Civil Rights Sources-from fiction to movies & graphic novels to songs

civil rights reading

Feel free to use the powerpoint to read around your Civil Rights topic.

Do you have any books your think I should add in?

What movies might you include?

What song did you find the most inspiring?

Let me know and I can add in your ideas.

Take care, Mrs Baird

Over the Line by Tom Palmer #firstpassreview

 

Over the lineJack is a footballer and his dream is to play for his country but there is a war going on. Everyone is calling footballers cowards so Jack has no choice but to join the army.

Jack joins the footballer battalion so that maybe he might be able to play again. He does play again and manages to play in a cup game and eventually fulfils his dream and plays and scores for England.

This is a good book because it makes the reader think about the war but also creates a happy atmosphere by saying jack scores for England. The writes used changes of mood to do this – the book is also emotional as Jack’s friends die in the war.

I would recommend this book because it has a very good story and shows you two different parts of the main character’s life. jack is a very determined character and also quite helpful. At the beginning he is quite selfish.  I think the lesson from this book is you should never give up hope.

I am Thunder book review

 

I Am Thunder by [Khan, Muhammad]

Recently I have read the book ” I am Thunder” by Mohammed Khan. I read this book In Modern Studies as we had a book box filled with books specially chosen by our librarian. I can tell you now this book has changed the way I look at reading. It was the best book I had ever read without exaggeration.

This book is about 15-year-old Muzna who wants to become a writer but her controlling parents who have extreme views on culture want her to become a doctor. She is forced to leave school as her best friend is shamed in a scandal, however, she realises that bullies and repulsive people are always there. Muzna stands up for herself but there are prejudices everywhere. Tables are turned when the unpopular and confident Arif show an interest in her. he has a secret with an extreme view of religion. Will Myzna stay quiet and listen to her parents or stand up and agree with Arif?

I really liked this book as I have witnessed cultures forcing decisions on people and this book shows how wrong it is.

I really recommend this book as it is eye-opening and shows the reality of our world.

5 stars

Fashion forward Genre Ts

Here is your t-shirt template – right click and copy.

Paste this into a publisher document. You will probably need to make it a bit bigger. But remember don’t go over the lines or you might chop off an arm!

Save your document as libraryT. Then you can use the catalogue to make your alternations!

Any problem – see Mrs Baird!

 


Psst? Wanna find a book?

Sprinkles!

Recently I have been asked by a HUGE number parents, teachers and pupils about how to go about finding the right book.

 Obviously  asking me is always the best option but for those days when I am working elsewhere or those things called weekends and holidays who can you turn to?

There is no magic wand but there are web sites that can help!

 

 

 

Try:

Achuka: www.achuka.co.uk/blog/

Book Buzz: www.booktrust.org.uk/books/bookfinder/

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/

SBT: www.scottishbooktrust.com/

Guardian Books: www.theguardian.com/books

Books For Keeps: http://booksforkeeps.co.uk/

Love4Reading: www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/

Common sense media: www.commonsensemedia.org/website-lists

 

 

Then see if we have it:

https://capitadiscovery.co.uk/eastrenfrewshire/

Remember to edit by location

 

Top tips:

Pick more than one book or even create a reading list online

Don’t like it – don’t keep reading – plenty more books out there

Five finger rule – find five words on the first page you don’t understand – perhaps the book is too hard.. for now

We don’t have it and you want to read it? Tell me and then tell me again and keep telling me till I buy it!

Librarian recommendation are ALWAYS the best,

Mrs Baird

Fake news is real- Twitter

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is so much in the news about fake information that it’s hard to know where to begin.

Let’s start with twitter.

 

How to spot fake twitter accounts.

 

1.Check out the profile for authenticity 

Does the URL match the name? If not, then it’s most likely been created by a bot and not to be trusted. If you tweet under your own name then at least there is some level of accountability if not then the tweeter can say and post whatever they like until blocked.

 

2.But who are you really? 

How lazy would you have to be not to put a biography into twitter? Honestly, it’s about 3 lines long! No Bio? It’s more likely to be a fake account.

 

3.Pretty pictures 

Does the account only ever use stock images? Then it is MORE LIKELY to be a fake especially if the account had been on the go for a while.

 

4.All alone? 

Are they only tweeting and never replying? It’s called SOCIAL media for a reason kids. If they are not playing the game then the tweets are more likely to be computer generated.

 

5.Super popular super-fast?   

Check when the account was set up, and if they have a suspiciously large number of followers then they are likely to be untrustworthy.

 

Twitter is great for communications and competitions and networking but when it stops being fun – you stop!

Always remember to keep yourself safe and report anything that you are unhappy with, don’t engage with trolls (it’s like reasoning with a toddler!) and always remember you have the power to walk away; go read a book for example!

 

Look out for the next in the series when I will be telling you why YouTube is not all babies on skateboards!

First Pass Launch

Our First Pass scheme aims at encouraging pupils in Social Subjects to read fiction and non fiction around their subjects – gaining breadth and depth.


We were fortunate to receive extra funding from the Scottish Government though the School Libraries Improvement fund which is being administered by SLIC (Scottish Libraries and Information Council).

To launch the scheme with a bang I invited along the brilliant Scottish author Theresa Breslin who has written lots of historical novels dealing with topics as varied as Nostradamus, to the Spanish Inquisition to World War One to her latest; The Rasputin Dagger, looking at the Russian Revolution.

Over 120 S2 pupils were invited to the lecture theatre to hear Theresa talk about her writing and researching process. We were shown shrapnel from a trench at the Somme, a WW1 gas mask and a soldier’s diary- bringing tangible items to inspire.

Theresa gave us lots of opportunities to ask questions and we were lucky to have her red from her new book – the whole event was a great success and over too soon!

Look out for the new pop up libraries in your classroom – packed with brand new books  and if you don’t find a title you are looking for come and ask.

Over the course of the scheme there will be more than £3000 worth of new books just for this scheme – so there is no excuse not to get involved.

If we are very lucky  we might just be able to lure Theresa back again!

Level Up – Expansion Pack – The Chain

We really do have some amazing readers at St.Ninian’s, as a result I have had to create an extension pack for our Level Up reading scheme.


This is called “The Chain”.

 

This time you have to link your reading together by the most creative ways you can – not just books by the same author – BORING! but by ideas, themes, setting and issues.

For example if you read The Secret Garden you might then go on to read Wonder. What’s the link? Disability.

You could then read Dog Lost. The Link? Dogs! and so on. The stronger the link the better your chain- a weak link will cause the chain to collapse altogether!

You can pick up a paper copy of THE CHAIN from the library or download from here.

level up expansion pack – the chain


Battle of the Books -2017/18

 

New for S3 pupils will be our BATTLE OF THE BOOKS.

13 TITLES ON A LONG LIST – 3 VOTES PER PUPIL AND A SHORT LIST OF 7.

Multiple copies of the short list will be made available from the library as will information about the books and authors.

There will be competitions and quizzes and prizes to be won along with way with a culmination of an ultimate battle between readers from St.Ninian’s and Williamwood – to find out who is the bookiest of them all!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Rationale behind the long list

  • Only titles published in PBK in UK in 2017
  • Male and female authors
  • Representation from BAME
  • Scottish and Graphic novels included
  • US and UK authors
  • Differentiated reads

If you want to know more about the books or the scheme – just ask.

This is a great opportunity for pupils to keep up with their reading whilst enjoying some of the best books published this year.