Scots language in the Broad General Education (Early and First level)

1. Introduction

In this unit by Laura Green you will look at using Scots language in Literacy and English; Expressive Arts (Drama and Music); and Modern Languages to explore how Scots language can enhance learning within Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) Broad General Education at Early and First levels. If you are not teaching at this level, you will explore how you can translate what you learn here into your current teaching context.

You will mainly focus on spoken Scots – poetry recital and song. In looking at this, you will explore the connections between the oral tradition of Scots and the educational benefits for learners when listening to, understanding and subsequently using a language which may be, at least initially, unfamiliar to them.

Key learning points

• to learn about using Scots language with learners working within Early and First level

• to write your own lesson plan for using Scots to support children in developing listening and talking skills

• to build upon your knowledge and experience and further develop your classroom skills in Scots language, with particular focus on poetry recital and song.

2. Input

Activity 1

In this activity, you will engage with Unit 3, Scots in Education (especially Sections 3 and 4) and Unit 12, Scots song (especially Sections 1, 2 and 3), of the Open University’s Scots language and culture course.

While the sections noted above are especially relevant, you should undertake as many activities as you can in Units 3 and 12, taking notes on the aspects that are relevant to the key learning points listed for that unit, as well as noting references for resources. You may want to import your notes by pasting them into your learning log (link below, which opens in a new tab) for future reference.

Learning log

Activity 2

In this activity you will consider four Scots texts and how each of them could support your learners in developing their listening skills. Consider how learners can engage with the texts. You will now read, watch clips and listen to audio recordings of some Scots texts aimed at young children:

• Poetry: Crocodile
• Prose: Wheesht!
• Song: Three Craws
• Song: Song of the Fishgutters

A.

While reading/watching and/or listening to each text, it is important you make notes on the following questions:

1. Which stage of CfE would this text be suitable for?

2. Which learning activities, within which curricular areas, could be planned in relation to this text?

3. How difficult is the Scots within the text?

4. What support would learners require in terms of being able to understand the text?

Learning log

Compare your answer with our model answer.

B.

Choose a Scots text – either one of the four specified above or one that you have sourced yourself. Consider what purpose the engagement with the text would have for your pupils, i.e. learning Scots words, learning about a cultural/historical aspect etc. Also consider how you would support your learners in understanding the text, with particular consideration given to any challenges that the use of the text may present.

To give you some ideas for poetry written in Scots that you might want to use in your classroom, please explore the Scottish Poetry Library online, which features a wealth of poems written in Scots, often accompanied by audio recordings of the poems read by the author and information about the author; or the extensive Poetry section of the Scots Language Centre website.

Learning log

Compare your answer with our model answer.

3. Tutorial

Activity 3

In this activity you will explore the connections between Expressive Arts; literacy development and Scots language in some more detail.

A.

Explore the Scotland's songs section of the Scots Language Centre’s Education resources. There are songs from all over Scotland, relating to different themes. Consider which songs would be relevant for your particular context.

Take some notes on aspects you found interesting and you think are particularly relevant for the children you teach. Consider the following question:

Which songs are most useful to:

• teach rhyme and rhythm; to encourage familiarisation with Scots language;
• engage with culture that is local and familiar;
• engage with culture that is new to the children?

Learning log

Compare your answer with our model answer.

B.

In ‘ Scots Language in Curriculum for Excellence (92.5 KB) ’, it is reported that learners in Primary 2 and 3 who used Scots in drama and music to express the emotions of their characters demonstrated developing confidence and independence in working out the meanings of unfamiliar words (see p6, Scots Language in Curriculum for Excellence (92.5 KB) ). It was also noted that the use of Scots within expressive arts increased the overall confidence of some learners and allowed them to assume leadership roles for the first time.

With the expressive arts and literacy and English benchmarks in mind, watch Scottish Book Trust’s Bookbug video at ‘I hiv a little spider’.  Consider the participation of the children involved. What evidence is there that they understand the Scots vocabulary used in this song, or can determine meaning by using context clues?:

Consider

• Would a similar activity be suitable for your context?

• Can this be considered a useful approach to assessing understanding of Scots?

• Are there any additional or alternative activities and approaches to assessing understanding that would be effective?

Make note of ideas you have which you may then use in Activity 4.

Learning log

Compare your answer to our model answer.

4. Planning

Now you will prepare your own lesson by designing the activities and learning outcomes you plan to include. If you do not teach at the BGE level at the moment, consider how you can transfer what you have learned in this unit to your own context and learners.

You may wish to use your ideas from watching the ‘I hiv a little Spider" video as well as notes from the approaches to teaching ‘Crocodile’; and Scots songs; for your own lesson, based on what you studied thus far in this unit and on which curricular areas you plan to incorporate.

The CfE Experiences and Outcomes and benchmarks may be referenced, if this is appropriate to your usual practice.

Activity 4

Using the notes and ideas that you began to gather during the tutorial, complete your planning and produce a lesson/activity plan that relates to the topic of this unit and refers to aspects of the CfE Benchmarks. 

1. Read the key aspects for planning a Scots-related lesson/activity below, and then in your own time, continue planning your own lesson/activity, adding more detail where required. 
2. Keep a note of your planning in your Learning log and compare your activity/lesson plan with our model plan.

Key aspects to consider when planning a Scots language lesson or activity

• You now need to consider what you need to do before you can use your lesson plan in the classroom. Identify what you will need, say, why, and plan which order you will structure the activities.

• There are many resources available for the teaching of Scots poetry and song – these are listed at the end of this unit.

• Each lesson should be planned with cognisance of the experiences and outcomes, but this need not be a formal exercise. These describe the knowledge, skills, attributes and capabilities of the four capacities that young people are expected to develop.

• The CfE Benchmarks for ‘Early’ and ‘First’ Level: All Curriculum Areas set out clear statements about what learners need to know and be able to do to achieve a level across all curriculum areas.

• Learning in the broad general education may often span a number of curriculum areas (for example, a literacy project planned around science and technology might include outdoor learning experiences, research and the use of ICT). This is likely to be in the form of themed or project learning which provides children and young people opportunities to show how skills and knowledge can be applied in interesting contexts. The term often used for this is interdisciplinary learning and Scots language opens a wealth of possibilities for such lessons. Follow this link for more on IDL best practice: Interdisciplinary Learning: ambitious learning for an increasingly complex world.

• Should you need further inspiration, the ‘Scots Blether’ on glow has a resources section where teachers from all across Scotland have posted lesson plans and activities as well as links to teaching material from other organisations:

Don’t forget to share examples of the fantastic teaching and learning going on in your classrooms. Share on social media using  #OUScotsCPD, and tagging us in your posts @OUScotland, @OULanguages, @EducationScot.

5. Application

Activity 5

Using the notes and ideas that you began to gather during the tutorial, complete steps 1-5. 

1. Try out your planned activity/lesson with your learners. 

2. Gather some feedback from your learners about the lesson/activity as well, which you can bring to the course and share with your fellow students.

3. Write an account of 250 to 300 words, highlighting the successes and challenges you encountered when applying what you have learned in terms of pedagogy and Scots language. It may be helpful to consider these questions: 

4. Then post your reflective account in the Course Forum. 

5. Read and comment constructively on an application task post by at least one other colleague. 

Don’t forget to share examples of the fantastic teaching and learning going on in your classrooms. Share on social media using  #OUScotsCPD, and tagging us in your posts @OUScotland, @OULanguages, @EducationScot.

6. Community Link

FÈIS ROIS - The Highland Culture Collective

"Feis Rois" by GrubbyPix is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Based in Dingwall, Feis Rois is an organisation that enables people of all ages to access, participate in and enjoy Scottish traditional arts, particularly music.

Feis Time is a film project bringing Gaelic and Scots songs, music-making activities, and traditional stories.

Here is a small selection from the many videos and resources available on their site, which you might want to use in your own classroom:

• Jimmy’s Lost His Jarrie video resource: Jimmy's Lost his Jarrie Activity Sheet


• Is A Dove A Doo Da? video; resource:Is a Dove a Doo Da? Activity Sheet
• Coulter’s Candy; resource:Coulter's Candy pdf
• Murder In The Chip Shop video; resource: Murder In the Chip Shop lyrics
• Fitba Crazy video; resource: Fitba Crazy lyrics
• Heid, Shudders, Knaps and Taes resource: Heid Shudders Knaps and Taes pdf
• Jeannie Jenkins resource: Jeannie Jenkins pdf
• The World Must Be Coming Tae An End resource: The World must be coming tae an end pdf

7. Research on teaching Scots

Throughout this course you are engaging with academic papers that explore aspects of Scots language and its use. In this unit you will work with the following article:

Lowing, K. (2017) ‘The Scots language and its cultural and social capital in Scottish schools: a case study of Scots in Scottish secondary classrooms’ Scottish Language, 36. 

Activity 6

Now read Lowing's the article using the link above and take notes to answer the following questions:

1. How and why did the devaluation of the Scots language happen, especially in education?

2. How does Lowing prove her claim that the ‘Scots language remains a misunderstood and problematic language in Scotland’?

3. Lowing explores the connections of the links made between Scots and a low economic standing of its speakers.

   • What reasons are given for the lack of social and cultural ‘capital’ of the Scots language?
   • What examples are listed to demonstrate that Scots does have ‘capital’ to this day?

4. What is meant by the term Scottish ‘schizoglossia’?

5. Compare Lowing’s results analysis from section 5 of the article with your own findings from the survey from Unit 1 which explored opinions about the standing of Scots, its place in the Scottish curriculum in your own professional context, and what implications did the people you asked see for students and practitioners when incorporating Scots lessons into classrooms.

Learning log

Once you have completed your answer, check our model answer for comparison.

8. Professional Recognition Reflective Task

Activity 7

In this activity you will write your reflective blog post for the professional recognition element, which should be informed by your learning during the unit. You should write critically and in some depth about at least one of the following: 

• your understanding of/thinking about the theme of the unit in general, 
• a particular experience/incident arising either in the peer community of the course or in your workplace, 

• a specific piece of reading associated with the theme. 

Your post should: 

• be 300-500 words in length. You may write a longer contribution if you wish.
• address the programme’s three Masters level criteria: 

1. Knowledge and understanding 

2. Critical analysis 

3. Structure, communication and presentation 

In writing your post, you may choose to: 

• use one or more prompt from the bank of reflective prompts provided to frame your writing, 

• make connections between readings related to the theme and your practice,  
• explore the extent to which you agree/disagree with or were surprised/impressed by an aspect of the peer discussion in the course forum. 

Reflective blog

9. Further reading

We suggest you engage with Unit 8: Sport,  of the OU’s Scots language and culture course, as it provides some interesting and engaging information about the links between Scots language and sports, which you could include in your classroom teaching at any level.

Scotland's Linguistic Past and Present: Paradoxes and Consequences by AtinaL.K. Nihtinen

Scots language and the Curriculum for Excellence by John Hodgart

Scots Poetry

Literacy and English / Languages

Second Level

This link, Time for Inclusive Education: Primary resources, contains a collection of original poems written in Scots. It has been designed to support teaching and learning in the Literacy Experiences and Outcomes and all poems link to one or more of the LGBT Learning Themes. The poems can be used individually or as a pack and each one comes with an accompanying worksheet and teachers’ notes.

This resource pack includes a Scots poetry collection, teaching notes, worksheets for learners, and translation materials.

The Scottish Poetry Library has a wealth of poetry written in Scots, which often also provides an audio version of the poems read b the author as well as information about the author: 

10. References

Scots Language in Curriculum for Excellence

https://education.gov.scot/improvement/self-evaluation/scots-language-in-curriculum-for-excellence/

Accessed on 30/08/2025

Scots Sangs An Tunes Fur Schools

https://projects.handsupfortrad.scot/handsupfortrad/scots-sangs-fur-schools-website/

Accessed on 30/08/2025

Education Scotland resource: Effective resources to support expressive arts– a study by the Consortium of Institutions for Development and Research in Education in Europe (CIDREE)

https://education.gov.scot/improvement/research/cidree-report/

Accessed on 30/08/2025 

FeisRois – Traditional music

https://www.feisrois.org/

Accessed on 30/08/2025

Singing to learn, learning to sing (requires Glow login)

https://glowscotland.sharepoint.com/sites/staff/eannc/music/SitePages/Singing%20to%20learn,%20learning%20to%20sing.aspx

Accessed on 30/08/2025

11. Acknowledgements

Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders. 

If any have been inadvertently overlooked the publishers will be pleased to make the necessary arrangements at the first opportunity.

Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources:

Laura Green Unit 3 image.

"Feis Rois" by GrubbyPix is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 in Community link on Feis Rois.