Teacher Network newsletter: English Language Teaching, co-author a story and the X Factor

Dear colleague A feast for your senses I am just a little bit excited this week - there is so much that's new to share with you it feels like St Nicholas has decided to come a tad early. The first great bit of news is that we have made some terrific improvements to the site. Our tech team has been working really hard to make the search easier for you so now you will be able to search easily for a specific keyword, or indeed add in a subject, age range, type of activity or type of resource. Plus we also have a great new English Language Teaching section. Now none of these changes would have been possible without your advice and help - you have told us what you love about the Guardian Teacher Network and also what you think could be made better - we are listening and working hard to reflect your ideas. Thank you. New teaching resources on the network So first to the new section. This week we are delighted to announce that we have a bank of brilliant new resources from Guardian Weekly (the international edition of The Guardian). The team at Guardian Weekly produce high-quality classroom materials based on real news stories, complete with downloadable worksheets. All the articles are selected to engage the interest of learners in a variety of contexts - be they English Language Teaching students or teenage pupils looking for a stimulus for a debate or discussion. We have more than 40 available for you here: ELT resources from Guardian Weekly or simply take a look in our new ELT section on the site. We also have some really useful resources from ActionAid for anyone planning on highlighting World Aids Day on Thursday (December 1st) like this presentation about HIV and Aids in developing countries and the accompanying teacher notes . Resource highlights This week some of our favourites on the site have been: Primary Hand span measuring Opposite adjectives The role of a vicar Film notes for Winnie the Pooh Secondary Graphic novels e-book Assessment for learning toolkit by Mike Gershon Newspaper roles and writing Photosynthesis in Action Blog of the week This week we had teachers blogging on a wide range of subjects - from tips on how to get your perfect teaching job from teacher and author Paul Ainsworth to former teacher and mum Phoebe Doyle talking about how being a parent changed her view of teaching . But the blog of the week has to go to David Didau's piece on the knowledge v skills debate with his lesson plan on the X Factor TV programme designed to show how you can square the circle! David is something of a blogger newbie (he published his first blog in June) and was this week nominated for an Edublog Award - well done David. If you would like to blog for us, send a brief summary of your ideas to [email protected] and Emma will get in touch. Looking to change jobs or to fill a role? Christmas is coming early on the jobs front too. We have more than 1,500 jobs advertised, as I write this, on the Schools Jobs website. Take a look - schoolsjobs.guardian.co.uk . And if you need a role filling then remember it is FREE to advertise your jobs with us at the moment - whether they are teaching or non teaching roles - get in contact by emailing [email protected] . Seminars coming up Teacher Open Evening - Thursday 19 January 2012, 4.15-5.30pm For teachers bringing (or thinking of bringing) a class to the Guardian's Education Centre. You get an overview of the workshops and facilities we provide and hands on experience of creating your own front page. It runs from 4:15pm until 5:30pm. Refreshments served on arrival. The session is free of charge but places are limited, and advance booking is essential. Find out more here . And finally… If you have teenage students (or offspring) we have something brilliant for them. Root is a new interactive serialised story for teenagers, set in the shadowy world of computer hacking and espionage and readers have the chance to influence the story and use their skills to decode special messages. It's the product of a collaboration between our fab colleagues in the teen books team and publishers Random House Children's Books. Click here to find out Molly's story so far. It's the first time the team has produced an interactive story for teenagers and they would love to hear what you think so email them on [email protected] and put 'Root feedback' as the heading. Wishing you a fantastic week - and a belated Happy Thanksgiving to all our members in the US. Very best wishes, Wendy Berliner Head of Education, Business and Professional Guardian News and Media If you want to sign up to this weekly newsletter you need to register on the Guardian Teacher Network . • Follow us on Twitter @guardianteach • Check us out on Facebook This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional . Sign up to the Guardian Teacher Network to get access to over 70,000 pages of teaching resources and join our growing community.