The Teacher Toolbox » Homework

Problem Solving – Palindrome Puzzle

Adrian — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 00:31:42 +0000

I love having heaps of puzzles in the classroom. This palindrome puzzle is great to have up on the wall and can lead to so much conversation about how to solve it logically.

You can get an A4 version of the puzzle from adrianbruce.com

cheers

Adrian

Improving Navigation – Math Resources

Adrian — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 13:44:53 +0000

In the beginning adrianbruce.com was a means for me to put the stuff I use with my classes online for the world to use so people don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Now, as time goes by, I’ve become aware that the navigation of the site is (insert nice word for become very difficult).

So at the moment I’m working on putting a ‘google search field’ on each page as well as ‘breadcrumb’ navigation i.e. at the top of each page you’ll see – adrianbruce.com (which will get you back to the homepage) / Math ( which will get you back to the Math Page ) and then the page you are on.

Hopefully this will enable people to find their way around my teaching resources a little more easily.

That said, today I’ve updated lots of stuff… Feel free to check out and use it with your kids…

The calculator game

Place Value game

Olympic Diving

Addition Doubles

& Place Value Charts - Thousands, Millions, Billions, Trillions, Quadrillions

catch ya soon

Adrian

To Sleep Perchance to Dream

Adrian — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 09:59:00 +0000

Last night Ginsberg was reading Beat Poetry to a disinterested porcelain cat who wished only to be known as Bono while Tom Waits (who’d been drinking again) was smashing my dinner plates into the sink

I love having students keep a dream diary for a week or two as homework. The dream recordings can be used for song lyrics, poetry, art, creative writing or even just the discussion relating to Psychology, Science or even Dream Interpretation.

Give it a go as this task can generate a great deal of discussion.

cheers

Adrian

Children as Life Coaches

Adrian — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 21:10:00 +0000

Here’s an activity where I ask the children to become life coaches and produce a 5 panel comic strip of a fable that they think would be a valuable ‘life lesson’ for a member of our class. NB No one is allowed to mention names

I’m always amazed at what they come up with.

cheers

Adrian

The Story of My Birth

Adrian — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 21:04:00 +0000

Having the children interview their parents about the day of their birth makes for some really pleasant and interesting reading.

Check out the tips and tricks section for a few hints on this activity.

cheers

Adrian

Greenhouse Effect & the Ozone Hole

Adrian — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 03:25:00 +0000

We hear about the Greenhouse Effect, climate change and Ozone Depletion almost every day in the media. Funny thing is students and often adults confuse the two concepts. This is a research activity that I have used many times over the years and it works well to get the children reducing the school’s environmental footprint.

What Scientist is That?

Adrian — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 07:18:00 +0000

I love teaching Science in my classes. I especially like to do activities that get the students thinking about some of the ‘big picture’ parts of Science. I feel that these sorts of activities foster positive attitudes towards Science.

This Science lesson can examine the clichés that movies perpetuate about scientists. It also raises awareness in the children of scientists and their research fields. The lesson also requires the children to draw a conclusion on which scientist they think has had the greatest impact on our lives today.

Enjoy

Adrian

The Quest for the Ultimate Paper Plane

Adrian — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 05:14:00 +0000

Here’s yet another one of those great activities that has all sorts of learning outcomes. It is research, following procedural texts, defining and manipulation of scientific variables, it has kids notice that they can choose to move out of their comfort zone. ie If you ask a child to fold a paper plane they will usually fold it the same way they have always folded it.

This paper plane activity encourages students to actively investigate flight. They also have a heap of fun testing the models

cheers

Adrian

She Has a Black Belt in Origami

Adrian — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 00:32:00 +0000

My Origami task is a fantastic way of teaching research skills, group work, resilience, how to follow complex procedural texts, problem solving and community building just to name a few.

Check out the page for some ideas on how to get it happening in your classroom painlessly.

cheers

Adrian

Blogging With Class – Initial Steps Into Blogging With Students

Adrian — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 10:40:00 +0000

Tonight I have taken the first steps in setting up a classroom blog for a teacher in a school that I work with. After a bit of looking around we have decided that our initial steps into the Blogosphere will be done with David Warlick’s Class Blogmeister.

The main reason for choosing this hosting site is that it is maintained by an educator who really knows his stuff (check out David’s Blog & Podcast if you don’t believe me) and a great interface for screening student posts and any comments before they ‘go live’

Mrs S and I are looking forward to a very steep learning curve over the next Aussie term so do pop by from time to time to see what the students have been up to.

If you are asking yourself ‘What’s a Blog?‘ then follow the link and let the Ace Kids show you.

If you are wondering about the rather ‘out there’ Australian names, I’ve run the students names through an anagram generator to generate interesting pseudonyms.

cheers

Adrian Bruce
(Cured in a Bar) hehehehe