Alien Ink (graphic novel, videos, social media) - A graphic comic tackling teen issues e.g. Knife crime, peer pressures, bullying etc. This is perfect for PSHE and citizenship lessons.
Battle of Britain: Squadron 303 (flash game) - A fun and historically accurate game about the Polish Squadron 303 in the British Airforce during WW2. This is great for history lessons, but also citizenship as it teaches about diversity in the British armed forces as far back as the 1940s.
Battlefront 2 (TV programme, online videos, game) - A second series of this TV programme and website featuring 11 campaigns run by young people on themes from autism, to equal pay, to lowering the voting age to education in Ghana. A fantastic resource for PSHE and citizenship teachers.
SuperMe (games, videos, quizzes) – This teaches young people how to “live life better”, how to be more resilient and take control of their happiness. Inspired by the Resilience program and featuring celebrities young people look up to such as Pixie Lott, Speech Debelle and footballe Shaun Wright Phillips, this is a great site full of videos, games and quizzes to engage people in citizenship and PSHE issues. Expert psychologist advice also makes this relevant to psychology classes. Here’s an example of one of the videos:
The Speak up to your Teacher DVD was featured on Teaching News in February. The DVD offers a musical performance which encourages pupils to think about bullying and how they can help to stop it. Since my last post, the creators of the DVD have set up a new website which has lots of useful information.
The site has information about the DVDs and videos of the musical being performed in schools. There is also a useful online book with bullying advice for children, along with lesson ideas and resources for teachers.
Cancer Research UK is encouraging primary school pupils to learn how to enjoy the sun safely by taking part in the 2010 SunSmart Competition. You can win a state of the art shade canopy worth over £3,000 for your school playground. Key stage 1 and 2 pupils are eligible to enter and the deadline for entries is 18th June 2010.
To make it fun and easy for teachers to engage their pupils with the competition and learn about sun safety, the charity has also developed free classroom resources including a downloadable animation for interactive whiteboards, lesson plans, stickers and class worksheets. In addition to covering points on the PSHE syllabus, the competition activities and resources can also be tied into a school’s ‘creative curriculum’.
Channel 4 have been busy working on a number of education projects with free resources for schools to use. The sites feature videos and games and are becoming popular with young people. They span a range of curriculum subjects and key stages (they are aimed at 10 – 19 years) and are all completely free.
Current projects include:
ROUTES – A set of minigames, a documentary and a murder mystery which explore the fascinating world of genetics.
Science of Scams – A set of 7 hoax videos which appear to demonstrate paranormal phenomena. However, they’re all based upon real scientific principles which cover physics, chemistry and psychology.
Bow Street Runner – An interactive game which deals with the crime and history of London’s Covent Garden in the 1750s.
Trafalgar Origins – Take control of a ship during the days of Nelson and Napoleon. Improve your crew and upgrade your ships using the prizes you plunder from enemy ships.
1066 Game – A historical game in which you get to control the English, Viking or Norman armies, with the aim of defeating the enemy by killing or scaring off as many as possible. Here’s a video which introduces the game:
Battlefront – A look at campaigning, allowing people to get involved with (and set up) campaigns to improve the world.
Smoke Screen Game - Smokescreen is a cutting-edge game about life online, on a new social network called White Smoke. Explore websites, search for clues, receive phone calls, chat on IM, and tackle puzzles and minigames. Learn how to stay safe online and deal with issues like cyber bullying and data privacy.
Insider Job – An engaging look at careers, encouraging young people to find out about a range of jobs.
Pressure Comics – Graphic novels which explore how two 19 year olds have set up a successful business.
Their site explains that… ‘Schools have a vital role to play in ensuring that the next generation has the skills and knowledge to make sustainable lifestyle choices. New resources and support are being created around the National Sustainable Schools Framework initiative from DCSF and many schools are aware of the government target of all schools being Sustainable Schools by 2020.
This conference will draw together thinkers and practitioners and allow teachers, NGOs and Local Authorities to engage in dialogue to help plan the sustainability journey for schools.’
Spaces are limited so confirm your place now by registering online here. Early bird discounts are available until May 22nd.
Here is a Youtube video which outlines the thoughts of those who attended the event in 2009:
Friendship Funday is Save the Children’s national fundraising day in primary schools. They are on a mission to find schools that want to have fun, celebrate friendship, and help save children’s lives.
Your school can join the fun and:
enrich your teaching of children’s rights,
deliver aspects of the global citizenship curriculum,
strengthen the ‘friendly’ ethos of your school,
deliver on the Healthy Schools initiative and SEAL’s relationship-themed topic,
demonstrate the values of Every Child Matters.
More than 100,000 children have taken part in recent years. The online friendship is already buzzing with activity. Want to join them? Register online or call the charity on 020 7012 6400. Once registered, Save the Children will also send you stickers, posters and balloons and may be able to arrange for one of their volunteer speakers to visit your school –a perfect way to introduce their work and the difference your fundraising will make.
Here is a Youtube video showing how your Friendship Funday can help people in Kroo Bay, Sierra Leone.
As the summer weather approaches, many teachers will be thinking about ways of teaching children the importance of staying safe in the sun. Sunwise Learning is a new site offering games and activities for children, as well as lots of lesson ideas and resources for teachers.
As a teacher, you can also register for a free newsletter. Each week during the summer term the Funshine News will be delivered to teachers inboxes, packed full of links to teaching resources, sports news, jokes for the classroom, weather forecasts and much more. There is also a special competition where primary school children have to design a PE kit for The Sunwise Set who are NIVEA SUN’s ambassadors in school. The winning schools will win a personal visit by The Sunwise Set plus lots of other fun prizes.
My Life is a free interactive resource produced by The Children’s Society which aims to help children aged 7 to 11 develop the skills they need for a healthy, happy childhood.
The content is separated into different units, covering friends, family, learning, beliefs and keeping healthy. There are links to the National Curriculum, Every Child Matters and SEAL.
The resource has information for:
Teachers – with online activities, case studies, activity sheets and teachers’ notes.
Children – including animations and online storybooks.
Parents – showing what the activities are about and how to get information and support.
Practical Action are a development charity who are offering lots of free resources for schools, linked to their work in helping some of the world’s poorest people to transform their lives for the better.
Here are details of two sites which can be used to support work on road safety:
Safety Matters is designed for 7-11 year olds (and their teachers / parents) and offers free and interactive resources. Safety Matters provides teachers with lesson plans, assembly plans, student worksheets and interactive whiteboard tools which deliver road safety messages whilst supporting the Key Stage 2 PSHE, literacy and numeracy curriculum.
The pupil section of the website contains fun and interactive games, exercises, downloadable screen savers and a glossary, all designed to reinforce learning objectives. The parents section provides useful safety information on subjects such as cycling and the Green Cross Code.
Think! Education is made by the Department for Transport, offering road safety information and resources for primary-aged pupils, teachers and parents.
The resources are designed to be used flexibly, with mix and match lesson ideas. Resources have been provided in a variety of formats to suit different learning styles. There are posters, online big books, stories, songs, interactive whiteboard activities, activity sheets, homework sheets, audio clips and videos. You can download these from the site, but teachers can also order free printed copies of some of the resources.
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