Category Archives: Social Studies

Twig on Glow – volunteers needed for video editing pilot

Following the success of the Twig Summer Challenge, Twig On Glow are looking for classes who would like to try out our video editing tool. Twig Studio is a new online video editor that allows students to make films from scratch, using high quality clips as well as their own footage, voiceover and music.
A pilot of a new and improved version of the editing tool will start at the end of October and Twig are looking for Scottish schools to participate. The pilot will be suitable for students from P5 to S6.
If you think your class would be interested in taking part, or for more information, please contact Alex,amorgan@twig-world.com

Young Scot – Money for Life Challenge funding opportunity

Applications opening soon for the Money for Life Challenge

Do you work with young people who have ideas about how to improve money management skills in their communities? Are you looking for funding to support young single parents, young people with disabilities, young carers, and other vulnerable groups? Young Scot are offering £500 grants as part of the Money for Life Challenge.

What’s on offer?

There are 50 grants of £500 available in Scotland through the Money for Life Challenge. This includes:

·         £300 for your organisation to cover staff costs

·         £200 for the team to help run their project

The Challenge is open to teams of young people aged 16-24 in work-based learning, adult community learning, training organisations, and further education, and is designed to help young people tackle money management issues, for example around poverty or welfare reform, in relevant ways.

How does it work?

·         In collaboration with a project sponsor, teams of young people design their own project around issues that affect them. Last year’s teams addressed a wide range of topics, from camping on a budget to raising awareness of the hazards of payday lenders.

·         As a project sponsor, your role is to help your team of young people identify a money management need in their community and help them develop their project plan.

·         Each organisation can submit up to five projects to maximise impact and funding.

·         Young Scot can provide a number of resources to support your project, including examples of successful projects, guidance on how to run your project, and dedicated application support.

Why get involved?

The Money for Life Challenge can fit into existing equalities and inclusion programmes, helping empower young people to develop the practical skills they need to navigate the changing financial landscape. Challenge participants often find that their projects have given them the boost they needed to be able to get a job or progress onto education or training. Feedback from the last two years shows that young people felt they had gained:

·         confidence in their own abilities

·         leadership, communication, and teamwork skills

·         business and project management skills

·         money management skills

What next?

The application deadline is 22 November. Register your interest by contacting Allyson Doby (allysond@youngscot.org) or phoning 0131 313 2488. For more information, visit https://www.moneyforlifechallenge.org.uk/.

Now in its third year, the Money for Life Challenge was created by Lloyds Bank. Young Scot and College Development Network are working in partnership to deliver the Challenge in Scotland.

Great Scots learning resource

This new addition to the Studying Scotland website was launched at SLF 2013.  Practitioners will find it useful if they are preparing teaching materials for the 2014 Year of Homecoming.

Learning journeys for the broad general education covering all eight curriculum areas will become available in the near future. This first release has learning journeys on historical figures David Livingstone, Robert the Bruce, John Muir and Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Contemporary inspirational Scots include Paul Lawrie, Evelyn Glennie, Theresa Breslin and Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow.

Click here for the resource.

Listening Project at the Edinburgh Festival

BBC Learning is coming to the Edinburgh Festival 2013, with The Listening Project, an ambitious new partnership between BBC Radio 4, BBC local and national radio stations and the British Library. The Project aims to capture the nation in conversation and is asking people to share an intimate conversation with a close friend or relative, to help to build a unique picture of our lives today. Some of these conversations will be broadcast across BBC radio and archived by the British Library, preserving them for future generations.

On Monday 19th August, groups of all ages will be invited to attend a Q & A with Tony Phillips who is Editor of the Listening Project and Fi Glover who is the presenter of the Radio 4 show. On Friday 23rd August, groups from the Monday session will be invited back to have a chance to record their stories with staff from BBC Radio 4/Radio Scotland. The Q & A will take place at the BBC Festival Pink tent and the recording will be done in a Radio Studio not far from the Festival site. There will be provision for thirty two people to have a chance to record their story on 23rd August.

Spaces on these workshops and shows are in high demand, so if you would like to register interest contact Aleister Mayer on aleister.mayer@bbc.co.uk or www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00vyngt.

Learning Experiences Catalogue now launched

Education Scotland has announced the launch of the Learning Experiences Catalogue which aims to develop a sustainable programme of relevant, engaging and challenging learning experiences for children and young people aged 3–15 within a broad general education.

Learning experiences have been designed to support children and young people to learn to create, collect, code, animate, bake, garden, build, tell stories all set within contexts and many of them are interdisciplinary.

The catalogue provides learners with a brief description of each learning experience which they can read or can be read to them by clicking the audio file beside the LearnCat icon. Graphics have been designed to support learners in understanding where the learning will take place, which curriculum areas they will learn within and who they will learn with. Educators are provided with more information about each learning experience and planning guidance.

Each academic term a new collection of learning experiences will be launched. The autumn collection of learning experiences will be live from September 2013.

Explore the Learning Experiences Catalogue today.

Teddies, trains and tops

A new exhibition has opened at the Wee Museum of Newhaven at Victoria Primary School.

The exciting new exhibition was curated by the P3 / P4s and explores the toys and games used by children since 1844 when Victoria Primary School first opened.

You can also view the permanent displays on the fishing heritage of Newhaven and history of Victoria Primary School.  The exhibition is open to the public by pre-arranged visit.

Please contact the school for opening times: 0131 476 7306.

Click here for more information.

Simple Acts 2013 – Find an Object that Tells a Story of your Heritage

12/06/2013 11:00

This event is suitable for P6 upwards. During the event the students will explore the meaning of heritage and will be shown objects that reflect as aspect of our heritage chosen by refugees. The Scottish Refugee Council representative will tell the students about the objects and the story behind them.

Pupils will be asked to share what they like about the objects and how it makes them feel.

To sign up for this event click here.

Join the ‘Commonwealth Class’

The BBC, the British Council and the Commonwealth Secretariat have joined forces to bring you Commonwealth Class, an exciting new opportunity for schools.

Commonwealth Class is a special initiative that provides teaching resources, online debates and interactive activities for schools to mark the run-up to the 2014 Commonwealth Games. It celebrates the values of the Commonwealth and connects schools and young people as they learn about how to be active, responsible global citizens as part of the Commonwealth family.

The Commonwealth Class education pack is an exciting resource designed to teach young people about Commonwealth values such as rights and responsibilities, protection of the environment, respect for others and what people need to lead healthy lives free from poverty.
Produced by the British Council, the resource pack contains cross-curricular activities, short films and discussion guides with learning outcomes that link to key skills, curriculum subjects and Commonwealth values. Activities include what qualities you need to be a successful Commonwealth athlete, and an exploration of the route of the Queen’s Baton Relay which will visit all 71 countries and territories taking part in the 2014 games.

Get set for 2014 and download the British Council Commonwealth Class education pack today.

BBC online debates
Commonwealth Class partner, the BBC, is hosting a series of monthly online debates commencing this summer. The debates are intended to create a platform for schools in the UK and Commonwealth countries to teach and learn together.
The first debate in the series will take place on Thursday 13 June.
Visit Schools Online and sign up to Commonwealth Class for more resources and interactive activities that support lesson planning and teaching across the curriculum
And a week before the first debate you can visit the BBC’s Commonwealth Class website to find out how you can take part!

Authors Live – Tony Robinson, 6 June 11.00 am

Authors Live is stepping back in time with renowned popular historian, actor and author, Tony Robinson, to discover the strange secrets hidden in our Weird World of Wonders. Join us as we march through time with the Romans, Greeks and Egyptians and find out what made us Britons British. It’s history, but not as you know it!

To find out more and sign up for this event click here.
After watching the live webstream in the morning why not join us for an interactive question and answer session with Tony Robinson at 1.30 pm http://bit.ly/13kLxyI

Historic Scotland – Activities for schools

Entertaining the Earl!

Aberdour Castle

Tuesdays by arrangement

FREE activity for schools (P4-7)

Discover what life was like at Aberdour Castle in the 16th century. Who lived in the castle and what did they wear?  How did they spend their time?  Tour the castle, try on some outfits from the period and learn a dance to take back to school!

Phone 01383 860 519 to book a session

A Sense of Dunfermline Abbey

Dunfermline Abbey

Dates in June by arrangement

FREE activity for nursery/schools (P1-3 )

Explore the five senses through the story of David, a young monk at the abbey.  Discover sound in the nave, taste in the abbey kitchen, smell from the herb garden, light through the windows and textures in the dormitory by taking part in hands-on activities

Phone 0131 652 8155/56 to book a session