No Pens Day Wednesday 7th October #TeachingIdeas

Are you signed up to take part in No Pens Day? It is a day created to encourage schools and settings to put down their pens and run a day of speaking and listening activities.

Speaking and listening is extremely important for children’s development and this is a really exciting and challenging day to encourage classroom communication.

We have several Wildgoose resources that could help you plan your day.. without the need of a pen!

• Musical instruments lotto
• Our School Aerial Photography Pack – Everything you need to study the local area
• Desktop Planning Kit – Flowchart Sequencing Cards – Work in a team to create the correct sequence
• Know the UK board game
• Story of the year blank timeline – Use pictures and labels – remember, no pens allowed!
• Aux Magasins (French Shopping Game)

So, what are you waiting for? Put down your pen and pick up your language!

European day of languages 26th September

The European Day of Languages is a time to celebrate the 6,000+ languages spoken around the world and to promote language learning and having multilingual fun.

European Day of languages has some great sharing resources available here.

In most languages you will find words that are unique to that language and/or culture. Here are just a few English, French and Spanish ones..

English

• higgledy-piggledy: disordered, jumbled, not neat and tidy. According to Oxford Dictionary, probably used initially with reference to the disordered herding together of pigs
• dilly-dally: to move or act too slowly

French

• yaourt: English pop music sung without any understanding of the meaning; singing to create something that sounds like English pop music but actually isn’t (literally, yoghurt)
• chabrot: to put red wine in your soup, when there is little soup left

Spanish

• chupotero: a person who works little but has several salaries
• jajajear: to laugh in a mocking way

Here at Wildgoose, we have some great language resources to help stimulate your pupils and make learning another language fun! We also have a range of resources to expand your knowledge of the European union.

• European union photopack
• European flags and facts cards
• Around Europe snap cards
• European bunting
• Let’s explore the European union interactive CD
• Simple Europe map

All of our resources can be seen online or you can view our digital catalogue.

Shiver me timbers, International Talk like a Pirate Day 19th September..I be lookin’ fer treasure!

Are you ready to talk like a Pirate on 19th September? It was a day created in 1995 and has grown in popularity each year.

Even Facebook allows you to change your language to ‘Pirate’ (From your Facebook home page, scroll down to the bottom of the adverts in the right hand column, click on the language setting and choose ‘English (Pirate) and your screen will be translated. Aaaaaaarrhh!

To really immerse the class in the topic, how about turning part of the classroom, or even the whole classroom, into a pirate ship or treasure island? Lots of learning can be derived from planning and setting up such an area, including speaking and listening, writing lists and ideas, problem-solving, experimenting with construction techniques, counting and measuring.

Our KS1 cross-curricular Pirates topic pack is designed to appeal to children’s natural interests and provide opportunities for creative teaching and learning. The emphasis is on exciting practical work across all areas of the curriculum. Worksheets, display materials and curriculum links included.

Secret codes, treasure, maps, islands, pirate ships, storms at sea, pirate costumes, the history of pirates, and of course, the colourful language associated with pirates – these are all fantastic ways to enthuse children and get them learning. Yo, ho, ho!

Lookit me website for more great ideas..Aaaaaaarrhh!

• Maps and mapping thinking cards
• Compass poster
• Map compass
• Get clever with a compass
• Ahoy me Hearties topic pack
• Wipeable coordinates grid

Roald Dahl Day 13th September

Roald Dahl was one of the world’s most popular children’s authors, publishing 21 children’s books (as well as many adult stories) including the well-loved Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The BFG and James and the Giant Peach.

Learn more about this writing legend with our author profiles poster, it features a photo of the author and biographical information to provide an overview of his life and work. Includes teachers notes containing classroom activities.

Some great lesson plans can also be found here.

Happy Birthday Roald!

International Literacy Day 8th September

On September 8th, 2015, show the world the importance of literacy by celebrating International Literacy Day. The aim is to highlight the importance of literacy to individuals, communities and societies.

www.internationalliteracyday.org have a full list of classroom ideas to download and if you register your activity they will send you resources and information as International Literacy Day approaches to help you prepare for the event.

Some interesting facts:

• 775 million adults in the world are illiterate, two thirds of them are women
• 52% of illiterates live in India and China
• 1 in 5 adults could not read this
• 67 million primary school aged children are not in school

So what are you waiting for? Help rediscover the joys of reading and writing while raising awareness for those without access to education.

10 ways to remember a tricky spelling

Writing skills posters

Rules for plurals poster

Writing frames

Backdrop Scene Setters

Set the scene with our fabulous 100cm x 150cm backdrops! These can be used to set the background of your current topic, for wall-coverings, play mats or floor mats and are even weather proof so you could create an environment outside that is like being transported to another country!

View our backdrops here:

Paris Eiffel Tower
Statue of Liberty New York
Egypt Sphinx and Pyramid
Greek Acropolis
Mayan Temple
Erupting Volcano

and many more coming soon….

All supplied with eyelets for easy hanging, you just need to decide which banner to go for, they are all so spectacular!

History, RE and Geography Artefacts

Take a look at our fabulous artefacts collections. There is something for everyone covering a wide variety of subjects and topics.

We also have a range of eye-catching backdrops coming very soon which will bring your artefacts and classroom to life, so watch this space!

Wildgoose Free Resources

We have uploaded FREE teaching resources on the TES website.

Click HERE to view our profile and free resources.

www.wildgoose.education

Transform your classroom walls!

Now available on our website are these unique extra large wall murals. Perfect for the classroom, home or office.

Not only are the interesting, they are great for educational use and will transform your classroom and stimulate your children’s imagination! The murals can be pasted for a permanaent wallpaper or attached to the wall like a giant poster with double sided sticky tape.

WG3400 Extra-large World Map Wall Mural 232cm x 158cm (2 piece) £35.99*

WG3401 Extra-large Simple World Map Mural 232cm x 158cm (2 piece) £35.99*

WG3402 Extra-large British Isles Wall Mural 232cm x 158cm (2 piece) £35.99*

WG3403 Giant World Wall Map Mural 315cm x 232cm (4 piece) £59.99*

* prices are subject to VAT

We even have a video on our website which shows you how to hang them, easy peasy!