An Dréimire

Bhí Rang a hAon agam arú anuraidh. Bhí seomra fíor-bheag agus rang an-bhríomhar agam. Ní raibh mé in ann na boird a eagrú i ngrúpaí toisc easpa spáis agus bhí páistí le deacrachtaí móra iompar sa rang mar sin bhí a fhios agam nach n-oibreodh na grúpaí a bhí in úsáid agam le ranganna eile a bhí agam. Thosaigh mé ag lorg smaointe ar Pinterest agus tháinig mé ar an dréimire.
I had a particularly lively First Class a few years ago in a tiny classroom. I couldn't organise the desks in groups due to lack of space and I also knew that due to behavioural difficulties in the class the group system would be a non-runner. I began to trawl Pinterest for alternative ideas. It was there that I came across the Behaviour Ladder.
'Séard atá ann ná córas céimnitheach a thosaíonn as an nua gach lá. Chun é a chur i bhfeidhm caithfear na cártaí a phriontáil agus a ghearradh amach, ansin iad a lannadh agus a ghreamú le chéile. Ansin beidh pionnaí éadaigh uait. Oibríonn na cinn adhmaid níos fearr mar caithfidh tú ainm gach páiste a scríobh ar na pionnaí. Tá pionna ag gach páiste agus tosaíonn siad ar fad ar "Ar Bís Chun Foghlama" gach maidin. Bogann an pionna suas nó síos ag braith ar iompar an pháiste.
The Ladder is a staged system that starts from scratch each day. To implement it in you class you need to print and cut out the cards and then laminate each one and stick them together in order. Then you need some clothes pegs. The wooden ones work best as you will need to write each child's name on the pegs. Every child has their own peg and they start each morning on "Ready to Learn". Their peg then moves up or down the ladder depending on their behaviour.
Bhí sé éasca na rialacha a mhíniú leis na páistí agus thug mé rabhadh dóibh sular bhog mé aon phionna síos. De ghnáth ba leor an rabhadh agus is annamh go raibh éinne ar an gcéim deireanach. I ndáiríre d'oibrigh sé chomh maith gur shroich an-chuid daltaí an céim ar barr roimh am lóin! Lá amháin bhog mé an pionna ón gcairt chuig mo chairdeagan. Bhuel! Bhí fonn ar na páistí ar fad go mbeadh a bpionna orm (bhíodh siad ag crochadh ó mo spéaclaí go minic freisin!!!) mar bhí a fhios acu go bhfeicfeadh a dtuismitheoirí iad ag am dul abhaile agus go mbeidhí an-shásta.
The rules were very easy for the children to understand and I would generally warn the children before I moved a peg downwards. Usually, the warning sufficed and there pegs were rarely on the bottom rung. In fact, it worked so well that quite a few children reached the top of the chart by lunchtime. I needed to up my game so one day I moved a peg from the top of the chart to my cardigan. Well I couldn't believe the response! They all tried their hardest to have their peg hanging off me (many a day saw me wandering around with several pegs hanging off my glasses!!!) because they knew their parents would see the pegs at hometime. 
Níl aon duaiseanna i gceist leis an gcóras seo, ba leor domsa duine ón gcárta ar barr a chur go barr an líne mar dhuais. An dá píonós atá ann ná ag seasamh amach ag am lóin ar feadh 5 nóiméad (píonós scoile) agus an ceann is measa ná nóta sa dialann do na tuismitheoirí.
There are no rewards to buy with this system, picking someone from the top rung to go to the top of the line was motivation enough. The two punishment steps on the ladder are a 5 minute Time-Out at lunchtime (a standard punishment in our school) and the most serious is a note in their homework journal.
An rud is fearr faoin gcóras seo, i mo thuairim, ná go bhfuil deis ag na páistí feabhas a chur ar an iompar i rith an lae agus is feabhas é ar mhaithe le moladh a fháil ní duais.
The best thing, in my opinion, about this system is that the children have the opportunity to improve their behaviour throughout the day and this improvement is in order to receive praise not a prize. 
Íoslódáil é seo saor in aisce ó mo shiopa TPT anois!
Download it for free now from my TPT store!

            

Duaiseanna Ranga Class Rewards

Bhíos ar bís ar maidin nuair a tháinig fear an phoist le beart dom! Bhí sé lá le duaiseanna iontacha ó mo chairde ag Mol an Óige. Ar dtús báire caithfidh mé bheith ionraic, tá aithne agam ar na húinéirí agus fuaireas na rudaí saor in aisce uathu le léirmheas a dhéanamh orthu.
I was all excited this morning when the postman brought me a parcel of goodies for Mol an Óige. Full disclosure ... this company is owned by a former colleague of mine and they sent me on the goodies for free so I could review them.
Bhí formhór na rudaí a fuair mé i nGaeilge mar is múinteoir Gaelscoile mé ach tá rogha iontach rudaí acu i mBéarla freisin. Most of the products I received are as Gaeilge as I teach in a Gaelscoil but Mol an Óige also stock a large selection of products in English too.

Céard a bhí ann? So what did I get?

• Sticéirí Stickers - leathanach le hulcabháin agus ceann eile le piongain (gleoite amach is amach!) Ceannaigh anseo iad. A page of owl stickers and another with penguins (soooo cute!)  Get them here.
• Bandaí Riosta Wrist Bands - Fuair mé meascán de na bandaí riosta - cinn plaisteacha agus cinn páipéir. Cinn iontacha mar dhuais do Dhalta na Seachtaine, cinn a deir "Maith thú" agus ansin cinn páipéir freisin. Is féidir iad a cheannach anseo. I got a selection of wrist bands, both plastic and paper. There are lovely ones that can be used as a reward for your Dalta na Seachtaine, ones that say "Maith thú" and lovely colourful disposable ones. Get them here.
• Pinn Biros - Bheadh siad seo ar fheabhas do dhaltaí sna hard ranganna. Dearadh éagsúil orthu. These biros would be fantastic rewards for pupils in the Senior classes and are available in different shapes and sizes.
• Scriosáin & Bioróirí Erasers & Sharpeners - Scriosáin deasa le "Molaim thú" agus bioróirí i gcruth réalta le "An-mhaith" orthu. Faigh anseo iad. Lovely durable erasers that say "Molaim thú" and cute heart-shaped sharpeners with "An-mhaith". Get them here.
• Pinn Luaidhe Pencils - Pinn luaidhe deasa a deir "Tá an dalta seo ag obair go dian". Faigh anseo iad. Pencils with smiley faces that say "Tá an dalta seo ag obair go dian". Get them here
• Nótaí Notepads - Slí an-dheas chun dea-iompar a roinnt le tuismitheoirí, nótaí le haghaidh obair mhaith agus pasanna obair bhaile. Faigh anseo iad. A great way to share hard work and good behaviour with those at home, lovely notes praising great work and homework passes. Get them here. 
• Fáinne Eocrach Key Rings - Duaiseanna deasa do na hardranganna. Faigh anseo iad. Great rewards for senior pupils. Get them here. 
• Suaitheantais Badges - Suaitheantais ildaite le moltaí i nGaeilge. Faigh anseo iad. Lovely colourful badges. Get them here.

Is fiú go mór cuairt a thabhairt ar an suíomh .... molanoige.com ... agus sracfhéachaint a thabhairt ar na duaiseanna atá acu. D'fhéadfadh éinne na cinn i nGaeilge a úsáid mar shlí neamhfhoirmiúil chun Gaeilge a spreagadh i scoileanna nach Gaelscoileanna iad.

It's well worth paying a trip to molanoige.com and having a browse through their products. The Irish products would be a great informal way to promote the Irish language in non-Gaelscoileanna.

Beidh mé cinnte ag ceannach rudaí uathu i rith na bliana. I'll definitely by purchasing from them during the year.

Hallowe'en Poetry

I've put together a collection of Hallowe'en poetry that can get you started on your thematic planning for the first term. Hallowe'en is one of my favourite themes and there is an abundance of material available. My 6th class Hallowe'en thematic plan is starting to take shape and this is how it looks:

• Science - The Skeleton
• English Poetry - The Listeners by Walter de la Mare / Advice on how to sleep well on Hallowe'en Night 
• English Reading - The Ghost of Grania O'Malley by Michael Morpurgo / The Ghost of Thomas Kempe by Penelope Lively
• Music - A Night on Bare Mountain Mussorgsky / The Monster Mash
• Art - Spooky Trees (charcoal & paint Pinterest) Picasso Witch Portrait (Pinterest)

You can download the free collection of Hallowe'en poetry in my TPT store, click the image below

Google Forms

Is aoibhinn liom teicneolaíocht ... is nerd ceart mé nuair a thagann sé chuig slite chun TEC a úsáid sa rang. Cúpla bliain ó shin bhí deis againn cuntas Google a shocrú don scoil, tá ár seoltaí ríomhphoist féin ar fad againn agus mar sin tá teacht againn ar fad ar Google Drive. Bainimid an-úsáid as mar fhoireann chun bheith ag obair ar cháipéisí scoile go comhoibritheach. Gné eile de Google Drive ná Google Forms. Go dtí gur thosaigh mé ag súgradh timpeall le Drive ní raibh aon taithí agam ar Google Forms agus bhain mé triail as ceann an-shimplí leis an rang. D'oibrigh sé go maith agus bhain na daltaí an-thaitneamh as, fiú d'iarr siad orm an mbeidís in ann a thuilleadh srúdaithe a dhéanamh mar sin!!!
I love technology ... I'm a self-confessed ICT nerd and am constantly striving to find new and innovative ways to use it in my class. A few years ago we had the opportunity to set up Google Apps for our school, we now have our own individual school email accounts and access to Google Drive. We use this as a staff to share information and to work cooperatively on school documents. An element of Google Drive is Google Forms. I have to admit until I started to play around with it myself, I hadn't any experience with Forms. I began by trying out a simple test for my class. It worked well and they really enjoyed it, even asking if they could do more tests like that!!

Chun ceann a dhéanamh caithfidh cuntas Gmail a bheith agat agus ansin nuair a bhíonn tú logáilte isteach i do chuntas téann tú go Google Drive > New > More > Google Forms. Ansin bíonn tú in ann ainm a thabhairt don fhoirm agus ceisteanna a chur. An chéad cheist i gcónaí ná ainm an pháiste a roghnú ó liosta. Ansin bíonn tú in ann do rogha a dhéanamh ag gach ceist idir ilroghnach, liosta, téacs, alt gearr, tic sa bhosca &rl. Nuair a bhíonn na ceisteanna ar fad scríofa agat is féidir do rogha dearadh a phiocadh. Is féidir an fhoirm a leabú i mblag nó an nasc a roinnt. Tagann na freagraí ar fad suas i scairbhileog i Google Drive. Is féidir é seo a phriontáil agus a chur isteach ins an bhfillteán measúnaithe
To create a Google Form you will need to have a gmail account and once you are logged in you simple click Google Drive > New > More > Google Forms. The next step is to name your form and set your questions. My first question is always a 'choose from a list' type question where the children choose their own name. There are lots different options for answers including multiple choice, list, text, paragraph and tick the box. Once your have entered all your questions you can then choose your design. The form can then be embedded in a blog or the link shared. The answers will appear in a spreadsheet in Google Drive. This can be then printed and stored in your assessment folder.

Seo an scrúdú a rinne an rang ar Florence Nightingale. Here's my Florence Nightingale Assessment.

Téamaí téamaí agus níos mó téamaí!

Is cuimhin liom go maith na laethanta luaithe sin i Mary I agus na léachtóirí ag caint faoi "chomhtháthú" níor dhein sé mórán céille dom ansin mar ní rabhas ach i m'ábhar múinteoir. Bhí an curaclam athbhreithnithe díreach ag teacht ar an bhfód ag an am (shhhh ná habair le héinne go bhfuilim chomh sean le sin!) agus ceann den na bunphrionsabail ná gur éifeachtaí an fhoghlaim nuair atá is comhtháite.
I remember my early days in Mary I when 'integration' was the buzz word and it was mentioned at least twice every lecture! I can't say that it made a whole lot of sense to me at the time as I was only learning my craft. The Revised Curriculum was in the process of being launched (shhh don't tell anyone that I was around way back then!) and one of the guiding principles of this Revised Curriculum was that 'learning is most effective when it is integrated'. (Introduction, Revised Curriculum 1999, p 9)

Na laethanta seo agus níos mó blianta ná gur mhaith liom a admháil déanta agam ní fhéadfainn mo stíl mhúinteoireachta a shamhlú gan nascadh, comhtháthú nó téama. Bíonn tábla agam fiú ag tús m'fhillteán pleanála ag déanamh cur síos ar an bpleanáil téamach don bhliain!
And now here I am, with a fair few years teaching under my belt, unable to imagine describing my teaching style without using terms like linked, integrated or theme. I even have a table printed at the beginning of my planning folder detailing my thematic planning for the year!

Bíonn sé éasca téama a roghnú ag amanta áirithe i rith na bliana, na cinn a léimeann amach ná Oíche Shamhna, An Nollaig, Lá 'le Pádraig. Tarlaíonn sé go héasca, uaireanta ní bhíonn a fhios agat go bhfuil sé á dhéanamh agat! Uaireanta eile níl sé chomh héasca san. Déanaim iarracht litearthacht a bheith mar chuid de mo cheachtanna staire agus is as sin a thosaíonn an téama. Muna raibh fhios agat faoin am seo is aoibhinn liom filíocht freisin agus bíonn sé éasca go leor sna hardranganna teacht ar dhánta a théann le tréimhsí áirithe staire. Mar shampla, nuair a bhím ag múineadh faoi shaolta Florence Nightingale agus Mary Seacole (nascadh!!!) déanaim an dán "The Charge of the Light Brigade". Ní luaitear éinne den bheirt sa dán seo ach is cur síos é faoi chath le linn Cogadh Crimea, agus is lena linn a tháinig clú agus cáil ar Nightingale. Is féidir níos mó nascadh a dhéanamh leis an dtéama seo má dhéanann tú Cúram na nEaslán tríd na haoiseanna sa stair freisin. Is téama gearr é seo ach tríd an nascadh thar churaclam na staire is féidir leis na daltaí comparáid agus codarsnacht a dhéanamh ar éispéireas dhá altra agus tuiscint a fháil ar an gcaoi a d'athraigh cúrsaí leighis tríd na haoiseanna.
Certain times of the year lend themselves to thematic planning such as Hallowe'en, Christmas and St Patrick's Day; you may not even realise that you're doing it! Other times it isn't so easy. I try to integrate literacy into my history lessons and this generally is where my theme starts. In case you hadn't guessed by now, I also love poetry and it's easy enough in the senior classes to find poetry about certain periods in History. For example when I teach about Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole (linkage!!!) I generally do the poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade". This poem makes no mention of either women but it is about the Crimean War and this is where Florence Nightingale rose to fame. Further linkage within History is also possible with a lesson on Care of the Sick throughout the ages. This is a short theme but the linkage across the history curriculum allows the children to compare and contrast the experiences of two nurses and to build on their understanding of how medicine has changed. 

Thíos tá dhá íomhá le 12 téama a d'úsáid mé le Rang 6 anuraidh.
The images below contain 12 themes that I used with 6th Class last year. 

Dánta Gaeilge

Seo daoibh acmhainn saor in aisce eile uaim, bailiúchán filíochta eile ach i nGaeilge an uair seo. Bheadh na dánta seo oiriúnach do na hardranganna sa bhunscoil. Tá an-chuid acu úsáidte agam féin le Rang 6 le roinnt blianta anuas. Bainigí taitneamh astu!
Gliogáil ar an íomhá thíos chun iad a íoslódáil ó mo shiopa TPT.
Another free resource, this time a collection of Irish poems most suited for the senior classes. I've used lots of these with my 6th class over the last number of years.
Click on the image below to download them from my TPT shop.

Poetry Anthology

I've put together a selection of poems that I have used over the past few years with 6th class. I love teaching poetry and am a great advocate of learning poems by heart even though I know that rote learning may not be very fashionable these days. Children can memorise the lyrics of the latest pop song with ease so why not the odd poem or two! It's amazing what stays with you and I'm sure if we all dig deep enough into the recesses of our minds we will be able to quote a verse or two of a poem we learned in school. The poems that I've chosen include some classics by Wordsworth and Robert Frost and some modern poems that can help with linkage and integration, for example there are two poems dealing with the theme of Bullying.
This is a free resource and is available from my TPT store, just click on the image!

Pathways to 1916

Bhuel, inniu an chéad lá oifigiúil de na laethanta saoire domsa! Chaitheas an tseachtain seo caite ag freastal ar chúrsa samhraidh dar theideal "Pathways to 1916". Tá an-shuim go deo agam sa stair agus is aoibhinn liom í a mhúineadh. Le ceiliúradh 100 bliana ag teacht an bhliain seo chugainn ba thráthúil an ama é seo a dhéanamh. Seo an chéad bhliain le fada go ndearna mé ceann in ionad seachas ar líne.
Woohoo, today is my first official day on holidays! Last week was spent attending a summer course entitled 'Pathways to 1916'. I love all things history and am passionate about teaching it. With the 100 year anniversary of the 1916 Rising fast approaching I decided that this would be a worthwhile course to attend. This is the first summer in quite a while that I have chosen to attend a face-to-face course as opposed to an online course.
Thaitin an idirghníomhaíocht leis na múinteoirí eile go mór liom, bhí an-chuid craic againn agus d'fhoghlaimíomar go leor óna chéile... níor thaitin an éirí ar maidin liom ... ach sin scéal eile! D'fhoghlaim mé an-chuid agus tugadh go leor smaointe iontacha dúinn mar aon le hábhar choincréiteach. Tá an spreagadh faighte agam ceachtanna éagsúla bunaithe ar an Éirí Amach a chur le chéile don scoilbhliain atá romhainn.
I loved the interaction with my fellow teachers on the course, we had great craic and shared lots of ideas with each other ... but I didn't love getting up in the mornings! I learned an awful lot about the Rising and we were provided with a whole plethora of different ideas and concrete materials. I'm totally inspired and have lots of ideas for how to teach the Rising during the coming school year.