Three ways to embrace learning through children’s interests
Explore the benefits of play-based learning and incorporate children’s interests into activities with these tips and tricks from experienced early childhood educators.
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Intentional Teaching for Early Childhood
Intentional teaching for early childhood education is deliberate and dynamic. When intentional teaching practices are adopted though, they create meaningful learning experiences that extend children’s thinking and development.
Promoting teacher wellbeing in schools
Author Dee Doherty draws on her 30 years’ experience as an educator to emphasise the importance of teacher wellbeing, offering suggestions for how to support staff mental health in your school.
Four activities for teaching oral language skills
Research has demonstrated that a child’s oral language skill level is an important predictor of their reading comprehension and writing skills.
Linking early childhood theories and practices
Renowned author and researcher Andrea Nolan describes how early childhood theories provide a lens for how we see children and childhood that shape our practices.
Everyday sustainability in early childhood education
The early years curriculum requires us to incorporate sustainability into early childhood education. Authors Sally Sneddon and Anne Pettit show how this role is a natural and valuable fit in early childhood settings, with benefits all round.
Five fun maths activities to reinforce learning
Break up the worksheets with our fun maths activities. Not only will these reinforce learning. They will bring energy and excitement to the classroom.
Creating an inclusive learning environment
Early childhood learning environments in New Zealand should reflect the diverse abilities of our children. Let’s explore the considerations for creating an inclusive learning environment.
Four fun activities for teaching media literacy
To be connected and active citizens requires our students to be media literate. Giving our students opportunities to access, analyse and evaluate media today prepares them for tomorrow. Try our activities for teaching media literacy to support their learning.
Unpacking peer mentoring programs
Peer mentoring programs can be incredibly meaningful in ways that extend beyond secondary school. Read our blog to explore the value of peer mentoring.
Implementing the Aotearoa NZ histories curriculum
It is expected that teachers have begun their journey to implement the Aotearoa NZ histories curriculum, and Essential Resources wants to help you on this journey.
The A to Z of Essential Resources
To celebrate 2023, here is the A to Z of Essential Resources. We’re highlighting our top new releases, some long-time favourites, and the unique service we provide. Enjoy!
How to use SOLO Taxonomy in the classroom
It may be baby steps at first, but soon it will be strides. First Steps with SOLO Taxonomy shows primary and secondary school teachers how to implement this powerful model of learning.
Aotearoa New Zealand Histories primary resources
Aotearoa New Zealand and You and Discovering Aotearoa New Zealand – two series of engaging Aotearoa New Zealand Histories resources that align with the refreshed curriculum and create meaningful learning.
Meaningful Documentation in Early Childhood Education
Author Anne Houghton discusses how narrative approaches, such as Learning Stories, create meaningful documentation for the child, their families and educators. Meaningful enough to keep under the pillow.
Inspiring ideas to help students with narrative writing
Dawn McMillan is an internationally recognised writer of picture books and educational texts. Her background is primary school teaching, with a special interest in writing and reading processes. She offers an insider’s guide to narrative writing.
Explicit teaching works
Dr Helen Walls, The Writing Teacher, explains why we should move away from constructivism and towards explicit teaching.
It’s back – Get your New Zealand teacher planner for 2024
Be ready to go when 2024 rolls in with The Essential Planner. Eye-catching designs and tailor-made for primary and intermediate school, this is the essential NZ teacher planner.
How to teach music using music resources in primary schools
Including music as a meaningful part of the curriculum can be challenging, particularly for those teachers unfamiliar with the subject. We draw on our primary school music resources to bring you easy and engaging activities to incorporate music into your classroom.
How to integrate the EYLF and NQS into your program
Putting the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) and National Quality Standard (NQS) into action is something educators grapple with daily. Read on to gain insights from Susie Rosback into how you can program with the EYLF and NQS.
Start at sentence level for writing success
Sentence structure is a key component of teaching writing at primary school. Following the release of How to Teach Writing, Spelling and Grammar, author Christine Braid explains how to build sentence knowledge clause by clause.
Succeeding with inclusive education strategies for children with additional needs
Understanding which adjustments work for children with additional needs presents a challenge for early childhood and primary school educators. Author of the freshly updated The A to Z of Specialist and Inclusive Education, Anne Vize, explains successful practices for providing access and inclusion for children with additional needs.
Developing a positive mindset about mathematics in early childhood education
When teaching mathematics in early childhood education, the educator’s mindset is just as important as a child’s. Author Marianne Knaus explains how to develop and encourage a growth mindset.
Four easy drama activities to excite your students
Are you calling out for new ways to excite your students? We have you covered with four fun and easy drama activities to mix things up in your classroom!
How to build secondary students’ confidence in mathematics
Maths in secondary school can be a point of stress and self-doubt for many. Through their pedagogy, language and actions teachers can foster students’ confidence in their own maths abilities.
How do children develop through the different stages of play?
While all play might look the same, children engage in different types of play as they progress through their early years. There are six stages of play in a child’s social development – from playing by themselves to later with a group.
How can educators support social and emotional development in the early years?
Temper tantrums, curiosity and a new social world are all part of children’s early years. It is also a time of rapid development, where early childhood educators lay the foundations for children’s social and emotional development.
Building oral language skills in the early years
Building oral language skills is a crucial part of learning in the early years. Yet the traditional ‘adult-led’ talk sessions can stifle opportunities for children to develop their language skills. So, what are some ideas for teaching oral language?
Build students’ appreciation and understanding of science experiments
Implementing science experiments can be daunting for primary school teachers. Likewise, students can struggle to see their relevance to their lives. Julia Burton’s primary science resources want to help both appreciate and understand experiments.
Review: How to Teach Writing, Spelling and Grammar
Professor James Chapman reviews How to Teach Writing, Spelling and Grammar by Helen Walls with Christine Braid
Three ideas for teaching early literacy skills
There are countless ways to teach early literacy skills. Today we will outline just three. These activities create enjoyable and meaningful learning experiences for developing early literacy experiences.
Five ways to help students struggling with essay writing
“As cognitively demanding as chess”. Essay writing in secondary school English is a challenge. Particularly so for students struggling with literacy skills. This blog outlines five ways to support struggling students with essay writing.
The four benefits of storytelling in early childhood
Storytelling in early childhood is an essential practice that benefits children’s language and literacy development in multiple ways.
How to build confidence in struggling readers
Few skills are more important in today’s world than reading. Yet, even though it is crucial, reading literacy has tracked downwards in New Zealand in the last 20 years. So how can we support struggling readers and build reading confidence?
Assessment as learning
Author Bridie Raban discusses how assessment as learning can help to identify where children are in their learning, development and wellbeing and how they can move forward.
The essentials of teaching basic facts in primary school
It may seem old school, but fluency in basic facts in primary school is a crucial skill to progress further with mathematics. Fluency goes beyond memorising the times tables – it involves understanding and applying mathematics.