Tag: themes

Primary Art and Design Exhibition

The Falkirk Primary Schools Art & Design exhibition took place in the second week of March and was a stunning show. It was expertly hung by the art & design specialist teachers to showcase the range of teaching and learning taking place within their subject. As can be seen from the exhibits shown, pupils have developed a plethora of skills using 2 and 3 dimensional media and techniques. Therefore, the discrete learning which has taken place is securely linked to the experiences and outcomes for art and design and provides a “presentation” opportunity for the wider expressive arts principles and practices.  In addition, the exhibition  demonstrates how  specialist teachers delivered type 1 interdisciplinary learning by linking effectively to another areas of the curriculum. This is often termed “learning through” and is a great strength of expressive arts subjects.

The exhibition showed examples of art work which had been creatively planned to be done co-operatively by groups of pupils. Click here to view.

     Art work exploring Katie Morag, Robert Burns, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and the local area showed very clearly how art & design teaching supported pupil learning about the culture and heritage of Scotland. The comments book at the exhibition was full of appreciative statements from visitors.

Kinneil Nursery Class Try Storyline

Clare Doherty and the nursery team at Kinneil Primary used the storyline approach during January 2014 to explore aspects of Health and Well-Being, Literacy and Technology. This project began in response to some reading about dinosaurs and their eggs. The children were obviously interested in creatures which came from eggs and the team explored how their storyline might work. Yvonne McBlain provided some advice and a storyline plan based around a dragon’s egg, which Clare and the team adapted for their purposes. The children “discovered” a large egg in the nursery one day – click here to see some of the “egg” research they then did. They couldn’t decide whether their egg needed to be kept warm or cold, so built one nest indoors, and another outdoors just in case. The staff used a series of letters from the “mother” of the egg, to direct the children towards their research and HWB skill and knowledge development. Activities around the nursery were linked to the context throughout and enabled the children to develop small motor skills using a range of materials. When the egg finally hatched, and the children were able to see the creature, they decided he looked like the character from the book they were reading during their Scottish studies. He therefore became Hamish McHaggis and staff were then able to link him effectively to Burns teaching and learning. Clare felt that one of the benefits of the storyline was to make these Hamish books more accessible to the children.

In order to bring the storyline to a satisfactory conclusion for the children, staff delivered a letter from Hamish’s mum explaining that just after Chinese New Year, Hamish had to join her in Hong Kong. Click here to take a look at the children’s mind map of what he would need to pack for the journey. On 31st January, the storyline finished with a celebration where the children waved goodbye to Hamish.  

This storyline engaged most pupils by choice and linked very well into literacy week. Click here and here to see writing by some of the afternoon children who were keen to complete their booklets so Hamish could take them with him on his journey. The storyline provided an interdisciplinary learning context which proved to be very responsive to the children’s interests and to the seasonal learning often delivered at this time of year. It also motivated and engaged the children’s interest really well. Click here to see the storyline plan used by the team.

Bonnybridge Primary 6/7 Debate the Commonwealth

Michelle Cairns and her primary 6/7 pupils at Bonnybridge Primary School have been able to apply their debating, listening and talking skills by taking part in the BBC Commonwealth project. This project also offered some breadth and challenge for pupils because of the issues they had to consider while preparing for their debate. They considered homelessness as an issue in this country and other Commonwealth countries. They had to analyse their thinking  and communicate their ideas using a range of technology including  “Skyping” pupils in other countries. Visit http://glo.li/1fZfGyo  for more detail and to link to the television and radio broadcasts which the children took part in.

British Council offers Chinese New Year Education Pack

The British Council have produced an education pack for primary schools which supports study of Chinese New Year and the start of the Chinese spring festival on 31st January. 2014 will be the Year of the Horse, and the pack has many useful ideas, lesson plans, links and support materials for discrete and interdisciplinary learning linked to this theme. It includes learning experiences across the curriculum and addresses elements of international education and global citizenship. Click here to download the pack.