Eight writing genre headers to display around the classroom underneath an example of each piece of student work. Below is a simple example of each in a few sentences based on a stretch my class learned in their P.E class. The children sorted the short pieces of writing by pairing them with each of the 8 writing genres. This was a great activity to get them to think about the different writing genres we will be working on this year and how each is different.

One of the most powerful protest songs ever written! More remarkable that Nina wrote this in barely an hour! A great listening activity on its own before leading into deeper discussions about: Social justice Prejudice Discrimination Racism Civil rights US history Protest songs The power of music/words #socialjustice #blackhistory #civilrights #protest

Two wonderful songs sang by Nina Simone - both related to black history month and issues of discrimination, racism and inequality. One song - Missisippi Goddam - was very controversial for the time. The lyrics express her anger, especially at recent atrocities committed against black people in some Southern states. at the time. To be free is a classic expressing the desire to have freedom and equality. Both songs allow for listening activities before a wider discussion. These songs and the themes raised in the lyrics are ideal for Black History Month discussions and music and history lessons.

This is a complete play/show I wrote from scratch that could be used for an assembly or end of year stage performance. It connects the themes of Earth and the Solar System/Space with the performing arts and includes an originally written song based on Nina Simone’s - Ain’t Got No. I have made a video with lyrics and the karaoke version of the song to make it easier for the children to learn. The moral of the play is about being ‘yourself’. It is therefore as much about social and emotional health as science. My children performed it last summer and it got rave reviews - to quote the head of school - “It was the best assembly I’ve seen in my decade as a school head”. The children made the roles their own and added a lot of the ideas during class discussions (e.g. using a hula hoop for Saturn, or doing a cartwheel for Uranus). For the song, the children also improvised the actions for the different lyrics - again this was a big part of the learning (we were doing a performing arts unit so working on improvising moves to words/choreography was part of this). While my students were Grade 3 (8-9), this play would definitely work with older children too. After all, the play is just the idea - it is the actors that bring it to life and make it their own!

Simple daily routine (differentiated) to help children work on time and the language associated with describing their daily routine. Also includes blank clock faces and clock faces with some hands drawn to help practice telling the time. After completing their daily routine, I have the children act it out in pairs/threes with a clock - something they really enjoy.

Simple maths lesson used when learning about mountaineering as part of my PYP Unit on Exploration. The questions challenge all and include questions that practice many different maths skills: Comparison and ordering of 4-digit numbers Adding two 4-digit numbers together Adding five 2-digit numbers together Subtracting 4-digit numbers from one another Finding averages (using a calculator) As an extension I had the children round numbers to the nearest 100m and 1000m.