Language at Letham - Project Outcomes
At the end of a year where Scots has had a major part to play in the P7 curriculum, participants and observers reflect on the "Cuddy Brae" experience.
What the teachers say
Muriel
Highlights: Matthew working with the children; the P7 pupils working with their P3/4 buddies; using Scots more throughout school life; the whole school involvement in St Andrew's Day assembly.
The wider impact: P5/6 using Itchy Coo's Eck the Bee for Scots language activities; P1 listening to stories in Scots; whole school assemblies; high degree of staff interest
Useful resources:
Matthew's writing pack
Hercules Bampots and Heroes (Matthew Fitt, Itchy Coo, 2005)
www.scuilwab.org.uk
My Mum's a Punk
Grammar Broonie
www.scuilwab.org.uk
Resources wish list:
Future developments: create Smartboard matching activities for colours and numbers.
Next time: slow the writing process down!
Additional comments: the project did not have a detrimental effect on the children's writing tests.
Angela
Highlights: visits from Matthew - wonderful! The songs and dances; the practical applications e.g. in enterprise; creating a fictional Scots Toun; the children's enthusiasm - vital in P7!
Impact on the children: more confident, greater sense of belonging.
Cross-curricular opportunities: linked to Scottish music, parliament, enterprise, counting in Scots.
CPD opportunities: more appreciative of own culture as an adult now.
Useful resources:
Itchy Coo's story-starts CD
Eck the Bee, Itchy Coo
A Book of Fairy Tales, Itchy Coo
Blethertoun Braes, Itchy Coo
Mingin' Rhymes, Itchy Coo
Hercules Bampots and Heroes, Itchy Coo
A Mantle of Verses
www.scuilwab.org.uk
Resources wish list:
Lessons learned: approach with a sense of fun!
Next time: more reading and writing of plays and part-taking, e.g. using The Broons and the Itchy Coo Fairy Tales; and more time!
What the children say
Hear what the children themselves have to say about learning Scots. The West Lothian Young Scot project helped the pupils record their thoughts and to create their very own Podcast.
To listen to the children's Podcast, simply open the West Lothian Young Scot website
Click on Podcasts in the right-hand box entitled West Lothian Sections.
Then click on the Podcast entitled Scottish Language Podcast.
Choose the Play Now or Download options to listen to the Podcast on your Media Player.
What the writer says
Matthew Fitt, Itchy Coo
Cuddy Brae: Language at Letham was for me the most rewarding project I have worked on in recent years.
Collaborating with Cathrin Howells of LiL was one of the highlights of the project and discussing the issues related to use Scots in the classroom with Dr Dickson and Professor McGonigal was very inspiring. The enthusiasm and support shown by Valerie Brodie, Head Teacher of the school, was also most encouraging.
Contact with the two groups of P7 pupils was of course a central part of my work at Letham Primary. The two groups worked extremely hard during the year and responded well to all the challenges that were set but the best outcome of this project was the contribution of the two class teachers, Muriel Angus and Angela Mackie.
Muriel and Angela had both considered using Scots before in their teaching practice. The notion was not completely new to them. But they had not realised their full potential to teach through the medium of Scots.
My contribution to their development as teachers of Scots was concentrated into a few visits from September to February. I led classes which they observed and suggested activities which they followed up on. But after only the first few sessions, both Muriel and Angela had taken Scots on board and had made it their own within their teaching practice. All I did was offer support from which their confidence with teaching this subject was able to grow. The project shows that staff who may be reluctant or unwilling for whatever reason to teach Scots can do so and do so extremely well with very few resources. The real resources are in fact the teachers themselves.
Letham Primary School has adopted a more effective and substantial policy with regard to language, resulting in enhanced good practice by teachers and a richer learning experience for future year groups at the school.
During the project, Marion Low and Pauline Millar of Inveralmond Community High School’s English Department visited Letham, one of the school’s cluster-primaries. Full of praise for the primary teachers’ work, they mentioned that the High School is producing its own programme of Scots study. This is very encouraging as it is crucial that the Scots skills learned by pupils in primary are sustained and developed at secondary level.
