A UK-wide celebration of poetry, taking place on the 3 October 2024. This year’s theme is Counting.
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.
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.
The new furniture has arrived and we created a story corner and senior comfy reading area for pupils to relax and enjoy their new books. Pupil Voice is central to Sacred Heart’s ethos and we consulted with pupils on how they would like their library to look. They asked for a nature theme, so we have an artificial grass story rug and nature-themed beanbags etc. A reading den was a popular request so we have an easily moved pop-up den in the story corner.
The picture books are all in front-facing browsers making them more accessible and inviting. The school used old ipad boxes to create fantastic displays on the walls.
The library looks amazing but the main difference is the wide-range of new books to appeal to every child. Pupils were consulted for their favourite authors, genres and interests but we also ensure that there are books for reluctant readers, dyslexic or struggling readers, comics/graphic novels, picture books for older pupils, diverse/inclusive books, wordless books and books in school community languages.
In many ways the easy part of the refurbishment is complete – we just have a few finishing touches to add. The most important part of a library refurbishment now begins: getting the most from your new library! How will the library be used? Who will look after the library? How can we make the library central to the school’s reading culture? What’s in the new library?
LRS will work closely with pupils over the coming weeks and help them explore all the exciting new books. Working with small groups of pupils we will find out their interests and direct them to new and diverse reading adventures.
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.
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.
Our Early Years Book Group has been looking at new picture books that can be used for STEM. Picture books are fantastic for stimulating learning and many are wonderful for a STEM Through Stories focus. The Falkirk STEM Officers support us by providing story planners for each book to give teachers and practitioners a starting point but our members always find creative ways to use the books and bring the learning to life.
King of the Swamp by Catherine Emmett and Ben Mantle
McDarkly lives all on his own, growing orchids in his dank swamp, until one day his peace is disturbed by an arrogant king who wants to turn the swamp into a roller-skate park. This story is brilliant for looking at nature, minibeasts and environmental issues.
Practitioners took the book with them on a visit to the local woods and it stimulated lots of role-play and den building. One child commented that they didn’t want them to ‘take away our green stuff’ when they saw building work happening nearby.
Tad: a big story about a brave minibeast by Benji Davies
Tad is the smallest tadpole in the pond and she is scared of ‘Big Blub’. When the other tadpoles start to disappear she worries ‘Big Blub’ has got them. This story is brilliant for looking at life cycles and feelings.
The children loved this story and found it very engaging. They walked to a local pond to see some real tadpoles and practitioners felt it would be best to use this at spring time.
Tiny Little Rocket by David Fickling and Richard Collingridge
A little rocket takes you on an adventure to space. This book is great for looking at space, rockets and technology.
This was a strong favourite of the children who loved to pour over the pages together with friends. The black background makes the pictures bold and attention-grabbing and encourages the children to learn about space. The children took their interest outside to see the moon and this lead to lots of discussion about what’s in the sky.
Izzy Gismo by Pip Jones and Sarah Ogilvie
Izzy loves to invent but her inventions don’t always go to plan. This story is good for looking at inventions, technology, block play and developing a growth mindset. Izzy is also a strong, diverse role-model for getting girls into STEM.
A planner wasn’t created for Izzy as the STEM Officers felt it was the perfect book to inspire free and creative play in children. Practitioners felt it is a good book to leave in the building area to inspire children. They loved the rhyming text and the pictures have a lot of detail for children to pour over.
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