Pure magnetism...

   So I nonchalantly glanced over at my fridge this morning and realised even that isn't immune to the teacher touch! I'd like to point out that I have a very busy fridge exterior; drawings, photos, memos and...teacher-ish magnets.

   I bought the Shakespeare quote magnets years ago from the Globe Theatre. For those of you that don't know, the Globe was part owned by Shakespeare himself and is situated in Southwark, London. The magnet fashioned in the image of Fagin from ‘Oliver Twist' is a memento of a school trip. It harks back to a time when I was crazy enough to take 100 students (you heard right) to watch a performance in London. Apart from the timeless story, the big draw was that Rowan Atkinson was playing the villain of the piece. The students' rapturous delight when he walked on for the first time was unforgettable. 

   It's not so much the magnets, but the memories and feelings they invoke that make them a permanent feature on my fridge.

    

Chain reaction...

‘I wear the chain I forged in life'

So uttered the ghost of Jacob Marley. The links in his ponderous chain represented his preoccupations, wrongdoings and sins. To put this idea to my learners in a thought-provoking way, we ‘forged' a class chain. Each student was given a strip of paper and on this they wrote their regrets and wrongdoings. I promised anonymity and received some downright hilarious (and slightly worrying) confessions. The links were put together and stuck up in my classroom.

I can't take credit for this lovely idea; it comes from an equally chic friend and colleague of mine.

Heavenly hair...

I want to share a product that I've been using for a while now. It's a shampoo in bar form and is completely natural. I used to become so disheartened when strands of my beautiful black hair disappeared down the plughole. I made the decision to ditch the chemical-laden supermarket shampoos for something kinder. FUNKY SOAP was the answer to my prayers. Their shampoo bars contain heavenly ingredients like coconut oil, avocado oil, peppermint, lemon, lavender, cedarwood and essential oils. More importantly, their soaps are 100% natural and handmade in their London workshop. This product is gentler on the hair, scalp and pocket (one bar lasts a ridiculously long time). You won't get that foamy lather you've been conditioned to expect from bottled shampoo, but your hair will feel thoroughly cleaned, with its natural oils intact. The ingredients love the hair and nourish the hair - what more could you (or your hair) want?

 http://www.funkysoapshop.co.uk/

Lip service...

T'is the season of bright lipsticks that can be seen from outer space. If the thought of dazzling your students with blazing reds, pinks and oranges is too much, here are two pretty alternatives. On the left we have Plum Rose and on the right is Pink Mauve. They are bright enough to add a pop of colour but not so much that they prove a distraction.

 They are a little on the pricey side (£19.50 each) but what good is a Chic Teacher without a few indulgent items in her handbag? When the colour meets your lips, it's like a marriage made in heaven and the lipstick is long wearing. Well that's what you can tell yourself when scrutinising the monthly bank statement!

Tweet all about it...

I'm all in favour of tapping into students' interests to engage them in the classroom.  Many of them have got Facebook or Twitter accounts so I use this well known format in my lessons when exploring a character.  They love creating profiles for fictional characters and sometimes they post on the character's wall in the wake of a notable development in the story.  Templates are readily available on the internet.  Here is a very realistic example, created by a student who used a template that I provided:

You may need to explain how Twitter/Facebook works to those students who don't use these platforms.  Yes, there are some of them out there...