Australian Teacher

Numbers (the larger the better) fascinate me.

There are an estimated 100 billion stars in our galaxy, it being one of 100 billion galaxies.

As an exercise I took a red pen and tapped 100 dots on a piece of paper, as fast as I could. This took 20 seconds.

Tapping at that same rate, non stop, 24 hours a day, it would take me 63 million billion years before the number of my red dots matched the number of stars in the universe.

Should I live that long I'd be quite sleep deprived, both hungry and thirsty, and my hand would be sore from tapping.

And my red pen may well have run out of ink.

Ron Shaw
03 June, '23

Hey, teachers.
Do you recall your first day in front of a class?
I was 23, straight out of a two-year teacher training course, and with grandiose thoughts of changing the world.
They gave me a Year Three class (8 year olds).

I'd done several 'pracs' (practice teaching stints) as part of my training but here I was now in front of MY first real class.

I began nervously and somehow stumbled through to the morning recess break.

Refreshed from a cup of tea in the staffroom I wandered off to my room with renewed confidence. A little voice was telling me, "Hey, you're a real teacher now, with your very own class!"

Right, I thought, time for a bit of fun with these kids.

"We're going to make some animal sounds.
Let's start with a donkey.
Ready? OK, what sound does a donkey make?"

I can still hear the chorus of responses, "Ee-yore, ee-yore."

Wanting the children to know how pleased I was with what they delivered, I said, "Well done .....there are 34 little donkeys in this room!"
Then, in the next instant, came the shattering moment.
A boy seated at the back stood up, pointed at me, and retorted, "Yeah .....and one big one!"

When I look back over my 28 years teaching in classrooms, that very first day sometimes springs to mind.
I enjoyed it.
I think.

Free Primary Resources

Maths all year levels: https://australianteacher.org/maths-2/
Huge Numbers 1&2: https://australianteacher.org/2021/03/26/mathematics-high-numbers/
https://australianteacher.org/2021/04/26/mathematics-huge-numbers-2/

English: https://australianteacher.org/english/

Science: https://australianteacher.org/science/

HASS: https://australianteacher.org/humanities-and-social-sciences-haas/

Australian Studies: https://australianteacher.org/australian-studies/

Fun/Curiosities: https://australianteacher.org/funcuriosities/

Life and Living: https://australianteacher.org/life-and-living/

Quizzes for all grades: https://australianteacher.org/quizzes/

Worksheets for all grades: https://australianteacher.org/worksheets/

Blog: https://australianteacher.org/blog/

Want to add excitement and dynamism to your classroom lessons and have 100% participation?

I’m sharing this simple game to make your lessons fun and fully interactive.

Please check the link below:
https://australianteacher.org/2021/02/17/how-quizzes-made-me-a-better-teacher-by-enlivening-and-enriching-my-lessons/

Enjoy!