Top Notch Teaching

Melinda Crean - Top Notch Teaching Welcome and thanks so much for being here!

My name is Mel and I’m a primary school teacher and literacy specialist teacher. I am passionate about K-7 education and how we can better ourselves as teachers to provide more quality opportunities for our students.

If you’re after some new ideas and support, then you’re in the right place.

Here at Top Notch Teaching, you will find many practical, time-saving tips and resources to help make your life as a teacher (or tutor) that little bit easier.

Mel

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The Complete Phonics Kit

Do you feel overwhelmed with knowing the best way to help your students with their phonics, so that they can become successful readers and spellers? Are you struggling with the…

Ultimate Digraph Teaching Kit

Do you want to make your life as a teacher easier? How the Ultimate Digraph Teaching Kit will benefit you Save you time in finding and creating your own lessons,…

Long Vowels

***You save 30% when you buy this bundle*** There are 5 individual packs in this bundle that includes 330 pages of fun, hands on activities and games for teaching all…

Math Games & Activities

At times it can be challenging to engage children during math lessons as well as provide the content needed in order to meet the demands of the curriculum. That is…

Are you teaching your students how to read and spell long o words? Here you'll find fun, hands-on activities, games and worksheets.

Long O Words: Activities, Games & Worksheets

This pack includes fun, hands-on activities and games for teaching long O words. These activities are great for individual or small group work. There are also posters that can be…

Long I Activities, Games & Worksheets

This pack includes fun, hands on activities and games for teaching ‘Long I’. These activities are great for individual or small group work. There are also posters that can be…

How To Make Phonics Fun For Students

What do children actually need to know to learn to read and spell? It may seem obvious, but as a new teacher, I really didn’t know how to teach reading or spelling—and I’ve met other teachers in the same boat. Kids need 3 essential skills to decode the English language: blending, segmenting and manipulation. Which do…

How To Pair Books With Phonics Games

Imagine getting a student excited about reading, giving them a game to play—and having all of it focus on particular phonics skills. When you pair the right books with phonics games, you can engage kids and really hit home with particular sound skills. I’ve had good results with PhonicBooks for getting kids to read, and with…

3 Ways To Encourage The Joy Of Reading

Sometimes we get so caught up in getting students over hurdles to reading that the joy of reading goes out the window. And yet, the joy of reading is so important to get and keep kids reading. If you’ve ever had a reluctant or struggling reader say, “Can I read more?” you know the power…

3 Effective Reading Fluency Strategies And Free Tools

First off, what is reading fluency—and why does it matter? According to the Primary National Strategy (2006), reading fluency is the ability to read Accurately Quickly Expressively In order for students to be fluent and independent readers, they need to achieve automaticity. That means reading about 80 words correct per minute using an age appropriate text….

How To Find The Best Phonics Activities

Is your phonics plan pulled together as you need new ideas and activities? When I first started my teaching journey I didn’t have a clue how to teach kids how to read and spell. I tried a bit of a mixed bag approach, mostly made up of whole language strategies. I used activities such as…

3 Ways To Use Literacy Games In The Classroom

You know what they say about all work and no play. That’s quite true in the classroom. While some may think of games as distractions or a break from real learning, literacy games actually serve an important purpose in learning. Games are engaging, which makes them a perfect way to introduce a lesson, practice concepts,…