Global Citizenship

September 19th, 2011

Bring learning to life with the brand new Global Citizenship calendar 2011/12

kmayer

Comments: none Tags: Tags: action, climate and energy, competition, democracy, enterprise, europe, events, games legacy, resources
 : Categories Uncategorized, africa, biodiversity, citizenship, commonwealth, games and sport, international, scottish culture

We are delighted to offer you a free Global Citizenship calendar containing major events and dates to help you plan rich and stimulating learning experiences across the curriculum throughout the year.

Go to Global Citizenship calendar 2011/12 and download the pdf version or email [email protected] to request a printed (A2) version.

An exciting online version of this calendar connecting you to support materials for each entry will soon be available on the Education Scotland website (http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/ ). So, whether you are planning learning around religious festivals, Holocaust Memorial day or World Environment Day, the Global Citizenship calendar will point you in the right direction.

August 2nd, 2011

New resources on outdoor learning

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: community, nature, resources, scottish culture
 : Categories biodiversity, community, early years, expressive arts, health and wellbeing, mathematics, outdoor learning, primary schools, sciences, scottish culture, secondary schools, sharing practice, social studies, sustainable development

The following new resources on outdoor learning have recently been added to the Education Scotland website.

Woods for Learning

These case studies highlight a number of different examples of the way that woodland environments can provide a rich resource and context for learning.

Lady of the Lake: A Literacy and Outdoor Learning Transition Project

This project was a partnership approach to an innovative transition process, involving the 14 feeder primaries to McLaren High, Stirling. This incorporated outdoor learning and collaboration with local artists to inspire creative works, just as Sir Walter Scott took inspiration from the landscape of the Trossachs 200 years ago to write the epic poem ‘The Lady of the Lake’. The resultant process and outcomes supported many aspects of literacy across learning.

LOST? archaeology project

In June 2010, 130 young people from Upper Deeside started working with local and national archaeology groups on what is thought to be the largest schools archaeology project of its kind in Scotland.

Clim-ATIC Media Project

The project took place within the Cairngorms National Park, an area with a unique natural and cultural heritage, where the impacts of anthropogenic climate change are becoming a reality. The project aimed to involve young people in exploring these impacts, through the medium of film, and to identify opportunities and consider adaptations to climate change. This was an interdisciplinary project that allowed pupils to make connections between their learning in school and the world outside.

Grounds for Learning videos

Working in partnership with Grounds for Learning, Education Scotland have developed a series of short video clips supporting various ways in which school grounds can be used and developed to support the Curriculum for Excellence. Scroll down the page to select from clips such as Messy Outdoors Maths, The Creative Spark in Literacy, Nature’s Playground and Fire as a Context for Learning.

July 29th, 2011

Election fever: developing young politicians in primary school!

kmayer

Comments: none Tags: Tags: action, democracy, enterprise, learner voice, scottish culture
 : Categories citizenship, primary schools, scottish culture, social studies

At Mearns Primary the election fever topic looks at election processes, the Scottish parliament and is run as an enterprise topic. Pupils work in teams to run an election campaign and undertook the following:
• Through discussion and activities the children realised the importance of a leader to organisation and decision making capabilities
• Pupils discussed what qualities a leader (a candidate) should have. For this the children used a resource called ‘Ideas Trail’, to sort their ideas and arrive at important qualities. This allowed them to structure their discussion and rate their final choices.
• Pupils had opportunity to think as to whether they had these qualities or indeed whether they could develop these qualities and propose themselves as a candidate.
• Candidates then had to write a manifesto, whilst those not applying had to write a similar script on what they would like to be changed in the school/classroom.
• A mini secret ballot was then initiated and 4 candidates chosen to run for election. The other children in the class were assigned to work for a candidate and they were to choose a logo a party name and a slogan.
• On the day of voting children were given specific roles: Presiding Officer, Polling Agent, Counting Agent and Tellers.
• The winning candidate then made a speech and gave thanks to their supporters and support team. A considerable effort was made to ensure ballot was as realistic as possible by making a ballot box, voting booth, using name cards, high visibility vests etc.
• Pupils are also given an additional activity where they are given the role of Chancellor of the Exchequer. We watch a video of the Budget and the children are given a fictional amount of money and they have to decide how they are going to spend it e.g. Education, Armed Services, Health etc. The class then have a debate about how the money is spent and get to see that people from different perspectives have very different opinions.

July 27th, 2011

History Pin – a fantastic tool for intergenerational learning

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: resources
 : Categories citizenship, community, international, scottish culture, social studies, sustainable development

Historypin is about bringing people together all over the world, from across families, communities and different generations, to see and share their history in a new way. It is a great online tool to use in schools both in the classroom and to run events and projects to get parents, families and the community involved in school life.

The online tool also offers schools and communities an opportunity to collaborate in building and broadening the record of local history and encouraging generations to come together around a communal history of people and place.

If you still don’t get it then think about the box of old photos, recordings and cine film your gran has and about how these would bring a whole new dimension to Google map streetview!

Find out more at: http://www.historypin.com/

See other online history tools

Historvius - http://www.historvius.com/

What was there - http://www.whatwasthere.com/

Histografica - http://www.histografica.com/

And for the iPhone / Android - http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/Resources/app/you-are-here-app/index.html

May 2nd, 2011

Scottish Heritage

nickmorgan

Comments: none Tags: Tags: scottish culture
 : Categories citizenship, scottish culture

A core part of being a global citizen is a knowledge of your own heritage and culture. ‘World Heritage Day 2011′ was celebrated in April, and many Scots took part in events to enjoy aspects of the rich historic and contemporary cultures of Scotland.

The ‘Shadows of our Ancestors’ project highlighted the significance of the five locations identified by UNESCO as ‘World Heritage Sites’ of international importance. New Lanark is one of our five Scottish sites, and its staff organised a special event to mark the occasion with students. An article in The Guardian reported on celebrations in Edinburgh in the historic Old Town.

During May 2011 Scotland’s museums will be taking part in the ‘Festival of Museums’, offering the public a range of additional events which highlight aspects of our culture, arts and history. The festival website lists local events.

National organisations such as Historic Scotland run learning activities and educational visits throughout the year, and teachers and students also have access to resources like the Scottish Screen Archive which illuminate Scottish history through photographs and moving images.

January 27th, 2011

Scottish culture

nickmorgan

Comments: none Tags:  : Categories citizenship, scottish culture

A key part of being a global citizen is a knowledge and understanding of your own national culture and identity. Here in Scotland ‘culture’ is expressed through a great variety of forms, but I’ll highlight just two here - one traditional and one contemporary - which are covered in many educational settings.

In January each year the life and literature of Robert Burns is a focus for a great deal of activity in schools around the country. There will be Burns Suppers, recitals, quizzes, art works, dances, ceilidhs and much more to help students explore his life and legacy. Here’s an example from Alloway Primary School in South Ayrshire.

The Scottish Government published a special message from the First Minister, and announced extra funding to assist with pupil visits to national heritage sites such as the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum. A BBC news story covered this development. BBC Scotland also created a new website dedicated to the poetry of Burns, with audio recordings of his poems being read by a large number of Scottish citizens. Learning and Teaching Scotland plays a supportive role by highlighting useful Burns resources for teachers and developing an interactive map which picks out key places in Burns’ life.

And Scotland now has a new contemporary champion for poetry, with the appointment of Liz Lochhead as Makar, the national poet who will produce new work and add to the assets of Scottish culture. Liz Lochhead is a poet and playwright whose work is studied in many schools. She has created plays such as ‘Mary Queen of Scots got her head chopped off’, and has championed the use of Scots language.

December 6th, 2010

Scottish culture and heritage

nickmorgan

Comments: none Tags:  : Categories citizenship, scottish culture

Part of being a Global Citizen is having a strong sense of your own culture and background. Several new initiatives, products and opportunities will support the growth of that sense of cultural identity among young citizens of Scotland.

The pupil winners of the Scottish Government’s poster competition for St.Andrew’s Day have been announced, and the First Minister’s St.Andrew’s Day video message is available on Youtube.

Learning and Teaching Scotland has produced two new online multimedia resources for schools. ‘Scotland’s Stories’ celebrates the richness of tales, myths and legends which are part of our literary heritage. And ‘Scotland’s Songs’ offers a collection of songs and tunes in Scots and Gaelic.

Historic Scotland has launched a new resource about Pictish Stones and the history of the ancient Pictish nation. It includes his torical background, photos and scans of the carved stones, and more.

Finally, there is a national story competition organised by the Scottish Wave of Change project. This invites people to submit a work of fiction, such as a story or poem, which is set in the Scotland of the near-future.

January 29th, 2009

Homecoming Scotland

nickmorgan

Comments: none Tags:  : Categories scottish culture

Celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the birth of poet Robert Burns took place all over Scotland last week, and kicked off the year-long programme of events for Scotland’s 2009 Homecoming festival.

The programme of events has been organised around five main themes - Burns, whisky, golf, great Scottish minds and innovations, and Scotland’s culture and heritage. The Homecoming Scotland website offers lots of information about the background to the programme and the events planned for the months ahead.

Learning and Teaching Scotland is supporting the educational dimension of Homecoming Scotland through a new website and production of resources on Scottish cultural heritage.