The Power of Reading!

As much as I love technology, I will always talk about the importance of reading on my CPD sessions. It really annoys me when people like to blame technology as a reason why children don't read as much. We like to blame technology for a number of things but for me, it comes down to choices. I hope through this blog and my social media pages, I demonstrate how, when used effectively, it can transform teaching and learning. Unfortunately, I think too many of us make the wrong choices with technology.

When pictures like this appear on my social feeds, it does wind me up because they both can be valuable and certainly enhance each other:

For me, technology can enhance the reading experience allowing pupils to explore texts in more creative ways. This is something I wanted to promote in my yearly Christmas video.

For the past 9 years, I always treat my pupils to a silly video at the end of our annual talent show. To see what I have produced previously - CLICK HERE.

This year, I decided to do something with a more serious message. I absolutely love the new John Lewis Christmas advert. In fact, I blogged some ideas for how you can use it, click the picture to see.

Inspired by this advert, I created my own looking at how reading can take you to some magical places. Please help share this important message by sharing the video far and wide!

Here’s my version of the John Lewis Christmas advert all about my love of reading for pleasure!

Please share @Booktrust @Waterstones @readingagency @Foyles @PuffinBooks @MichaelRosenYes @OliverJeffers @roald_dahl @WorldBookDayUK @jk_rowling @TomFletcher@eltonofficial pic.twitter.com/ydVpj5s6Q4

— Mr Parkinson (@ICT_MrP) December 15, 2018

For the supporters of my facebook page, I will share a more in-depth video explaining the process to create this.

Deconstructing The New John Lewis Christmas Advert

It is that time of year!!

We've been waiting all year in anticipation for the new John Lewis Christmas Advert and I love this year's effort.

I know not everyone is a fan. Personally, I think it is more about people possibly not liking Elton John but the message of the advert is brilliant. If you're not a fan, you can always use the adverts I have previously blogged about here:

Here is this year's advert:

As always, I would start with the text, What text I hear you cry? The song! One of my favourite songs, I just love it!

YOUR SONG

• Why do you think the song has this title? 
• Who is this song going to be about?

It's a little bit funny, this feeling inside

I'm not one of those who can easily hide

I don't have much money, but boy if I did

I'd buy a big house where we both could live

If I was a sculptor, but, but then again, no

Or a woman who makes potions on a traveling show

I know it's not much, but it's the best I can do

My gift is my song, and this one's for you

• What is funny at the start? His feelings.
• Why would it be funny? Maybe he's never felt like this before. 
• What might be the feeling inside? When you feel excited or slightly nervous, you get butterflies in your stomach.
• What do you think is causing this? His love towards someone.
• What can't he easily hide? His feelings
• How might he show his feelings? Discuss how love affects us on the inside, outside and through our actions. 
• Does Elton consider himself poor or rich financially? In between, he says I don't have much, but has enough to survive.
• If he was rich, what would he buy? A big house
• If you were rich, what would you buy? 
• Do you think this song was written early or late in Elton's career? Why? Early, he is now very successful and lives in a huge mansion.
• Why might he be a sculptor? So he can show his love by creating a masterpiece.
• Why does he then decide against it? He might think he would be rubbish or it isn't a career that he would enjoy.
• Why would he want to make potions? Maybe make a potion to make the person he is singing about feel the same way, or change the way he looks/acts if he doesn't feel happy with himself. 
• What is his gift? This song
• Does he feel it is valuable? No, he says it isn't much but its all he can do.
• Do you think it is valuable? Open for discussion. If this song is successful it will become financially valuable but having someone value you enough to write a song or poem is special.

And you can tell everybody this is your song

It may be quite simple, but now that it's done

I hope you don't mind

I hope you don't mind that I put down in words

How wonderful life is, now you're in the world

• What does he hope this song will do? Fill the person with joy and confidence to share it with everyone.
• What do you think is quite simple? The lyrics and message of the song.  The vocabulary and imagery created in this song isn't very complex or too deep. He is fairly blunt in his message about his feelings.
• Why does he repeat the phrase - I hope you don't mind? He recognises the person may feel embarrassed, especially if the feelings aren't recipricated. But he wants to assure the person that it is fine.
• Why would he put it down in words? He might not feel confident enough to tell them in person so writing gives him the opportunity to share his feelings.
• Who else might use words to share their feelings? Authors, poets 
• What does he want the person to realise? That they may Elton's life wonderful by simply being in it. 
• Who makes your life wonderful? 
• When was the last time you told them? 

I sat on the roof and kicked off the moss

Well, a few of the verses, well, they've got me quite cross

But the sun's been quite kind while I wrote this song

It's for people like you that keep it turned on

• Where was this song written? On the roof of a house.
• Is the house old or new? Old
• Why? He kicks off the moss, moss grows over time. Interestingly, the writer of the lyrics, Bernie Taupin, allegedly wrote the song’s lyrics after breakfast one morning on the roof of 20 Denmark Street, London, where John worked for a music publishing firm as an office boy.
• What does cross mean? Angry
• Why would writing make him cross? Writing his hard, especially when you are trying to share your feelings, it can be hard to find the right words. With a song, it can be more challenging especially with rhyme and rhythm. It can also be interpreted that the person they are writing about might not know how they feel or feel the same way.
• When do you think he wrote this song? Spring/Summer
• Why? The sun is out.
• What figure of speech has he used in third line? Personification - the sun has been kind.
• How might the sun be kind? It might stay out longer, keep him warm.
• Can people keep the sun turned on? No
• What does he mean by that line? The sun produces a hormone in our body called Serotonine. This helps reduce depression and anxiety and can heal wounds. Obviously, too much can be harmful, but the sun makes us feel happier. He is telling the person that they bring the same benefits as the sun. 

So excuse me forgetting, but these things I do

You see, I've forgotten if they're green or they're blue

Anyway, the thing is, what I really mean

It's yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen

• Give me a word to describe the singer? Forgetful, ditzy. 
• Do you think the writer of the song is a confident person? No, he decides to express his feelings through words and as demonstrated in this verse, he struggles to get his feelings across.
• Why might he not remember the colour of the person's eyes? He was just lost in them. It doesn't matter the colour, they are just beautiful. 
• Why might someone's eyes be deemed sweet? They are considered the windows to your soul.

And you can tell everybody this is your song

It may be quite simple, but now that it's done

I hope you don't mind

I hope you don't mind that I put down in words

How wonderful life is, now you're in the world

I hope you don't mind

I hope you don't mind that I put down in words

How wonderful life is, now you're in the world

• Why has the song finished on this line? It is a lovely line that epitomises the meaning of love. The people we love make our lives better.
• Why do you think this is one of Elton's most popular songs? 
• Who did this song remind you of when you listened to it? 

It is important to discuss how love can take many forms and we love people in different ways. The last line can apply to so many different people in our lives.

• Can you make a list of people who make your life wonderful by being part of it? 
• Who do you think Elton is singing about when the song was originally written? Open for discussion. The song was composed and performed by Elton John but the lyrics were written by Bernie Taupin. Elton John hadn’t come out as gay yet, but Bernie Taupin knew, which is part of the reason why the lyrics avoid using gendered pronouns.

• Why do you think this song was chosen for the advert?
• Who do you think Elton is singing about in this advert? His mother or the piano.
• List the ways in which he could be singing about his mother and how it could be about his piano.

Considering the advert as a whole:

• What is the message of this advert? Giving someone a gift can help them find a passion.
• What does John Lewis sell?
• Why have they chosen to focus on a piano for their advert? It isn't about the specific gift, it is about what the gift can do for someone.
• Why have they chosen Elton John? He is one of the most successful entertainers ever and so it proves the point more when it relates to someone so successful.
• How does this advert relate to Christmas?

If you do explore other adverts from the previous years. Compare which children like more and ask them to justify their reasons. 

I will be posting some more ideas for this advert over the next couple of days. But these will be exclusive to the supporters of my Facebook page. You can sign up by clicking the picture below:

5 Things Every Teacher Should Try In The New School Year!

As many of us are gearing up for the start of another academic year, I thought I would share some useful ideas and resources that will have you hitting the ground running in September. You can watch the video here:

Links to the ideas mentioned:

Taking Teaching Back 

Blackfish Project 

Designing websites 

Music for Comprehension 

ReadWritePerform.com

Reading Comprehension through World Cup Songs

So the World Cup is here! I'm sure many of your pupils are excited and can't wait to see their footballing idols in action.

A great resources to link to the World Cup, which helps raise standards in English but also embeds key digital literacy skills is the Read Write Perform Sports Manager Pack:

Buy the pack before England are knocked out and get my 15 iPad Lessons for the World Cup eBook for FREE!

There are also other ways in which you can use the World Cup to engage pupils in English. Music seems to go hand in hand with football, from chants in the stadiums to songs in the charts. This great article discussing the power of the football song - http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20180614-world-cup-2018-the-extraordinary-power-of-the-football-song

Why not use some of the most popular songs from past World Cups and Euros as texts for comprehension? 

I have previously blogged loads of different songs you can use in class and you can read them all here:

Songs for Reading Comprehension

Here are a couple of World Cup related songs you may want to use in class.

World in Motion - New Order

Here are the lyrics and some suggested questions:

Express yourself
Create the space
You know you can win
Don't give up the chase

Beat the man
Take him on
You never give up
It's one on one

• What does it mean to express yourself? To express yourself is to show your skills or thoughts or feelings through some sort of art form. 
• Can football be considered an art form? Why/Why not?
• What does it mean to express yourself on a football pitch? To show how good you are, be skillful and strong. 
• What does it mean to create the space? It means to make room to pass or shoot for goal.
• Could this phrase link to anything outside of football? It could link to the idea of freedom and having space to be yourself.
• What type of verb is used in the third line? Modal verb showing certainty - can
• Why does the singer use this? To give the person listening belief they can achieve their goal.
• What is significant about the last line of the first verse? It means never give up, even if you are losing. 
• What does the word 'beat' mean? How is the singer using it here? To run past the opponent.
• What does 'take him on' mean in football? To use skill or speed to get past the opposition.
• What is similar about the third lines in both verses? They are both strong certain statements to never give up.
• In football, what does it mean by 'one on one'? It means it is one player against another player. This is usually a striker bearing down on goal and only has the keeper to beat. 
• Now ask the children to consider that this song has nothing to do with football and read back the lyrics. What sort of message is the singer trying to express? Use your skills to be the person you want, you can achieve your dreams if you never give up. The idea of 'the man' can just symbolise the obstacle you need to overcome to achieve your dreams. Keep working hard and never give up and sometimes the hardest person to beat if your own belief in yourself.

Express yourself
It's one on one
Express yourself
It's one on one
Express yourself
You can't be wrong
When somethings good
Its never gone

Loves got the world in motion
And I know what we can do
Loves got the world in motion
And I can't believe its true

• Why does the singer repeat the line 'Express yourself, its one on one'? To emphasise that the biggest obstacle for most people achieving their dreams is their own self belief.
• Why does the singer think you can't be wrong if you do express yourself? If you show the best of your ability, whether you win or lose, you know you've done your absolute best. The next lyrics also show that if its something you enjoy doing too, you'll always remember it fondly. 
• What does the line 'Loves got the World in Motion' mean? This is open to interpretation. For me, in footballing terms, people love the game and so that love for football brings people together. The idea of World in Motion is everyone is moving together, celebrating, singing, coming together and uniting through the beautiful game. This lyric can also be taken beyond football in that the idea of love is what brings the world together, love and compassionate towards each other is what makes the world go round.

Now is the time
Let everyone see
You never give up
that's how it should be
Don't get caught
Make your own play
Express yourself
Don't give it away

• When is the time? Now
• Why is now the time? Children may say because it is the World Cup, however linking beyond football, you could discuss how to achieve your dreams in anything it starts today. 
• Why should you let everyone see? Let everyone see you express yourself, show your talent but also allowing people to support and help you in your journey. 
• What does the singer mean by 'don't get caught'? In footballing terms, it means don't get tackled. 
• What does it mean by 'make your own play'? Be creative, make your own decisions. 
• Again, once you have discussed these lyrics in terms of football, go back through and consider a bigger meaning in terms of achieving your goals in life. Starting now will only allow you to begin on your journey. Let other help and support you so you don't give up on your dream, don't get caught out by other's opinion and self doubt and make your own decisions.

Express yourself
It's one on one
Express yourself
It's one on one
Express yourself
You can't be wrong
When somethings good
It's never wrong

Loves got the world in motion
And I know what we can do
Loves got the world in motion
And I can't believe its true

Loves got the world in motion
And I know what we can do
Loves got the world in motion
And I can't believe its true

You've got to hold and give
But do it at the right time
You can be slow or fast
But you must get to the line
They'll always hit you and hurt you
Defend and attack
there's only one way to beat them
Get round the back
Catch me if you can
'cause' I'm the England man
And what you're looking at
Is the master plan
We ain't no hooligans
This ain't a football song
Three lions on my chest
I know we can't go wrong

• Again with the rap, consider how the lyrics link to football and ask the children to explain what they mean: hold and give - dribble and pass. Get to the line - finish line etc. But then also consider the bigger message in terms of achieving your dreams.
• Why does he say you can be slow or fast? People go on different journeys and take different paths but as long as they get to their desired destination, it is ok.
• Who are they in 5th line? In football, it will be the opposition, but in life, it will be people who put you down out of jealousy to stop you from achieving your goals. 
• What does the word hooligan mean? Why may he have mentioned it? At the time of the song, football in England had a problem with violence at football. This was a way of showing how the beautiful game should bring us together.
• Even though, this is clearly a football song, why does the rapper use the line 'This ain't a football song?' It links to the themes we have discussed about the attitude to achieving your goals even if they aren't football related. ]
• What does it mean by 'Three Lions on my chest'? Three lions is the crest of the England football team, so by wearing the England football kit it gives him the belief to express himself. 

We're playing for England {In-ger-land}
We're playing the song
We're singing for England {In-ger-land}
Arrivederci its one one one

We're playing for England {In-ger-land}
We're playing the song
We're singing for England {In-ger-land}
Arrivederci its one one one

We're playing for England {In-ger-land}
We're playing the song
We're singing for England {In-ger-land}
Arrivederci its one one one

We're playing for England {In-ger-land}
We're playing the song
We're singing for England {In-ger-land}
Arrivederci its one one one

• Looking at the lyrics, which word seems unfamiliar? Arrivederci
• What do you think this word means? Until we meet again
• Do you know where it is from? Italy
• Why has the singer included it? The song was written for the 1990 World Cup which was hosted in Italy.

Three Lions - Lightning Seeds

Here are the lyrics and some suggested questions:

I think it's bad news for the English game)
(we're not creative enough)
(we're not positive enough)


It's coming home, it's coming home, it's coming
Footballs coming home (we'll go on getting bad results)
It's coming home, it's coming home, it's coming
Footballs coming home
It's coming home, it's coming home, it's coming
Footballs coming home
It's coming home, it's coming home, it's coming
Footballs coming home

• Who says the first line and those in brackets? They are made by pundits who are people, usually ex-players, who give their opinion about the game.
• Why is this included in the song? To show how pessimistic they are about England.
• Why do they sing about football coming home? Football was first codified in England in 1863. The official slogan for Euro 96, the first European Championship to be held in England, was “football comes home.” England won the only previous championship that they’d hosted, the 1966 World Cup. Combined with the ability of players like Paul Gascoigne and Alan Shearer and a strong performance in the 1990 World Cup, there was genuine optimism among many fans that England would win. Not only would football be coming home, but so would the trophy.

Everyone seems to know the score, 
they've seen it all before
They just know, they're so sure
That England's gonna, 
throw it away, 
gonna blow it away
But I know they can play
'cos I remember

• Take the first line, what do they mean by the score? The score is the results of the match, but here it is used to sum up how 'badly' England will play. 
• Why might they all feel pessimistic about England? The song states they've seen it all before. By 1996, England had failed to win the last 14 major championships and had failed to even qualify for the 1994 World Cup. They were perennial underachievers, assembling good sides but consistently failing to reach their potential, and frequently losing on penalties. For every optimist like the singers, someone else (like the pundits are the start) would think they didn’t stand a chance. This makes the song much more endearing. It isn’t blindly patriotic, it doesn’t paint a picture of an England side entitled to win, but instead of plucky underdogs capable of triumphing against expectations.
• What line shows the singers still believe in the team? But I know they can play. 
• Why use the word 'but'? It is a contrasting conjunction, they are changing their view from everyone else. 

Three lions on a shirt
Jules Remet still gleaming
Thirty years of hurt
Never stopped me dreaming

• What are 'Three Lions on a shirt'? This links to the England badge as seen here. 
• What is Jules Remet? The Jules Rimet trophy was the original World Cup, named after the FIFA President who established the tournament. England won it in 1966. When Brazil won the World Cup for the third time in 1970, they were awarded the Jules Rimet permanently and a new trophy was commissioned.
• Why do they describe the trophy as still gleaming? The word gleaming means it shines brightly, so this shows how proud we are to win have won the trophy but also how the memory of the win is still clear to everyone, making us want to repeat it. 
• When was this song written? If England won the World Cup in 1966, and the song says 30 years of hurt, it would be 1996.
• What are they dreaming of? Winning again.

So many jokes, so many sneers
But all those 'oh so near's
Wear you down, 
through the years
But I still see that tackle by Moore
And when Lineker scored, 
Bobby belting the ball
And Nobby dancing

• What do you think the word sneer means? Are there any clues in the lyrics to help? A sneer means a mocking gesture or comment.
• What might be the jokes and sneers? People mocking how bad England are in tournaments.
• What are 'oh so near's'? The occasions where England nearly won it again. Here you can talk about incidents in previous tournaments where England have been dealt some bad luck - Hand of God, or 1990 semi-final. 
• How do these sneers make the singers feel? They feel down and sceptical. They start to believe it themselves.
• How do you know? They say 'wear you down' which means to persistently diminish their hope and belief in the team. 
• Who is Moore? Bobby Moore was the Captain of England in 1966, the lyric links to the memorable tackle he did against Brazil in 1970, which you can watch below:

• What position did Lineker play? How do you know? He was a striker, hopefully, the children will infer this from the fact he scored. 
• Who is Bobby? What might he have been remembered for? Bobby Charlton was a member of the World Cup winning team and once known for his long-range ferocious shots. 
• Why has the singer chosen the verb belting? It is alliterative, but belting was a form of punishment and was something done with a lot of force, so almost exaggerates how hard he would hit it. 
• Who was Nobby? Nobby Styles was another member of the 1966 winning team and celebrated the win with a dance, you can see below:

• Why does the singer make reference to these old players? To try and inspire the current team by reminding them of the heroes and legends before them. We all grow up with people we idolise and many find determination in wanting to be like them.
• Who are your heroes? Do they have to be footballers? How do they inspire you?

Three lions on a shirt
Jules Remet still gleaming
Thirty years of hurt
Never stopped me dreaming

(England have done it, in the last minute of extra time)
(what a save, what now)
(good old England, England that couldn't play football)
(England have got it in the bag)

I know that was then, but it could be again

It's coming home, it's coming home, it's coming
Footballs coming home
It's coming home, it's coming home, it's coming
Footballs coming home
(England have done it)
It's coming home, it's coming home, it's coming
Footballs coming home
It's coming home, it's coming home, it's coming
Footballs coming home 
Three lions on a shirt
Jules Remet still gleaming
Thirty years of hurt
Never stopped me dreaming
Three lions on a shirt
Jules Remet still gleaming
Thirty years of hurt
Never stopped me dreaming
Three lions on a shirt
Jules Remet still gleaming
Thirty years of hurt
Never stopped me dreaming


You may want to discuss how successful this song was during the Euro 96 tournament and how well England did in the tournament, it was the closest we had come reaching the semi-finals.

• In what ways did you think the song helped with this?

As an evaluation task, you can ask the children to compare and contrast the two songs and discuss which they preferred and why. 

You may then want to look at other World Cup songs and deconstruct them in the same way, here are a couple of suggestions:

I decided to take the idea from the Three Lions video, to recreate some iconic moments from the World Cup in school this week. The pupils loved it! Please give their video a watch and comment as they did such a brilliant job:

Why not ask your pupils to create and write their own England song?

This video, which is not appropriate to show your children, shows how simple it is to create a chart-topping pop song. This was shared by Adam Chase (@_geekyteacher) at the Animate2Educate conference last week with a summary of what he found:

A few years back we did a similar project but just wrote our own England songs to the melodies of popular songs at the time. This is an idea featured in my 15 iPad lessons for the World Cup eBook, here are some of their examples:

This project was featured in the local news - read it here.

Bringing Picture Books to Life!

Ever since John Murray (@ReadingExplorer) visited our school around 5 years ago, our school's approach to reading has changed massively. One aspect of the training which has really engaged our teachers and students was the use of picture books as a stimulus in English. It is something we have embraced right from EYFS to Year 6 and every class do at least one unit of English based on a picture book.

Since then, there's been a wealth of resources and support for using picture books to inspire English. One of my favourite people to follow on twitter is Simon Smith (@SmithSmm) who, for me, is like the guru of children's fiction. I was truly inspired by his session at Reading Rocks around the brilliant Arthur and The Golden Rope picture book. Click the picture to read Simon's blog post on this:

Year 4 have started looking at the beautiful book 'Flotsam.' Having explored the first few pages, we decided to create short videos telling the story in our own words.

To do this, we used the app Clips. I have blogged about this app previously and the potential to this app is huge. This app is quickly becoming one of my favourites in the classroom. The only downside is that it needs iOS 10 to run. A lot of schools I work in still use slightly older iPads where it isn't compatible. As an Apple app, it is almost like a condensed version of iMovie. It is a fantastic way to create visual content and allows you to add subtitles, different effects and filters, stickers, labels and it very easy and straightforward to use. 

To let you into a little secret, it is the app I use when creating a lot of content for my social media channels. 

With the app, the pupils recorded themselves narrating over the images from the book and even use their fingers to zoom in or pan across the image. The text labels were a great way to add speech bubbles and thoughts to characters and scenes. It meant the children could animate the pages from the book to create their own comic video of the story. Rather than describing this anymore, it is probably easier to just show you one of the children's finished efforts:

For me, this is a brilliant way to allow children to explore, predict and infer about texts in particular picture books.

Removing Barriers in Reading Comprehension by improving Oral Speaking

Recently, I was asked to write an article for Teach Primary magazine alongside John Murray (@ReadingExplorer.) The topic was to explain the pedagogy behind the Read Write Perform approach. You can read the article here:

A big focus with Read Write Perform is to get teachers to value oral speaking skills and demonstrate how much speaking and listening benefits other areas of the English curriculum. I see with many schools the constant accountability of work in books through Book Scrutinies is forcing many teachers to neglect this part of the English Curriculum. This was something I discussed in Episode 1 of Taking Teaching Back:

The obsession with work in books can create barriers for certain children if writing is something they struggle with. I have seen this in maths and reading especially. If the only way a student can show their understanding and reasoning is by writing it as a full sentence in their book, it may look like they are struggling if writing is challengeing. 

Through technology, I have found this can remove that barrier for certain children. Tools such as the iPad allow students to record themselves discussing, explaining and reasoning which can be evidenced through apps like Seesaw. 

I wanted to share a recent example of this idea using a new feature to one of my favourite apps. Thinglink is a FREE app I have used for years. It is a brilliantly creative app where students can add digital content onto photographs. There are plenty of examples of how we have used the app in class, which you can read here. 

With a recent update, they have now added the feature of adding audio tags. So students can record audio and embed it onto a picture. 

I decided to use this for some comprehension using the song I blogged about recently:

After listening to and discussing the song, I challenged my Year 4 pupils to orally deconstruct the lyrics using Thinglink. I shared an image of the lyrics and the children added oral notes deconstructing, inferring and exploring vocabulary and word choice. This was then saved to our School Thinglink account where it was linked to the student's Seesaw profiles. 

Here is an example of their finished work:

This idea would easily lend itself to maths with children using the same strategy to evidence their reasoning with different questions and problems.

The students loved the opportunity to really delve into the text and discuss different key elements of the song without worrying about their writing. Of course, this wouldn't be something I would do all the time, but as I discuss on my training all the time, the key is balance.

An Empowering song for Comprehension

Over the weekend, I finally managed to watch the film - The Greatest Showman. One of the songs stood out to me and straight away I thought, this is a must for the classroom. If you have followed my blog, you know I am a fan of using music for reading comprehension and you can read some of my other posts here.

The film tells the story of PT Barnum and his circus.

"This Is Me" is a fight song for people who are not accepted by society. It is sung by Lettie Lutz after she and the rest of the circus troupe are barred by Barnum from an after party following Jenny Lind's performance. The bearded lady refuses to be cut down by the fact that the showman is embarrassed by them. According to the song's writer, "It was really inspired by the group of oddities in the film, and what they came to represent and what [director] Michael [Gracey] talked about them representing," Pasek told Billboard. "People who had lived in the shadows their whole lives and for the first time wanted to feel love and acceptance, and even when P.T. Barnum turns his back on them, they make a statement - not only to him, but to themselves - that they declare to love themselves for the first time."

Here is a link to the music video:

Here are the lyrics with some suggested questions:

I am not a stranger to the dark
"Hide away," they say
"'Cause we don't want your broken parts"
I've learned to be ashamed of all my scars
"Run away," they say
No one'll love you as you are


But I won't let them break me down to dust
I know that there's a place for us
For we are glorious

• What does it mean to be a stranger to the dark? She likes to hide, in the shadows.
• Who are 'they' mentioned in the second line? Society, maybe her family
• What punctuation mark has been used to show speech? Inverted commas
• What are her broken parts? The features that make her 'different'
• Can these be fixed? Some things that are broken can be fixed but usually leave a reminder.
• What does the word 'ashamed' mean? They feel embarrassed and humiliated
• What are her scars? All the things that make her different.
• Why has she used the word scars? Scars are something that last a lifetime.
• Why does she use the word 'dust' when talking about breaking her down? To create something you have to crush something so much and it then just disappears into nothing.
• On a scale of 1-5, how effective is the word glorious?
• What is the word 'us' an example of? Pronoun
• Why does she use the word 'us'? To show she is no longer alone and there are others who feel the same way. 
• How does this make her feel? Empowered to know she is not alone, this might be what gives her confidence to speak out.
• Looking at the video, when is this film set? In the past.
• How were these people treated? Why?
• Do you think it is right to treat them they way they were treated? Why?
• Do you think we treat people like this today? Can you think of an example?

When the sharpest words wanna cut me down
I'm gonna send a flood, gonna drown them out
I am brave, I am bruised
I am who I'm meant to be, this is me
Look out 'cause here I come
And I'm marching on to the beat I drum
I'm not scared to be seen
I make no apologies, this is me

[Post-Chorus]
Oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh, oh, oh

• Which word is spelt incorrectly in the first line? What should it be? Want to
• What is the superlative adjective used in the first line? Sharpest
• Why has she chosen that adjective? Usually, sharp objects can hurt us so she is describing the words as hurtful.
• What does she mean by 'send a flood'? She wants rid of the judgements and negativity, she's going to drown them out. 
• What does the metaphor in the second line remind you of? Almost like flushing a toilet and getting rid of the horrible mess.
• Do you think she is brave? Why?
• Why has she used the word bruised when in the first verse she uses scars? Unlike scars, bruising disappears with time. It signifies a change in the attitude of the singer – the words no longer leave a lasting mark on her, but the effect of the hurt becomes more short-lived, more temporal. It speaks of resilience and strength that blossoms from within the singer.
• What is 'cause short for? Because
• Why does she use the verb 'marching'? Marching tends to be something you do in a group, like an army, and it is a very determined walk.
• Why does she march to her beat? She is now taking control of her life and how she is seen by others. 
• What does it mean to apologise? Say sorry
• Do you think she has apologised in the past? Why? Yes because she has let others bring her down.
• Why isn't she going to apologise any more? She has nothing to apologise for.
• Why was she scared to be seen?  They have been treated as outcasts their whole life and tried to hide in the darkness. Now they know their worth through the circus.

Another round of bullets hits my skin
Well, fire away 'cause today, I won't let the shame sink in
We are bursting through the barricades
And reaching for the sun (we are warriors)
Yeah, that's what we've become

[Pre-Chorus]
Won't let them break me down to dust
I know that there's a place for us
For we are glorious

• Do you think real bullets are hitting her skin? No
• What is she using here? A metaphor
• What is the metaphor? The bullets are people's words and judgments
• Why has she chosen bullets for this? Bullets usually serious hurt or even kill people. She is exaggerating how hurtful and damaging people's comments are. 
• What word tells us this has happened before? Another
• What is a barricade? a barrier to block or stop something
• What is the barricade in this song? The barrier stopping the singer being who she really is
• How effective is her verb choice of bursting? Very, she's not just going through the barricade she is bursting. When something bursts its usually because it can not hold anything more in - like a balloon. They have taken so much they can no longer keep it in.
• Why are they reaching for the sun? This line traces back to the beginning of the song, in which the singer sings that she is “no stranger to the dark”, and that all of the circus members have been hiding away in the shadows their whole lives. But here, instead of remaining shackled by the world around them, they choose to burst out of the darkness and into the spotlight, finally embracing who they are.

When the sharpest words wanna cut me down
Gonna send a flood, gonna drown them out
I am brave, I am bruised
I am who I'm meant to be, this is me
Look out 'cause here I come
And I'm marching on to the beat I drum
I'm not scared to be seen
I make no apologies, this is me


Oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh, oh, oh
This is me


And I know that I deserve your love
There's nothing I'm not worthy of
When the sharpest words wanna cut me down
I'm gonna send a flood, gonna drown them out
This is brave, this is bruised
This is who I'm meant to be, this is me


Look out 'cause here I come (look out 'cause here I come)
And I'm marching on to the beat I drum (marching on, marching, marching on)
I'm not scared to be seen
I make no apologies, this is me


(Oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh)
I'm gonna send a flood
Gonna drown them out
(Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh, oh, oh, this is me)

• Do you like this song? Why?
• What is the message of this song? 
• On a scale of 1-5, how effectively does it convey this message? Why?
• How would you describe this song in one word?
• What lessons can we learn from this song today?

I hope you found this useful 

Seeing AI - An App That Narrates the World!

One of my favourite new discoveries at BETT was the app Seeing AI. My good friend, Julian Woods (@Ideas_Factory) shared this with me and I am really impressed by how accuarate and quick it is.

The app is described as a free app that narrates the world around you. Designed for the blind and low vision community, this ongoing research project harnesses the power of AI to open up the visual world and describe nearby people, text and objects.

An app which has is considered a talking camera for the blind, it has the potential to support pupils in lots of ways in the classroom.

This short little video gives a quick demonstration to how the app works. The app is free and just click the app icon above to download it.

Another Song to Develop Comprehension in Class

I have blogged about the power of music in the classroom and have previously shared a number of songs which can be used in the classroom, especially for reading comprehension. You can read them here. 

The song currently at Number 1 in the charts - These Days by Rudimental feat. Macklemore, Jess Glyne and Dan Caplen - is another great song which can be used in class. Here is a link to the music video:

Here are the lyrics with some suggested questions:

I know you moved onto someone new
Hope life is beautiful
You were the light for me to find my truth
I just wanna say, thank you

• Who is the rapper speaking about?
• Are the couple still together? How do you know? No - moved onto someone new.
• How does he feel towards his old girlfriend? He still likes her - wishes her well
• Is this always the case when people split up? Open to discussion
• Do you think he regrets breaking up with her? No, the relationship helped him grow.
• Why is he thanking her? He recognises that she helped him on his journey to reach his goal.
• Do you think he is speaking straight after the relationship has ended or is this a long time after?

Leaving to find my soul
Told her I had to go
And I know it ain't pretty
When our hearts get broke
Too young to feel this old
Watching us both turn cold
Oh, I know it ain't pretty
When two hearts get broke
Yeah, I know it ain't pretty
When two hearts get broke

• Why did they break up? He wanted to leave to find himself, maybe travel
• Why might this have been a hard decision? As it will have hurt the other person (hearts get broke)
• What does he mean by 'too young to feel this old'? It shows the experience has really matured him, as we get older we tend to learn from our experiences and sometimes mistakes. 
• Is the last line grammatically correct? How should it read?
• Why is it repeated? For emphasis

I hope someday
We'll sit down together
And laugh with each other
About these days, these days
All our troubles
We'll lay to rest
And we'll wish we could come back to these days, these days
These days, these days
These days, these days

• How does the singer feel about her ex-boyfriend? She seems to have moved on and looks back fondly on their time together
• Do you think this was always the case? Possibly not, at the start, she may have felt angry and sad and blamed him but time is a great healer. 
• Do you think they still like each other? Yes
• How do you know? She hopes they can sit down and reminisce.
• How would you describe their relationship? Fun, she wants to laugh at the times they had.
• Do you think she is happier now than she was in the relationship? Open for discussion, yes as she has moved on or no as she wishes she could go back to the old days.

Three years of ups and downs
Nothing to show for it now
And I know it ain't pretty when the fire burns out
Calling me when I'm drunk, remind me of what I've done
And I know it ain't pretty when you're trying to move on, yeah

• How long did the relationship last?
• What is the perfect relationship? Why/Why not?
• How did he feel when the relationship initially ended? Sad maybe angry that once it had ended, there is nothing to show for it.
• Why does the singer reference fire? Fire can link to romance and passion. Usually, a fire will start from two materials coming together. When a fire burns out it signifies the end and also darkness. 
• You may want to dismiss the line that mentions being drunk
• Do you think she was happy when they first split up? No, she was phoning him late at night.
• Was it easy to move on?

I hope someday
We'll sit down together
And laugh with each other
About these days, these days
All our troubles
We'll lay to rest
And we'll wish we could come back to these days, these days
Oh I know, I know
Oh I know, I know
Oh I know, I know
These days, these days
Oh I know, I know
Oh I know, I know
Oh I know, I know
To these days, these days


Cigarettes in the ashtray
Reminiscing on those past days
I thought you’d end up with my last name
But that changed
And I travelled around the world
Think where you living at now?
I heard you moved to Oxford
Got an apartment and settled down
And every once in a while
I start texting
Write a paragraph
But then I delete the message
Think 'bout you like a pastime
I could cry you a river
Get you baptised or
I wasn't ready to act right
Used to always think I'd get you back, right
They say that things fall apart (yeah)
We were gonna move to Brooklyn
You were gonna study Art (oh no, oh)
Love is just a tool
To remind us who we are
And that we are not alone
When we're walking in the dark

• Again, you may want to leave the line about cigarettes. Or you can discuss it being a symbol of the end, as a cigarrette in the ashtray is usually once it has been finished. 
• Do you think this verse is from when they have just split up or long after?
• What did the singer hope from the relationship? They would get married (end up with my last name)
• Why did they split up? He wanted to travel the world.
• Does he miss her? Yes 
• What evidence from the text tells us this? He thinks where she is living, he asks about her which is why he heard she lives in Oxford. He sometimes writes texts but then deletes it.
• What does he write in the text message do you think? Perhaps he writes something in an attempt to reunite, or apologise.
• Why does he delete the message? He might delete it out of shame or maybe just as an attempt to try and get over her.
• Consider the line 'think 'bout you like a past time' - Why is this grammatically incorrect?
• What does the rapper use here? A simile
• Why? Our pastimes are hobbies we do and are fond of. When we are older and usually stop them, we look back with fond memories.
• On a scale of 1-5 how much does he regret ending the relationship? 5, he has cried a river, so much he could baptise her.
• When they split up, did he think that was the end? He thought he could get her back.
• What word could be used to describe his attitude? Naive
• What were their relationship plans? Move to America
• What has the rapper learned from this relationship? Love is not the answer, it helps us and brings us light and helps us to learn about ourselves.

I hope someday
We'll sit down together
And laugh with each other
About these days, these days
All our troubles
We'll lay to rest
And we'll wish we could come back to these days, these days
We'll wish we could come back to these days, these days (these days, these days, these days)

• What do you think the overall message of the song is?
• Is it a happy song or sad song?
• Why do you think the song is popular?

Morning Settlers with Thunks!

I absolutely love Ian Gilbert's Thunks. This book "The Compleat Thunks Book" is described as 'A collection of classic Thunks from a number of his books, as well as hundreds of new ones, all designed to make your brain hurt as you think, question, debate and argue your way to a better understanding of how to survive in a world gone dangerously bonkers.'

To give you an idea of what a thunk looks like, here is a screenshot from the book:

Thunks can be used as a great discussion tool in class. Sharing one on the board at the start of the day and encouraging children to talk and listen to each other's ideas can be a great way to settle children into a lesson. JUST BE AWARE, not all the Thunks would be appropriate for the classroom.

You can also use apps like Seesaw to record and evidence children's thoughts and ideas about a Thunk. If I create a question like this:

Within the explain and reflect option of Seesaw, pupils can add labels. These can be initial thoughts and ideas. If the students are working in pairs, they can colour code their ideas. 

There is also the option to record. Here, students can orally talk through the question and their ideas, pausing to reflect and allowing their partner to then record their ideas. 

Once the pupils have saved their ideas, either typed or spoken to their learning journal. You can allow them to look and watch other student's efforts. Within Seesaw, there is the option to comment, allowing students to give peer to peer feedback. This is a great way to embed an understanding of how to give positive feedback through technology. Seesaw is a social media platform for your class - only visible to you and your pupils. So you are able to talk about how to give positive feedback in a format which will be very similar to the social media platforms children will use when they are older. 

So why not give it a go and Thunk up your classroom!

Another song for Comprehension with links to Growth Mindset

I love using music in class for a number of reasons: remembering facts, teaching narrative structure and improving comprehension.

 Another song that I came across recently is Grace by Rag'n'Bone Man. The message of the song is powerful and lends itself well to PSHCE and growth mindset discussions.

Here is a description of the song I read recently:

You know that feeling when you've just made a wretched mistake and you want the whole world to swallow you up? When you don't want to talk to anyone, you feel like you've let yourself and the people you value down?

It hurts right? But with enough strength, humility and willingness to stand again, you realise that mistake isn't the end of you. More so, that 'mistake' could be the very thing you needed in your life to become a better person. To change or let go of parts of you that aren't empowering or positive. Some people call it grace, when you experience something in your life exactly the way it was meant to be to help you grow. Here's a song by Rag'N'Bone Man, famous for his debut song 'Human', that's all about the journey of grace.

As far as I'm aware there isn't an official video, however, here is a video of the song:

Here are the lyrics with a few questions to consider:

Said I loved you without hesitation
So easy for you to break my foolish heart
Now I wonder if you ever speak my name
Will I always be defined by my mistakes?

• Is the first line grammatically correct? What is missing? It should read "I said I loved you...
• Who is the singer speaking to? He is singing to someone he was once in love with, an old girlfriend perhaps.
• On a scale of 1-5, how much does the singer love this person? How do you know? He loves her a lot or thinks he does as he uses the phrase 'without hesitation'
• What does the word hesitation mean? to hesitate is to pause before saying something
• Does the person feel the same as the singer? How do you know? It is unrequited love. She does not feel the same as she broke his heart.
• Why has the singer chosen the word 'foolish' to describe his heart? It means that, looking back, he knew she didn't like him and he should have realised it. He is recognising it was a mistake
• Did this happen recently or a long time ago? We know it happened in the past as he starts the third line with the word now. I think it happened a long time ago when the singer was young and naive as he used the word 'foolish'
• Does the singer regret what he did? How do you know? Yes, he uses the word mistakes and links that experience to it.
• Does he miss the person? How do you know? He still misses her as he still, years on, thinks about whether she thinks about him.
• What will the person's memory be of the singer be if she does speak about him? Or it could be he wonders whether she remembers him as a foolish love-struck teen who poured his heart out and remembers him in a negative way because of it.
• What does the word 'defined' mean? He uses that word as a way of stating what people will remember him by.
• What does he mean by the last line? He is wondering whether people will remember him and judge him based on the past mistakes he has made. To think like this can have a negative impact on someone and make them worry about trying new things in case they make mistakes again.
• How did the singer feel after that experience? Can you think of a time when you felt like that? The experience was a negative one that probably made him feel sad and upset. No one likes to have their heart broken especially by someone that you thought you loved.
• Why are those experiences important? People will always make mistakes, in every walk of life not just in love. The mistakes are not something to hold onto, worry about and stop us trying again. As long as we learn from these mistakes, then we are always moving forward. 

In the arms of the saint, I'm a stranger

We're all trying to find our way

At the death of every darkness, there's a morning

Though we all try

We all try

We're all one step from grace

• Why would he be a stranger in the arms of a saint? He is saying that he isn't a saint and they wouldn't recognise him or know him.
• What are saints remembered for? Saints are remembered for doing good deeds and making a difference to people's lives. By saying he is a stranger, he is saying he is very different from this.
• What are the contractions all short for? I'm = I am. We're = We are
• Where is everyone trying to find their way to? He is talking about finding our way to fulfillment and happiness in whatever walk of life that may be.
• What does the singer mean by the third line? He links the darkness to problems or issues or bad experiences people may have in their life. By talking about the death, he is talking about the end. So when we end the problems we have, there is a new start.
• What examples of problems may he be referring to? The end of relationships, the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job etc.
• Why does he use the symbol of 'morning'? What does this stand for? The morning refers to the start of a new day so it is a symbol of new beginnings. 
• Why does he repeat the phrase 'we all try'? For anyone listening to the song, he is making them aware that everything goes through these struggles, everyone has problems at some point that they must overcome. He repeats it to emphasise that it happens numerous times, we will always make more than one mistake.
• What does the singer mean by the word grace? Happiness
• Why are we all one step from grace? We can all find happiness and it is a lot closer than many of us think.

I made myself believe

There was no fight left in me

But redemption doesn't fall down at your feet

In the half light

We raised a hand to my defeat

And I watched the world fall

And I rebuilt it piece by piece

• What types of pronouns are used in the first line? He uses a personal pronoun - I and a reflexive pronoun - myself.
• Why has he done this? He does this to really emphasise that only he can control his own belief.
• What does redemption mean? It means to be forgiven or saved from something bad.
• What does it mean by 'fall down at your feet'? He is saying that it doesn't just happen, you have to act to be forgiven or be saved from your struggle.
• Why does he use the phrase 'half light'? He is trying to be positive by choosing light. He could have used half dark which would have been more negative. Link to glass half full/empty.
• What does he mean when he raises his hand? We raise our hand as a gesture to stop. So he is saying stop to all that defeats us.
• What does defeat mean? What could this relate to? To be defeated is to be beaten and lose. So he is talking about everything that brings us down and makes us feel inadequate or bad about ourselves.
• What happened as a consequence? How do you know? By putting an end to all this negativity can you feel like the whole world has collapsed and is falling apart but that doesn't mean it will stay that way.
• How did the singer react? He didn't let it affect him, he builds his world back up and moves forward.
• Did this happen quickly or slowly? It takes time as he says piece by piece.

In the arms of the saint I'm a stranger

We're all trying to find our way

At the death of every darkness there's a morning

Though we all try

We all try

We're all one step from grace 

I wonder why we give up on love

When it's always within reach

You and I we suffered this enough

We all try

We all try

We're all one step from grace

• Why does the singer use the pronoun 'we'? Again, he is making people aware that so many of us give up and everyone goes through the same struggle and feelings.
• How is it within reach? We can find love in lots of different places if we look for it. Here you can discuss what love means, who we love and why etc.
• Why does the singer use the word suffered? He recognises annd emphasises that we can really struggle and it can be very painful.

In the arms of the saint I'm a stranger

We're all trying to find our way

At the death of every darkness there's a morning

Though we all try

We all try

We're all one step from grace

• What is the overall theme of the song? The theme is all about making mistakes but not letting them define you instead, learning from them and moving forward. The song recognises that this isn't easy but these experiences make us stronger and ultimately better people who are happy.
• Do you like the song? Why?
• What valuable lessons can we learn from this song? That everyone goes through the same struggles, so when pupils feel upset and lost, it is better to talk and share those feelings. 

I hope you find these ideas useful!