Tag Archives: lower primary teaching resources

Welcome to our new readilearn website – #readilearn

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I’m very excited to announce that my new readilearn website is now live:

Hello and welcome to my new website. I hope you like it as much as I do. I am delighted with what web designer Rebecca Timmis has developed for me. The new site has many of the same features that will be familiar to you from the old site. In addition, there are many new features and improvements.

One thing you may notice straight way (in addition to the layout and images) is that you can now access the free resources without needing to register or go through the checkout. This feature makes it easier for you to download the free printable resources and access the free online resources.

Premium resources can still be purchased individually but, as before, an annual subscription provides the best value. If you subscribed to or purchased resources from the original site, you should still be able to access them using the same login information. Email me at hello@readilearn.com.au if you experience any difficulty. The best way to find out about the new site is to have an explore.

While you may no longer be able to follow this blog, you will still be able to keep up to date with news and new resources by subscribing to the newsletter which I’ll continue to publish on the last day of the month. I have two new interactive resources ready to add to the collection later this month, so keep an eye out for those.

Please contact me with any comments or feedback about the new site or resources you’d like added. I’d love to hear what you think.

Now I’d like to tell you a little about the amazing web designer Rebecca Timmis.

About Rebecca Timmis

rebecca_timmis

Rebecca Timmis is an author, illustrator, web designer and game developer based in Queensland’s sunny Gold Coast. She has been building WordPress and custom PHP websites for over 15 years, specialising in database architecture (much more exciting than it sounds). Rebecca is passionate about helping people create and build their online presence. Her favourite clients are non-profits, particularly those in the wildlife sector, and other creatives like herself.

When she’s not coding websites, Rebecca writes and illustrates for children. Her first junior fiction series, MerTales, was published by Albert Street Books in 2021. She also developed a game for the series, MerTales: Mermaid Rescue, which is available for free on Google Play and the AppStore.

Learn more about Vanilla Web Designs at https://www.vanillawebdesigns.com.au
Learn more about Rebecca’s writing, illustration and game dev at https://rjtimmis.net

Source: Welcome to our new readilearn website – readilearn

teaching with nursery rhymes

The Cow Jumped Over the Moon — Really? – #readilearn

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Nursery rhymes are fun, especially nonsense nursery rhymes like Hey Diddle, Diddle.

Benefits of Nursery Rhymes

But nursery rhymes are not just fun. They are often a child’s first introduction to our literary heritage and have many benefits for young children.

  • They help children learn the sounds and rhythms of the language.
  • They are short and easy to remember so help to develop memory.
  • They introduce children to rhyme and alliteration and help to develop phonemic awareness which is important to the development of skills in reading and writing.
  • They encourage a joy in language and inspire a playfulness that contributes to further language learning.

Australian author Mem Fox is often quoted as saying that

“Experts in literacy and child development have discovered that if children know eight nursery rhymes by heart by the time they’re four years old, they’re usually among the best readers by the time they’re eight.”

We know that success with literacy learning often correlates with success later in life. Most early childhood teachers agree that children who have been spoken to, sung to (including nursery rhymes) and read to before school find literacy learning much easier in our classrooms. However, the value of nursery rhymes doesn’t end when children begin school. They can be the focus of learning throughout school.

World Nursery Rhyme Week

If you are not already aware of it, you may wish to check out World Nursery Rhyme Week  that begins next week on 16 November and continues until 20 November. The purpose of World Nursery Rhyme Week is to promote the importance of nursery rhymes in early education. Follow the link to find lots of free resources to join in the worldwide celebration of nursery rhymes.

Learning with Hey Diddle, Diddle

Let’s begin with ten lesson ideas based upon the nonsense nursery rhyme Hey Diddle Diddle. I’m sure you are familiar with the rhyme.

Continue reading: The Cow Jumped Over the Moon — Really? – readilearn

readilearn's fourth birthday

It’s readilearn’s fourth birthday – #readilearn

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On Monday 24 August, readilearn will be four years old, and what an amazing four years it has been — one day, one week, one month, one year at a time. We haven’t been without our hiccups, but we haven’t been without our successes either. I express my sincere gratitude to everyone of you who has supported me along the way. Rest assured, the journey is not over yet.

About Norah, founder of readilearn

For those who don’t know, below are #12 things about me that preceded and contributed to the establishment of readilearn, a collection of teaching resources to support teachers of the first three years of school.

  1. Education is my life, my passion, especially literacy development and the education of young children.
  2. I decided at age 10 that I wanted to be a teacher. That desire has never waned.
  3. When I left school, I went straight into teachers’ college, and from there back into the classroom, but on the other side of the teacher’s desk.
  4. I wasn’t always happy with everything that was expected of me as a classroom teacher and read widely about education and alternatives to schooling.
  5. I undertook further study into language and literacy development.

Continue reading: It’s readilearn’s fourth birthday – readilearn

reasources for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures

Resources for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures – #readilearn

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NAIDOC Week celebrations, which would normally take place in early July, have been postponed until November this year due to Covid-19. However, that is no reason to cancel sharing Indigenous stories and lessons with your class. After all, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures is one of the cross-curriculum priorities in the Australian Curriculum and is an important part of our national heritage. While some may not feel confident teaching Indigenous perspectives, the only way to become more confident is by being informed.

In this post I share some websites and resources that you may find useful in preparing lessons and some organisations whose goals of improving the education and future success of our Indigenous students you may wish to support.

Raising culturally aware kids

In this article, How to Raise Culturally Aware Kids written for ABC Life, Samantha Turnbull introduces us to Kirby Barker a Bandjalang worman and early childhood teacher from northern New South Wales. Kirby teaches her preschoolers to counter racism with kindness. The article shares Kirby’s advice on how to present information to young children including words that can be used to explain the history. She discusses

  • the need to celebrate difference
  • ways of explaining traditional owners and inviting them into the classroom
  • how to talk about reconciliation with children
  • the importance of sharing stories
  • learning Indigenous languages
  • developing empathy.

While only a brief article, you will glean many ideas from Kirby Barker which, though easily implemented, will have a profound effect.

Indigenous Literacy Foundation

The aim of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation is to raise literacy levels by supplying books to remote communities.

Continue reading: Resources for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures – readilearn

February - special days and events to celebrate in the classroom

Special Days and Events for Classroom Celebrations — February – #readilearn

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It is during the final weeks of January and the first weeks of February that most teachers and children in the Southern Hemisphere begin their school year. Parents breathe a sigh of relief as the long holidays come to an end and teachers and children look forward to the year ahead with mixed feelings ranging from the excitement of a new adventure to anxiety or even dread. Perhaps it is no coincidence that Children’s Mental Health Week falls in the first week of February.

Children’s Mental Health Week

Children’s Mental Health Week runs from 3 – 9 February this year. The purpose of the week is to encourage children to look after their bodies and their minds. A positive classroom environment that is both welcoming and supportive helps to ensure children stay happy with healthy mental attitudes. It supports the development of self-esteem, self-confidence and the development of social skills, including getting along with others.

Here at readilearn, we can help you establish a supportive classroom environment and provide you with teaching resources that focus on developing social-emotional skills. While these are appropriate for any time of the year, a special focus during mental health week provides opportunities for reading books and engaging children in activities that are conducive to positive attitudes.

Of special note this year is that many children in Australia may begin the school year distressed by what they have personally experienced or may have seen or heard about the bushfires that have caused so much damage to our country.

While I am unable to give specialised support for dealing with trauma, this article in the Conversation has suggestions to help teachers support students, and includes links to other information. It is pleasing to see that extra funds have been made available to assist teachers and students who have been affected by the fires. If you have been affected and I can support you with a free subscription to readilearn, just let me know.

Resources for a supportive classroom environment

You can find suggestions for establishing a supportive classroom in these previous posts:

Continue reading: Special Days and Events for Classroom Celebrations — February – readilearn

preparing the classroom for a successful school year

Preparing the classroom for a successful school year – #readilearn

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A new year begins! Happy New Year!

I wish you all an enjoyable, rewarding and successful 2020.

For many of us in the Southern Hemisphere, the school year begins later this month or early next month. Most of us are already making preparations for the year ahead, thinking about how we will organise our classrooms and what we will teach. Preparation can take a lot of our ‘own’ time but being organised can reduce anxiety when the school year begins.

At readilearn, our aim is to lessen your workload by assisting with preparation, giving you more time for those things non-work-related things you enjoy.

Start out right from day one

Establish a supportive classroom

When you are confident and organised from day one, the children (and their parents) will feel welcome and have positive attitudes to you, your classroom and school. You will set the tone for a successful school year for both you and your students.

The free resource Getting ready for the first day with Busy Bee resources lists some first day resources with suggestions for using them; including a welcome letter, a welcome sign for the door, desk name templates, name badges and a birthday chart.

Continue reading: Preparing the classroom for a successful school year – readilearn

special days and events for classroom celebrations

Special Days and Events for Classroom Celebrations #readilearn

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Teachers are forward thinkers and future planners. Even though 2019 is not yet done, many will already be thinking ahead and planning for the 2020 teaching year.

To assist in that planning, I have compiled a list of special days and events you may wish to celebrate in your classroom throughout the year. While the information provided in this list is brief, on the last Friday of each month, I will publish a more detailed list of the special days for the following month with accompanying teaching suggestions. By the end of 2020 we should have a substantial list of days to celebrate and suggestions for doing so. Please let me know of any days I have omitted that you would like to see included.

Of course, it is not intended that you would celebrate all the days. Rather, that you would choose those of interest to you and your children and those that fit with your program.

A printable copy of this list is available to download free here.

Leap into 2020 the International Year of Plant Health

2020 is a leap year so get ready to celebrate. It is also the International Year of Plant Health with the theme Protecting Plants, Protecting Life.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations,  the year is

“a once in a lifetime opportunity to raise global awareness on how protecting plant health can help end hunger, reduce poverty, protect the environment, and boost economic development.”

Now would be a good time to begin thinking about what you can do throughout the year to celebrate and protect plants, perhaps using the topic as an overarching theme for the year.

Ideas for teaching and learning about plant health:

Continue reading: Special Days and Events for Classroom Celebrations – Readilearn

appreciating and exploring poetry in lower primary classrooms

Appreciating and exploring poetry in lower primary classrooms – reblogged from readilearn

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Poetry is a wonderful tool for learning language. When children listen to or recite poetry, they are learning the rhythms and sounds of language, exploring ideas and how to express them, expanding vocabularies, deepening understanding in nuances of meaning, and having fun with thoughts and their expression.

Children are exposed to rhythm and rhyme from their earliest days through nursery rhymes, chants and songs as well as the text of picture books. It is important for children to have opportunities for appreciating and exploring poetry into and throughout their school years. The Australian Curriculum places poetry firmly into the literature strand of English teaching each year. But it is not necessary to relegate poetry just to a poetry unit of work when stipulated by the curriculum. Poetry, rhymes, chants and songs can be easily incorporated into the daily class program.

Michael Rosen, who you may know as the author of Going on a Bear Hunt and who I previously introduced to you in this post, shares some recommendations for teaching poetry on his blog. Although the suggestions were written for a year one teacher, I think the suggestions could be extended out to other years. Following his recommendations would more than cover the expectations of the Australian Curriculum, and what a wonderful way to turn children (and yourself) onto poetry.

I’m only sharing a few of his recommendations here. Please visit his website to read the others.

Michael Rosen’s suggestions for teaching poetry

  • Get as many poetry books into your classroom as possible. Encourage the children in pairs to browse, choose and read.
  • Read poems to them every day, use vids of poets (check out Michael Rosen’s YouTube channel) , use national poetry archive. Writing poems with no poems in your head is too big an ask. Fill their heads with ‘What poetry can do’ ie loads of poems.

Continue reading: Appreciating and exploring poetry in lower primary classrooms – readilearn

celebrating three years of readilearn

Celebrating Three Years of readilearn with a Gift for You – readilearn

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This week, readilearn celebrates three years of supporting teachers and parents of children in their first three years of school.

In recognition of this milestone, we are offering, until the end of the month, a 50% discount on any readilearn resource, including subscription. To take advantage of this offer, simply enter the code *birthday* at the checkout.

Continue reading: Celebrating Three Years of readilearn with a Gift for You – readilearn

National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children's Day

Let’s celebrate National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day – readilearn

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Ideas and resources for celebrating National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day held on 4 August each year.

This Sunday 4 August, is National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day. Celebrated on this date for over thirty years, the day provides a special opportunity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families to celebrate their children and for us all to get to know a little more of their culture.

Although this year the day falls on a Sunday, there is no reason it can’t be celebrated in the classroom during the week. In fact, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures one of the ACARA cross-curriculum priorities, every day is a good day for celebrating our children and helping them to feel special and included.

The theme for this year’s celebration is We Play, We Learn, We Belong. It focuses on the importance of education for young children with special emphasis on the need for it to be culturally appropriate. The website has many suggestions to help you celebrate the day and some free downloadable resources.

In this video, this year’s ambassador, Nanna from Little J and Big Cuz, introduces the day.

Continue reading: Let’s celebrate National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day – Readilearn