Unit 2 application task - Bruce's group - due 2nd Nov
Hiya to those in my tutor group
This is where to post your experience teaching a Scots lesson/activity. It'd be great to hear what you had planned, what materials you used and how the pupils engaged with it all. Do you think the activity worked well? What might you do differently/again next time?
Look forward to reading your posts,
Bruce
Unit 2 Application Task
Alexander III Monument poem with learners in p5/6.
We have started our IDL Topic related to the Scottish Wars of Independence. In this we have been looking at Alexander III and his role in the wars of independence. We have carried out some research on the King and created a timeline for him.
I decided to introduce some Scots language here by looking at the poem written in Scots on the Monument to Alexander's death in Kinghorn in Fife. I know it was also recorded by Andrew of Wyntoun in his Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland but I am not sure who wrote the poem. It laments the death of King Alexander III and the end of the 'golden age' associated with his reign.
E’s and O’s covered
LIT 2-02a - When I engage with others, I can respond in ways appropriate to my role, show that I value others’ contributions and use these to build on thinking.
LIT 2-07a - I can show my understanding of what I listen to or watch by responding to literal, inferential, evaluative and other types of questions, and by asking different kinds of questions of my own.
I read the poem to the learners. They had a copy of the text in front of them to read along with. We discussed the vocabulary and learners were then asked to read the poem to each other and reflect on what words they found tricky to pronounce. Children were asked to discuss with their partner what questions they had about the poem and we discussed these as a class.
They then worked in groups to answer a range of literal, inferential, and evaluative questions based on the poem.
Children enjoyed the real example of Scots in relation to what they were learning about. Rich discussions about what they felt the author was trying to achieve in the poem. Some said they felt awkward when reading the passage in Scots and a EAL student found if particularly difficult as they had no prior experience of Scots language.
If I did this lesson again I would think about how to make it more accessible to EAL student. Perhaps recording the poem and allowing learners to listen to it again and again via their ipads would be useful to help them with pronunciation.
I would also think about reflecting on the poem again when we have finished our topic learning and seeing whether pupils have different opinions on the poem.As an add on, I have subsequently found a website which contains some of the text of the Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland and have found information about Castle Douglas which I am going to share with my class as I think this might also bring the language alive for them because it will be related to something they directly know about.
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Hiya Emma, thanks for this post - it’s brilliant! It’s fantastic to see your P5/6 class doing this topic and this lesson within it. Do you teach the Scottish Wars of Independence each year? I’d also be interested to know if this was the first time you had a Scots language element as part of that topic?
How wonderful that it prompted rich discussions about what they felt the author was trying to achieve in the poem. How many are in the class? I think it’s totally to be expected that some said felt awkward when reading the passage in Scots. Let’s not overlook that the poem is from the 14th century! A poem written in English from that period, let alone Scots, would be tricky for some.
I like your thoughts on what you’d do differently next time and how to make it more accessible to EAL student. If you ever need a confident Scots voice to record anything then feel free to ask me or Jamie!
Great work,
Bruce
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I do teach the Scottish wars of independence but its only my second time doing it for that age and stage. It is the first time that I have made use of Scots language in the course. As I said in the tutorial I don't know why I haven't thought of including it as it is part of the history.
Reflecting further, I would use the video that yourself or Jamie might kindly do for me! I also think bringing in some Scots picture books such as the Gruffalo and other resources from the Scots language site that would expose all learners to more of the language prior to making use of this poem. Hopefully having done this course I will be introducing more of the Scots language right from the beginning.
The feedback from the lesson was positive, one learner who really enjoyed speaking with Grandparents at home really valued being able to discuss Scots in class and felt quite valued in the class about this experience. This is quite different to normal as they don’t often join in with whole class discussion.
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Your lesson sounds like it was a great success with lots of good discussions. I love the link for your pupils who was speaking at home with their Grandparents and how they wanted to share this with the class - it is likely to be such a memorable lesson for them having Scots validated in your lesson.
Your ideas of recording things is one I wondered about too in my own setting. I wondered if I might record audio for my lesson for other staff who might then give the lesson a go. But I might also explore asking other staff (teachers / support staff / janitors / canteen staff etc) to read out my text so we get a variety of voices - that might be fun to explore as it would widen out the Scots voice in school too - not just tjose of us doing the course perhaps. Mybe you have folk in your own school who might be willing to be recorded, if not maybe filmed?
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Thats a great idea for the recording. We are always looking at ways to include our community and I also have to link in some digital work for our schools digital award. I could get the children to record the voices and we might also do a little scots language podcast at the end of it all to showcase our learning. The more variety of voices the better.
Thank you for your idea its great to get feedback on where to next.
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One teacher last year who had confidently taught Scots for years (as part of Burns night celebration) said that the only things that she was unhappy with were speaking and writing.
When I did the side unit work I listened to Bruce and had to repeat the sentence after. You could use that duck duck goose to have fun and build confidence with a similar activity. It was fun to hear myself say the Scots sentence
Finding texts/ books with a recording is great to support teacher confidence.
My video stopped working and I switched to a topic I knew better as I lacked the confidence to do it without the video .
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Listing to people speaking Scots definitely seems to help. I have an EAL pupil in my class and we had a bit of a discussion about words in his first language. More than one language spoken in his home country and it became quite a talking point amongst the pupils that it wasn't unusual to have more than one language spoken in a country and that often people use words from more than one...just like Scots and English!
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Very jealous of the topic that you are doing with your class and how well this links in with Scots.
I think your idea of recording the poem or future poems, texts etc. in Scots is a great one and something I'd like to implement in my future lessons.
I remember letting my kids in a previous Primary 5 class do a re-enactment of the Battle of Stirling Bridge where they had to do it all in Scots and it was brilliant. Really let the kids set the scene. It did take a good chunk of work for them to write their scripts but getting to record themselves and do it as a re-enactment did set the language alive for them.
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Scots Unit 2 Lesson with P6
Health & Wellbeing
I am becoming aware of the journeys which foods make from source to consumer, their seasonality, their local availability and their sustainability. HWB 1-35a / HWB 2-35a
Technology
I can use digital technologies to search, access and retrieve information and am aware that not all of this information will be credible. TCH 02-02a
Social Subjects
I can discuss the environmental impact of human activity and suggest ways in which we can live in a more environmentally responsible way. SOC 2-08a
Literacy
Using what I know about the features of different types of texts, I can find, select and sort information from a variety of sources and use this for different purposes. LIT 2-14a
Numeracy
I have extended the range of whole numbers I can work with and having explored how decimal fractions are constructed, can explain the link between a digit, its place and its value. MNU 2-02a
Having determined which calculations are needed, I can solve problems involving whole numbers using a range of methods, sharing my approaches and solutions with others. MNU 2-03a
Activity Brief – Children to watch a brief video on Food Miles and discuss how this relates to our transport topic. Children to read created text about where we get our food from. The text will be completely in Scots. Children to translate the Scots words for different foods and for different towns in Scotland either using prior knowledge or with access to the chromebook. Once they have the translations and the towns/cities the food came from they are to calculate the food miles that the food has travelled. At the end the total mileage will be added up and the food that took the longest will be discussed.
How the lesson went – The whole lesson was delivered in Scots, which was interestingly received by the pupils. It did in some regards make them more engaged so that they could understand what I was saying. However, they thought I was putting on a voice which I found interesting as they hadn’t heard much like it before.
I will say even though I delivered in Scots, and it wasn’t something they were used to the listening skills shown by the children were brilliant and they understood what they had to do.
Another eye opener was when I asked the children the Scots words for food they knew already and only got 2 responses of “neeps and tatties” and even getting that out of them was very much drawing blood from a stone. At this point I knew that potentially the comprehension I was going to give them was going to be challenging. And began to further realize that my initial impression of the class that they may not speak Scots at school OR at home was probably correct.
The children did tackle the task well. They used their Chromebooks to translate the foods in the text using the DSL or even AI which worked quite well. They also used the Scots Language centre for the Scots names for towns and cities.
I would say overall the next steps for the children would be to go back a step and get them comfortable speaking Scots and teaching them a few new words. I feel from there it can then build back to doing comprehension. I would also like to introduce Scots activities into their brain breaks, finisher tasks or reading to get them more used to it.
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Hiya
This looks like a brilliant lesson. A great mix of Es&Os being covered and it’s fantastic that it linked into your transport topic. That’s exactly what we recommend your Scots lesson should be – in alignment with what you are doing already, rather than as an add on.
I really like that you began with the introductory video and then gave them the sheet written in Scots. In future if there is any support I can offer with writing or just proof reading Scots worksheets then just say! The best part of all this though is definitely that you experimented with delivering the lesson in Scots and that there was good engagement. The idea of putting on a voice might just be because of it being new. And when it is the first time part of that is of course finding out what skills they already have in Scots and what words will be completely new.
I’m glad to hear how helpful you found the various online resources – are you aware there is a DSL Schools App? That might be something you can download on the Chromebooks for the future.
Can’t wait to hear about how you get on next.
Bruce
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Unit 2 application task
Hello, I hope this is the correct tutor group?
Lesson on Harvest/ Hairst
LIT 0-02a: I can show an awareness of the structure of language by using language in an appropriate way to communicate my thoughts.
LIT 0-10a: I am beginning to develop my vocabulary in Scots language through experiences and choices of texts.
SOC 1-01a: I can identify and describe places within my local environment using appropriate vocabulary.
Success criteria:
- I understand the significance of the harvest in Scottish culture.
- I can use Scots vocabulary related to the harvest.
- I can participate in listening and talking activities, displaying understanding of the Scots language.
This year my class topic is seasons. I decided to combine Harvest with this topic as we had a Harvest assembly which my class were leading this year. Instead of an ordinary lesson I would normally teach, I incorporated some new vocabulary into the lesson. I have an advantage as the class I am teaching were my class from last year. Although the majority of the children are now in P2, I have spoken to them in Scots for a year and they have a little bit of understanding of some basic vocabulary, some of which has been embedded and some of which has been taught stand-alone during a Burns/Scotland topic. The children were not phased by the delivery or incorporation of ‘new vocabulary’ in this lesson.
The lesson was delivered well, children were introduced to the language to think about, from a KWL perspective before I began the lesson. We looked at pictures and descriptions to confirm or correct their contributions. For example; when using the word tattie-bogle, some children thought it was a monster and another thought it was a potato-peeler, no one could identify a scarecrow. New vocabulary was well-received, and children were excited by the sounds of the words, which we (staff) made into funny scenarios/games to make words memorable for children. ‘Tattie-bogle says touch yer heid’, Tattie-bogle says sit on yer bahookie’ etc.
On reflection, I would reduce the amount of vocabulary that was listed to the children and drip feed specific vocabulary up until the lesson itself. I think I got a bit carried away! The majority of pupils I work with have Autism Spectrum Disorder and learning disabilities and processing time is a key factor. The listening and talking element of the lesson is appropriate at the stage and ability level that I am teaching.
I believe next steps stemming from that particular lesson would be to consolidate vocabulary learned, as it was a topical lesson geared towards Harvest. Going forward, I will think of ways to incorporate the vocabulary learned and extend it by making connections to other areas of the curriculum for learners so that the lesson didn’t seem stand alone. I incorporated more elements of vocabulary into my Halloween planning, as well as embedding every day vocabulary in daily practice and I will continue to incorporate Scots into my lesson delivery in all subject areas. Watching the example lesson delivered by Bruce Eunson has given me confidence in delivering lessons in that style.
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Hiya Diane, yes this is right place :-)
What a great lesson this is! Scots language and Harvest/Hairst go together hand-in-hand. Such a good place to start from too, knowing the bairns in the class and already having an idea of what Scots they bring with them.
I love reading details like this, “We looked at pictures and descriptions to confirm or correct their contributions. For example; when using the word tattie-bogle, some children thought it was a monster and another thought it was a potato-peeler, no one could identify a scarecrow. New vocabulary was well-received, and children were excited by the sounds of the words, which we (staff) made into funny scenarios/games to make words memorable for children. ‘Tattie-bogle says touch yer heid’, Tattie-bogle says sit on yer bahookie’ etc.”
It makes complete sense that a tattie-bogle could be a potato-peeler! Haha. Seems to me like you made it a very fun lesson and that confirming or correcting their contributions didn’t stifle any enthusiasm amongst the class.
Your reflection on how to adapt to your next lesson also seems bang on for this group. RE the number with ASD – did you watch the Jane Farquar video in the unit material where she spoke about what she has had success with in her ASN context using Scots?
This all sounds like a real success! And I’m heartened the video of me gave you confidence as well – that’s what me, Jamie and Sylvia and the various resources are here for.
Can’t wait to hear what you do next,
Bruce
The Gruffalo
I don't currently have my own class but took a primary 6 class for a couple of lessons in preparation for some of the Scots language work planned for January. We don't only do Scots language in January but it will be one of our main focus areas. The class were incredibly enthusiastic however the majority were at a very basic level. The class were delighted when I started speaking Doric as it is not something they hear often. I used 'The Gruffalo' in Scots and Doric as my stimulus. I plan to work with this class and prepare them for reading to some of the younger classes in January. We spent a lot of time at the beginning of the lesson investigating our favourite Doric words and phrases and that got them interested in the range of phrases around the room (I learned one or two myself). This brought us on to enjoying the story of The Gruffalo and exploring the language in both Scots and Doric. They used the Online Scots dictionary to investigate the language and even had a go at re-writing one of the sections. They illustrated and described the moose in as many Doric words as they could find. We created flash cards for the key sections of the story.
If I were to repeat this lesson I would spend more time on the history of the language and giving them more opportunity to share Scots words and phrases. They knew very little about the origin and many were very unsure of some of the words.
I would like to go back to some of the basics and the origins of the language to provide a stronger basis for moving forward. I plan to use 'Ken yer ain leid' as a starting point and I love some of the lessons within this. They also shared they would like to investigate further stories in Scots and deveop their confidence in several ready to share with the younger pupils. As I don't have the class on a regular basis, I will take opportunities to drop in and use opportunities such as assembly to build on what we've started.
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