Unit 7 Application Task
Lesson Description:
This lesson was delivered to a mixed ability S4 group towards the end of their completion of the Scots Language Award at level 4-5.
The lesson was designed with a modern languages and literacy focus to help students see Scots as a true modern language with a rich and expressive linguistic heritage. As a modern languages teacher, I used some of the techniques and activities I would usually use when teaching French or Spanish to frame Scots as such. This involved a Scots to Standard English translation starter, and then a main activity working to translate phrases from Standard English into Scots. We finished with an online tarsia game which recapped the language used in the lesson.
How did it go?
I had anticipated that the class would find the starter - translating phrases from Scots to Standard English - quite straightforward, and the main task (where they were basically translating the other way) much more difficult. Put simply, I was wrong! It is difficult to be sure of the reasons for this, and indeed they are probably numerous. Partly, the learners weren’t “warmed up” yet, so were a bit reticent with the first activity - perhaps they knew some of the answers but weren’t comfortable expressing ideas. Perhaps it was because Scots is a language they have mostly encountered orally, and they initially struggled with the transference to written Scots? Further to this, in the second activity they could initially work orally and then transcribe - maybe this was more accessible for the learners. Furthermore, when it came to the main Standard English to Scots activity (which went better than expected), perhaps I have just become more adept at providing suitable supports and resources, and learners are somewhat more trained in where to look to find the words and ideas they need to complete such a task. They also seem to enjoy and be motivated by tasks where there is an element of creative freedom, which some of them found in the translation task - going slightly further away from a literal translation to find something more idiomatic. In any case, this is an interesting comparison to my normal languages classes.
Take-Aways and Next Steps:
Learners seem to be becoming somewhat more confident in expressing themselves in Scots, which is great news. Creative writing seems to be consistently motivating for them, and - perhaps unexpectedly - this group of learners has consistently flourished when tasks have been extended individual tasks (such as this) rather than group work. There was clear transference between this lesson and French / Spanish / German lessons, and a number of literacy benchmarks were met; I have plans for a full BGE “Scots and Literacy” course in future and I could really see how this sort of task could be used to both ends. There is still significant nervousness around their work being shared or speaking Scots “straight” (without a comic intention, for example), and learners still need exposure to a far wider range of Scots texts and media. We can build this in within our department, but I also have some ideas to encourage other staff to get in on the Scots game! The main next steps for most learners, though, are increasing their Scots vocabulary and increasing their confidence in their spoken Scots (one may well lead to the other). Finally, doing more activities which mirror the activities I do in a “normal” languages classrooms certainly seems to help frame Scots as a “true” language so I would like to do much more of this approach going forward. There is a competitive pronunciation game I often play which I’d like to try, for example.
Unit 7 Application Task (Jamie's Group)
Unit 7 Application Task – An Introduction tae th Scots Leid
Prior Learning:
- This is designed to be the first lesson of the year in the Scots Language Award at Level 4. No prior learning is assumed.
Learning Intentions:
- We are learning that the Scots Language is a distinct language with a long and proud history.
- We are recognising that we are already Scots Speakers
- We are learning to play Bingo (students from outside Britain have not necessarily played Bingo before)
- We are improving our listening skills (something level 4 students really struggle with!)
Success Criteria:
- I can listen to short films about the Scots Language
- I can take part in discussions about the Scots Language
- I can play Scots Wurd Bingo
- I can recognise that I already use Scots Language words in day-to-day conversation
Resources / Organisation:
· Introduce the history and modern-day usage of Scots through the powerpoint Introduction tae th Scots Leid
· Discuss any new vocabulary as a class and their prior experience with the Scots Leid.
· Play Scots Wurd BINGO! Giving a translation and sentence demonstrating usage of each word.
Plenary:
· Each student to share their favourite Scots word that they already use in everyday speech.
Differentiation:
- No differentiation needed. It is likely that some students will feel more able to share in class discussion than others. Some students will need more encouragement to share their thoughts.
What went well?
· Students enjoyed watching the ‘funny’ clips
· The talking and watching part of the presentation allows students who are nervous at being in college with people they do not know to ease into being in the group.
· The chance for discussion gave students a chance to reflect on ‘language o th hame’ and share personal anecdotes which served as an icebreaker for the group.
· Two students from outwith Great Britain played Bingo for the first time.
· Students recognised all the words on the Bingo cards. This made them realise that they knew more Scots than they previously thought.
· The fact these words are only used in Scotland reinforced that Scots is a distinct language.
What would I change?
Watching clips and general discussion is great for confident students but allows other students to ‘coast’. There is an opportunity to add group work for next time e.g. Get into groups and make a list of ‘Top Three Favourite Scots Wurds’.
Next steps for learners:
The next lesson will set the scene for what is the Scots Language Award, what we will be studying, what the assessment criteria is etc.
At present I teach both the history and development and understanding and communicating in Scots as an integrated unit. We study a period of history relating to the Scots language and then look at a piece of writing in Scots from the literature of that period.- Jump to: Parent to post 1
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Rosemary - sounds like an ideal introduction! Funny clips really help - learners recognise the Scots and relate to it well, whereas I find they struggle more with "straight" Scots used in formal settings or in writing. Good luck with the course!
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Rosemary, this sounds like a really good fun lesson. My pupils love Bingo and I use it all the time for plenaries and formative assessment tasks. It’s amazing how competitive they become for a lollipop!
I agree that introducing the fun elements are a great idea as it encourages them to open discussion and increases confidence in pronunciation. I use funny songs to introduce grammar points in French and Spanish and pupils remember them so much more than the more traditional explanations.
Do you find it more challenging to engage your EAL students? I have certainly found them less keen to participate in Scots throughout the whole course.
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Rosemary that sounds such a good way to frame a lesson with activities which are such that differentiation occurs naturally with pupils engage to the level, and with the confidence they can.
Great idea to use "‘language o th hame’ and share personal anecdotes" as the icebreaker for the lesson. Having a clear icebreaker is something I have not yet built into a lesson so thatnk you for the idea.
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You suggest getting other staff involved with the Scots Language. This harks back to unit 1 and our Scots language audit. I think having a whole school approach to Scots is key. I have offered myself out to other staff for next year to help integrate some Scots into all classes. However this is voluntary at the moment. I think it is something that may have to come from management. The Scottish Languages Bill going through parliament at the moment may help! R.
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Yes Rosemary, it will. be interesting to see what comes of the Scottish Language Bill.
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Hi Greta,
Yer lesson sounds really interestin. Yiv got me thinkin aboot the challenges ye considered when ye said,
"they are probably numerous. Partly, the learners weren’t “warmed up” yet, so were a bit reticent with the first activity - perhaps they knew some of the answers but weren’t comfortable expressing ideas. Perhaps it was because Scots is a language they have mostly encountered orally, and they initially struggled with the transference to written Scots?"
Also "There is still significant nervousness around their work being shared or speaking Scots “straight” (without a comic intention,"
Interestin points tae reflect on thank ye. The mair they ar exposed tae Scots across subjects an by mair staff in scuil would really help wi thier confidence. Yes plan tae, "build this in within our department, but I also have some ideas to encourage other staff to get in on the Scots game!" soonds jist whit is needed - guid on ye! An gid luck wi yer future plans.
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Next I made use an extract about Scots Language development from the Open University: Scots Language & Culture – Unit 14, 2025 which I gave to pupils to follow as we read. At points we stopped and in groups they answered questions about the text from me and tried to highlight the asners in the text they had. This was used as a warm up to using some of the Michael Dempster reources (Appendix 5 & 7). Lastly pupils were to make use of the vocabulary they had been learning / developing to do some creative writing linked to earlier work where we used the Medieval Trail online for Perth https://medievalperth.org/
Unfortunatly due to absence the later part of the activities never happened.
Reflections:
- Use of a competative element built into the first two group tasks worked well in engaging everyone and acted as a good warm up.
- Pupils seemed to enjoy exploring his 'same but different Scots English resource' by Michael Dempster and it led to more discussion than when the same class had done my Samhain RME Scots Language back in Unit 2.
- Pupil feedback using a Glow Survey was positive about exploring Scots, its relevance and it being fun.
- Pupil feedback suggested groups were too big and not everyone got a go, or maybe got left behind. I would take this on baord & rethink group size next time.
- The mixed ability nature of the class meant proper differentiation would be beneficial next time as able pupils dominated the group quiz tasks.
- I would like to tidy up and differentiate this run of activities so that it can be used agin next session as a core task in the History unit.
- Consider more carefully how to assess and report on it so pupils can get a grade for their profile grids in jotters, beyond just a team score.
- Having some sumative assessment would make it easier to reference Scots Language tasks as part of Social Subjects reports to Parents/ Carers & also increase its importance in eyes of pupils & parents.
- I am wondering if a wee bank of similar Scots language tasks might be auseful things to develop across Social Subjects as cover lessons which anyone could pick up and run with if they get a please take. The hope being it could give confidence to other staff and encourage their exploration of using Scots language within their own subject areas.
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Sounds like a great way of framing Scots as a language of historical power - a similar aim to my own in a mod lang classroom, trying to frame Scots as a "real" language like French or Spanish. Interesting mentioning a bank of resources for other teachers, too. I was wondering about this to offer other subject areas - we have a Languages Week already, and it would be great to encourage other subjects to introduce a wee bit of Scots in their lessons that week, but it wouldn't happen unless we produced the resources for them. Maybe I could make Scots starters for other subject areas... anyway, you got me thinking!
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I really like how you are creating task booklets and taking into account pupils’ feedback to work on next steps. Scots in history was one of my favourite units in this course and I am keen to do more culture activities like yours.
I agree that we need more experience in assessing pupils in order to report and feed back to parents. As Greta mentioned, going back to unit 1, we need more staff in the school engaging in Scots to make this possible and to enable pupils to consider Scots a valid and important subject.
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Hi Greta
I love the sound of your lesson and as a fellow Modern Languages teacher would be keen to use some of your ideas. I agree that pupils enjoy the freedom to be as creative as they want. I have found that my less enthusiastic language learners are the ones who thrive in Scots creative lessons!
I think there is a lack of confidence for pupils speaking out loud in all languages and Scots can be no exception. I suppose the more we encourage them, the more adept they will become.
I like your Scots to English translation starter, this is a definite confidence builder and seems to be more manageable than English to Scots translation as they ‘know’ how to write in English but are less confident in Scots. I often have pupils asking hoe to write ‘a’ and ‘the’ in Scots as they except all words to be different like with French and Spanish!
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Unit 7 Scots Lesson Plan
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Date: June 2025 |
Class: S3 |
Unit of Work: Writing in Scots |
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Prior Learning: The class when in S2 looked at different Scots lessons across the curriculum and have become familiar with Scots words. They have created characters in Scots and have listened to a poem in order to create images based on what they heard. They have looked at Scots History and Culture, and have heard songs in Scots. The next part of their learning is to create their own piece of writing based on part of a novel we will read together. |
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Curricular Links / Benchmarks: Writing Benchmarks: By considering the type of text I am creating, I can independently select ideas and relevant information for different purposes, and organise essential information or ideas and any supporting detail in a logical order. I can use suitable vocabulary to communicate effectively with my audience. LIT 3-26a / LIT 4-26a I can engage and/or influence readers through my use of language, style and tone as appropriate to genre. ENG 3-27a / ENG 4-27a I can recreate a convincing impression of a personal experience for my reader, sharing my feelings and reactions to the changing circumstances with some attempt at reflection. ENG 3-30a Reading Benchmarks: To show my understanding across different areas of learning, I can: • identify and consider the purpose, main concerns or concepts and use supporting detail; • make inferences from key statements; and • identify and discuss similarities and differences between different types of text. LIT 3-16a I can: • discuss and evaluate the structure, characterisation and/or setting using some supporting evidence; • identify the main theme of the text and recognise the relevance this has to my own and others’ experiences; and • identify and comment on aspects of the writer’s style and other features appropriate to genre using some relevant evidence. ENG 3-19a |
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Learning Intentions:
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Success Criteria:
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Resources / Organisation: Duck Feet novel Dr Michael Dempster - Dignity video on YouTube DSL Help sheet with the most common words for pupils who require it |
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Plenary: Which has been your favourite Scots topic and why? This will inform me moving forward about what has engaged pupils and what we should consider next in their Scots journey. It will open up discussions to help answer the question of whether pupils see Scots as a stand alone subject. |
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Differentiation: Pupils can read up to 3 chapters of the novel depending on ability and engagement. Give options for how much writing is expected in the diary entry. Provide help sheets for those who need them with spelling guidance and the most common Scots words. |
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Evaluation of pupil learning and next steps: The pupils enjoyed the first three chapters of Duck Feet but I was very aware of the appropriateness of the book and did not want to cover the later chapters due to the content. There were some excellent pieces of writing created but pupils were reluctant to let themselves relax into the task, they were constantly asking ‘what is the word for…’ They are clearly used to having rules to follow when writing in English and they were almost uncomfortable with the freedom of sounding out words and writing them as they thought they should be spelled. More practice is required to enable pupils to become more comfortable writing in Scots. The topic was good as pupils wrote about things they know about and things that have happened to them or a character they have made up. |
Evaluation of teaching and next steps: This was a really enjoyable lesson and I think I learned as much as the pupils as I had very little previous experience of writing in Scots. I think the book was an excellent opener and I would like to do this with a senior class as the later chapters might be more appropriate for a slightly older audience. I will create a better guide when I next do this lesson to show that many of the high frequency words such as the, and, because, etc. do not have to change in Scots. As with all the lessons I have done in Scots, I vastly underestimated the time we would need to complete the task so in future I will allocate more time to avoid feeling rushed and to allow the inevitable conversation and questions that come from pupils. |
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