and ICT work – perhaps a biography of the great leader?

Ideas from around the web include these assembly ideas to get your children thinking about the history of black people in Britain and a whole range of useful links from the DFES standards site.

Let us know how you marked Black History Month in your school.

Kate

Publisher