Education

Jj is for Jottings 122.  Definite and Indefinite Articles. Following on from the previous article on nouns, it is timely to discuss definite and indefinite articles.  Articles are simply “a” or “an”, and “the”.  It sounds simple, but there’s a bit more to it than that. Continue reading

Jj is for Jottings 128.  Hard and Soft ‘C’ and ‘G’. The great thing about spelling rules – such as the bossy ‘e’ rule – is that, once you learn a particular rule, you can read (and hopefully spell) many different words.  In other words, rules give you lots of bang for your buck.  When […]

We’ve all had another strange year, With COVID rules changing – unclear! Cats, alpacas and all, Kier, Sue, Antony call For a ’22 filled with more cheer. Shanti had to be bribed to stand on Ant’s present, so she’s not looking frightfully happy.

Jj is for Jottings 80.  Decodable Readers. What are Decodable Readers? As mentioned in the previous article (see here), decodable readers support the teaching of phonics in a cumulative manner.  The rules and patterns of the English language are taught sequentially.  As the student learns the rules, he practices using decodable readers.  In this way […]

Jj is for Jottings 110.  Personality Type in Addition to Intelligence. Intelligence isn’t the only factor when considering how people operate.  We need to consider personality type in addition to intelligence. In the previous post, we discussed the 8 types of intelligence, which is a broader view of intelligence than is tested by conventional IQ […]

Jj is for Jottings 38. More Comments from Experienced Teachers. This is a follow-on from Jottings 35. I said that it would be continued next time – and that was on 6th December! Somehow Christmas and other issues intervened, but here is the second half now. Both primary and secondary teachers comment on the fact […]

Jj is for Jottings 112.  What is Neuroplasticity? Just what is neuroplasticity?  It is the term which describes a sequence of processes that take place in your brain in response to incoming stimuli. In other words, your emotions, behaviours, experiences and thoughts physically change the way your brain functions. “What is neuroplasticity? I think it […]

Kier, Sue and alpacas all send “Merry Christmas” to every last friend. We love your support And hope you’ve been taught Something useful from all that I’ve penned. Merry Christmas from Geisha and everybody else. Jj is for Jottings 62.  Raising a Reader Part 2.  Toddlers. Continuing from the previous article (here), you cannot overestimate […]

Jj is for Jottings 108.  Preventing Apostrophe Catastrophes. NOT preventing apostrophe catastrophes here. They could have avoided one of the errors but saying just “incense”.  With thanks to Ann, who photographed this to show me, to discover shortly afterwards that the post I had just written was about apostrophes. As promised in the previous article, […]

Jj is for Jottings 148.  Other Effects of Noise. Most of us know about the effects of noise on our hearing, discussed in the previous post.  Spending much time in noisy environments can cause long-term damage to your hearing.  Examples are working in a noisy factory or living near an airport.  Exposure to loud music […]

Jj is for Jottings 142.  Critical Thinking. I was thinking the other day about how the world would be much better if more people applied critical thinking skills in their daily lives.  Also about how we can introduce critical thinking to children.  Funnily enough, the very next morning I read an article in the newspaper […]

Jj is for Jottings 145.  Manner of Articulation. As a reminder from the previous article, we classify the spoken aspects of consonants across 3 dimensions: Place of articulation. Manner of articulation. Voicing We have previously covered voicing, and then place of articulation in the previous article.  So now we turn our attention to manner of […]

Jj is for Jottings 145.  Manner of Articulation. As a reminder from the previous article, we classify the spoken aspects of consonants across 3 dimensions: Place of articulation. Manner of articulation. Voicing We have previously covered voicing, and then place of articulation in the previous article.  So now we turn our attention to manner of […]

Jj is for Jottings 124.  Neuroplasticity, Power and Children. This article follows on from the previous article on neuroplasticity and power.  However, I just want to mention a couple more points before moving on to the subject of neuroplasticity, power and children.  These points include people’s differing needs for power, and avoiding the negative effects […]