Category Archives: Literacy

Inspiring Poem

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-scotland-40038300/glasgow-schoolgirl-to-read-her-own-poem-for-barack-Obama

 

We listened to this poem by a 13year old schoolgirl.  Mila is from Glasgow and will read this at a dinner with Barack Obama.

 

If I Ruled Scotland

If I ruled Scotland here is what I’d do

I’d make everything equal for me and you

I’d educate Scotland on hope and peace

And make the minorities feel at ease

If I ruled Scotland here’s a law I would pass

When the sun shone no kids were in class

Instead we’d play rounders or read in the shade

(after all it’s unlikely to last more than one day!)

If I ruled Scotland here’s what I’d do

I’d keep the night safe from crime and misuse

I’d treat prisoners like humans – guide them back to a life

Filled with prosper and respect, doesn’t that sound nice?

If I ruled Scotland here’s some stuff I would ban,

Like mars bars deep fried or those pies in a can

But don’t fret even though it has a strange hue,

I would never get rid of our loved Irn Bru!

If I ruled Scotland here’s what I’d do

I’d save all the dying accents so people knew

That in Scotland there is more than one type of man

We celebrate our differences as best as we can

If I ruled Scotland here’s what I would teach

That football’s no place for hate to be preached

That supporting a team shouldn’t dictate

Which people we like and which people we hate

If I ruled Scotland I’d invest in our schools

To ensure rich or poor our kids all had the tools

To pursue their own dream regardless of class

And Scotland a nation where no one comes last

If I ruled Scotland here’s something I’d try

We’d fund our NHS to keep it alive

Then when people get sick no matter how deep their pockets

We’d always have medicine on hand to stop it

If I ruled Scotland I wouldn’t allow

Any racism nonsense to interfere with my vow

That no matter the colour or tone of your skin,

We’re all Jock Tamson’s bairns and that means we’re all kin

If I win this contest, here’s how I would pick

 

The other 9 people to come on this trip

I’d ask some of my teachers to choose some nice kids

Who would never usually get a chance like this

 

 

 

Imagination…..

P 5-7  have had many experiences and lessons this year to try to ignite their imagination.  Through Word Aware they developed their vocabulary and during VCOP (VCOP info)  activities they explored how to add extra pizzazz to their writing.  After discussing their ideas and interests we planned activities that they would find engaging.  Their final 2016/17 writing assessment was an imaginative story.

Task:
Write an imaginative story with interesting characters, a magical setting and a plot that will entertain the reader.

Criteria:
– Provide suitable detailed information about a character or setting to fit the genre through description and/or dialogue.
– Write a story that has a detailed opening, middle and appropriate conclusion.
– Consistently continue the characters, setting and events of the original story with sufficient supporting detail.

They rose to the challenge and produced some very entertaining stories! Some titles include….

Trapped          The Portal         The Shy Girl          Dashes

Help!       The Book from Another World       The Darmis

A Christmas Eve Adventure        The Ungrowable Sapling

The Magical Monopoly Adventure      The Aphelion     

The Phenomenal Adventure      Pencil Case

The Fish’s True Power       The Car’s Wish      The Unicorn Island

Teenage Drama              Shred Candy Land

 

 

Read All About It!!!

It’s a hive of activity today in the P5-7 classroom….. or should I say newsroom!

The children are working very hard at putting together not one  …not  two  ….BUT   THREE  class newspapers!! 

Each year group have a deadline of Wednesday 22nd of March to get their magnificent media masterpieces finished.  Copies will be available when they are hot off the press during the last week of term.

Good luck teams!

The Hobbit – Audio Book

As part of our literacy development we have started listening to an audio book.  The whole class get comfy with cushions and listen together.

After listening we discuss the story using Bloom Buttons.

Why are we doing this???                                                                

Research shows that audiobooks allow the listener to retain their visualisation and picture-making skills.  A reader who struggles to ‘decode’ the words will have difficulty absorbing their meaning, affecting comprehension, memory and enjoyment. The listener, however, not only has the advantage of being able to visualise as they listen, their understanding is also helped by a model of interpretive reading for the tone of voice, accent, emphasis and timing given to the text by the professional reader.

Listening to books in audio form can help them acquire not only a whole new range of experience, but a vocabulary beyond their own reading level and everyday conversation, enhancing fluency and comprehension. Their horizons expand, they absorb the structure and conventions of storytelling and develop much greater confidence to communicate both orally and on paper, which has enormous benefits to their writing.

Good listening skills are essential for effective learning in all areas of the curriculum and will help pupils with their school work. Audiobooks improve concentration and engage pupils with their studies, helping them to achieve at a higher level across the curriculum and continue to self-select literature in the future, instilling a lifelong love of reading.

What the children say                                                               

I like how it gets you relaxed and focused to listen.

I like how you get to relax and not have to read a book.

I think it’s quite good how we all sit together and it’s quiet so the only thing you are concentrating on is the story.

I like how you don’t have to read it off a page.  You can just lie down and imagine it all.

The questions at the end are important so that we know we have been listening.

I think it’s good how we get to hear what other people say because if you don’t understand a bit of the story talking about it might help you to understand that part.

Reading Workshop

 

 

read

Parents and families are invited to school on Thursday 24th November at 6pm to find out more about how we teach reading and literacy skills across Fisherton Primary an EYC.

The sessions will be led by Mrs McDowell who will give an over view of early level reading in the EYC. Mrs Eaglesham will give information on the 3 Read approach being delivered to P1 and P2, and, Mrs Hamilton will give an insight into our Book Clubs and Literacy Circles being used in P4-7.

I am certain this will be an informative and enjoyable evening which will help you supprot your child at home and help them develop their reading skills.