Speak up Scotland is a fantastic resource that contains stimuli and guidance to support debate in the classroom, using Science as the curriculum context. It houses a variety of topics, teacher guides, pupil guides and a handbook that can be downloaded by clicking the image below.
Using an iPad to support the teaching of Literacy? If so . . . look no further!
Click the image above to access a list of recommended iPad Apps which can be used in the classroom and at home.
The Highland Literacy Group are co-ordinating the following CPD events during inset on Monday 1st June 2015.
Over the
past two sessions, The Highland Literacy Group have been refreshing the support materials available to practitioners. We have updated our Probationer programme accordingly for the 2014/2015 session, and would like to offer supplementary training to complement the original HLP training programme. We are running an event called ‘Literacy Across Learning – Primary‘ on the CPD calendar which will introduce some of the new materials, including: Literacy Across Learning, Media Literacy and Higher Order Thinking. This event is open to practitioners within the Primary sector.
Monday 1st June 2015 – 09:30 – 15:30 – Merkinch Community Centre, Inverness
Reflective Reading (formally known as ‘Muckle Reading’) – an approach to teaching reading which aims to develop Higher Order Thinking skills in reading through encompassing the Significant Aspects of Listening and Talking, Reading and Writing – delivered by Anne Glennie (former Andrell Education Consultant – now The Learning Zoo). The course is full of ideas that can be brought straight back to the classroom. This is an approach that could be used to complement the HLP reading methodologies, building on the good practice in Highland schools.
Monday 1st June 2015 – 09:00 – 15:30 – South Lodge Primary School, Invergordon
Little Big Writing is a strategy for children who are not yet writers. It is an on going planned strategy to develop and enhance pupils’ language skills. It draws on the principles of Big Writing and allows the child to progress naturally into First Level (CfE). Big Writing is a teaching methodology in which pupils learn and develop the ideas, vocabulary and higher level grammatical structures needed to improve their writing almost entirely through talk.
Monday 1st June 2015 – 09:00 – 15:30 – Ben Wyvis Primary School, Dingwall
All events can be found in the CPD calendar. Click the image at the top of this post to access the Highland CPD Website.
The World Book Day website is packed with new resources including the World Book Day 2015 Teachers’ Toolkit, The Big Book Off and 4 brand new videos in The Big Little Book Corner.
Click the images below to access resources.
This year’s format for The Biggest Book Show on Earth is a series of Virtual Author Workshops – short videos featuring authors such as Michael Morpurgo, Chris Riddell, David McKee and Holly Smale. Click here for more information and register to view them on-demand when they become available.
This post, inspired by a visit to Culloden Academy Library, is a follow on to Friday’s post – The Power of a Library Card . . . Part 1. Thank you to Michelle Gowans, Network Librarian, who flagged up the following resource.
Trying to provide a wealth of texts for Reading for Enjoyment, particularly magazines, it can be tricky (and expensive) to keep your class collection up to date. Using a High Life Highland Library card to create a free account, you can access 50 of the most popular magazine titles on computers, tablets and mobile devices.
Titles include – ‘Astronomy’; ‘Cycling’; ‘Golf Monthly’ and the ‘National Geographic’. A great way of engaging children and young people who are keen on reading non-fiction texts.
You must create two accounts, both a library magazine account AND a Zinio account to download and read magazines. Register on the libraries digital magazine web page and set-up a Zinio account, follow our instructions for first time users and then read our Zinio Download Guide.
CLICK HERE – Digital Magazine – First Time User Guide
CLICK HERE – Digital Magazines – User Guide
CLICK HERE – High Life Highland – Digital Magazines
This post was inspired by a visit to Culloden Academy Library. Thank you to Michelle Gowans, Network Librarian, who flagged up the following resource.
Did you know that you can use your High Life Highland Library card to access 2,200 newspapers across the world for free?
Whether it be a guided reading lesson extracting information or examining the writer’s techniques, a critical literacy lesson looking at persuasion and bias, or a research skills lesson where learners are sourcing information from texts – Press Display provides access to the lesson stimulus.
CLICK HERE – Press Display website
CLICK HERE – Press Display User Guide
CLICK HERE – High Life Highland – Press Display Information
If not, click the image above to access the up to date list of Network Librarians and drop your Network Librarian an email.
Last night I was invited to a wonderful event at Crown Primary School, ‘Reading by the Campfire’.
A class of children arrived at an indoor campsite (which they no longer recognised as their classroom), dressed in their pyjamas and ready to hear and share some wonderful stories.
The children stopped in at a number of tents on their visit, filled with blankets and torches and greeted by an array of different books along their journey. Keeping warm beside the Smartboard fire (including authentic crackling sound effects), children read to and with each other and to and with their parents/carers.
A great idea to support parental involvement in Literacy – the pictures speak for themselves. Who could say no to a hot chocolate and marshmallows . . . ?
When developing Shared or Guided reading this week, support learners to think within, beyond and about the text. Use these questions as a guide.
Use the Developing Thinking and Reading Between the Lines PowerPoints and the information on Bloom’s Taxonomy, De Bono’s Six Hats and SOLO Taxonomy to further explore Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS).
Thanks to Anne at The Learning Zoo for bringing this to our attention.
Choral Reading is a strategy that can be used to develop fluency; this is a strategy many practitioners use already in some form. Watch a fantastic example of Choral Reading below:
The objective of Choral Reading is to build pace when reading aloud. Learners – working in pairs, trios or small groups – should be given a text that is separated into small chunks. Each reader should be allocated sections that they read independently and sections that they read in unison. This should be read in sequence, providing learners with an opportunity to develop expression, rhythm and volume.
Want to try it out in the classroom?
CLICK HERE – The Three-Headed Dog by Claire Bevan
HIGHLAND LITERACY 