Optical illusion art

Some lessons you teach and vow never again, while others you come back to time and time again. For me, one of these lessons is this optical illusion artwork. Although the lesson can prove challenging with those in lower primary, don't be afraid to give it a go. This lovely piece was completed by a year 2 student. Amazing! 

Students start by selecting a vanishing point, in this example the centre of the page, and draw 6-8 straight-sided shapes. Following this, students draw lines (using a ruler!) from the corners of the shapes to the vanishing point, starting with the shapes in the front. As students progress to the top shapes, remind them to continue the line unless obstructed by another shape.  When colouring/outlining students always need reminding to use rulers to ensure they have perfectly straight lines. For some reason, students think that having a pencil line is enough to go by, but of course, it's not! I've found that having a solid colour within the shape and shading on the sides works best for the illusion.

Happy Teaching!

While you were out...

In order to get called back to a school you have to leave a good impression. A large part of this is having good communication skills, so it's important to provide feedback about the lessons you've taught and student behaviour. In doing this, you not only demonstrate professionalism and communication skills, but that you have a genuine interest in student learning.  I made this template a while ago and find it works well for day-to-day casual work, CLICK HERE to download!

Happy Teaching!

A Few of My Favourite Things

As a relief teacher there are some activities I never leave home without. You never know who your class will be or if the teacher will leave work so it pays to be prepared and have a bank of good quality resources with you. Organisation relieves stress for you but also looks good to the school and will help you get booked again and again.

Here are a few staples from my K-2 math folder. I always bring these along and being laminated I use them over and over again. I love group work and getting kids moving so I have 5/6 copies of each activity and rotate students between the activities.

Now don't go away and reinvent the wheel, click on the file names below to download a copy for yourself!

Double-Digit Subtraction       Double-Digit Addition       

Balancing Act       Race to 100

Happy Teaching!

If...

One of my greatest passions as a teacher is reading and sharing good quality literature. Nothing excites me more than seeing the wonder in my students' eyes when we discover a beautiful story together. One of my all time favourite books is the picture book 'If...' by Sarah Perry. Although very simple in nature, the images and text are powerful and thought provoking. 

After reading this to a Year 2 class we created our own 'If...' artworks. The children were so excited and inspired to create their own after reading the book, they didn't hold back! These are some of my favourites:

Happy Teaching!

Just Dance!

As a relief teacher -or any kind of teacher- sometimes you just need five minutes to yourself, to organise the next lesson or just to zone out for a little! More often than not however, the kids need the 5 minute break. Whom ever is in need, I always have something on the IWB ready to go, usually 'Just Dance.'

Simply type in 'Just Dance' on YouTube and you will find tens of dancing videos that are not only set to current tunes but also feature easy to follow dance moves that the kids will happily watch and copy. If 'Just Dance' sounds familiar, it may be because these online videos are actually screen grabs of the popular video game of the same title. For this reason, many of your students will probably be familiar with dances.

Below are some of my favourites. Though there are many other songs out there some may not be suitable for the little ones so watch them first!

Justin Bieber - Power

Village People - YMCA

Happy Teaching!

Welcome!

Welcome to 'The Relief Teacher' blog! 

I'm Jessica, a relief teacher from Sydney, Australia. 
Thanks for stopping by, remember to follow me to receive regular freebies, gain innovative teaching ideas and share in the joys of teaching!