Stacey Lloyd, Author at Stacey Lloyd

Do you contact Parents WITH POSITIVE feedback?

It was a hot, stuffy Thursday afternoon. I could hear my boisterous (read ‘challenging’) freshman class making their way down the hall as I desperately tried to gather the enthusiasm needed to teach the opening scenes of Romeo and Juliet. The previous evening had been a parent-teacher conference, so this particular Thursday came with its own special kind of exhaustion and despondency. Playing on loop in the back of my mind were all the discussions with difficult parents who wanted to know what I was going to do to get their child’s grade up; the chats with[...]

Blog Posts

[un]comfortable

The following is a guest post by my good friend Nick; you can read more about the author here. Something quite profound happened to me last week while my wife Suzie and I were taking a post-work stroll. The sun paused in its descent just long enough to bathe the last, blissful hours of the day in the glorious golden light you can see in the photo above. We meandered down a dirt track, passing beautifully painted huts, a few herds of sheep, numerous cows, some goats (don’t look too closely at goats, they are frightening beasts), some ducks, d[...]

Blog Posts

Movement in the Classroom

Incorporating movement and physical activity into the classroom is a great way to keep students engaged and focused, and helps to stave off boredom. In primary school, students are often moving regularly, yet when they get to secondary school we seem to expect them to sit still for extended periods whilst still retaining focus. Below are five ways in which I try to keep my students moving in class. 1. Between activities, have students stand up and move around. This can be as simple as having students shake out their limbs, or do some jumping jacks and then sit[...]

Ideas

Festive Commercials for Teaching

At the end of the year it is often difficult to inspire students to focus in the classroom. There’s far too much excitement going on outside with the holidays approaching, thoughts of Christmas, families visiting and snow-play for many. So we often have to be even more creative in our lesson planning than at any other time of the year. Fortunately, the festive season lends itself to excitement.

Poetry

Poetry To Teach: Carol Ann Duffy

Yesterday I purchased a new poetry book, and I couldn’t be more excited. Buying books is a real treat for me, and when I stumble across a poetry book by my favourite contemporary poet – it’s like Christmas has come early.read more

Giveaways/Sales/Freebies

3 Free Classroom Posters

I love quotes. I suppose that's because I love language and believe in the power of words. I also love graphics and typography. So it seemed natural that I combine the two and create a few FREE posters for my classroom, to inspire my students and brighten up the place! So here they are to share with you. Click on the images to download the 8.5 x 11 inch (US letter) versions of these. If you would like more great classroom porters, click here! © Stacey Lloyd. Terms of Use: You are free to use these for personal use in your own classro[...]

Blog Posts

How do I get my students to read?

I love receiving emails from my readers and buyers: I enjoy connecting with like-minded people; I appreciate engaging in conversations about education; I value sharing in your experiences. Recently I had a reader email me to ask about how to get students reading the novels they study in class. read more[...]

Blog Posts

How To Engage Students in the First few Minutes of a Lesson

I have a wonderful friend who is currently a student teacher. I absolutely love chatting to her about her experiences and questions, as she challenges me to reflect on my own practice: to re-evaluate my strategies; to work out what it is I do and why; to tweak what isn’t working. Her questions are always intelligent, thought-provoking and full of exciting curiosity – she is going to make an exceptional teacher. A few weeks ago she asked me how to get students to ‘come to the party’; how to entice them to engage and participate in the learning experience s[...]

Product Development

Branching Out: Creating Graphics

One of the most common questions I get through emails and on my blog is: "How do you create your product covers/backgrounds/images etc.?" I am always surprised when I get this question because I have never thought of myself as a particularly artistic person. However, I have always enjoyed playing with graphics on the computer. Since starting to sell my products on TeacherPayTeachers, I have poured myself into learning about graphic design and my creative side has certainly emerged. I have loved every minute of it and learnt so much! I thought I would share[...]

Blog Posts

Designed to Inspire: The importance of classroom decorating

For teachers in the Northern hemisphere, it’s summer which means time for that well-deserved vacation. For me, summer means long evenings, Pimms cocktails, Wimbledon, strawberries and lots of time to read. (Can you see how summer brings out the British in me?) Occasionally my thoughts drift to the upcoming new school year. And then I find myself thinking of the first impression I want my students to get as they walk into their new classroom – and what frame of mind I want them to come to me in. A new year brings with it the chance to wipe the slate clean and[...]