The Natural History Museum has just launched new learning resources to support school visits to Cocoon, the interactive visitor experience at the heart of the new Darwin Centre. There are pre and post-visit sections introducing students to an activity which they gather information for as they go round the Cocoon experience. They can be used in the classroom or set as homework.

Back at school, students follow up their visit by presenting what they found out to their class. There are separate activities for Key Stages 3 and 4, and for post-16 students.

• KS3 – ‘How do Scientists study Biodiversity at NHM?’ Pupils take on the role of a News reporter, radio show presenter or scientist to communicate what they learn about research This is supported by free booklets for pupils to use whilst in Cocoon.
• KS4 – Careers activity where pupils take on the role of an interviewer or interviewee for a post working as a Scientist at NHM.
• Post-16 – Expedition plan activity where pupils find out more about Leishmaniasis or Malaria in preparation for writing an expedition plan

To access the resources go to www.nhm.ac.uk/a-day-in-the-life. To find out more about visiting the Natural History Museum with school or college students go to http://www.nhm.ac.uk/education.

Year Dot is a documentary which followed the paths of 15 young people over one year, as they pursue their goals across a range of subjects. Their stories give an insight into their respective fields: Business Management, English, Politics, Performing Arts and P.E, to name a few. They also document the journey taken in transforming a school time passion into a full-blown career.

Alongside these academic insights, the documentary provides an intimate portrayal of some difficult and relevant social subjects. The community engagement of these individuals is also inspiring, making the videos a valuable resource for opening up social issues in the classroom, and bringing curriculum subjects like PSHE and citizenship to life.

www.yeardot.co.uk/resources

The Year Dot site allows you to search for video resources and catch up clips linked to different areas of the curriculum.

MyFrenchResources is an extremely valuable site for teachers of KS3, KS4 and KS5 French. It is full of downloadable resources, all clearly organised by year group and topic. Lots of the KS3 resources might also be useful for older KS2 students.

www.myfrenchresources.com

The site’s Welcome page, also has some useful display and assembly resources for teachers to use. Take a look!

I’ve had an email from the senior producer of the BBC’s Bitesize websites who wrote to say that the site has recently had a makeover. There is a new look for the KS2 area (for children aged 7 to 11)…

as well as the KS3 area (for students aged 11-14)…

The KS3 pages have lots of new activities (examples here, here and here) and there are also new videos on the KS2 pages. The Bitesize pages are a wonderful resource for schools, covering lots of different subject areas and topics in really interesting and interactive ways, so have a look to see what’s new.