That seems to be a misconception out there – I am a home educator and NO I have never been a teacher and quite frankly I would NOT make a good teacher. How teacher’s manage to educate a group of 30 kids is beyond me. That is impressive. Dealing with 30 kids, kids with different abilities, trying to get such a large group to focus on a task, trying to explain a concept to a large group. Yip, that is not my cup of tea. I would not make a good teacher.
But I don’t deal with 30 kids, I deal with two. Two. That for me is one of the biggest differences. I have to help just Two kids learn, two kids who I can “teach” on a one-to-one or a two-to-one basis. That is a massive difference. Two kids, who are my own kids, so two kids who I know really well and understand how they learn, I understand (well sometimes I do get it wrong) what interests them, what their strengths are and what we need to work on. That is home education, it is education in the home, in our family setting so we get to change it up to what suits us. 30 kids – wow that would blow my mind, trying to explain something to 30 kids.
I am NOT a qualified teacher, I am a Chartered Accountant, but that does not matter either. What I am in a parent who is prepared to do lots of reading and research. Who will spend ages looking for resources and finding out about topics so we can cover them. I am also someone who is not afraid to say “I don’t know, lets find that out together” or “I need to read up about that and get back to you”. I have said those phrases and I am not ashamed that I have said those phrases, because that is real, it is real not to know everything but the key is being open to admit it and to learn about it.
I am NOT a teacher, I do NOT deal with a huge class of kids, I am a home educator and I deal with two kids. I spend a LOT of time reading up and researching but then I also get to spend a lot of time with my two kids.
We have read a number of what I term World War stories, stories about fighting and living through the World Wars but I am not sure how many dealt with the consequences, what happens after, how you pick up the pieces and what a World War does to an ordinary person just trying to survive it. A topic which I think is just as important for our kids to read about and this is what Out of the Rubble addresses and does so beautifully in a way which draws any younger reader in.
The story is based around a young girl Judy who is returning to London after being away (she was one of the children sent to the countryside to escape the bombing) for five and a half years. Judy and her mom now have the task of rebuilding their relationship in a world where their house has been bombed, they now live in a trailer in her uncles back yard, where her dad is still away, school is yet to return and her mom is working at a shelter. It’s a strange and uneasy world for Judy and in that mix is the fact that her mom was in the house when it was bombed and is now dealing with nightmares and the after effects. It is a story which I imagine a lot of families in England had to live, a story which would ring true of the after effects of lots of wars.
Out of the Rubble is part of a series of books called Super-Readable Rollercoasters aimed at encouraging struggling KS3 readers to get to grips with a good book. We have now read three books in this series (Lightning Strike, and Edgar and Adolf) and they have all been written in a easy to read yet engaging manner. My daughter, who is an avid reader really enjoyed this book, she loved the story and was captivated by the thought of what it must have been like to try and put your life back together after World War Two. For her it was a quick read but an enjoyable, thought provoking read. I also read it and I do think the writer has written it in a manner which would engage struggling readers.
Like all of the Super-Readable Rollercoasters this book comes with a Free to download Resource Pack. We have used a number of the Resource pack for different Rollercoaster books and I have to admit I really enjoy the resource pack’s that they have created for these Super-Readable books.
The packs start with a brief introduction to the book and an overview of the scheme of work (so number of lessons and what is covered in the lessons). This book has been split into 10 lessons which I think is really manageable and would work well if you split them over anything from a 2 week to a month period. Each lesson comes with a lesson plan and resources, plus with this pack have they included suggested answers.
One of the reasons I like these Rollercoaster Resources is the activities which they include are always varied. We have worked through quite a few of these Rollercoaster packs and the activities included are always different and always relevant to the story (I never feel like they have just slotted a worksheet in to tick some box, it always links into the story). For example in this pack the activities included were writing a play script, using metaphors and powerful adjectives in a poem, nightmare settings, timelines and different types of homes and a lovely jigsaw activity. All of the activities really did suit the story, the themes in the story and just seemed liked a natural progression of what the kids were reading.
My kids and I are huge fans of the Rollercoaster stories and I love having access to these Free to download resource packs. Out of the Rubble is yet another excellent addition to this series and one both my daughter and I would recommend.
Admin – Out of the Rubble was given to us along with a few other English books by Oxford University Press. Which books we choose to use and choose to write posts about was entirely up to us. We were not paid for this post.
One of the topics we choose to cover this year was Ancient Greece. And one of the resources (well actually two but they work as a set together) that we have used is this Study Book and Activity book from CGP.
We have used this range before and it worked well (Europe and UK set). In the past I have always read through the study book with the kids and then they have attempted the activity book but this year because my son is older and I was wanting him to do more independent work he actually did the entire thing by himself (he read it, completed the activities and then I just looked at his answers). And it worked really well. The Study book is written in such an easy to read manner that it really can be used as an independent learning resources for older KS2 kids.
The Study book gives the kids a complete overview of the Ancient Greece topic, but there may be instances where you want to take it further – I like to think of it as a solid foundation and we then go and investigate certain things in more detail. The Activity book really is linked to the Study book and you can’t really use it (the activity book) unless you have the study book to refer to. The basic set up is a double page in the Study book equates a double page in the Activity book. They cover the exact same material, follow the order and really do work hand in hand together. (In the pictures below the colour pages are from the study book and the black and white pages are from the activity book)
Okay so what is covered?
That really does cover everything that they need to know about the Ancient Greeks.
I find the study book concise and easy to read, they cover all the main points and use lots of interesting photographs and illustrations to support their points. I consider it a kid-friendly resource. It is engaging and includes lots of facts without getting bogged down in too much detail.
I like using the Activity Book with the Study Book because it just helps to enforces what the kids have just read and the simple act of writing a few points helps them to remember it. My son really enjoys these activity book because there is not too much writing and the writing tends to be in shorter bursts – he is not the kind of kid who would want to sit down and write a page detailing all the facts he has just read, he would rather have shorter, quicker written activities.
I think these book are perfect for home educators and we have enjoyed this Ancient Greeks set.
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As part of our Macbeth unit of work we have been working through this Macbeth Revision workbook and I have to admit I have been really impressed with it. I like the layout, it just works. It refreshes the kids existing knowledge, deepens their understanding and then gives them time to practice answering exam style questions. It is everything you need in one workbook. And it is the kind of workbook that I really want to find for our IGCSE English literature books (I am still searching for those).
First impressions on just paging through the book after we got it – I liked the simple fact that this workbook is NOT aimed at a specific exam board. This workbook is about understanding Macbeth regardless of which exam board you are using. And the second thing that struck me straight away was the answers for the questions are Free to download from the OUP website (I really wish more places would do this with answers). As soon as I saw that I actually went and printed out all the answers so we had them ready to use as we worked through the activities. For those interested, the photo below shows some activities under the Macduff section and you see the relevant answers are next to it.
So basic structure of this workbook. It starts with a 2 page overview of the play. And actually it is a brilliant 2 page summary of the play. Then the workbook is split into two main sections – characters and themes. And finally there is a useful glossary at the very back.
The character section of the book is split into five chapters for the five main characters (Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, The Witches, Banquo and Macduff). I was really impressed with how each character is broken down and how the questions build up (they really do cover each character in a lot of detail).
Each character chapter starts with a knowledge recap including quotes and key events linked to the character throughout the play. I really liked that each character starts with this summary about the character, it is a “remind the kids” type summary before they start tackling the questions about the character. Then you get the activities which are really smaller/shorter questions aimed at deepening the kids understanding about the character and events linked to that character. These activities are brilliant – they look at the language used by Shakespeare and often include quotes. The activities follow the chronological order of the play, so the first activity will be based on when you first meet the character and the last activity will be based on the final scene featuring that character. They really do include a lot in these questions. We are using this workbook as a revision workbook, by that I mean we are working through it after we have read the entire play but if you wanted too you could actually link the character activities to the play as you were reading it and complete all the activities linked to a scene as you read that scene.
Then after the activity questions finish you get a couple of questions which are exam practice questions – questions that help the kids practice structuring a longer written answer. This section, starts with an easier “Writing with support” question – which is really a stepping stone for the kids, then they include a student answer and discuss why it is a good answer and finally there is a harder “try it yourself” question. So the kids are NOT just asked write to an exam question discussing ………. they are actually guided, shown steps and shown a good exemplar. This is really useful for independent learners (by that I mean kids either home educating or who are trying to work through this book by themselves at home).
The character section was very thorough, and covered all the points that I wanted to it (plus a few extra that I had not really focused on). I liked the way they set up each character with the summary, then the shorter activities, followed by the how to structure long answers.
The second half of the book looks at themes – Ambition, Power and Kingship, Death and Violence, Suffering and Guilt, Deception and finally Evil and the Supernatural. We actually have not started this section yet as we are focusing on the characters and still wrapping that up (we are going through Macbeth in quite a lot of detail). But the way each theme chapter is structured is the same as the characters. First a knowledge recap which includes quotes and key events, the activities in a chronological order and then the longer exam-type practice questions which again are split into three – the writing with support, and example of a student’s answer and try it yourself question. The exact same format as the character section and after reading through the activities and questions it is just as thorough and just as useful.
I really do like this workbook – they include recaps and summaries, activities that make you think and questions that help you practice structuring answers. It really is a good workbook for anyone studying Macbeth.
Admin – the Macbeth Revision book was given to us by Oxford University Press in a small box of English resources. Which resources we chose to use and write reviews on was up to us. This is NOT a paid for review
I had seen this book – The London Eye Mystery mentioned on a few different book lists for kids in the 10 years and over range, but for some reason I had never looked at it for my kids and then on one of my library trips I spotted in on the shelf and had a quick read of the blurb at the back.
And I was immediately interested (just shows how important those blurbs are). I was drawn to it because of the lines – “Had he spontaneously combusted (Ted’s theory)” and “It’s up to Ted, whose brain runs on its own unique operating system”. Those two lines made me think this may be about a character (Ted) who is possibly neurodiverse and I want stories (positive stories) that feature characters who are different to the norm, characters who may possibly be on the spectrum, characters who have to face some extra challenges. So just based on that I borrowed the book and I pre-read it. And the reason why I pre-read it was I wanted to make sure that if the character was neurodiverse like I suspected, he was written in a positive light (we have recently read something about a child with autism and the piece left my daughter and myself upset because it was actually very negative). And let me stress that I understand that some of the challenges facing neurodiverse people can be difficult, I truly do understand that but I want my kids to read stories with characters who face those challenges in a positive light, so they can see that being on the spectrum may have its challenges but it is not all doom and gloom, that there are lots of people out there who are finding a path for themselves even with the extra challenges.
Okay so that is why I was interested in reading this story. And it did not disappoint. It is a fun detective story and the main character Ted is Autistic (he is high functioning) and he does have challenges and the author does not shy away from those. In fact there are scenes where his family get frustrated with him because of his differences but the family are not cruel about it, it is more an honest account of what living with autism is like. And in the story you read of how Ted finds ways to help himself cope and how he is also able to use his unique way of thinking to help solve problems. That is what I really appreciated about this story, it is honest, but it points out how differences can be positives if we just accept the person as they are and help them find ways of coping and fitting in that suits them.
And for those of you with sensitive readers – yes a kid does go missing and they do mention that they find a dead body, but it is not the kid who is missing. He is eventually found and he is unharmed.
My daughter who is what I consider a sensitive reader enjoyed this story, she did not find anything upsetting in it. She liked the mystery and she appreciated the happy ending. She also really enjoyed reading about Ted, about how he was able to use his different way of thinking for something really positive. And I found after she had read it we actually had a great discussion where we were able to compare Ted to another autistic character from a different book. I really think this is powerful when authors are able to create characters that spark conversations, conversations that help us, the readers understand other people and the way they react to situations better. I actually wish I could find more books like this. Really it is one to read just for the simple fact that Ted is so well written.
Okay so one of the other things about this book is you can use it as a English unit. In fact I am thinking of using it with my youngest as one of his Year 7 books. You can download a FREE pack of resources from the Oxford University Press site which link in with this story – Resources for The London Eye Mystery. We have used these Rollercoaster resources with quite a few of their books and I have found them very useful (plus I love that they are FREE to download)
The pack starts with an Overview scheme of work. This basically is a summary of what the lessons are going to cover and how they link into each chapter. (sorry not the best pictures, my printer was not printing out the pages nicely).
There is a plot summary (if you have not had the chance to read the book before you start using it with your kids I would recommend that you read this summary so you know what to expect.)
Then you get a suggested lesson plans and linked activities. Now, one of the reasons why I like these packs is because the linked activities are always varied and interesting. In this pack they have included things like idioms, writing a police incident report, an advertising campaign, figurative language, tension tracker and an infer and deduce activity (as well as others). Really a nice variety.
My daughter and I both highly recommend this book. And if you are a home educator it is worth having a look at the resource pack, you just might find some useful activities to link in.
We got our copy of The London Eye Mystery from our library but you can also get a copy directly from amazon – The London Eye Mystery
Admin – I do include Affiliate links. If you follow an affiliate link and go on to purchase that product, I will be paid a very small commission, however your cost will remain the same. I only include affiliate links for products that we use and love.
ofamily learning together 