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Thank you for visiting "Teaching Ideas". This page contains useful information for those people who have never visited this site before, and a list of answers to questions I am frequently asked.
What is this site about, and who is it intended for?
'Teaching Ideas' is for teachers who teach primary-age children (i.e. ages 5 to 11). Although it has been designed with UK teachers in mind, all ideas can of course be used by teachers around the world.
The ideas, activities and worksheets are organised according to a number of subjects (those covered in the English National Curriculum). The "Early Years" section contains ideas for use with children aged 5 or below, and the "Foreign Languages" area has resources for those teachers who wish to teach a different language to their children.
What age range do the Teaching Ideas sites cover?
Each activity on this site falls into one of three age ranges:
5 to 11 (suitable for all children in the primary school),
5 to 7 (suitable for younger primary children) and
7 to 11 (suitable for older primary children).
Over 11 (suitable for secondary children).
These age ranges are only there to give guidance. The level of many activities on the site can be altered according to the level of ability of the children in your class. Teachers should make sure that the activities are appropriate for their class.
Can you add resources for secondary teachers?
The site is mainly intended for primary teachers. Of course, secondary teachers are welcome to use the existing ideas and resources if they feel that they would be suitable for their class(es). There are a few ideas for 'over 11s' on the site, but I can only extend this aspect with contributions from visitors, as I have very little teaching experience in this area.
How am I allowed to use the resources?
You may use the ideas, print / photocopy worksheets, and download files from the site for use within your own classrooms, provided that you agree not to change them or delete any copyright or proprietary notices from the materials. Parents are also welcome to use them with their own children should they wish to do so. All other uses are strictly prohibited. In particular, the ideas and resources on this site may not be used for commercial purposes, for resale, or posted on other websites. If you have any queries about this, please contact me via email at mark@teachingideas.co.uk. This website and its content is copyright of Teaching Ideas - © Teaching Ideas 1998-2008. All rights reserved.
Where are the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy?
The Terms of Use and Privacy Policy statements cover all of the sites in the Teaching Ideas network (Teaching Ideas, More Teaching Ideas, Display Photos, Teaching Forum, Welcome to the Web, and Teachr.co.uk). They can be found here:
What are PDF files and how can I read them?
The resources on Teaching Ideas are in a variety of formats. Some of these are in PDF format. To read PDF files, you need some software called Abobe Acrobat Reader. It is free and can be obtained from many computer magazine coverdisks, or downloaded from the Internet at http://www.adobe.com/acrobat.
What are the other file types on the site?
Next to the link for each file, there is always a small icon indicating the type of file. This icon represents the type of file that is available to download. The table below gives more information, and includes links to sites where you can download relevant software, where available.
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PDF
File
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Word
Document
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Should
work in relevant Microsoft Office software, or compatible programs.
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Excel
Spreadsheet
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Powerpoint
Presentation
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Flash
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Web
page
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Should
work in any standard web browser
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Text
document
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Should
work in any text viewer (e.g. Notepad, Wordpad, Word)
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Smart
Notebook
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Easiteach
document
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Activ
Flipchart
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Textease
document
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Available
here
(look for TeView) |
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Other
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Video
file
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Should
work in most media players
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What are the comments / ratings for?
Visitors are now able to add their own comments about the ideas on the site. Simply click on 'Leave a Comment' at the bottom of the page, and you can add your feedback. You might want to suggest an alternative idea, tell others how you think the idea could be improved, or simply let us know how things went when you tried the activity in your own classroom. Others can leave replies to your comments too.
You can also leave your rating, based on a simple five-star scale. The 'Most Popular Ideas' tool on the home page shows the ideas and resources which have the best ratings.
Can you let me know when you update Teaching Ideas?
Of course! Just sign up to my free mailing list, and I'll send you an email when I add new ideas, resources and / or worksheets. Visit the Mailing List page to join. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed, and links to the new resources will be sent to your feed-reader automatically.
What is RSS and how do I use it?
You can now access the Teaching Ideas resources via RSS. If you subscribe (for free) to the Teaching Ideas RSS feed, you will receive a link to every new file, as soon as I add it! There are also other RSS feeds which you can use to access different parts of the site:
For more information, see the "Teacher's Guide to RSS".
Who are you and why are you doing this?
My name is Mark Warner, and I'm currently teaching in a primary school in Kent in the UK. I started 'Teaching Ideas' when I was at university as I wanted to share my own teaching resources with others. The site has exploded in popularity since then (way back in 1998!), and I now update the site as often as I can. "More Teaching Ideas" was created in February 2003 after feedback from visitors. Display Photos and Teaching Forum were created in 2007 and Teachr.co.uk was set up in 2008.
I think that sharing ideas and resources is a great way to help each other, and reduce our workload.
How can I contact you?
If you wish to contact me, please email me at mark@teachingideas.co.uk. If you have a question, please check the rest of the questions on this page first, as your question might be answered here already!
Can I contribute my own ideas / resources to this site? How?
Yes Please! The majority of the ideas and resources on this site have been contributed by teachers from all around the world. If you would like to help other teachers by contributing your ideas, see the Share Your Ideas page.
Can I add a link to your site on my own?
If you have a web site, and you would like to add a link to Teaching Ideas on it, you are welcome to do so! I'm very grateful to people who do this, as it means that more people will visit the site and be able to use the ideas and resources. The only restriction I impose is that you may not copy any pictures / cartoons from this site. If you wish to use a picture for your link, please use the logo below:
 www.teachingideas.co.uk |
 www.moreteachingideas.co.uk |
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www.displayphotos.co.uk |
www.teachingforum.co.uk |
How can I advertise on Teaching Ideas?
If you are interested in advertising on Teaching Ideas, please send me an email and I will be happy to discuss your requirements.
Can
you make resources for me?
Can you add more resources about XYZ?
Can you send me information about...?
Probably not! :-) Although I would love to be able to respond to individual requests of this type, I simply do not have the time to do so. It would be great if 'Teaching Ideas' could cover every topic in every subject taught in every school around the world. However, this is simply not possible, as I work on this site in my spare time. In many areas (particularly the Early Years section), I rely on contributions from visitors, so some sections are more full than others.
I'm interested in a career in teaching. Can you help me?
I receive quite a few emails of this type. I would recommend that you contact your local university / college to see if they run any courses for those interested in teaching. You might also want to try to get some experience of working in schools. A visit to the DfES and Training and Development Agency web sites (for those in the UK) would also be advisable if you want some more information.
Finally, thanks again for visiting. I hope that you find the site very useful, and that it makes your job as a teacher a little easier.
All the best,
Mark Warner
Teaching Ideas, online since 1998, provides free ideas, resources and
activities for teachers. |
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