Teaching learners emotive vocabulary . . . check out the Vocabulary Wheels below:
Vocabulary Wheels
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Author Archives: Mr Cook
Wordnik – Online dictionary
Wordnik, the online dictionary, is an excellent resource that can be used by learners to:
- look up the definition of a word
- see how that word has been used in literature previously
- understand the history of a word
- find synonyms for that word
- see where that word has been used in social media.
Check it out by clicking the image above.
Read with Confidence
A new resource has been created and added to ‘The Literacy Toolkit’ section of our blog.
Read with Confidence – The objective of this PPT is to explore the research and views around developing ‘private’ and ‘public’ confidence in reading, and to generate professional dialogue and action relating to this with a view to improving experiences for the young people in school.
Storycraft
Do you want children and young people to be inspired by great authors to create their own texts?
Look no further . . . The Storycraft section on the World Book Day website includes videos from well known authors who give practical tips to aid the creation of text. Click the image above.
Oktapodi – Identify the problem and solutions
In many texts that we read we are presented with problems and solutions; the structure providing us with the basis of our storyline.
For example, in Cinderella we are presented with the problem that Cinderella, desperate to go to the ball, has nothing to wear and no way to get there. Fortunately, we’re presented with the Fairy God Mother providing the solutions – a dress and glass slippers for Cinderella to wear and a carriage to take Cinderella to the ball.
Oktapodi is a fantastic animation that can be used to teach learners how to identify the problem and solutions, developing their skills to find, infer and use information.
Learners can record their thoughts on the Problem/ Solution – Oktapodi Handout.
ICT Games – Literacy
Check out the ICT Games – Literacy site for a number of games to support phonics, spelling and reading objectives.
CLICK HERE ICT Games – Literacy
A favourite is High Frequency Word Bingo – ideal for Early/First Levels. Click the image below:
Let us know of any fabulous resources that you’re using in your classroom to support the teaching of Literacy and English by commenting on this post, or Email Us.
Information for Bilingual Familes
The English as an Additional Language (EAL) team at Highland Council are hosting an event for bilingual families who have children in Nursery to Primary 3.
Please share this with parents/carers or contact the EAL team for further information.
‘Look Again!’ – Using film and media
BFI Education have created a teaching guide, ‘Look Again!’ to support the teaching of film and media in the primary classroom. Download it by clicking the image below.
Literacy and English Reports – April 2015
During the last week of April three Literacy and English reports were released by the Scottish Government and Education Scotland:
3 – 18 Literacy and English Review (April 2015) – A report from Education Scotland which highlights the strengths and recommendations of recent observed practice.
I Read . . . Scottish Government (April 2015) – A report from the Scottish Government which highlights the strengths and recommendations made by the Standing Literacy Commission.
SSLN Findings (April 2015) – A report from the Scottish Government which highlights the results from the 2014 Scottish Summary of Literacy and Numeracy (SSLN) assessment.
CLICK HERE for a summary of each of the reports
Following the 3 – 18 Literacy and English Review (April 2015) an audit tool, organised into key themes, which includes the reflection questions from the document has been created to support self-evaluation of current Literacy developments. CLICK HERE to download the audit tool.
Following the SSLN Findings (April 2015) Education Scotland have published the SSLN – Literacy – Professional Learning Workshops resource on their website. This is a professional learning resource that can be used to support staff in the developments of group discussion, reading strategies and writing skills.
Scottish Book Trust – An exciting opportunity
An exciting opportunity for a Highland practitioner has arisen to work with the Scottish Book Trust.
They’re looking for a creative teacher to develop fun and dynamic activities around one of their Authors Live events and report back about their classroom experiences online and share with the Local Authority. In return they will provide you with £400 to spend on workshops, books or anything to help the creative process.
CLICK HERE for some of the ideas that have been shared so far.
The authors are Sarah McIntyre and Philip Reeve. CLICK HERE for the link to their Authors Live events.
Any practitioners wishing to take part in this event should send a brief outline of what they plan to do with their pupils and the funding to antonia.clark@scottishbooktrust.com.
HIGHLAND LITERACY 