New Name… Who’s This?

May 3, 2023May 3, 2023 The Suitcase TeacherLeave a comment

I hope you are reading this feeling refreshed and ready to go in Term 2! You might have noticed a recent name change, here’s what happened.

It’s Officially 2023!

Jan 31, 2023May 3, 2023 The Suitcase TeacherLeave a comment

With last year being our first full year at school in what seemed like forever, I feel like so many of us were dragging ourselves across the end of the year… not to mention our students too.

The Benefits of a Class Paper

Nov 11, 2022May 3, 2023 The Suitcase TeacherLeave a comment

Have you considered the benefits of having a class paper?

Since reading Little Women, my students were really excited about the opportunity to create a class paper. Collectively, the students decided that the first submission would be optional as many students are not fond of creative writing and coming up with their own ideas. I agreed with their decision as I believe it promotes student choice, and why shouldn’t they have an opt-in?

Student Travel Journal: Writing Prompts

Aug 20, 2022May 3, 2023 The Suitcase TeacherLeave a comment

Print and go!

Recently, a student went on an overseas family holiday during the school term and subsequently missed lots of learning.

In an attempt to keep this student connected and engaged in learning, I created a personalised travel journal for her to take on her trip. I decided to keep it simple, adding some question prompts as well as space for writing or drawing.

Interpreting Data and Constructing Graphs

Jun 9, 2022Aug 4, 2022 The Suitcase TeacherLeave a comment

I have been working with a group of students who had excellent previous knowledge in the area of constructing and interpreting data. I had to dig deep to come up with a task to really challenge them and decided that they would work in pairs to take a set of data, prepare a graph and corresponding questions to challenge another pair of students with.

Top 5 April Fool’s Day Pranks For Teachers

Mar 31, 2022Apr 5, 2022 The Suitcase TeacherLeave a comment

Can you believe it’s April Fool’s Day soon! It reminded me of the fun we had with our Year 5 students last year and we thought long and hard about what fun we might have this year. Here are my top 5 pranks to play on your students for April Fool’s Day.

Reader’s Response

Nov 10, 2021Dec 8, 2021 The Suitcase TeacherLeave a comment

Have you ever asked your students to write a chapter summary or maybe who their favourite character was in a text? The question we should be asking is whether these questions challenge students to be critical thinkers or simply recall facts.

Optimistic October

Oct 5, 2021Oct 5, 2021 The Suitcase TeacherLeave a comment

Brain breaks are important, especially while in distance learning. We may spend a lot of time on our digital devices and I wanted to give my students a graphic reminder to take breaks as they need them.

BOOKFLIX and Chill

Sep 21, 2021Mar 2, 2022 The Suitcase TeacherLeave a comment

I’ve been encouraging my students to think more about their book choices and if they would recommend their reading to their peers.

It’s National Science Week!

Aug 15, 2021Aug 23, 2021 The Suitcase TeacherLeave a comment

“The school theme for National Science Week 2021 is Food: Different by Design. It honors the United Nations International Year of Fruits and Vegetables and the International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development.” – National Science Week

It’s National Science Week and the focus is on food! I couldn’t be happier as this is a personal passion and love. I have created a series of ‘foodie’ experiments, some of which are even edible.