Category Archives: Literacy and English

Burns Bash

Join us for our celebration of the birth of Burns and the life and work of our famous bard on Friday 25th January at 9.30am. This year we want you to be able to share what you have been doing in your schools and classrooms so join us for our Burns Bash!!

If you would like to share your Scottish poems, dances or art work then make sure that you are with us that day to let other schools see what you have been doing – remember we always need an audience too so if you don’t want to perform then please just join us anyway!!

Taking part in the Glow Meet is easy – just email Jen McDougall and let her know what you would like to do and she will organise a short test with your webcam/microphoe to ensure that you are ready to go on the day.

If you have any Burns/Scottish art work that you would like to share then please send that to Jen as well and that will be showcased on the day too on our Scottish Showcase Sharepod!

During the event we will be joined by Newburgh Primary who wowed us with their ukulele playing in our recent Scotland’s Got Talent Glow TV event and a piper who will be piping us in to our show and bringing it to a close.

So get your shortbread and Irn-Bru (or other Scottish themed foods!) and join us for a fun and interactive session.

Sign up and join us in Glow TV!

Daily What – Birdwatch Special

The first news round-up of 2013 will be on Friday 18th January at 11am with the usual fun mix of news, quizzes and missing words. Our guest will be Craig Leith, the Lifelong Learning Officer for SSPB, talking about the Big Schools Birdwatch (in association with BBC Birdwatch).

Craig is happy to take any wild bird-related questions, so get tweeting and send in those questions!
Sign up and join us in Glow TV.

Take Part in the Paper Creativity Challenge!


Over the next 4 weeks we are asking you to take part in our great new Paper Creativity Challenge which will involve exploring the properties of digital and physical paper through a variety of different and exciting activities!

We start this challenge on Monday 14th January at 11am with a visit to Dundee Contemporary Arts where we will begin our investigations with a Paper Making Workshop. During this Glow TV event you will learn how to make delicate and wonderful hand made papers from pulps.

Learn simple techniques suitable for using at home such as how to create a smooth surface texture for printing on, soaking and blendng recycled paper, and then also painting with coloured pulp. You can add decorative materials to make designs and also create your own watermark. Join us to learn more about this and then try it out in your own classrooms or homes. Sign up in Glow TV – Paper Making Workshop.

We continue our challenge on Tuesday 15th January with a visit to Bruntsfield Primary School in Edinburgh with Catherine Rayner as she reads her book ‘Ernest’. Meet Ernest who is a rather large moose with a rather large problem. He is so big he can’t fit inside his book! What is a moose to do? Luckily Ernest is also a very determined moose, and he and his little chipmunk friend aren’t going to give up easily. Will they find a way for Ernest to fit in?

During this exciting session you will have the opportunity to read and explore the story of Ernest with early years pupils (approx 20 mins) and then Catherine will work with older children and demonstrate to them how to illustrate texts, in particular Ernest. Ideally learners should have paper and paint so that they can also try the techniques. Sign up and join us in Glow TV – Ernest.

And there is more of this challenge to come! Keep watching this blog and the Glow TV schedule……..

Christmas Talent Show

Yes it is that time of year again where we showcase some of the great talent from aroud Scotland and we want to hear from you!!

Whether you want to sing/dance/recite poetry or tell us jokes we would love to hear from you. You can perform individually, in a group or as a whole class – it’s up to you how you do it!

You can let us know if you want to perform on the day and we can sort out all the technical side so we can see and hear you if necessary on the day too!

We’ll also need a great audience so even if you don’t want to perform you can sign up and join us on the day for some festive fun!

Sign up and join us in Glow TV on Thursday 20th Decmeber at 1.45pm – we look forward to seeing you then!

Professional Focus Papers now available

Education Scotland has launched the first in a set of Professional Focus Papers.

These materials have been designed to assist teachers and others with the delivery of programmes of learning within the new National 4 and National 5 courses.

The papers highlight important features of learning which are enhanced or different from previous arrangements.  They provide advice on approaches to learning and teaching which build directly on those used in the 3-15 Broad General Education in order to promote continuity in learners’ acquisition of knowledge, understanding and skills.  The papers are also intended to stimulate professional reflection and dialogue about learning.

This first tranche features 10 subjects: Biology, Chemistry, English, Environmental Science, Geography, History, Modern Studies, People & Society, Physics, and Science, each with papers published at both National 4 and National 5 level, except People & Society and Science which are only available at National 4.

They come as part of the development of exemplar course materials across the full range of National 4 and National 5 qualifications, being managed by Education Scotland in partnership with ADES.

The Professional Focus Papers are now available for download on the National Qualifications area of the Education Scotland website.

What is Remembrance? – Wounded

This year Poppyscotland have teamed up with Glow TV to bring you a series of events about remembrance. This is the final event in this series.

From 20th – 23rd November 2012, Surgeons’ Hall Museum at The Royal College of Surgeons will host a unique theatrical and educational event. ‘Wounded’ is a new play, which has been written by members of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre for students from S3 upwards.

Wounded is a free educational event which has two aims: to bring to life elements of the Curriculum for Excellence, particularly in History, English, Drama and Citizenship; and to support outreach initiatives for students, enabling interaction with museum collections.

This is your chance to watch ‘Wounded’ from the comfort of your own classroom!

Sign up and join us in Glow TV on Thursday 22nd November at 10am or Watch Again if you are unable to join us live.

National Literacy Network

Join us live in Glow TV from Stirling Management Centre on Thursday 8th November for three National Literacy Network events.

This excting opportunity to join the NLN group begins at 9.30am with the Keynote speech from metaphrog who will be kick starting events with ‘Comics in the Classroom’. metaphrog discuss their experiences working with different age groups using graphic novels to explore literary ideas and to encourage reluctant readers. They will share insights into visual storytelling, talk about their Louis books and demonstrate their working methods. Sign up and join us in Glow Tv for this session.

This is followed at 10.20am by an opportunity to join a Workshop Presented by Moyra Hood, ESO Literacy, Angus Council and Yvonne Manning, Principal Librarian, Falkirk Council. In the context of creative approaches to literacy and research which shows that a love of reading is more important in academic achievement than a child’s social or academic background, two local authorities describe how book awards, both local and national, can contribute to raising enthusiasm and enjoyment for reading for pleasure among young people. Practical advice and ideas will be shared and the workshop will be illustrated with images showing the impact of the book awards and the book award ceremonies. Sign up and join this session in Glow TV.

Finally we conclude our Glow TV coverage at 12pm with a series of 5 minute sessions on literacy which includes Latin through ‘The Romans’, Literacy Across Learning Planning, Bookface Project, Using social networking style layout for exploring fictional characters, historical figures M Literacy-using mobile phone apps, Blogging, Writing Across Secondary Social Subjects, i Books/e books and much much more! Sign up and join us in Glow TV.

And remember if you miss any of these events you can watch them all again in Glow TV’s Watch Again facility.

Did you miss Slowly Wins the Day?

Are you working with an Early Years class and did you miss author Helen Hendry reading her new book ‘Slowly Wins the Day’? Well don’t worry you can still see it in Glow TV’s Watch Again section.

Slowly Wins the Day is a modern day version of the Tortoise and the Hare filled with passion and determination that also promotes exercise. This especially timely story tells of a little girl who loves to participate in sports but always comes last.

Even though she is saddled with the name “Slowly”, she still enjoys the thrill of competing and has never learnt to quit. A new fitness teacher joins the school and gives the children inspiration; encouraging them by telling them the story of Robert The Bruce. The teacher discovers Slowly has a special talent and a sport which she can excel.

The story shows that if you try hard enough you can succeed and that everyone has a talent and delivers a clear message about exercise and sport, that it should not be seen as a punishment but enjoyed by everyone.

It is a picture book and is approx. 1000 words, suitable for ages five to eight.

There is also a wealth of other recorded events that you might be interested in in Watch Again.

Raising Attainment in Literacy: Latin and the Romans

Join us in Glow TV on Wednesday 3rd October at 4pm where we will be joined by Kate Coutts, Headteacher at Nesting Primary School, Shetland. Kate will be discussing how she has introduced Latin in the upper primary as part of an interdisciplinary Romans topic.

Drawing on extensive research, Kate will show how this approach can help engage boys in particular while raising attainment in literacy across learning. The target audience for this event is primary teachers.

Sign up and join us in Glow TV and also access relevant resources provided by Kate. If you are unable to join us live on the day please have a look at Glow TV’s Watch Again section where you can view the recorded version.

The Daily What Newsround

Tune in to the Daily What Newsround on Glow TV at 11am on Friday 28 September for a round up of some of the latest news stories, missing headlines game, and interactive quiz. We will also have exciting news about our big competition for this term. See you then!

Melissa and Louise, Daily What News team

Sign up and join in on Glow TV!

Wise Up Wednesday – National Poetry Day

This year National Poetry day is on Thursday 4 October 2012. During National Poetry Day, people all over the UK take part in a celebration of great poetry. 

Poetry helps us to remember stories, from Jack and Jill all the way to the Odyssey. Children love rhymes and rhythms, but poetry also helps to improve literacy skills.

You can download poetry posters and practitioners’ notes from the Scottish Poetry Library website. This year’s theme is Stars and the resources include “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” in both English and Scots.

To keep up to date with what’s happening at the Scottish Poetry Library and find out about their resources, training and freebies, you can sign up to their monthly e-newsletter here. As well as support for practitioners, their website also has a useful section for families.

Further resources to support National Poetry day are also available in the resources section of the Education Scotland website.

Please come back and tell us in the comments what you have planned to celebrate National Poetry day in your establishment!

Daily What Newsround Olympic Celebration Special

Join the Daily What News team live on Glow TV at 11am on Friday 14 September, the day when Scotland’s Olympic and Paralympic heroes will parade through Glasgow.

The team will be joined by a very special Olympic guest – tune in to find out who and to send in your questions!
We will also have our usual news roundup, quizzes and fun.
Sign up and join us in Glow TV!

If you are unable to attend this event when it is being transmitted live then you will be able to watch a recording of it in Glow TVs Watch Again facility.

Edinburgh International Book Festival – Watch Again!

Did you miss the Glow TV coverage live from the Edinburgh International Book Festival? Well don’t worry you haven’t missed out as all the events were recorded and are available in our Watch Again section in Glow TV.

During the festival Glow TV was filming at the following:

Twists, Turns and Thrillers with Ally Kennen an event suitable for S1-3. Find out more and Watch Again.

Steve Barlow & Steve Skidmore present Action Dogs! an event suitable for P4 – 7. Find out more and Watch Again.

International Rescue with Sally Grindley an event suitable for P4 – 7. Find out more and Watch Again.

Rhyme, Rhythm and Rap with Brian Moses an event suitable for P3-P6. Find out more and Watch Again.

Ghosts and Ghouls with Andrew Hammond an event suitable for P7- S3. Find out more and Watch Again.

Drawing Inspiration with Tony Ross an vent suitable for P1- P4. Find out more and Watch Again.

Each event was accompanied with for Curriculum for Excellence teaching ideas on the Edinburgh International Book Festival website Education section.

Don’t miss out make sure you check out Glow TV’s Watch Again section for this and many more exciting events.

Daily What Newsround – It’s Back!

The Daily What News eds return after the summer break with an action-packed round-up of the site’s latest stories.

With fun games such as the latest stories in numbers and discussion topics that would engage even the most reluctant participant, Louise and Melissa return on Friday 31st August at 11am LIVE from Glow TV’s Glasgow studio.

We think these news girls are just fab and their approach to the show is likely to be light-hearted and fun, whilst introducing some inspiring opportunities for classroom discussion and ideas about how to use the news site’s stories in school.

Sign up and join us in Glow TV!

Glow At The Edinburgh Book Festival

The highly acclaimed Edinburgh International Book Festival begins in Charlotte Square on Saturday 11th August and runs until the 27th August and Glow will be there for one week bringing to you a selection of some of the best of the children’s events!

Join us from Monday 20th August at 10.30am where we start our week with Twists, Turns and Thrillers with Ally Kennen as she introduces her teen novels including her latest, Bullet Boys, a gripping, thought-provoking story filled with twists, turns,guns and danger. She shares how she goes about researching her novels and describes what inspired her to start writing. Bring plenty of questions! (Suitable for S1-S3)

On Tuesday 21st August join us again at 10am as Steve Barlow & Steve Skidmore present Action Dogs! In addition to being prolific writers of books for children, Steve Barlow and Steve Skidmore have entertained audiences worldwide with their crazy double act for over two decades. Their events are always fun so make sure you get involved if you are P4 -7.

Wednesday 22nd August sees a double session coming live from the EIBF the first at 10.30am being suitable for P4 -7. Join International Rescue with Sally Grindley for a lively, interactive event all about International Rescue, her brand new series of adventure books written in collaboration with the Zoological Society of London. Meet the Brook family and hear about their exciting travels globe as they strive to save endangered animals.

The second event on the 22nd begins at 1pm and is aimed at S4 -S6 – Keith Gray on Lord of the Flies. Keith discusses William Golding’s remarkable and provocative novel, Lord of the Flies. Find out how he first discovered the story, how it influenced his own writing and how he believes it has left a lasting impression on a generation of authors writing.

On Thursday 23rd August join us at 10.30am for Rhyme, Rhythm and Rap with Brian Moses. Suitable for P3 -6 to have fun in an exhilarating exploration of the different forms of rhythm and rhyme.There will be musical instruments and some movement too, so come in good voice and bring your dancing shoes!

The week draws to a spooky close on Friday 24th August with Ghosts and Ghouls with Andrew Hammond. A roller-coaster ride through the grim and gruesome history of the world’s most famous cities with the author of the hugely popular new horror series CRYPT. Ghosts and ghouls guaranteed!

As a special finale to our week at the Book Festival we will be returning on Monday 27th August, this time at 10am with Drawing Inspiration with Tony Ross. Drawing inspiration from the Little Princess series and from the weird and wonderful stories that whizz around his head all day, Tony Ross gives you a masterclass in creativity. This is a unique opportunity for you to be inspired by, and ask questions of, one of the most popular and successful illustrators around.

All events are accompanied with Curriculum for Excellence teaching ideas on the Edinburgh International Book Festival website.

All these events will also be recorded so you can catch up later in Glow TV’s Watch Again. Find out more about the events, sign up and join us in Glow TV!

Edinburgh International Book Festival and Glow TV

This year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival RBS School Programme is bigger than ever before. It runs from 20th – 28th August in Charlotte Square Edinburgh and many events are live in Glow TV! It’s also truly international with writers from Australia, Canada, the USA, France and Poland as well as from all parts of the UK.

Our guests selector is Vivian French who has designed a series of events with the theme of story creation for those who are reluctant readers. Viv struggled at school with the mechanics of reading and writing and so understands the challenges some young people face. She also understands the challenges this can pose for teachers and her event is designed to engage the children whilst giving simple, yet effective, ideas for the classroom. Friday 24th August

2012 Programme Debuts
Although we know that there are some authors who are hugely popular every year, we also aim to introduce you to new and emerging writers. This year, we have a number of School Programme debuts:

Primary
• Alex T Smith: both an illustrator and writer, Alex’s event will involve storytelling and drawing – perfect for P1-P3. Monday 20th.
• Gill Lewis: Described as the next Michael Morpurgo, Gill’s novels beautifully describe nature, wildlife and the Scottish coast. Monday 20th.
• Nicola Davies: Former presenter of the Really Wild Show, Nicola will talk all things natural history. Tuesday 21st
• Gill Arbuthnott: Biology teacher and novelist, Gill will be talking about her first picture book all about a trip to tthe zoo. Friday 24th.
• Atinuke: African storyteller and author, Atinuke conjurs the sights, sounds and smells of African village life. Friday 24th.
• Barroux: French illustrator and writer, Barroux will be taking a trip to the streets of Paris. Ideal for planning fun French week activities. Monday 27th.

Secondary
• Sue Reid Sexton: Sue will talk about her novel set during the time of the Clydebank Blitz. Monday 20th.
• Margo Lanagan: Flying in from Australia, Margo will be discussing her dark, disturbing yet compelling novels. Tuesday 21st.
• Shaun Tan: Perfect for senior art students, Shaun will discuss his wordless novel and his Oscar winning film. Wednesday 22nd.
• Alexander Gordon Smith & Susanne Winnacker: Delve into the world of zombies with two leading horror writers. Thursday 23rd.
• Andrew Hammond & Paul Dowswell: Two writers who explore the impact of the war on ordinary people. Friday 24th.
• Amy Plum & KJ Wignall: History is so much fun when told by vampires and immortals who have actually ‘lived’ through it. Forget Bella & Edward, come and meet the undead with real bite. Monday 27th.

So check out the full programme on the Edinburgh International Book Festival website and also check out the Glow TV schedule and sign up for events that you want to join in virtually!!

New advice and guidance published for English National 2

The National 2 English and Communication course builds on the experiences and outcomes of the literacy and English curriculum area and enables learners to develop the ability to understand and use language. 

This advice and guidance will support practitioners as they plan their approaches.

See list of latest advice and guidance.

Resources and ideas now available!

If you visit our Early Years Saturday Conference Community you will see links, resources and information from delegates.

If you are developing new ideas using this inspiring information why not make a pledge and let the community know all about it? Other You may be able to join other members of the community in developing your idea.

Learning about Scotland in the Early Years

Saturday was a very inspirational day for the Early Years team at Education Scotland. Our Saturday Conference, Learning about Scotland in the Early Years was a great success. There was singing, poetry writing and even a competition!

 

If you would like to follow up on any interesting discussions from the day or revisit and reflect on the presentations then visit our Early Years CPD community. The presentations are within the Early Years Saturday Conference mini CPD site.

If you have not joined our community yet, then please do. We had a queue of enthusiastic delegates who couldn’t wait to join on Saturday and you can meet them (virtually!) when you do.

Well done to Sharon from South Lanarkshire who won the well deserved prize of two Scots books to share with her establishment.

Thank you

The Early Years Team

Creative Connections fife 2012 – An Early Years Gathering

Fife Council’s Cultural Partnerships Team, in partnership with Fife’s Childcare & Early Years Services and The Byre Theatre are delighted to announce their early years event ‘Creative Connections fife 2012’ on Wednesday 23 May 2012 at The Byre Theatre, St Andrews.

Bookings are still open, so if you are an early years practitioner or have a professional interest in this field, then this day will be of interest to you. Book today!

To book contact cultural.partnerships@fife.gov.uk or telephone 01592 583255.

Find out more about Creative Connections 2012 – An Early Years Gathering. Also visit our Glow Group

If you are unable to attend in person please join us via Glow. All sessions will be live on Glow TV – sign up and register for all the events in Glow TV!

The Daily What News – iPads for all?

The Daily What News is an online news service provided by Education Scotland for Scottish schools. Its main purpose is to help the development of literacy and language (English and Gaelic) in young people aged nine to 16 as well as support their needs for news and information. At the same time, its functions facilitate interdisciplinary learning and critical thinking skills. The service empowers teachers and learners to develop trusted learning resources and classroom activities using community-created content and group interactivity.

Hi-tech future for Scottish classrooms

 The government wants young people to be able to use more mobile devices and handheld computers in schools.

Hundreds of pupils at almost 20 schools in Scotland are already using cutting-edge technology in their classrooms. P7 children at Sciennes Primary School in Edinburgh, for example, each have an Apple iPad, while students at Morgan Academy in Dundee use Android technology.

To read the rest of this news article click here.

For suggestions on how to use this article with your learners click here.

Your learners can take part in the debate Do you think schools should use more moibile technology? in the Glow Forum. (Glow log in required)

Wise up Wednesday – Learning about Scotland in the Early Years

Last chance to sign up for our next Saturday Conference!

Early Years Saturday Conference

Learning about Scotland in the Early Years

Saturday 19 May, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

The study of Scotland is right at the heart of Curriculum for Excellence. This conference will provide an opportunity to develop practitioners’ understanding of a renewed emphasis on learning about Scotland and how we can enrich the learning experience for our youngest children.

Keynote speakers

  • Liz Niven – Liz is an award-winning poet who writes in English and Scots.
  • Juliet Robertson – Juliet is one of Scotland’s leading education consultants, specialising in learning and play outdoors.
  • Dr Donald Smith – Donald is the Director of the Scottish Storytelling Centre, as well as a novelist, poet, playwright and storyteller.

Vist here to find out more.

If you are already attending why not join our Early Years Saturday Conference community and meet other attendees before the event?

Visit  www.bit.ly/earlysat and make a pledge today!

The Early Years Team

A documentary about Scotland – made by you

The new project Northern Lights sets out to be Scotland’s first ever mass participation documentary, an innovative way to build a movie about contemporary Scotland. Basically it will be composed, and edited into a final feature-length film, from videos made by people all over the country and contributed to a common pool of rich material.

Global Citizenship often starts local, and this seems a great way for secondary schools and students over the age of 14 to reflect on their own community and how it is represented to the world. And the skills involved in such a piece of work: research, team work, communication, media, ICT, and lots of creativity.

It’s all explained here www.wearenorthernlights.com with extra description of how to participate, ‘how to’ guides, etc, http://wearenorthernlights.com/get-involved/preparing/

The project is open for submissions until 21st June. There are already a lot of submitted videos, and web audiences get to vote on their favourites. Why not get your secondary school involved, and showcase the creative skills of your pupils?

For further information, please contact workshops@wearenorthernlights.com

Wise up Wednesday – This Sucks!

Hello everyone!

Thank you for logging in for your Weekly Wednesday Wise Up! This week we are really excited to highlight the fantastic work created by Glasgow Film Theatre, Starcatchers, Platform and Toad’s Caravan. One of our team attended the premier at the Galsgow Film Theatre last week and had a great time! Lovely to see the stars of the show in their glamorous clothes on the red carpet!

This film presents a fantastic example of partnership working in the early years. What a great way to use the expertise of others to enhance children’s experiences.

As you watch you may get ideas for new experiences in your establishment. Your children will really enjoy this film, why not show it to them at story time?

Thank you and Enjoy the film!

The Early Years Team 🙂

THIS SUCKS: THE MOVIE!

Glasgow Film Theatre, Starcatchers, Platform and Toad’s Caravan have joined forces to produce This Sucks: The Movie, starring a talented cast of hundreds of nursery children from across Glasgow.

This Sucks: The Movie is a short film made by and starring children four-years-old and under from nurseries around the East-End of Glasgow. The film tells the story of Hetty the Hoover and the love of her life — Mike Dust.

The concept grew from a previous, highly successful Starcatchers project, This Workshop Sucks, which premiered at the Glasgow Youth Film Festival, a fun interactive workshop, telling the same story to pre-school children combining theatre, art and moving image.

Over two weeks in February 2012, hundreds of children from Glasgow nurseries participated in making the film with directors Matt Addicott and Katy Wilson from Starcatchers and the support of Toad’s Caravan.

This Sucks: The Movie! was made possible by Glasgow City Council’s Area Committee Grants.

CREDITS

CAST

Hetty the Hoover
Mike Dust
The Man and his family
The Doctor and Nurses
The Dancers

STARRING CHILDREN FROM:

Barlanark Family Learning Centre
Helenslea Nursery School
Hullabaloo Children Centre
Sandaig Nursery School
Westercraigs Nursery

STORY

Matt Addicott
Katy Wilson

NARRATION

Matt Addicott

FILM PRODUCED BY

Toad’s Caravan

DIRECTED AND PRODUCED BY

Joanna Susskind
Marissa Keating

ANIMATION

Joanna Susskind
Bruce Cameron

FILMING

Brian Sweeney

MUSIC

Stuart Brown

PROJECT MANAGER

Paul Macgregor

Thanks to Numatic, James Dean and Rhona Matheson

© Glasgow Film Theatre / Starcatchers / Platform / Toad’s Caravan

For more info on Glasgow Film, visit http://www.glasgowfilm.org

For more info on Starcatchers, visit http://www.starcatchers.org.uk/

For more on Platform, visit http://www.platform-online.co.uk/

For more on Toad’s Caravan, visit http://www.toadscaravan.com/

Literacy across Learning (Un)conference

 

The Literacy across Learning (Un)conference will be held at Stirling Management Centre on 25th May. This free event will build a community of educators who want to develop 21st century learning and literacy skills. Come prepared to share experiences, practice and resources and to contribute to the learning. More information and sign up details below.

Literacy Event Flyer

Wise up Wednesday – new online resource

Studying Scotland is a resource that will help build confidence in the learning and teaching of Scotland within the curriculum, making it a rewarding and valuable experience for both learner and practitioner.

The resource includes new and exciting learning and teaching ideas as well as resources for learning. There are ideas on how to teach about Scotland within the Early Level.

There is also a Glow page on the Early Years National site which has gathered together all early years relevant resources on this subject.

Visit today and be inspired!

School Open Day – Bo’ness Academy, Falkirk Council

School open day – using international education to develop a whole school approach to global citizenship

Venue: Bo’ness Academy, Falkirk

9:30am – 3.00pm

Thursday 17th May 2012

Note: this event was due to place at an earlier date in the year but has now been rescheduled for the date above.

Theme:  International Education

This CPD event offers practitioners and school leaders an exciting opportunity to visit Bo’ness Academy and attend Falkirk Council’s Global Citizenship Showcase Event.

Bo’ness Academy is an inspiring example of a school that has used international education as a vehicle to engage the whole school in global citizenship activities. Through the Comenius Programme and other well established links the school has developed a rich international programme connecting it to countries across the world including: The Gambia, The Netherlands, China, France, Germany and The Czech Republic.

A focus of the event will be to identify and share the practical lessons and ideas that have helped the school move forward on its journey including: 

  • Making global citizenship a key priority in the school and a focus for the implementation of Curriculum for Excellence
  • Using international links to explore important issues in a global context and to create engaging, meaningful and challenging learning experiences
  • Developing strong international partnerships which can be sustained and which have made an impact on every learner.

Participants will have the opportunity to meet and talk with the Head Teacher, International Coordinator, staff and learners and also tour the classrooms and school. Time will also be set aside for participants to reflect and share their own experiences.

Download Programme for Bo’ness Academy Open Day 17May12

How to book

To book, please contact Megan Farr, Policy Officer, Falkirk Council. Email: megan.farr@falkirk.gov.uk or Tel. 01324 506671.

Places for the open day section of the event are limited so please book early to avoid disappointment. This is a free event!

Literacy in Action

Literacy in Action: Supporting Colleges to Influence Early Years Practice

 The Literacy in Action: Supporting Colleges to Influence Early Years Practice Conference took place at Stirling Management Centre on Saturday 25 February 2012. This event was organised by Education Scotland to give Further Education lecturers an opportunity to hear about the Scottish Government’s Literacy Action Plan.

 View video of the keynote speakers here.

Enjoy!

Guitar Hero

The ICT development team from Aberdeenshire Council was one of the first to engage with the Consolarium and as a result of this a number of games-based learning projects were identified. The idea of using the context of Guitar Hero as the main driving focus in a collaborative story that would enable cross-curricular work was one of the ideas that we wanted to explore.

A Sony PS2, the game and the guitars were placed with a willing teacher in a P7 class after the Easter break. This was the last term for the class so the teacher decided to use this as the main driver for the remainder of the term. Having teenage sons who played the game the teacher quickly became familiar with how it worked and devised a series of tasks that she believed would enable ‘connected learning’ to take place.

We then left the class teacher and the class with the resource and returned in the last week of term to discover a rich seam of creativity, learning and engagement from a class who had lost themselves in the world of rock and roll …

Click here to read the case study.

Wise up Wednesday – see our exciting new early years resources!

Every Day’s a Learning Day 

Two new books have been published by Education Scotland to help parents and carers of young children to make the most of the learning experiences that exist in everyday life.

 Every Day’s a Learning Day (Birth to 3 years)’ and ‘Every Day’s a Learning Day (3 to 6 years)’ aim to help parents support their child’s development in the crucial areas of health and wellbeing, literacy and numeracy.

 Both books are available in English and Gaelic language versions.

 www.educationscotland.gov.uk/everydaylearning  

There will be a copy of each of the books with the next issue of Education Scotland’s Early Years Matters.

The books will be distributed in the Scottish Booktrust’s Bookbug bags. The Birth to 3 book will go to parents when they visit their health visitor for their child’s first vaccination from March onwards. The 3-6 book will be in Bookbug bags for children when they turn 3 and join nursery.

Learning connections with game based learning

Nintendogs game for the Nintendo DS, has been used to create a rich, dynamic and inclusive educational context for learners as part of a game-based learning initiative run by Learning and Teaching Scotland and Aberdeenshire Council.

The initiative looks at how the challenging, demanding and appealing world of Nintendogs can help support effective teaching and learning in Curriculum for Excellence.

The initiative provided content for learning in a P2 class. The teachers involved in the initial project and subsequent teachers that have used Nintendogs, made the game the central focus for projects that created connections across learning.

Caring for and nurturing your virtual pet was central to this game. Teachers created purposeful and relevant activities that involved learning in Art & Design. The videos showcase in more detail accounts of what the teachers and the children did and how the game impacted on their learning.

To read this case study click here.

CfE & Glow News – February Issue

The CfE and Glow News update provides you with information about Curriculum for Excellence and support for practitioners, along with all the latest developments within Glow. Read it here.

To sign up for this newsletter, please click here.

World Book Day – 1st March

Talk with the author of ‘Horrid Henry’ through Glow TV and find other online resources to help celebrate World Book Day.

World Book Day is held on March 1 and was designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, and is marked in over 100 countries around the globe.

Speak with Francesca Simon, the author of the phenomenally successful Horrid Henry books, on Glow TV at 11am or at 1.15pm on Thursday March 1. The event is suitable for P1-P7 learners (age 5-12) and fans of the Horrid Henry series.

The event has been organised by the Scottish Book Trust. You can watch videos of previous author events – including Michael Rosen, Julia Donaldson, Charlie Higson, Michael Morpurgo and many more – in the Scottish Book Trust Glow Group (Requires Glow login).

Find more resources for World Book Day on the Education Scotland website.

Wise Up Wednesday – Literacy in Action

On Saturday the early years team at Education Scotland hosted a conference at Stirling Management Centre – 

Literacy in Action: Supporting Colleges to Support Early Years Practice.

Aileen Campbell MSP, Minister for Children andYoung People launched our new resource for parents every day’s a learning day. This resource highlights the learning opportunities present in every day situations from sorting the washing to preparing meals. Watch this space for more information

The conference was very successful with delegates sharing their enthusiasm about the workshops and the speakers which included:

Jean Carwood-Edwards, Programme Director, Education Scotland

Scotland’s Literacy Action Plan – everyone’s responsibility   

Alan Bissett, Author

Literacy in Action – promoting a reading culture in Scotland

National Updates

Education Scotland – Inspection Framework 

Louise Gaddi, Qualifications Manager Care Scotland, SQA

Catherine Agnew, Inspector Manager – Registration,Care Inspector

Nina Roberts, Education and Workforce Development Adviser, SSSC  

World Cafe Workshops

Development Officers provided an overview of how their own area of work supports the Literacy Action Plan and lead discussions on how the resources available could be used with students of early education and childcare.

Irene Russell, Development Officer, Parental Involvement

Susan Doherty, Development Officer, Work with Young People

Hilary Bombart, Team Leader (Acting), Literacy and English

Anna Cartlidge, Development Officer, Early Years/Responsibility of All

Visit Scotland’s Colleges Blog to see a video of the key messages from the day.

The Daily What Newsround

24/02/12 – 11am
The first of a whole series of ‘Daily What Newsrounds’ which we are all very excited about…

Every two weeks, on a Friday morning, Louise and Melisaa from our schools’ news service (The Daily What News- http://www.dailywhat.org.uk/) will introduce a fun-filled twenty minutes of news-related features.

This is the launch show, which will give Glow users a chance to meet Melissa and Louise and hear details of an amazing new competition they are launching. They will also give a tour of the site and discuss some of the most interesting stories from the past few weeks.

The show will continue on a fortnightly basis after that, with quiz features, special guests and lots of truly great learning opportunities.  Teachers will be pleased to be reminded that every news story has a related blog post of teaching and earning suggestions, so there’s lots of ideas to take forward with classes.

You will grow to really like Louise and Melissa and what a great chance for Glow users to find out more about the news in general and certain stories in particular.

Scottish Education Awards

The Scottish Education Awards celebrate the hard work and success which takes place in Scottish education. They recognise the achievements of people who dedicate their lives to children and young people and showcase the valuable work and innovation in Scottish classrooms. Nominations close on Friday 2 March 2012. Visit the Scottish Education Awards website for more information.

A Right Wee Blether

A RIGHT wee blether, a creative conversation led by Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People ran from 12th September – 31st October 2011. 

The Commissioner, Tam Baillie, has a responsibility to promote and safeguard the rights of children and young people in Scotland.  A RIGHT wee blether encouraged children to creatively express how they feel by answering five key questions:

  • How are you feeling today?
  • What makes you smile?
  • Who is special to you?
  • You are given a special star, where will you put it? 
  •  What would you like to change?

The views and experiences of children have been captured and summarised. These responses, in addition to the consultation with school age children a RIGHT blether, will inform the Commissioner’s work over the next four years.

  • To find out more about the work of Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People and a RIGHT wee blether please visit http://www.sccyp.org.uk/.
  • You can also see an example of  how this was put into practice by visiting St Joseph’s Nursery website.

Hand of the Future

Last night I was lucky enough to win tickets to the Tells They Tell presentation at the 26 Treasures Exhibition at the National Museums Scotland in Edinburgh.

For this exhibition, the museum selected 26 objects from their Scotland galleries, which together trace Scotland’s history from its ancient geological roots to its technological future. Some are iconic, others less well-known, but all have a story to tell. The 26 writers from poets and novelists to screenwriters, journalists and academics. The writers were paired up with objects at random, and set the intriguing challenge of responding to their object in exactly 62 words.

Object number 26 was a Bionic Hand which relates to our up and coming STEM Context of Bioengineering. (Watch this space for more information on this context being released).

To read the poem Hand of the Future click here.

Remember to visit STEM Central in Motion to find out how practitioners are using STEM in the classroom.

Digitalising Burns Poetry

Today I had the pleasure of visiting Wellwood Primary School in Fife. The pupils were looking at Burns’ Poetry in a range of ways to develop their ICT skills. First of all the pupils researched Burns’ poetry and selected a poem they wanted to read. They read their poems to a talk partner, ensuring they followed the Success Criteria that they had set them themselves. Pupils used the software Audacity to record their poem and then used their creative skills to create an avatar using Voki. The Voki was then added to their individual blogs.

To find out about other Burns activities visit our resource calendar.

Click here to find out about Burns Day on Glow on 25/01/11 at 9:45 am.

New Literacy across learning materials

New reading support materials for first and second levels and new Literacy across learning materials to support the third and fourth levels are now available on Glow.

First and second level materials

‘Reading to Learn; Learning to Read’ are new reading support materials to support first and second levels. They are now available in Glow: (Glow log-in required).

These materials include practical ideas to develop and support reading at first and second level, active learning strategies for teaching reading and a wide variety of approaches to support reading.

Specific areas covered include:

  • reciprocal reading.
  • hot-seating.
  • before, during and after reading activities.
  • the Thinking Reader.

Third and fourth level materials

New Literacy across learning materials to support the third and fourth levels are now available in Glow. (Glow log-in required).

These materials include information on:

  • practical strategies and ideas to develop literacy across learning
  • listening and talking strategies
  • writing across the curriculum
  • recording literacy across the curriculum
  • analysing moving image texts
  • reciprocal reading strategies
  • information literacy
  • Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy
  • links to additional resources.

New Video Resources for Scottish Theatre

Visit the national drama teachers glow group

https://portal.glowscotland.org.uk/establishments/nationalsite/Staffroom/Drama%20Teachers/default.aspx

and you will notice new tabs at the top of the glow group entitled ‘Video resources’.  Joe Gallacher from Replico Theatre has kindly offered to share these videos with practitioners who are interested in Scottish theatre.  The documentaries feature a variety of Scottish plays first produced at the end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty first and include interviews with some of Scotland’s leading playwrights, such as Nicola McCartney, Ann Marie Di Mambro, Sue Glover, Liz Lochhead, Stephen Greenhorn, David Harrower and David Greig.

Driving Learning with Mario Kart

Cross post from Consolarium Blog.

Derek Robertson (Consolarium Team) was contacted by Wilma Leaburn, a QIO from Renfrewshire and invited to a Mario Kart CPD evening at a school in Paisley. A number of teachers had taken this practice forward and a CPD session to share their experiences had been organised. The evening itself was a fantastic example of how creative teachers can be and how, when give the chance, their own idiosyncrasies can lead to wonderful learning experiences that meet the needs of their learners. At this event he met a teacher called Julie Paterson who invited me to Mario Kart open afternoon for parents and carers at her school, Bargarran PS in Erskine.

This series of posts will feature Derek’s observations at this event:

1/4 Driving Learning with Mario Kart: What’s in the box?

2/4 Driving Learning with Mario Kart: The buzz of learning

3/4 Driving learning with Mario Kart: The parents’ perspective

4/4 Driving Learning with Mario Kart: Healthy Eating and Grannie changes her mind

Mario Kart Leaderboards

SQA Curriculum Event: English/Literacy

SQA, in partnership with Education Scotland, are holding a series of curriculum area events to discuss the new national qualifications and give practical support on their implementation. The events are also an opportunity for practitioners to give their views on the new qualifications. Places have been allocated to local authorities and their schools, independent schools and colleges. The events are part of a range of support to help local authorities and individual centres prepare for implementing the new qualifications.

The English/Literacy day was on the 8th Decemeber. To view the Glow Meet recordings from the event click on the links below (you will need to glow log in to access the recordings):

Introduction and Workshop

Presentations and workshop activities

To find out about other Curriculum Area Events during December via Glow TV click here.

Using Technologies for Learning

Today I had the opportunity to visit Bridgend Primary School in West Lothian to find out how they had used Technologies for Learning during  their Interdisciplinary Topic of Orkney.

To find out how the teacher used Technologies for Learning during their topic click here.

To listen to how the class used a blog to communicate with a school in Orkney click here.

Karlie and her pupils presented on this project at the Scottish Learning Festival 2011, to find out more click here.

Panda-monium as Sweetie and Sunshine land in Edinburgh

Our Glow TV team had an unusually early start to their Sunday as they braved the cold and snow and made their way to Edinburgh zoo for the arrival of two very special black and white guests. Known as Tian Tian and Yang Guang, or ‘Sweetie’ and ‘Sunshine’ the Pandas arrived just after lunchtime on Sunday 4th December to an excited throng of flag-waving well-wishers and a tartan-clad pipe band playing ‘Scotland the Brave’.

To find out more about the visit to the Zoo and about Glow activities your class can take part in click here.

Click here to visit the panda blog.

There is still time to enter the Glovember competition

Now that our amazing Glovember Author Events have finished, Education Scotland is giving you two more weeks to enter your stories, poems and illustrations for the Glovember competition.

All you have to do is go to the Glovember Glow Group within Glow, click on the competition page tab and upload your story, poem or illustration. Be sure to do this before the closing date of Friday 16th December.

Winners will be announced in January, after some of our authors have helped us with the judging.

Winning entries will be published in our eBook and read by one of the Glovember Authors.

Pandamonium!

I am delighted to hear that the pandas are arriving in Scotland on Sunday. This is a mark of the growing friendship between Scotland and China. The pandas offer another exciting opportunity for schools, teachers and pupils to engage with China, its language and culture. The arrival also offers opportunities to stimulate learning right across Curriculum for Excellence, e.g. environment and cultural heritage, science, literacy and creativity. The Panda Blog provides ideas related to these examples. We have already had schools indicating their interest in finding out more about the pandas and Glow offers an excellent way to share information, resources and ideas for practice. The Panda Blog is a starting point and will lead to the further development of resources. We are looking forward to working with colleagues in the zoo to provide news and updates about the pandas to local authorities and schools.

Professor Kay Livingston, Education Scotland.

To visit the Panda Blog click here.

Click below to sign up for the Glow TV Events (glow log in required):

06/12/2001 – 2:30pm: Pandaphernalia

07/12/2011 – 10am: Panda facts with DWN Eds and Competition details

08/12/2011 – 02:00 pm: Pandamentary

Click below to view The Daily What News articles:

Giant Pandas Come to Scotland

Panda – monium

Daily What Headline Competition

Your chance to win a Kindle and see your work published

All you have to do is to think up a catchy headline, with no more than eight words, to go with the featured story.

The winning entry will be picked by the editor-in-chief of the Herald & Times newspaper group, Jonathan Russell, from a shortlist chosen by the Daily What News team.

Our winner’s headline will be published with the story on the Daily What News website, and will appear in the Herald newspaper. The lucky writer will also get a Kindle e-reader, courtesy of the Herald & Times group.

Deadline for entries: midnight on Thursday 1 December 2011

The winner will be announced on Friday 9 December 2011.

To find out more about the competition click here.

Scots Language in the Early Years

Do you know what ‘cow’,  ‘dog’ or ‘vest’ is in Scots? If not tune in and watch again on Early Years Glow TV. We had a fantastic session with Matthew Fitt this morning, lots of establishments tuned in and took part by burlin’ roon  and shoutin’ oot!

If you would like to know more visit the Glow TV ‘discussion’ section of our Early Years National Glow site and download the hints and tips on how to explore Scots more in your classroom/playroom.

Here are some useful links too:

Scotland’s Songs for Early Years

Scotland’s Stories

Itchycoo

Thank you for tuning in!

Curriculum Area Events on Glow TV

SQA, in partnership with Education Scotland, are holding a series of curriculum area events to discuss the new national qualifications and give practical support on their implementation. The events are also an opportunity for practitioners to give their views on the new qualifications. Places have been allocated to local authorities and their schools, independent schools and colleges. The events are part of a range of support to help local authorities and individual centres prepare for implementing the new qualifications.

The events will take place on 29 November, and 1, 5, 7, 8, 9, 12 and 13 December. Each event will be streamed live on Glow via the SQA Glow Group.  Most events and workshops will be shown live and recorded for watching again later.

A number of resources will be available following each event, including opportunities to hear some of the discussions from the day.

Curriculum Update at Glow Key Contacts

Today I went along to the Glow Key Contacts Meeting to give an update about new resources from the Curriculm Team  at Education Scotland. 

You will find the presentation I used here. (Glow log in required)

The resources I highlighted included:

Education Scotland’s Learning Blog

Chalkface Blog

STEM Central

Marks on the Landscape

Come and meet Debi Gliori!

Debi Gliori lives in Scotland. Debi is well known for both her picture books and her novels for children and has been shortlisted for all the major prizes, including the Kate Greenaway Award (twice) and the Scottish Arts Council Award. Debi was the Shetland Islands’ first Children’s Writer-in-Residence. She published her first book in 1990 and since then has published so many successful books that she has lost count. She has written and illustrated No Matter What, The Trouble With Dragons, Stormy Weather and, most recently, The Scariest Thing of All for Bloomsbury.
In this session she will work with pupils from Primary 2 at Haddington Infant School – why don’t you join her?
Yes I would love to join her! (29.11.11 @ 1.30pm)
Can’t join in at the time? Remember to watch again!

The latest Early Years Glow meet

Our Glow meet, “Towards the Vision: Developing Literacy in the Early Years” was a great success.

Join in the interesting discussions here.

Grant Gillies, Literacy Development Officer at Education Scotland spoke about Bloom’s Higher Order Thinking fans. Find out about the Kilmalcolm case study here:

http://caledonianblogs.net/nilfs/2010/02/25/questioning-kilmacolms-innovative-blooming-blooms-approach/

Find Bloom’s Higher Order Thinking fans here:

https://portal.glowscotland.org.uk/establishments/nationalsite/Literacy%20and%20English/AAA%20Hidden%20Pages/CL%20-%20Resources.aspx

Get Debating for St Andrew’s Day

On Monday 28th November, the annual St Andrew’s Day debating championship will be held in the Scottish Parliament with students and senior pupils from universities and schools across Scotland competing in debating heats covering a range of issues important in today’s society. The Final will take place in the Debating Chamber chaired by the Presiding Officer with the opportunity to win the specially engraved Scottish Parliament Quaich. This year, for the first time, all schools across the country will be able to follow the progress of the competition on Glow throughout the day and then watch the final, streamed live on Glow TV. This is an exciting opportunity for pupils to get involved in a high quality debate and to learn more about debating.

Sign up here to follow the debate on Glow TV.

For more information on developing your own debates in school click here.

Moving Image Education

Moving Image Education (MIE) is fast becoming an integral part of 21st century literacy and modern teaching practice. Using moving image texts as a source in addition to the written word has been proved to vastly increase wider literacy skills, confidence, engagement and fun in the classroom.

Education Scotland is working in partnership with Creative Scotland to make moving image education more accessible and active within Glow.

We now have a Moving Image Education National Glow Group which is steadily being populated with information, resources and CPD opportunities. Work is also underway to engage with Glow users across Scotland and encourage them to participate in interesting and relevant topics of discussion through the group’s Glow Forum. We look forward to seeing you on Glow.