What are Teaching/Learning Materials?

Teaching/Learning Materials

What is the definition of Teaching/Learning materials? Find out more about TLM or
Instructional Materials with our informative Teaching Wiki.

What’s the definition of Teaching/Learning Materials (TLM) or

Instructional Materials?
In education, Teaching/Learning Materials (often referred to by the acronym TLM) or
Instructional Materials refers to the range of resources and lesson materials that teachers
can use to teach. These educational materials are used to the support learning aims for
all subjects, as set out by the Department for Education (DfE) in the national curriculum.

Every lesson created by a teacher should contain specific learning objectives from the
curriculum. Effective lesson planning will also include a clear, differentiated sequence of
learning that the children will follow in order to meet the chosen objectives. As part of that
learning sequence, teachers create opportunities for learning. Teaching/Learning
Materials enable teachers to offer more interactive, interesting and engaging learning
activities.

At Twinkl our award-winning PlanIt tool is designed to help primary teachers cover the
requirements of the national curriculum. From the homepage, you can easily browse our
Teaching/Learning Materials by subject, year group, and by learning aim.

Divided into different schemes of work, our units contain downloadable lesson packs with
all you need to deliver effective lessons. Our lesson packs are made by teachers for
teachers, so you can be sure of trusted content across the curriculum. They’re the very
definition of Teaching/Learning Materials!

To find our more about using our PlanIt Teaching/Learning Materials, you can download a
comprehensive and free guide.
Not only do our lesson packs include detailed and differentiated lesson plans linked to the
national curriculum and unit planning overview, they also provide you with a folder of
relevant Teaching/Learning Materials such as:

lesson presentations

creative and differentiated lesson activities and resources,

home learning tasks

challenge cards

fact cards

display packs

key vocabulary grids

formative and summative assessment materials.

Find out how you can save valuable planning time by making the best use of our unit
planning overviews, with this helpful video guide:

What are learning and teaching support materials (LTSM)?

As we’ve already seen, the definition of Teaching/Learning Materials is very broad. In
some parts of the world, it is referred to as Learning and Teaching Support Material
(LTSM). This term has the same meaning as learning and teaching materials used in the
classroom. This can include teacher-made, pupil-made and commercially-made
resources, textbooks, class reading books, dictionaries, e-books, stationery, worksheets
and science equipment.
Why are Teaching/Learning Materials important in teaching?
The definition of Teaching/Learning Materials encompasses everything that a teacher
can use to facilitate learning for their pupils. From low-tech to high-tech,
Teaching/Learning Materials are the tools needed for children to learn and meet
educational objectives.

Studies have shown that the combination of motivated teachers and well-planned learning
which makes good use of available Teaching/Learning Materials is the key to unlocking
good progress.

The use of Teaching/Learning Materials enables a teacher to enhance the learning

experience for their pupils. It is a move away from the ‘chalk and talk’ style of teaching,
where the teacher essentially lectures the pupils.

By using Teaching/Learning Materials, a teacher can set up learning opportunities for the
children. So rather than solely imparting knowledge to their children, the teacher
facilitates more independent, activity-based learning.

If you’re looking for helpful tips and tricks for planning an effective lesson using
Teaching/Learning Materials, you might like to read the step-by-step guide in our handy
blog.

And you can find out all about lesson planning using a five part lesson plan with our
informative Teaching Wiki.
What are the different types of Teaching/Learning Materials?
The definition of Teaching/Learning Materials means that it encompasses a huge variety
of resources. So the resources chosen for a given activity will depend on the type of
learning, the subject, and what’s available.For that reason, the following list is not
definitive but offers an introduction to some Teaching/Learning Materials commonly-
used in the classroom.

Writing Prompts

When you’re teaching children how to write it’s important to do a certain amount of
modelling to show them how to construct a text. That could be a sentence or two in KS1
or paragraphs and pages in KS2. However, there comes a point when the children will
need to write on their own. And that’s when writing prompts can help.

A writing prompt can take a variety of forms. You could give the children sentence stems
to help them start off their sentences. Before the children begin writing, get them to speak
the sentence first using the sentence stem. Our website has a huge variety of sentence
starters to help young learners become independent writers. Why not take a look at our
Sentence Opener Word Mat?
By KS2, children are producing more extended writing. At this stage, writing prompts
might take the form of a scenario and might include suggestions for what to write in each
section or paragraph. To see an example of this, take a look at our PlanIt Y4 Myths and
Legends: Romulus and Remus Writing Assessment. It includes a presentation and
worksheets which act as writing prompts.

Flashcards

Flashcards are a versatile type of Teaching/Learning Material which can be quick to

prepare and used in a variety of engaging ways. They’re helpful for both learning new
information and recalling prior learning for every subject on the curriculum!

Flashcards are often used in languages for learning vocabulary, and maths for learning
number sequences. Our Spanish: Meet and Greet: Numbers 0-10 Year 3 Lesson Pack 5
does both! Inside this fantastic lesson pack you can find a set of flashcards for learning
the numbers 0-10 in Spanish!

And if you’re supporting an EAL learner in your classroom, we’ve assembled a huge
bumper pack containing a variety of useful resources, including word cards. Just take a
look the PlanIt - EAL Intervention - Basic Skills Pack.
For children learning phonics, flashcards are an essential Teaching/Learning Materials. To
save you valuable planning time, our teachers have created this brilliant set of 100 High
Frequency Words Flashcards.

Manipulatives

Manipulatives are physical objects brought in to support a pupil’s learning. For your more
kinaesthetic learners, manipulatives can be a great way to hold their focus and keep them
engaged in the learning process. Physical objects can be a great way to tackle problem-
solving in subjects like maths. You can use them to teach multiplication, division,
subtraction, and addition.

Our lesson packs can be adapted for your learners. They include suggestions for
approaching particular learning activities. In our PlanIt Maths Y1 Multiplication and
Division Lesson Pack Multiplying and Dividing by Two, the lesson plan suggests
incorporating objects into the learning. If you’re currently studying a topic, you could make
the object more relevant like pretend pieces of eight for pirates. To see an example, take a
look at our Treasure Chest Ten-Frame and Pirate Coin Counters Resource Pack.

We’ve got a range of resources to speed up your manipulatives preparation time, including
this printable pack of Maths Intervention Realistic Size British Coins.

Modelling Clay

As a Teaching/Learning Material, modelling clay is another handy resource for

kinaesthetic learning. It could be used to shape letters of the alphabet or numbers.
Children could also create characters out of it for storytelling. It can of course be used in
an art and design context as well!
We’ve got a number of lessons featuring clay as a Teaching/Learning Material. Both our
Art: Bodies: Making Figures in Clay LKS2 Lesson Pack 5 and Art: Ancient Egypt: Making
Egyptian Masks Using Clay UKS2 Lesson Pack 4 include learning activities involving clay.

Visual Aids

Visual aids can be everywhere in your classroom. From class displays and informative
posters to chart and graphic organizers, visual aids can be a helpful tool for many
children. For visual learners and children who need extra-support with their personal
organization, visual aids can be especially helpful for reminding them of key learning,
routines or information.

Our website contains a huge range of display materials and other visual aids. You’ll find
that in most of our PlanIt schemes of work there’s a specific pack of display materials or
an additional resource pack containing them.

For example, our lessons to support teaching on 'The Firework-Makers Daughter' include a
fantastic display pack. Whilst our history unit ‘Riotous Royalty’ has some lovely display
materials inside the additional resources pack.
Of course visual aids can also take the form of paper handouts. So on our PlanIt pages,
you’ll find various colourful and engaging knowledge organizers, like this Science
Knowledge Organisers Pack Year 1.

Story Books

Reading fiction aloud can be a powerful learning experience when children are actively
engaged in the story. There are many benefits to reading and all it requires is a good book.
Reading can have educational benefits because it:

aids sleep and reduces stress.

increases vocabulary and comprehension.

stimulates imagination and understanding.

develops listening skills.

encourages empathy with others.

With so many great technological advances, books are even more accessible. On our
website, you can find a number of Twinkl Original e-books with their own range of
supporting lesson materials. A great example is our Aisha, the Superhero Princess eBook
which is available to download for both PC and Mac.

Videos

Video has become an increasingly popular form of Teaching/Learning Material. Used in

the right way, it can be a really powerful educational tool. The key to using video clips for
learning is to ensure that the children have something active to do in response to it,
whether that’s recording new information or following step-by-step instructions.

You can find a growing range of video lessons on our YouTube channel. If you're teaching
art to KS1 children, you might enjoy this lesson all about the artist Banksy. Whilst the
lesson plays, you can move around the classroom to support the children. Plus you can
always pause and rewind it as needed!

Games
As a classroom teacher or parent, some of the greatest satisfaction comes when children
are learning without realizing it! Games can be a superb way of encouraging positive
social skills as well, including teamwork, sharing, turn-taking, and being a good winner and
a good loser.

Across our website, you can find a varied range of learning materials which include fun
and engaging games for home and school. For example, our PlanIt Maths Y2 Addition
and Subtraction Home Learning Activity Pack includes a delightful 'Fill Your Trolley' game
to support learning about number sentences.

You can also discover an ever-growing collection of interactive online games through our
Twinkl Go product. It includes activities like Jungle Maths: Number Bonds to 20 Games
which can be shared with children, so they can play and learn independently on a
computer or tablet.

Apps

If you have access to computers or tablets, software and apps are another fantastic
resource for Teaching/Learning Materials. Apps offer fantastic opportunities for
interactive and engaging learning.

However, with so many types on offer, it can be challenging to find one suitable for your
young learners. Thankfully, we’ve developed a range of educational apps for both teachers
and learners. Our apps are teacher-led, and developed by teams of passionate and skilled
software developers.

You can browse are range by typing 'apps' in the Twinkl search bar or by visiting our
Twinkl Educational Apps homepage.

And if you’re looking to teach children about coding, we’ve developed a fantastic range of
lesson packs using the app Scratch Jr. To find out more, take a look at our Computing:
Programming with ScratchJr Year 1 Unit Pack.
Explore our range of Teaching/Learning Materials

The Twinkl website is a treasure trove of teaching resources that can save you time and
help you to create inspiring lessons. No matter what the topic or subject, you’ll sure to find
Teaching/Learning Materials that can help. And if you need any help, feel free to get in
touch.

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