National Poetry Day is a UK-wide celebration of poetry, taking place on the 6th of October 2022. This year’s theme is The Environment.
Visit the National Poetry Day website to find links to poems, lost and found words, films and teaching resources-as well as archives of past National Poetry Days.
https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/national-poetry-day-2022/
Inside the Teacher’s Guide below and the supporting series of 12 creative writing tip videos you will find all the information that you need to deliver engaging literacy lessons that explore the mystery of the missing statue from the top of the Zetland Park fountain. The fountain is the only surviving element of the original park, and is depicted on a commemorative medal struck in 1882 to celebrate the opening of the park.
The videos and accompanying teaching resources and activities cover: genre, setting and atmosphere, characterisation, narrative voice, and different forms of writing. The short videos introduce these areas through three different characters linked to aspects of Zetland Park – a Victorian Lady linked to the opening of the park in 1882, an archaeologist on the dig site explored in 2019, and a fairy in the ten-door woodland fairy trail within the park.
The learning material included are best suited to pupils aged 8 – 11 years. You can use the resources any way you please, dipping in and out of activities as required.
To celebrate the Grand Re-Opening of Zetland Park in 2022, school children are invited to enter their stories into our Fountain Tales Creative Writing Competition. Entries close on 1st June 2022 and winners will be announced on 20th June 2022. Winning entries will be read out at the Grand Re-Opening Ceremony on 28th August 2022, will be placed on Victoria Williamson’s website, www.strangelymagical.com and will also be published as an e-Book on Borrowbox.
Submit you stories via email to Zetland@Falkirk.gov.uk and please include the following information:
The privacy notice for the Fountain Tales Competition can be found here.
Good luck!
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The UK’s longest running and best-loved book awards for children and young people, the Yoto Carnegie Greenaway Awards, have announced the longlists for 2022.
33 books have been selected in total – 18 for the Yoto Carnegie Medal and 15 for the Yoto Kate Greenaway Medal – with themes of community and connection, shared humanity and friendship all explored in the titles.
The Awards celebrate outstanding achievement in children’s writing and illustration respectively and are unique in being judged by children’s librarians, with the Shadowers’ Choice Award voted for by children and young people.
In 2019–20, Falkirk Council piloted the Reading Schools accreditation programme as part of a FVWL RIC initiative. Evaluation showed clear evidence of impact on learners, learning professionals and schools as a whole.
Based on the positive evidence of impact, the programme has been extended to all of Scotland’s schools.
Are you committed to building a culture of reading for your learners and communities? Research proves that reading for pleasure has positive impacts on learners’ attainment across the curriculum, supporting wellbeing, critical thinking, creativity, empathy and resilience.
Visit the website to find how to apply for accreditation and to find a range of very helpful advice and examples from schools who have gone through the accreditation process.
NEWS!
The Reading Schools team have arranged for a drop in session on Teams to give staff in Falkirk Council an opportunity to ask for any help or advice on the Reading Schools accreditation application. The team will also offer suggestions for best practice, tips for gathering and submitting evidence and general support for schools working towards becoming a Reading School.
The details of this session are:
Thursday 10 February 2022
4-5pm
Sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/reading-schools-virtual-tour-falkirk-tickets-244454669497
Apply now for Scottish Book Trust’s Live Literature programme, a wonderful opportunity to invite an author to your school for £75 instead of £175. Scottish Book Trust will pay the rest of the fees and travel costs.
The current application window covers Live Literature events taking place before 31 March 2023. There will be a series of rolling deadlines throughout the year, up until the final deadline of 21 November 2022. Deadlines for each panel are listed below.
All applications should be received no later than midday on each deadline date.
Welcome to the Falkirk Canals Classroom, an activity pack for primary school students that celebrates the fascinating history of the Union and Forth & Clyde canals in the Falkirk area.
Below, you will find everything you need to deliver lessons on the canals, with hands-on activities to do on the banks and in the classroom, canal heritage landmarks and links, and multimedia exploration of Falkirk’s historic waterways. The learning materials included connect to every curriculum area, and you can use the resources any way you please!
Stack them together to build a lesson, use them to enhance a bigger topic, or work through the whole booklet!
In addition to the activities there are plenty of optional extras, extension ideas and links to further resources – so it’s up to you!
Find individual subject area packs, or the full version of the information below:
Falkirk Canals Classroom – in full – click here to download pdf or view below
1) History and the Canals – click here to download pdf or view below
2) Geography and the Canals – click here to download pdf or view below
3) Art and the Canals – click here to download pdf or view below
4) Health & Wellbeing and the Canals – click here to download pdf or view below
5) Science and the Canals – click here to download pdf or view below
6) Maths and the Canals – click here to download pdf or view below
7) Modern Studies and the Canals – click here to download pdf or view below
8) Literacy and the Canals – click here to download pdf or view below
9) Falkirk Canal Classroom Activities – click here to download pdf or view below
Previous winners and shortlists:
RED 15 (2020-2021 award): Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin Illegal
Nominated:
RED 14 (2019-2020 award): Lauren James The Quiet at the End of the World
Nominated:
RED 13 (2018-2019 award): Phyllida Shrimpton Sunflowers in February
Nominated:
RED 12 (2017-2018 award): Elizabeth Laird Welcome to Nowhere
Nominated:
RED 11 (2016-2017 award): 13 Hours by Narinder Dhami
Nominated:
RED 10 (2015-2016 award): Mind Blind by Lari Don
Nominated:
RED 9 (2014-2015 award): Raining Fire by Alan Gibbons
Nominated:
RED 8 (2013-2014 award): Slated byTeri Terry
Nominated:
RED 7 (2012-2013 award): An Act of Love by Alan Gibbons
Nominated:
RED 6 (2011-12 award): Wasted by Nicola Morgan
Nominated:
RED 5 (2010-11 award): Grass by Cathy MacPhail
Nominated:
RED 4 (2009-10 award): Divided City by Theresa Breslin
Nominated:
RED 3 (2008-09 award): Worse Than Boys by Cathy MacPhail
Nominated:
RED 2 (2007-08 award): Blood Ties by Sophie McKenzie
Nominated:
RED 1 (2006-07 award): Looking for JJ by Anne Cassidy
Nominated:
We have two amazing 1000 piece Kapla sets available to borrow. They come with four
ide
a books but are perfect for letting your pupils’ imagination and creativity shine.
The feedback received so far has been fantastic and some teachers are trying them out to see if they are worth buying as a school (they are!).
How big a tower can you build? Let’s measure it!
Remember we have loads of ‘hands-on’ STEM resources as well as books.
See the latest reviews here
One of our main roles in supporting our primary schools is to help them develop and refurbish their school libraries. We tailor our support according to the needs of each school and the remit they provide. It can range from advice, purchasing new books, reorganisation, library cataloguing systems and full library refurbishments.
At the moment we are working with nine schools across the authority to improve their school library, all with different needs and budgets.
Sacred Heart Primary School are undertaking a complete refurbishment of their library
. Pupil librarians have been heavily involved with the decision making and priority is given to pupil voice so that the pupils all have input into the new library. What they wanted is what most pupils want when they are asked about their school library – more and better books and somewhere comfortable to read them!
As you can see from the pictures we have a lot of work to do. As with all our library development work, we have a very close partnership with the SLT, staff, pupils and often parents, as it takes a community to build a library.
The room has been painted and given a new carpet, so we have a blank canvass to work with and imprint the school’s vision. Some of the old shelving is being reused, as it is still in good condition, which means we can focus on adding new areas: a digital area/makerspace, a comfy story corner with rug, browsing boxes for picture books and beanbags, a more grownup reading area for the older pupils with sofas and an ASC zone with a range of different non-book resources to support children with specific needs.
The old books have been ruthlessly weeded by the pupils and only the best quality retained for the new library. We have purchased a range of new, diverse and inclusive books in consultation with the pupils – popular authors like Jeff Kinney, Liz Pichon, Julia Donaldson, David Walliams etc., books in school community languages, comics and graphic novels, picture books for older pupils, wordless books, fact books, hobbies/interests and dyslexia friendly books. We also use our expertise to ensure there is a range of books to suit every level of reader, that the selection is diverse and inclusive and includes quality, modern books that the pupils have yet to discover.
We are currently waiting on delivery of the new furniture and more books, but we gave the pupils a sneak peak at the new books during Book Week Scotland and the excitement to get reading was palpable! The pupils were asked what reading means to them and the feedback will be used to create special artwork on the library walls.
A lot of work still to do but watch this space to see the finished library.
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