Tividale school goes beyond the forest to improve literacy
Year 2 pupils at Tividale school have taken part in a literacy project titled ‘Beyond the Forest’ with storyteller John Edgar.
An extra special event took part in Tividale School one evening where exciting things were happening in the forest near school. John Edgar was there to tell stories about a witch called Esmerelda who lives in the forest. Esmerelda hates children which is unfortunate given her residence is in the middle of a school!
This event was part of a project looking at how working in the forest might help develop writing skills in boys in Year 2. The project began by exploring the outdoor environment with storyteller John Edgar. Twelve boys in Year 2 worked as project managers, filming, editing and recording John’s work into podcasts. The rest of the year group worked on their own stories, recording them as podcasts.
The evening was a great success and had the highest number of family members in attendance at an event in the history of the school. At the end of the project, as part of a Key Stage 1 sharing event, families came into school again to hear the podcasts... even Esmerelda turned up again....we think she quite likes children really! A professional film company filmed the rehearsals and event to create a DVD which children will receive.
Nicky Dupays, creative agent, said "we hope that all of the children involved will be inspired to achieve in Literacy. With reference to the key focus group of boys, we hope that the new responsibilities they take on will impact on their self-esteem and behaviour. We also want children to realise that learning can take place in any environment!”
Article written by pupils at Oldbury Wells School
