If only children were always hungry to learn. Regardless of the delicious offerings prepared by class teachers, appetites can vary considerably between pupils and from one day to the next.

Sometimes a pupil is simply not in the right frame of mind.

Maybe they got out of bed on the wrong side that morning. Whatever the reason, the old adage about taking a horse to water holds true. And children often need a little help in cultivating their thirst for learning.

Creative thinking in children is increasingly being encouraged because of the fast-moving, challenging world they live in. But encouraging this ‘thinking outside the box’ can be a little difficult.

Various types of activities are needed to encourage original thinking and creative exploration of ideas and to kick-start skills such as portraying concepts pictorially and collaborating with each other.

Children also need to be encouraged to develop the skills they will need to organise and understand information.

Where Can an Elephant Hide? contains 180 tried-and-tested, unique activities designed to do exactly that – to kick-start children’s learning. The challenges are ideal for daily use. Engage your children with them first thing in the morning for maximum effect.

Choose the one that suits your pupils’ needs and your mood. Challenge the children to make their own lucky charm, or ask them what you should use instead of ‘X’ if something is wrong.

The 15-minute challenges are clear, self-explanatory and easy to administer. Ready-made for busy teachers, you can use the CD-Rom to display activities on IWB. The teacher’s book contains photocopiable sheets, teacher’s notes and answers.

There are more details and sample pages on our website.

You can order Where Can an Elephant Hide? in any of these ways:

• On our website
• By phone on 01449 766629
• By fax on 01449 767122
• By email to orders@tradecounter.co.uk

And vice versa. Children who are good readers enjoy thinking about language and experimenting with it.

But the question remains: is there any way in which we can generate an extra interest in language, in more depth? It is certainly a worthwhile occupation since thinking about language and experimenting with it does stimulate reading.

In other words children come to see language not as just words they might use, but as something that can be considered as intrinsically interesting.

Put another way, control over the way we express ourselves can be empowering and has a direct relationship to the influence we have on others – a notion that is utterly fascinating for all of us.

Whether one wants to say to children, “Getting what you want from parents and others is dependent on your ability to use the language” or not, is, of course, a personal choice. But if put in a language that children understand, it can be an incredibly motivating factor.

This viewpoint was the starting point for “It’s a Case of Grammar”, a pack which gets children thinking about language in more depth than might otherwise be achieved.

In short it focuses on the language’s possibilities and potential. It answers the question, “Why do I need to know about grammar?” with the answer, “because it makes my speech and my writing more powerful.”

The resource contains over 100 new ideas for exploring and teaching grammar at key stage 2. It also includes a comprehensive training pack and a detailed glossary.

You can order …

• On our website
• By calling us on 01604 491511
• Email us at info@thinkingchild.org.uk

It is a sad fact of life that many young people go into their first interviews without much of an idea as to what questions they are likely to be asked and what answers they ought to give.

Which is why this book exists. It starts with the most obvious question: “Why do you want this job/course?” and moves onto the variations, such as thinking about “Why do you want to work for this company”, “Why do you want to study here?” and so on.

The book works on the premise that any interview is a two way process, allowing the candidate to get an idea of what the company or college is like, as well as being a chance to impress potential employers and lecturers.

Each of the 101 Ways is an exercise or an activity as well as providing information on what to do in different situations. Thus 101 Ways will enable your students to prepare thoroughly for first job or college interviews and help them to manage any nerves.

Students can dip into chapters that will help them brush up on specific bits of preparation, or use it as a workbook from start to finish as a complete guide to being successful at interviews.

This book has been written by an experienced recruiter who both trains recruiters and helps inexperienced interviewees of all ages. Each chapter covers a different aspect of the interview process with 101 practical and thought provoking tips that have been proven to work.

Teachers may also use this book as a class resource in Careers, English, Drama, PSHE, Citizenship or other lessons to prepare pupils for interview practices or the real thing. Each chapter is followed by a series of suggested exercises, mostly working in pairs or small groups, which develop the key themes of that chapter.

You can see some sample pages at http://www.pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/careers/T1633.pdf

Publisher’s reference: T1633EMN ISBN: 978 1 86083 683 1

Prices

• Photocopiable report in a ring binder, £9.95 plus £3.95 delivery
• CD with school-wide rights: £9.95 plus £3.95 delivery
• Both the Ring Binder and the CD £16.94 plus £3.95 delivery

Prices include VAT.

You can purchase the report… please quote the order ref: T1633EMN

• By post to First and Best, Hamilton House, Earlstrees Ct, Earlstrees Way, Corby, NN17 4HH
• By fax to 01536 399 012
• On line with a credit card at http://shop.firstandbest.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=47&products_id=461