Frequently Asked Questions
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 mainly intended 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:
Suitable for all children in the primary school,
Suitable for younger primary children,
Suitable for older primary children,
Suitable for secondary children,
Suitable for early years 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 more resources for secondary teachers?
The site was originally 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 classes. 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 and tutors 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.com. This website and its content is copyright of Teaching Ideas - © Teaching Ideas 1998-2011. Photos (where used on resources) are © ThinkStock Photos. All rights reserved.
Who makes the cartoon pictures? Can I use them?
Cartoon images on resources are created by my wife, Helen Warner. They are for classroom use only and may not be reproduced or redistributed for other reasons. You can visit Helen's website at www.sewsurprising.co.uk.
Where are the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy?
The Terms of Use and Privacy Policy statements can be found by clicking on the following links:
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.
 |
PDF
File
|
|
 |
Word
Document
|
Should
work in relevant Microsoft Office software, or compatible programs.
|
 |
Excel
Spreadsheet
|
|
 |
Powerpoint
Presentation
|
|
 |
Flash
|
|
 |
Web
page
|
Should
work in any standard web browser
|
 |
Text
document
|
Should
work in any text viewer (e.g. Notepad, Wordpad, Word)
|
 |
Smart
Notebook
|
|
 |
Easiteach
document
|
|
 |
Activ
Flipchart
|
|
 |
Textease
document
|
Available
here
(look for TeView) |
 |
Video
file |
Should
work in most media players |
 |
Image
file |
Should
open in most image editing software |
 |
Other
|
What are the comments for?
Visitors are able to add their own comments about the ideas on the site. 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. Please note that all comments are moderated and they may be deleted if inappropriate / unsuitable for use on the site.
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 each month to highlight 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. Regular updates are also posted on our Facebook and Twitter pages.
What is RSS and how do I use it?
You can 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 my other sites:
- Teaching Ideas - http://feeds.feedburner.com/teachingideas
- Teaching News - http://feeds.feedburner.com/TeachingNews
- Teaching Videos - http://feeds.feedburner.com/TeachingVideos
- Teaching Appz - http://feeds.feedburner.com/TeachingApps
- Teaching Photos (www.teachingphotos.co.uk) is a collection of hundreds of photographs of classroom displays. It's a great place to look for inspiration for your own displays!
- Teaching News (www.teachingnews.co.uk) is a news blog for teachers. It was set up when Andrew Ross decided to stop running his fantastic 'Primary Teacher UK' blog. Andrew kindly allowed me to take over his site, so I combined his work with my own Teaching Blog. The new Teaching News site has teaching news (of course!), recommended links, educational offers and competitions, and much more!.
- Teaching Videos (www.teachingvideos.co.uk) is a collection of educational videos that you can use in the classroom. By registering on the site, you can build up collections of your favourite videos, as well as adding new videos that you have found, to share with other teachers.
- Teaching Appz (www.teachingappz.co.uk) is a directory of educational apps for iPod, iPhone, iPad, Android and other devices.
- Welcome to the Web (www.welcometotheweb.org.uk) is designed to introduce children and adults to the Internet. It includes a selection of interactive areas, which help people to learn about the net. There is also an exciting challenge which tests everything that has been learnt around the other areas of the site.
- Ideas to Inspire (www.ideastoinspire.co.uk) is a place to find lots of inspiring ideas for using technology in your classroom. The site has lots of collaborative presentations which are made by teachers from around the world. A popular resource.
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. Teaching Photos and Teaching Forum (now closed) were created in 2007. Ideas to Inspire and Teaching News were created in 2009. Teaching Videos and Teaching Events(which is now part of Teaching Ideas) were developed in 2010. My Teaching Library site (also now part of Teaching Ideas) was then set up in 2011 and Teaching Appz followed in 2012.
I think that sharing ideas and resources is a great way to help each other and reduce our workload. I also really enjoy making websites!
How can I contact you?
If you wish to contact me, please email me at mark@teachingideas.com. 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.teachingnews.co.uk |
 www.teachingvideos.co.uk |
 www.teachingphotos.co.uk |
 www.teachingappz.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...?
If you get in touch, I will be happy to consider making some resources for particular topics. However, I am also a teacher, so I may not have time to do this very quickly! Of course, if you have your own resources, you are very welcome to share them with this site.
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 Department for Education 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
