Free Teaching Resources for November

I know, we can’t believe it’s November either! To help out we’ve collected together some topical resources and lesson ideas for the month. You can take them as far as you’d like – anything from a 15-minute class assembly right up to a full sequence of lessons.

Broadening students’ horizons. Providing context for learning. Exploring the differences between fact and opinion… These are just a few of the great reasons to use topical teaching resources in your lessons. They are also an excellent way of keeping your students connected with the world around them in a positive way.

Topical Teaching Ideas for November 2022

3rd – National Stress Awareness Day

“And breathe…” Use this day as an opportunity to promote honest discussion with staff and students on their mental health. There are plenty of useful tools and resources covered here. The stress bucket activity, in particular, would be an excellent discussion point and activity for students to engage with. It supports young people to reflect on the causes and possible solutions for stress levels

5th – Guy Fawkes’ Day

“Remember, remember, 5th of November.” We hope you are looking forward to celebrating bonfire night with an exciting firework display this year. The story behind this historic day is always interesting to cover in school. The BBC have a wealth of videos and free resources available.

11th – Veteran’s Day & Remembrance Day

Lest we forget. The Royal British Legion have provided fantastic free teaching resources from Key Stage 1 – 6. They explain the importance of marking this day, and look at the lessons learnt from history. Resources come in the form of assembly outlines as well as PSHE and History lesson activities.

13th – World Kindness Day

“Kindness – free to give, but priceless to receive.” There are some excellent ideas and free resources for celebrating world kindness day in schools provided by the school of kindness. We particularly like the idea of setting a ‘kindness challenge’ which could involve some of the ideas from this kindness bingo game. Discussion around the benefits of being kind to help others (and the added benefit of feeling better about oneself) should be covered.

14th-18th – Anti-bullying Week

With a worrying rise in levels of bullying in schools reported since COVID-19 (especially cyber-bullying), this week is more crucial than ever to promote positive relationships among our students. Young minds have some excellent resources. Additionally, below are some free helplines that could be helpful for young people:

• Childline: 0800 11 11
• Young Minds Text line: Text YM to 85258
• The Mix Under 25 counselling service 0808 808 4994.

16th – International Day for Tolerance

UNESCO describe the core aims of tolerance day as ‘countering influences that lead to fear and exclusion of others, and [helping] young people develop capacities for independent judgement, critical thinking and ethical reasoning.’ UNESCO have a wealth of free resources here on how to counter intolerance. Alternatively, there are some more primary-friendly activities here with Teacher Planet.

14th-20th – Road Safety Week

“Stop. Think. Look. Listen. Live!” Brake, the road safety charity, are the go-to pit stop for road safety week teaching resources. You can sign up for a free action pack that is filled with ideas for marking road safety week and raising vital awareness among your students.

24th – Unique Talent Day

Ta-da! Could it be talent contest time? A chance to use an assembly or tutor time to celebrate the skills and talents that don’t usually get a chance to shine in normal lessons. There is lots of information on the history of the day here, including some notable people with unique talents.

Thank you for reading our post on free teaching resources for November, we hope you found it helpful!

Remember that when working with Prospero Teaching, you have access to our Training & Development Team (all qualified teachers with experience as interviewers) for any advice needed.  If you would like feedback on your lesson plan, please feel free to send it to us via your consultant. They will always be in touch before the interview to go over a few details and answer any questions.

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