Is there a place to download and/or share fortnightly notes?

topteacher25

Hi,

I'm teaching 4th & 5th Classes this year. Is there any site or community online where Primary School teachers share Fortnightly notes?

Thank you.

byhookorbycrook

Why on earth would you want someone else's notes?Different school, different curricular plans for many subjects and most importantly of all, different children. You do your own planning, you do not buy someone else's, most schools have their own template for plans.
It would be blatantly obvious to the principal in your cúntas that those plans weren't for your own class. If you were to try this for a dip or WSE, you'd rightly be called out on it. 4th and 5th in one room would be very different to the fortnightly someone else would do for a single first or 4th.

topteacher25

@byhookorbycrook:
If you don't have an answer to my question about a site or community online where Primary School teachers share Fortnightly notes, then save the lecture. As most primary teachers know, the Fortnightly notes are a complete waste of time, and end up being filed by the principal to satisfy government inspectors.

Does anyone know: is there any site or community online where Primary School teachers share Fortnightly notes?

Thank you.

afkasurfjunkie

topteacher25 wrote: »

@byhookorbycrook:
If you don't have an answer to my question about a site or community online where Primary School teachers share Fortnightly notes, then save the lecture. As most primary teachers know, the Fortnightly notes are a complete waste of time, and end up being filed by the principal to satisfy government inspectors.

Does anyone know: is there any site or community online where Primary School teachers share Fortnightly notes?

Thank you.

Err, no. Fortnightly notes are your plans for what you want the specific children in your class to learn for the next two weeks. They are based on your long term plans. Your cúntas miosúil is filed away by principal and is a record of what you have taught.
I’m all for file sharing and sharing resources with colleagues and others and I’ve bought long term plans in the past for ideas and guidance but rarely do they match with the school plan that’s in place or how I might tend to lay out my own plans.

However, if I had a junior class I’d be trawling google for English plans because the new curriculum layout makes my head spin.

tony stark

Teaching for 14 years now and the most valuable notes you do are daily notes for the next day and very concise long term plans. It takes 15/20 minutes and it’s invaluable. The rest is absolute lip service to the paper pushers who don’t understand child led learning. People in the department that haven’t taught in far too long. Boxes to be filled. It’s consuming the younger teachers and distracting from real resource planning. The best time spent is on planning real differented, integrated lessons that have been prepared in advance. Give the O.P. a break. If you don’t have anything positive to contribute say nothing.

byhookorbycrook

I'm merely pointing out why it is NOT a good idea to buy someone else's notes. That's me off this thread.

heldel00

Think ye are being a bit hard on byhook. She is only telling the truth. My own fortnightly plans don't even do me from one year to the next never mind using somebody else's. These are not something that people (generally) buy or share because it would make no sense to do so. I don't do daily plans so i rely on a very detailed fortnightly.
Long term plans, on the other hand can be shared like billy-o. These are very general OP and are basically a regurgitation of the curric docs.

Agree with the rest of your post Tony (well except for concise long terms! The year would be over by the time i would be finished!)

topteacher25

tony stark wrote: »

Teaching for 14 years now and the most valuable notes you do are daily notes for the next day and very concise long term plans. It takes 15/20 minutes and it’s invaluable. The rest is absolute lip service to the paper pushers who don’t understand child led learning. People in the department that haven’t taught in far too long. Boxes to be filled. It’s consuming the younger teachers and distracting from real resource planning. The best time spent is on planning real differented, integrated lessons that have been prepared in advance. Give the O.P. a break. If you don’t have anything positive to contribute say nothing.

Well said, Tony Stark!

I'm old-school, having taught for over 30 years in a small, rural primary school. I'm a technophobe and still write my notes by hand. My spouse and teenage son are sick hearing me complain about my fortnightly notes, which take me 8 hours to produce every second Saturday. I've had enough of it! I get absolutely no support from my school principal or colleagues, and it makes no sense to me that individual teachers, who teach the same grade and same books, shouldn't use the same notes. In fact, I think they should be supplied to teachers BEFORE the start of a new academic year by the Dept of Education (the individual teacher could make small modifications, as needed).

If I were teaching in a large school, in which multiple teachers taught the same grade, we'd be able to share notes easily and reduce the workload. byhookorbycrook probably doesn't think this happens, but after doing some investigating this summer, I know the practice is very widespread.

Does anyone know: is there any site or community online where Primary School teachers share Fortnightly notes?

Thank you.

heldel00

Topteacher i thought you were an NQT!!
You could try the educationposts forum. That would have a more active audience than here.
I still cannot imagine how sharing fortnightly notes will work but if it does fair play.
Come back and let us know if you have any success.

afkasurfjunkie

topteacher25 wrote: »

Well said, Tony Stark!

I'm old-school, having taught for over 30 years in a small, rural primary school. I'm a technophobe and still write my notes by hand. My spouse and teenage son are sick hearing me complain about my fortnightly notes, which take me 8 hours to produce every second Saturday. I've had enough of it! I get absolutely no support from my school principal or colleagues, and it makes no sense to me that individual teachers, who teach the same grade and same books, shouldn't use the same notes. In fact, I think they should be supplied to teachers BEFORE the start of a new academic year by the Dept of Education (the individual teacher could make small modifications, as needed).

If I were teaching in a large school, in which multiple teachers taught the same grade, we'd be able to share notes easily and reduce the workload. byhookorbycrook probably doesn't think this happens, but after doing some investigating this summer, I know the practice is very widespread.

Does anyone know: is there any site or community online where Primary School teachers share Fortnightly notes?

Thank you.

You must be a pro at note writing at this stage so. Get a laptop and throw 20 Euro to your son to type up one set of your fortnightlies. Learn how to copy and paste and boom, you’ll shave 7 hours off note writing every second Saturday . Next September, they will be practically ready to go again with minor adjustments.

pooch90

http://nccaplanning.ie/
This tool is very handy for getting objectives, strands etc. typed up. Then just customise with your relevant information. Can save you so much time.

topteacher25

pooch90 wrote: »

This tool is very handy for getting objectives, strands etc. typed up. Then just customise with your relevant information. Can save you so much time.

Thank you, pooch90!

TCM

byhookorbycrook wrote:

Why on earth would you want someone else's notes?Different school, different curricular plans for many subjects and most importantly of all, different children. You do your own planning, you do not buy someone else's, most schools have their own template for plans. It would be blatantly obvious to the principal in your cúntas that those plans weren't for your own class. If you were to try this for a dip or WSE, you'd rightly be called out on it. 4th and 5th in one room would be very different to the fortnightly someone else would do for a single first or 4th.

Absolutely- save the lecture. Person was only asking a question.

heldel00

Yep person was only asking a question.... a month ago.