Category: Literacy Skills

This category collects information and practice relating to all literacy skills

Bankier Brilliant Bairns Run Spring Event

Primary 7 pupils at Bankier Primary School are writing this post to share how they organised and hosted an event on Wednesday 29th March. They invited parents, carers and people from their community to the event to help raise money for their leaver’s trip. The pupils really enjoyed this  experience as they hadn’t done anything like this before.

At Bankier some of the teachers planned their literacy work using a thematic approach which had really helped pupils to progress their maths and numeracy skills in 2022. This Spring event was planned around primary 7’s World War II topic.

Pupils read The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas to help them learn about the war. They were interested in how French people took part in this war and created a French cafe for their fund-raising event which sold: pain au chocolat, croissants, baguettes and hot drinks.  The event raised over £400 and pupils will plan how to spend this on their leavers trip next term.

The pupils really enjoyed the whole process and feel that it helped them develop different elements of literacy such as:

  • Writing letters and invitations
  • Developing French vocabulary
  • Writing and translating menus
  • Planning and organising different parts of the event

Pupils also learned new skills in art, food hygiene, handling money, timing and scheduling. They improved their ability to organise, work together, work to deadlines and use their ICT skills.

Click here to find out about the thematic literacy work done by primary 5 and 6 pupils at Bankier PS.

 

 

English as an additional language – celebrating and supporting

Over 75 different languages are currently spoken by pupils in Falkirk Council’s Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) Centres and Schools. The EAL team is part of the Additional Support Needs Outreach Service and works with pupils whose first or home language is not English.

Our EAL team support pupils who are enrolling in or who are already attending a Falkirk Council ELC centre/class or school. Their support helps pupils who may be beginners in English or pupils who speak English more fluently but are not achieving their full academic potential. They work with schools and families to meet the needs of learners for whom English is an additional language.

Please visit the EAL team blog page here for more information and support with any queries you may have about teaching and supporting your pupils. All EAL professional learning from CPD Manager is listed on our 2022-23  professional learning menu which you can visit using this link Professional Learning for Literacy and English – Welcome to Falkirk Literacy (glowscotland.org.uk).

 

News from our National Literacy Network Meeting June 2022

This blog post shares key information and opportunities from the last National Literacy Network meeting which took place on 8th June 2022.

AGENDA: Welcome
• Love to Read Project – Dr Sarah McGeown
• Break Out Room Discussion -Focus on progression Early through First Level
• ES and Partner Updates
• Future NLN / LECN Dates

Love to Read Project – Dr Sarah McGeown, University of Edinburgh – This is a programme created by researchers, teachers and children to inspire and sustain a love of reading. It draws upon theory, research, children’s insights and teachers’ professional and pedagogical knowledge, expertise and experience. More information about this programme can be found here and it will be freely available from March 2023.

 

 

 

 

 

Sarah also shared reading for enjoyment links below:

For teachers/school leaders: McGeown, S., & Wilkinson, K. (2021). Inspiring and sustaining reading for pleasure in children and young people: A guide for teachers and school leaders. UKLA Minibook. Available here:

For children: Connecting with Fictional Characters: The Power of Books. Available here.

The final literacy development shared by Sarah was the Move to Read programme which is a collaborative research project between the University of Edinburgh and schools within Edinburgh City Council. It aims to co-create physically active early literacy activities (P1) which are embodied –  more information here.

Further information about the value of participatory research involving researchers, teachers and pupils can be found in The University of Edinburgh blog here. 

Focus on progression Early through First Level

Education Scotland colleagues shared national pupil attainment data from 2020-21, so that we could examine these as a group. The breakout discussions were used the questions below to explore our theories around why there was a dip at first level across literacy.

  • What are the theories around why the dip happens?
  • What are the challenges to effective learning (P1 – P4)?
  • How do we strengthen understanding of progression through this level?
  • In what ways do we support pedagogy at this level?

ES and Partner Updates

  1. Cabinet Secretary announcement December 2021: National Response to Improving Literacy group (NRIL)
    “Scotland already has the National Response to Improving Mathematics Partnership Board, and we will set up a National Response to Improving Literacy group. Both groups will examine the existing landscape in Scotland and internationally, seeking opportunities to enhance professional learning for teachers and the classroom experiences for young people”
  2. Themes are beginning to emerge from the consultation done so far by the NRIL. These will be developed and shared over the next months.

Future NLN / LECN Dates

LECN (Literacy and English Curriculum Network) meeting 16.6.22 – Gender and Literacy Motivation

The next National Literacy Network meeting takes place on Thursday 15th September 2022

 

Coming soon to our FVWL RIC – Alex Quigley talks Literacy

We are delighted to have Alex Quigley, a renowned literacy specialist, contributor to Educational Endowment Foundation (EEF) research and publications and author of several best-selling books (including Closing the Reading Gap and Closing the Vocabulary Gap) join us for three sessions in May and June. During these sessions Alex will share insights and evidence-informed approaches that teachers can employ in their practice. There will be a follow-up session on 15th June for attendees to discuss what they have taken from the sessions, as well as a platform to discuss how the RIC can best support you going into the 2022-2023 school year.

 Closing the Reading Gap with Alex Quigley

11th of May at 4pm – Alex explores the brilliantly complex act of reading in this session. He tackles practical issues, such as developing reading fluency, and how to support pupils to become strategic and knowledgeable readers. The session draws upon Alex’s best-selling book for teachers, and is research-informed but also packed with practical strategies every teacher can apply in the classroom.

Sign up via CPD Manager – course ID: 78388

Literacy across Learning with Alex Quigley

25th of May at 4pm – During this one-hour session Alex draws upon his classroom practice and a wealth of research evidence to explore the challenges pupils face when it comes to literacy in the classroom. In this session, he explores the importance of ‘disciplinary literacy’, focusing on how pupils develop as readers and writers across the curriculum. The session includes practical strategies to develop reading, writing and vocabulary approaches that unlock the curriculum for students and help ensure their success.

Sign up via CPD Manager – course ID: 78133

*This session is also part of the Forth Valley and West Lothian Regional Improvement Collaborative’s Futureproofing Pedagogy Series, which runs every Wednesday from 4pm from 26th April until 1st June.

Closing the Vocabulary Gap with Alex Quigley

7th of June at 4pm – Alex explores the phenomenon of the ‘vocabulary gap’ and its crucial impact on learning in the classroom. In this session, he explores how teachers can support vocabulary through rich academic talk, alongside applying vocabulary approaches to ensure pupils read and write with success. Alex holds a mirror up to word-rich classrooms and offers practical strategies that you can apply in your own classroom context.

Sign up via CPD Manager – course ID: 78389

Closing the Literacy Gap

15th of June at 4pm – This session is an opportunity for practitioners who attended Alex Quigley’s sessions to meet up and discuss the key messages covered in the sessions, as well as sharing ideas on what type of support they would like from the Forth Valley and West Lothian Regional Improvement Collaborative in the 2022-23 school year.

Sign up via CPD Manager – course ID: 78697

Connecting Parents & Carers with Literacy through Play at Maddiston Primary School

Primary 1 staff and Diane Russell (PT) at Maddiston PS created a video for their P1 parents and carers, who would usually visit the P1 classrooms to attend Literacy information workshops. The video shares and explains how literacy learning and play pedagogy are used to support primary 1 pupils as they progress their reading, writing, talking and listening.

The video shares a range of ways in which staff build literacy through play, playful teaching and engaging, active learning. These include:

  • Helicopter Stories
  • Foundations of Writing
  • Approaches designed to develop phonological awareness & other elements of reading
  • Building words
  • Developing a reading culture
  • Stories – reading in class and at home via initiatives such as the Bedtime Story Box
  • Listening activities
  • Message centre

The video is narrated by staff and children and they share how the learning environment promotes literacy skills.

  • Role play
  • Small worlds
  • Sand and water trays
  • Construction
  • Sound and audio in class

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlqPAd6BEG4&w=560&h=315]

The final section of the video gives parents and carers an overview of a key reading and comprehension resource used in school – Bug Club.

Applying Literacy Skills in a Celebration of Burns and Scottish Heritage – Some Support Materials

Scottish Flags Clipart | Free Images at Clker.com - vector clip art online, royalty free & public domain

Literacy Team colleagues from our Falkirk Service and School Improvement Team have created a learning grid of literacy-led activities which can be used by school colleagues to support their remote learning planning and teaching in January 2021. Judith Davies and Louise Amos created the grid and sourced the many useful links and engaging learning activities it offers. Click on the image above to open the grid and click here to view the activity sheets.

The Scottish Book Trust also have resources linked to Scotland/Burns click here to view the resources Tweeted @Bookbug_SBT – Learn about Rabbie’s life as a boy, colour in a wee, sleekit, cow’rin, tim’rous beastie and discover the meaning of some braw #Scots words in this activity pack from @VisitScotland

Image

East Ayrshire Council also shared a Google Robert Burns Birthplace Virtual Classroom link available here.

Family Literacy Learning Pack 2 – Our Dream Holiday

This blog post shares the second family literacy learning pack created by Falkirk Children’s Services Literacy Team during school closures caused by coronavirus. We hope it gives Falkirk families a fun way to learn together while dreaming of better times when we can go anywhere we like! 🙂

Are you ready to pretend that you’ve won a dream holiday, have a large budget to spend and can go to any 3 cities in the world?

Click here to download a print copy of the plan – this takes the form of a work book which you and your children can use at your own pace (it has 50 pages so you might want to pick and choose the ones you need, or ask your child’s school to make you a print copy). The whole family can work together at the same time, or children can work independently – you will know what is right for you.

Look at the plan with your child(ren), check they understand the order of the little task bubbles and questions at the beginning of each section, then get started. The plan suggests things to do and ways to do them, but you might have even better ideas. Enjoy doing as much or as little as your child(ren) want to each day and remember that this learning shouldn’t replace or be in addition to what your children are being asked to do by their teacher or school. Don’t do too much.

Useful Links to use with this plan –  Click on the links below when you are ready for them (they are roughly in the order you will need them as you work through the plan).

What is a holiday? Click here for a simple definition. We hope you enjoy remembering and talking about your own holidays and days out.

Click here to watch a BBC Bitesize video about the world, the continents, atlases and maps you might want to spend a bit of time refreshing your knowledge of the world by doing the activities there too.

Click here to view our brochure with information about some of the major cities of the world – you can research to find out more information or find your own cities instead if you want to. Click here to view a useful presentation created for Falkirk pupils by the digital learning team at Encyclopeadia Britannica. This brilliant resource will help you research cities of the world. You can click here to visit their schools website

Google Street Map is a great tool for taking a virtual tour or walk in your city, use this link to help you.

When your children/your family are on their pretend holiday, you might want to make/keep a creative holiday diary – click here to see a couple of examples from the internet.

Click on the country below to learn more about the culture, the traditions and the language spoken in your holiday cities – these power points have audio files which you can use to practise using words and phrases you might need.

France    Spain    Italy   Germany

Enjoy your pretend dream holiday!

https://images.app.goo.gl/DpxRTPhAEDFU9Jyr9

When you come back, please tell us all about it by leaving a comment below. We would be grateful for your feedback about how valuable you find this plan.

 

 

 

 

Falkirk Children’s Services – Family Literacy Learning Pack 1 – Jack and the Beanstalk

This blog post shares a digital family learning pack created by the literacy team working for Falkirk Children’s Services. This is our first pack produced during the closure of our schools and centres as a result of the corona virus and it uses the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. We hope it helps parents and carers across our authority to support their children’s learning and to enjoy learning together.  To use this pack with your children you should:

  1. Read over the plan – click here to view (save to a new file in your device?)
  2. Listen to the story of Jack and the Beanstalk by clicking here OR click here for another version. You might prefer to watch this modern cartoon version or click here to read the story as a text.
  3. Explain the plan to your younger children and let older children read it themselves – you can talk about whether you all want to use it to learn together or with only one child (your child’s school may have given you advice about how it fits with the other work your children have been sent)
  4. Tell your child(ren) that working on this plan will help them practise and get better at talking, listening, reading, writing, being creative and developing technology skills. You might want to talk about the little curriculum pie chart (see picture below right) which shows the school subjects this plan links together – literacy, expressive arts and technologies. 
  5. Simply start with episode one and work your way through to episode 5 – remember to only do as much as you are able to at any time and to take breaks when your child(ren) need these.
  6. You can stick really closely to the questions and activities suggested by the  plan, but it can be just as valuable to change these depending on how your children answer, and what they like/want/are able to do.
  7. At any suitable point during your Jack and the Beanstalk learning, let your child(ren) search through the extra activity ideas listed below and choose any that they want to do.
  8. When you are finished, we would love to hear how it has gone. Please leave a comment on this blog post below, and/or  Tweet tagging your child’s school  and our #LiteracyAtHome.

This way of learning is called Storyline and has been used in Scottish schools and nurseries for over 40 years. Click here to learn more about the Storyline approach.

Extra Ideas for your Jack and the Beanstalk Storyline work:

  • Activities for nursery and primary 1 children – click here.
  • BBC Radio Music resource – learn how to sing the story of Jack and the Beanstalk – click here
  • Click here to explore Jack and the Beanstalk drama ideas from the Scottish Book Trust
  • Click here to view copyright free pictures and resources

Using Picture Books to Promote Primary 1 Progress in Reading at Bowhouse PS

Earlier this session, Yvonne McBlain, curriculum support teacher, Falkirk Children’s Services, met with Charlotte McManus, Acting Depute Head teacher at Bowhouse Primary School to discuss literacy. Charlotte shared literacy teaching and learning which was going well in Bowhouse, including their focus at early level on rhyme, repetition and being playful with words through songs and actions. Charlotte kindly shared some of the picture books which Bowhouse colleagues use with primary 1 learners to support their progression of reading skills. We hope this list (see below) is useful to you – but please note other texts which are helping your learners by commenting upon this post? Together we can build an engaging plethora (love that word) of suggestions! These skills are highlighted by the extract from our Falkirk Literacy & English Progression Pathway pictured above.

Early in Term 1 – Environmental sound book suggestions

1.        Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell

2.        We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen

3.        Farmyard Hullabaloo by Giles Andreae

4.        Peace At Last by Jill Murphy

5.       Quiet by Kate Alizadeh

6.       Rabbits Nap (Julia Donaldson)

7.       Lullaby Hullaballoo

Later in Term 1 – Authors who use rhyme

1.       Julia Donaldson

2.       Nick Sharrat ( Fairytales if focus is Fairyland)

3.       Kes Gray (oi Frog!)

4.       Jez Alborough

5.       Giles Andreae

6.       Quintin Blake

7.       Lynley Dodd

Term 2 – Books with repeated phrases

1.       Jack and the Flum Flum Tree

2.       Hairy McLary

3.       The very Hungry Caterpillar

4.       The Tiger who Came to Tea

5.       The Gruffalo

6.       Owl Babies

7.       Handa’s Surprise

8.       Mrs Mopple’s Washing Line

9.       The Day Louis Got Eaten

10.   Solomen Crocodile

11.   Brown Bear Brown Bear what do you see?

12.   Farmer Duck

13.   Don’t Talk to the Bus Driver

The Scottish Book Trust website also has resources which develop  similar literacy skills using Scots language and rhymes here – these may be useful for parents reading to their children at home too. Education Scotland National Improvement Hub resources point to this Words for Life section of the National Literacy Trust website. It offers guidance for parents on literacy activities and milestones in talking and reading which may also be helpful for family learning.

Improving literacy across learning in Argyll and Bute

At the National Literacy Network meeting in June 2019, Claire Bryden, Principal Teacher for literacy from Argyll and Bute Council shared literacy developments ongoing with primary and secondary colleagues. The slide above captures the ultimate aim of the strategies being developed – to ensure that:

  1. All practitioners understand the importance of literacy to learning across the curriculum
  2. All practitioners understand the level of challenge required when designing literacy tasks
  3. Literacy is embedded within planning across the school
  4. Literacy learning is made visible to learners
  5. Pupils have an overview of their own literacy across the school
  6. Staff provide feedback on literacy
  7. All staff involved in the assessment of literacy

Click here to view Claire’s full presentation and learn how she is working with others to explore and combine a number of ideas, research sources and tools such as:

  • Supporting emerging literacy inspired by a variety of sources including David Fulton
  • Exploring ideas from research by Sue Ellis on the three domains of literacy
  • The development of pupil vocabulary using the Storyline approach
  • Developing interdisciplinary contexts which integrate STEM/science within relevant historical contexts
  • Defining how these contexts could progress the degree of challenge to pupils’ literacy skills and development across the curriculum in primary and secondary settings (see below)

  • Focus on the development of pupil skills – supporting these by creating simple, effective tools for pupils and staff to use during teaching (see below)

  • Linking all of these developments to aim for a shared, firm understanding of standards and appropriate pace and challenge for literacy across learning
  • Applying Improvement Science methodology to track and evidence impact