Write a Commonwealth Games song! Big Big Sing is a nationwide celebration of singing that will inspire thousands of people to get singing in the lead up to and during Games Time. As part of this project, Big Big Sing is running an exciting songwriting competition open to Primary and Secondary School pupils in Scotland.
Big Big Sing invites pupils to write a song inspired by the Commonwealth Games, pupils can work individually or as a class to write a song between three and five minutes in length. With the games just around the corner there’s no shortage of inspiration for budding songwriters!
Led by the University of Dundee and funded by Creative Scotland, this project gathered the views of three groups of professionals working within the expressive arts with the aim of identifying effective and innovative models of assessment of creativity. These models were documented and used to develop case studies in the format of a teaching resource for application across the whole curriculum. The resource was piloted and evaluated by the research and development team in collaboration with teachers and initial teacher education (ITE) providers.
The project develops the links between arts organisations, schools and ITE providers through data collection; shared analysis and evaluation; and through the development, application and dissemination of findings. In this way stronger partnerships have been established as recommended in Teaching Scotland’s Future (Donaldson 2010)
Better Movers and Thinkers is an innovative, exciting and challenging movement and learning programme for Physical Education, that focuses directly on enhancing the links between movement and thinking, and how these critical elements scaffold the development of physical performance and learning across the curriculum. BMT is evolution in physical education, not revolution.
Join us every month for a series of 19 exciting Glow meets running throughout the academic year 2013/14. This is the first Glow Meet in a new series around the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games highlighting opportunities for interdisciplinary across all 8 curriculum areas. This CPD session will provide practitioners with a kaleidoscope of ideas and opportunities in using the Games as a context for learning with a specific focus on expressive arts and creativity.
Due to popular demand arts organisation, Artlinkhave reprinted it’s short story publication called ‘Angel Wings’ written by acclaimed Scottish author Anne Donovan and illustrated by Tess Wood. ‘Angel Wings’ is work of fiction based on the experiences of a selected group of people with experience of mental ill health. After discussion Artlink commissioned Anne Donovan to write imaginatively about a child’s experience of having a mother or father who experiences mental ill health. Anne was asked to write it in a way that would speak to children and young adults assuring them that they were not alone and that the experience is relatively common.
Angel Wings has been used as teaching tool across the country in exploring issues of health and wellbeing. Very recently we received extensive feedback from a Mind Your Head Co-ordinator in Shetland who has been using the book with a composite P 4/5/6 class, one of the pupils said: ‘It is very important to accept others who may be different from yourself. In Angel Wings it has a very good explanation of mental health, it said that mental health is an illness, it is a bit like a T.V and it is not tuned in properly and it can go onto different channels and they can hear voices that we can’t hear, some are nice but some are scary’. More information about the project in Shetland is on the Angel Wings blogsite (under the downloads section) which can be accessed here.
Artlink are keen that the story continues to be put to positive use in supporting children and young people to explore issues of mental ill health. The book is suitable to be used within a formal educational settings for ages 8 and up – further teaching materials linked to the Curriculum for Excellence can be found on the resources page on the blogsite. Hard copies of the story can be obtained from info@artlinkedinburgh.co.uk Artlink 13a Spittal Street, Edinburgh EH3 9DY 0131 229 3555 with a small donation for postage. ISBN 978-09551882-3-7
There is still time to join nearly 600 other schools and give your learners the opportunity to have their pictures in one of the athletes’ or officials’ room one year from now.
IRISS would like to illustrate how the creative arts are currently being applied in Scotland’s social services. They know that creativity can change lives for the better and they would like you to help them understand how the creative arts are being used, and the impact this type of work can have for people supported by services and for staff.
They have created a survey for you to complete to give them an overview of your work. After they’ve received your responses, their plan is to work with some of you to showcase what it is you are doing so that they can inspire others. Part of this project will also be to document the strengths and challenges of the use of the arts in the sector, so that they can share the learning across different disciplines.
The Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) team is looking for talented young writers and artists/designers to help develop a meaningful guide for young people about GIRFEC. The competition is open to young people aged between 11 and 15.
Writing competition – entrants are invited to write a 500-word short essay, story or poem about one of the eight GIRFEC ‘indicators’ of wellbeing – the words that describe what it looks like when things are going well for a child or young person.
Design competition – we’re also looking for a design for a cover for the guide – or perhaps for a web-based version.
Three new exciting learning journeys as well as an additional three videos have been released this week on Game On Scotland, including a unique Creativity led Learning Journey.
Education Scotland have created a set of 5 Learning Experiences that cannot be categorised by subject or even considered inter-disciplinary learning across a couple of subjects. Their focus is developing creativity skills – whilst delivering Es and Os from almost every subject. It is suitable or at least adaptable across all levels.
The journey is designed to embed creativity skills such as making connections across settings and knowing how to influence change, whilst allowing connections to curriculum areas as learners personalise their own journeys.
The learning journey contains the following learning experiences:
Being a coach – beyond sports
Building an ambition – beyond sports
Living your ambition – beyond sports
Planning your ambition – beyond sports
Dreaming your ambition – beyond sports
This context for learning encourages learners to connect the ambition of Commonwealth competitors with their own ambitions and dreams, especially where they are not passionate about sports.
Taking the thinking that athletes use to plan training schedules, nutrition and diet, funding, and build support networks, learners will design their own personal “success plan” towards their dreams and aspirations in life or to coach their peers in areas they already feel confident.
Week 2 of the Look, Capture, Create project coincides with ‘Walk to School Week’ and ‘Scottish Biodiversity week’. This Glow TV broadcast gives learners the opportunity to journey on an inky adventure with the Scottish illustrator/designer Johanna Basford to learn about her art techniques, what inspires her designs and her success commercially. Visit the Glow group here: http://bit.ly/153Zoha
