Help with teaching interview- introducing a book

[Mintsmints]

My sister has an interview for her NQT year and has been given the task of introducing a book to year 4. She had half an hour and the kids have never read any of this book but will be reading it next term. Any tips at all she wants to be interactive and obviously engage the kids and make them excited about the book.

It's fine to ask for ideas. A couple lines reply with an idea is not planning someone's lesson for them

@Sweak

It's fine to ask for ideas. A couple lines reply with an idea is not planning someone's lesson for them

No, it’s not, and yes, it really is. It shows lack of original thought and creativity. I despair of the Twinkl/ ready made lesson brigade, and is a key factor in my plans to retire in the next year.

@Daisydad of course it's not a good idea to turn up for an interview lesson with something straight off twinkl or tes. You need to show you can actually plan something yourself.

But asking for a few ideas is fine. She would still need to develop that idea and create resources. A few lines on MN isn't going to be enough! And sometimes one idea can spark another, thats completely different. Teaching is about sharing ideas and good practice.

I do hope you don't tell you staff they shouldn't share ideas or ever use any pre made resource at all (these can be adapted and used for a few minutes of the lesson...not necessarily the whole lesson). Not sharing ideas actually leads to a lack of creativity and stops teachers developing

She's not asked for anyone to plan the lesson, just a few ideas

Actual LOL at that being a "key factor" in retiring

@Bringonthebloodydrama

Actual LOL at that being a "key factor" in retiring

Why LOL?

DaisyDad is a headteacher who despairs at teachers who cant teach?

I would agree, my heart sinks when I see Twinkl as I know that I am almost certainly about to experience an hour of pain in a lesson.

Effective teaching is about pedagogy and knowledge, if you have that then you wouldn't dream of googling top tips for teachers when planning a lesson.

Effective teaching is about pedagogy and knowledge, if you have that then you wouldn't dream of googling top tips for teachers when planning a lesson.

Pedagogy and knowledge evolves over time. It's not static.

The teacher in question has never taught the book before and is a trainee, so perhaps isn't at the stage of having ideas immediately at her fingertips yet.

I actually despair that there are teachers out there who think it's a bad thing to ask for help and share ideas.

The tone of some of the responses on this thread is really disheartening. Teachers should like those with enquiring minds who ask questions.

I have 15 years experience as a teacher and am currently job hunting. I didn’t know the acronym ‘ECT’, nor have I seen any reference to it.

Having googled it to see if my ignorance is really showing, I see the change was released in guidance in March and comes into force in September.

Given the number of people still referring to ‘CRBs’ I think it’s extraordinary that anyone would consider negatively someone still using the widely known and accept term NQT.

First rule of admitting you are a teacher on MN- make spelling and grammar mistakes in the post.

@AppleKatie

The tone of some of the responses on this thread is really disheartening. Teachers should like those with enquiring minds who ask questions.

I have 15 years experience as a teacher and am currently job hunting. I didn’t know the acronym ‘ECT’, nor have I seen any reference to it.

Having googled it to see if my ignorance is really showing, I see the change was released in guidance in March and comes into force in September.

Given the number of people still referring to ‘CRBs’ I think it’s extraordinary that anyone would consider negatively someone still using the widely known and accept term NQT.

Completely agree.

I would say asking for feedback on your ideas at this stage in a teaching career is ok. Asking just for ideas is poor.
As an aside, that is such a good book. Our head used to read to us in assembly ( there would not be time these days) and that is one of the books he covered. We couldn’t wait for the next chapter.

@Blackberrycream

I would say asking for feedback on your ideas at this stage in a teaching career is ok. Asking just for ideas is poor. As an aside, that is such a good book. Our head used to read to us in assembly ( there would not be time these days) and that is one of the books he covered. We couldn’t wait for the next chapter.

I think asking for feedback on your ideas at any stage in your career is ok. When I have planned interview lessons previously I always ask a teacher friend to look over my plan/ppt.

I would do an inference lesson, first tell them the title - what do they think it is about? Use peer talk first. Then show the cover of the picture - repeat. Then the blurb. What information do they have now? Have their ideas changed? Lots of discussion, questioning for learning etc

To the headteacher saying not using her own ideas would be seen as a bad thing... unbelievable!
The best teachers constantly learn from the good teaching of others, using these ideas and adapting them or adding them to your own teaching style/ techniques should be a career long endeavour surely?

Some of the responses on here tell you everything you need to know about what is wrong in teaching.
I am a teacher. I think that
asking for ideas is great. We all learn from other people. I actually tell my class to be magpies when writing.
Not knowing the latest acronyms is irrelevant. Who cares whether it is ECT or NQT? They mean the same thing.
Not sharing and developing other people's ideas leads to a poor climate and a heavy workload. Staff that share resources and ideas ensure that all the kids in their school get the best experience. I have had some great resources from twinkl and TES that I have adapted for my classes. Some of the teachers on here are the kind that wouldn't dream of sharing their planning with their team. Very sad.

I agree @Sweak. I phrased that poorly.

@cansu I completely disagree. I'm a great teacher to work with - I've worked in lots of multi form settings and I'm always happy to share planning, make double the resources etc. I also am very happy to use twinkl and tes resources as part of my teaching. I'll even cover playground duty without a complaint! But I'm an experienced teacher. I'm a good partner teacher because I have my own ideas. Interviews need to be a display of your own best ideas and the very best you can do - not the best idea from someone else. Otherwise you risk being someone that can only offer the ideas of others. Heads aren't looking for the best you can find on the Internet and especially not from NQTs or whatever they're called now. They're looking for the best of YOU.

@Mintsmints

So my sister has not rewritten it I got that from the internet. Sorry I got confused. As I have said I took it upon myself to post here but I will not pass any ideas onto my sister and let her go her own way with it.

Why post if you’re not going to tell your sister any of the tips?!

I’ve done this book before in Y4. I agree with the previous poster-I would start with a balaclava prop and get some discussion going on what it was, who might wear it and why, then some prediction from the book covers.

October 2020
Interviews should not be about who can pull off the most original idea in my opinion. Many people are great at doing the odd interview lesson or display but are poor everyday practitioners. I currently work with someone who is incredible at interview but is a dreadful class teacher. His ability to knock out wow lessons when observed helped him pass his NQT year although on a day to day basis he can't be arsed planning. Heads should be looking for lots of different skills at interview but the ability to be 'original' would not be top of my list.

[quote October2020]**@cansu I completely disagree. I'm a great teacher to work with - I've worked in lots of multi form settings and I'm always happy to share planning, make double the resources etc. I also am very happy to use twinkl and tes resources as part of my teaching. I'll even cover playground duty without a complaint! But I'm an experienced teacher. I'm a good partner teacher because I have my own ideas. Interviews need to be a display of your own best ideas and the very best you can do - not the best idea from someone else. Otherwise you risk being someone that can only offer the ideas of others. Heads aren't looking for the best you can find on the Internet and especially not from NQTs or whatever they're called now. They're looking for the best of YOU.[/quote]
I think there's a big difference between turning up for interview with a less straight off tes you've not even adapted and asking for a few ideas off MN, or asking colleagues. Let's be honest, how many ideas are truly truly original? Lots are a rehash of something else, or adapted from a different idea.

At interview yes they want to see you can plan a lesson...but an idea is not a plan. They also want to see how you interact with the children, your questioning techniques and behaviour management.. you aren't going to get that by asking a few ideas on MN. That's down to you as an effective teacher.

I could be wrong but I also got the impression the head teacher who posted was anti any pre made resources ever and I agree with @cansu that just leads to a heavy workload. As long as it's used appropriately and the lesson is decent I can't see a problem

*lesson