Safer Internet Day takes place this week on the 7th February. The aim of the day is ‘ to promote safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile phones, especially amongst children and young people across the world.’ Here’s a video which gives more information about the day:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here are some of my favourite resources that you can use to support your work on the day:

1) A ‘Safer Internet Day Kit for Schools‘ is available with resources, lesson plans, competitions and certificates.

2) The ThinkUKnow site has resources that can be used with different ages groups:

3) The BBC have a number of great resources, including an animation featuring Dongle the rabbit, an interactive Tracy Beaker episode and a ‘Caught in the Web’ Newsround special.

4) KidSmart have a wide range of resources and interactive games that can be used in class.

5) Vodafone also have lots of useful information for parents to help them keep their children safe online.

6) Our sister site, Teaching Ideas, has an enormous collection of themed ideas and resources linked to ‘Staying Safe Online‘.

7) There are also lots of e-safety videos on Teaching Videos.

8 ) Know IT All have a fantastic animated video which teaches children about different aspects of Internet Safety.

9) BrainPOP also have a free video about Online Safety.

10) Kent Trust Web have a number of useful resources, documents and links to support schools.

Are you planning to get involved in Safer Internet Day this year? What activities will you be trying?

Go Green Week is People & Planet’s annual national week of action on climate change in schools, colleges and universities. It takes place from 6th to 11th February, so here are a selection of resources if you would like to use the event in your classroom:

1) People and Planet – The official site has lots of great ideas and activities. Take a look at the suggestions for themed days and download Action Guides that are filled with resources.

2) Teaching Themes – The Environment – You can also find lots of ideas, resources and activities by looking at our themed page on Teaching Ideas.

3) Climate Chaos – Oxfam have published a set of resources called ‘Climate Chaos’ which are intended for use with children aged 9-11.

4) Twinkl - There is another large collection of eco, recycling and environment resources here.

5) Topic Box – This wonderful site lists lots of interactive tools that teachers can use. Here is their list of ‘environment’ resources.

6) BP – There are lots of interactive resources linked to energy and climate on the BP Young Science Investigators site.

7) Are you Eco Friendly? – Help the Environmental Intelligence Unit with this interactive game from the BBC.

8 ) Teaching Videos – There are a large collection of videos linked to different environmental issues on our Teaching Videos site. There are also lots of examples of ‘environment’ classroom displays on Teaching Photos.

9) Communication4All – There are lots of great display resources on this popular site.

10) RecycleNow – Get involved in recycling activities at your school using the information and activities on this site.

Do you know about any other great environment / climate resources online?

]]> http://www.teachingnews.co.uk/2012/02/10-resources-for-go-green-week/feed/ 0 http://www.teachingnews.co.uk/2012/02/new-titanic-and-art-resource-sites-from-edgalaxy/ http://www.teachingnews.co.uk/2012/02/new-titanic-and-art-resource-sites-from-edgalaxy/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:00:04 +0000 markwarner http://www.teachingnews.co.uk/?p=9915

The creators of the popular resource site Edgalaxy have recently created a number of new sites that teachers can use:

• Ultimate Titanic has appeared just in time for the 100^th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic.  It contains great content for teachers and students to learn about the most famous maritime disaster of all time. There are a number of amazing images, videos and text based content that will definitely appeal to teachers and students without overwhelming them with irrelevant information on Titanic. Best of all Ultimate Titanic must have one of the biggest collections of lesson plans and teaching resources based around the Titanic covering all key learning areas and ages. The Titanic is one of the most amazing industrial feats of all time wrapped up in a story that Shakespeare himself could not have scripted and still appeals to students and learners of all ages. There is something here for everyone.

• Scribbled.com.au is a highly creative site for those who want to learn about innovative art and craft ideas. Scribbled is packed with activities to suit all abilities but best of all everything is laid in step-by-step directions with photographs to support them.  There are a number of themed ideas for all major events of the year with new crafts and activities being added each week. Teachers will also love the video tutorials and printables to jazz up their classrooms.  There are also  activities and games particularly aimed at younger children. Take a look at scribbled today and release some of your creative energy.

Feb29th.net is a global blogging project that aims to cross all age groups and continents. As soon as Feb 29th 2012 begins in Tonga, the Feb29th.net will open up for posts for one day only. The blog will capture posts from all over our planet until midnight in the Western Pacific. The result will not only be a celebration of technology, but a celebration of audience and purpose… who will be the youngest author? Who will be the oldest? Which country will top the most posts? Will there be any marriage proposals?

The aim is to allow any visitor on 29th Feb to post on the special blog at www.feb29th.net; posts will be moderated on the day, as this will also be open to pupils in educational establishments across the globe. Get involved in this exciting blogging project by visiting the site and following things on Twitter and Facebook too.

The creators of the popular Blitz School site (previously featured on Teaching News here) are now running Victorian Invention Workshops for primary schools. The new workshops aim to ‘provide a valuable insight into the groundbreaking Victorian age of invention and innovation with a full five hours of interactive activities designed to maximise the learning of your pupils and take them to the heart of this wondrous era.’ The workshops sound like great fun, with opportunities to handle artefacts, investigate steam power, dress up in the Victorian photographer’s studio and take part in and end of day quiz.

Their site offers full details about the workshop and the objectives that it covers. There are also information about Victorian inventions and lots of free resources that all schools can use. Take a look!

As the Chancellor what economic decisions would you make? What would your Budget for the country be? Which taxes will you levy on society? Where would you choose to spend the money you’ve raised? Here is a chance for the young people in your school to have their say. Watch this video to find out more:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Chance to be Chancellor is a competition that is open to all 14-18 year olds across the UK and their decisions will form the Youth Budget 2012. For a chance to win the national competition, visit the Paying for It site.

The Fun Food Company runs nutritional shows to KS3 students during PHSE sessions (or just for fun learning), in the form of a 2 part show (1 hour long). The sessions explore the importance of a healthy breakfast and how to balance the eat well plate, as well as recognising which foods contain carbs, protein, vitamins and minerals etc. The second half of the show is a competition loosely based on the television programme ‘Ready Steady Cook’, where 2 celebrity chefs (teachers) and their 2 team mates (pupils) battle for 15 minutes to cook a balanced meal, red team (red chillies) verses the green team (green peas).

Each team has a fully functional stage kitchen with 2 electric woks, a steamer, chopping boards, knife sets and cooking utensils. Once the competition has ended, the teams present the finished food onto the centre presentation table, where 10 audience volunteers come and taste the food and give their opinion. The winner is then voted for by the audience (50 – 300 pupils).

The show sounds like a great way for pupils to learn about healthy eating and the importance of it, whilst having a fun and interactive hour. You can find contact details for The Fun Food Company on their site.

Get ready for the Big Schools’ Birdwatch! Schools can take part in the upcoming Big Schools’ Birdwatch from 16-30 January 2012, helping the RSPB to monitor UK bird numbers.

Run every year, the Birdwatch is a free activity for all UK schools and youth groups (brownies, scouts etc). There are different resource packs for each age group:

• Little Schools’ Birdwatch is for 3-5 year olds
• Big Schools’ Birdwatch is for 6-11 year olds
• Really Big Schools’ Birdwatch is for 12-14 year olds.

This simple activity is for all ages and abilities; it only takes an hour to complete and is rich in curriculum links. It’s also a great way to get to know more about the wildlife visiting your school grounds. If you don’t have school grounds, don’t worry! You can still take part by visiting a local park. Teachers and group leaders can find out more at www.rspb.org.uk/schoolswatch and to register for their free resource pack. The website also has lots of other activities to accompany the Birdwatch to download, including child (and teacher) friendly bird ID pages.

Don’t forget to explore other educational events that you can can get involved in at Teaching Events.

Clicker, a literacy support tool from Crick Software, is currently used in over 90% of UK primary schools. It helps pupils to achieve reading and writing success and the latest version, Clicker 6, is about to be launched at BETT 2012.

A key focus for Clicker 6 is independent learning. The new Quick-Start Screen enables pupils to work on activities straight away without teacher assistance, whilst built-in support tools like the updated speech feedback and new word predictor enable them to overcome learning barriers that would previously have prevented them from putting great ideas into writing.

Clicker 6 also has new activity wizards which guide teachers through the activity creation process, automatically transforming their content into Clicker Sets, and makes tailoring these activities to pupils’ needs quicker and easier.

For further details on Clicker 6, visit Crick Software on stand F40 at BETT 2012, where you can also find out about exclusive upgrade discounts. You can also visit Crick Software’s site for more information.

I’ve mentioned the free content from the Red Cross on Teaching News before and they have now published a new resource called ‘Positive Images’. It is designed to help teachers, youth workers and other educators teach young people (aged 12 and over) about migration and development.

The resource includes clear lesson ideas and plans with accompanying resources. There are also relevant video resources on the Red Cross’ Youtube channel and these are also embedded on the download page for the resource. Find them all here.