Twinkl, Twinkl, you're a star!

Hi everyone,

Any of my teaching buddies know already that I'm quite partial to a bit of Twinkl! I love it, especially since I've started teaching Juniors. Their resources are great and it really is my go to website when I'm looking for any particular resource.

There's just so much on the site, it's obvious that you would never get time to use everything unless you are the Terminator of teachers...... so I've compiled a list of my top ten Twinkl downloads! I've included links to many particular resources which I use and which I think are well worth checking out.

Hope they're useful!

1. A.S.D. Downloads.
ASD is a big feature of my classroom this year and I've found Twinkl's resources great. For example they have information packs for Parents & Teachers, Communication Packs, Communication Support Packs, Social Stories and learning aids.
Two resources I use daily for one particular student are their visual timetable  and 'I can calm myself' reminder.
http://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-s-001-sen-visual-timetable-for-school
http://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-c-088-i-can-calm-myself-down-prompt-display-sign

2. 1916

Did you know Twinkl now has many resources to support the R.O.I curriculum? We're all well aware that the topic of the moment is 1916 and resources for this topic are in high demand. I downloaded all of Twinkl's 1916 resources last week for our school commemorations and they really are excellent.
http://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/roi2-h-020-1916-rising-fact-file-display-posters 
http://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/roi2-h-027-1916-rising-powerpoint-the-events
http://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/roi2-h-032-1916-rising-signatories-fact-files-posters
http://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/roi2-h-008-1916-rising-aftermath-image-posters

3. Phonics Activities

I use the Jolly Phonics scheme as a skeleton for my Phonics teaching, supported with various other resources, including activities that I have downloaded for Twinkl, especially when it comes to blending and word recognition.
http://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-l-702-phonics-snakes-and-ladders-blending-game
http://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-l-5368-initial-sounds-peg-matching-game
http://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-l-4151-phase-5-roll-and-read-mat-o-e
http://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-l-5132-new-missing-letter-matching-peg-activity
http://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-l-620-cvc-words-phoneme-frames

4. Gaeilge

Twinkl also have some lovely Irish resources which let's face it, can be pretty hard to find sometimes!
There's a few which I particularly like here:
These Restaurant role play resources are lovely, who says Aistear can't incorporate Gaeilge?!
http://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/roi-t-t-12631-restaurant-role-play-badges-gaeilge
http://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/roi-t-t-12629-restaurant-role-play-notepad-gaeilge
With the Rio Olympics coming up, these Olympic themed sports posters 'as Gaeilge' are lovely!
http://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/roi-t-158-rio-2016-olympics-irish-gaeilge-event-display-posters
A browse through Twinkl's Gaeilge resources in general is well worth it, for all classes! Text book lessons kill the joy of learning Irish, and Twinkl have some lovely resources to encourage more active Gaeilge lessons.
http://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/roi-gl-003-irish-neamhfhoirmiil-prompt-cards-for-teachers-gaeilge
http://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/roi-t-158-rio-2016-olympics-irish-gaeilge-event-display-posters

5. St. Patrick's Day

Theme packs are great. I love when you find something that has a variety of activities, all in one, ready to print and self explanatory. We're all allowed an easy life sometimes, right?
http://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-t-26572-top-ten-st-patricks-day-resource-pack
http://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-t-18001-st-patricks-day-powerpoint
http://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-t-3530-happy-st-patricks-day-display-banner

6. Letter Formation
Without rambling about text books again, I love these letter formation worksheets. They're a handy writing station activity when working on a new letter or sound, or even a nice homework activity. Why reinvent the wheel when it's already there for you!
http://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/T-L-024-Letter-Formation-Worksheets
http://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-s-129-a-z-letter-formation-worksheets

7. Scissors Skills

Do you ever find that the only time that you are guaranteed a few minutes of actually total calm and engagement in an infant class, is when everyone is busy concentrating on a scissors exercise?

The benefits of scissor skills are obvious. Finding a little time for cutting during the week, even if you can incorporate it into a lesson activity is vital. It strengthens those little fingers so much!

Twinkl has some lovely cutting activities all ready for you to print and let the little ones go snip snip snip!
This is a scissors pack with a wealth of cutting activities to keep you class busy for ages!
http://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-l-1180-pencil-and-scissor-control-pack

8. Developing mindset

Twinkl isn't just for the younger classes. There are some excellent resources on the site for enhancing your lessons in the older classes. I love visual cues, for teachers and students, especially for questioning. We can underutilise our questioning opportunities sometimes which can really detract from the learning in a lesson. Resources don't always have to be for the benefit of the children, even teachers need a little visual support sometimes. I love these:
http://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-c-166-10-what-questions-to-develop-growth-mindset-in-children
http://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-c-1631-how-teachers-can-assist-learners-to-develop-a-growth-mindset

9. Role Play Resources
With Aistear or structured play, you do need to build up your resources, particularly for role play. However once you have them and laminate them, they'll last an eternity. When I began implementing Aistear last year, I found Twinkle great for role play resources. They have something for almost everything and they speak for themselves. The trouble will be stopping yourself from downloading everything and focusing on what you actually need!
http://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-t-963-vets-surgery-role-play-pack
http://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-t-1169-airport-role-play-pack

10. Do it yourself with Twinkl Create!
Did you know that you can now make your own resources WITH Twinkl?? Twinkl create gives you the opportunity to make your own resources through lots of different templates. From lettering to poster, flashcards, word mats, borders.....once you start there'll be no stopping you!
http://www.twinkl.co.uk/create