In my sessions each week at Davyhulme, I have been working on a project with my Digital Leaders. As a school with a motto 'Reaching for the Stars,' I wanted the pupils to create a display that would inspire children to persevere and not let failure stop them achieving their goals.
The idea was inspired by something I saw at Candleby Lane School in Nottingham. They had a display featuring stories from teachers talking about how they have failed and how they overcame that failure. So we did the same, we asked teachers to share stories of times when they felt they had failed and how they worked through it and didn't let it stop them from achieving their goals. I feel this is a really powerful thing to share with our students to make them understand that everyone will have ups and downs including their teachers. Here is my example:
The Digital Leaders also researched famous people who had also struggled in their journey to reach their goal. To share what they had learned, they used the app Apple Clips to create a short video about each person, why they are famous and what failure or obstacle they faced on their journey to being a success.
To enhance the display we then linked the videos through Augmented Reality using the app HP Reveal (formerly Aurasma) to make the display interactive. This is something we have used before and you can read about our interactive reading display here.
Here is a video of some of our Digital Leaders talking about their finished display:
We have also published all of our videos about famous people who failed to this YouTube playlist, we hope you enjoy watching them:
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!
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.
Ok, so I am a little late to the party! Seesaw introduced activities a good few months ago, but I've only just got around to really investigating this fantastic addition to what is my favourite app to use in the classroom.
I recently blogged my top 5 apps of 2017. Seesaw was at the top of my list. For me, this app is a no-brainer for the primary classroom. The endless benefits for how it can enhance teaching and learning, save teachers time and money and embed key digital literacy skills for your pupils has meant it has become the app I use most and one I regularly share on my training sessions.
I have recently been contacted by a number of teachers who have been told by their local authority that they can no longer use Seesaw as it will not comply with the new GDPR guidelines that will take effect in May 2018. I contacted Seesaw about this and this was their response:
GDPR goes into effect in the EU in May 2018 and Seesaw is preparing to be compliant with it. If you are concerned about data storage, the GDPR has specific requirements regarding the transfer of data out of the EU. One of these requirements is that the transfer must only happen to countries deemed as having adequate data protection laws. Privacy Shield is an agreement between the EU and US allowing for the transfer of personal data from the EU to US. Privacy Shield allows US companies to meet this requirement of the GDPR. Seesaw complies with Privacy Shield regarding the collection, use and retention of personal information from European Union member countries. Seesaw has certified that it adheres to the Privacy Shield Privacy Principles of notice, choice, accountability for onward transfer, security, data integrity, access, and enforcement and liability. You can learn more about the Privacy Shield program on their website and view our certification page. We hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any other questions.
By all means, please use this in your policies and contact Seesaw directly for more information.
Back to Seesaw's latest addition - Activities. This short video gives a quick explanation and overview of what teachers can do for activites.
The potential for this is amazing! A brilliant way for teachers to create independent activities for pupils to complete. It makes it very easy for teachers to create differentiated activities for students or create extension activities for pupils who complete tasks. You could create a series of activities that pupils can complete for the carousel activities in guided reading sessions. There is a library of activities where teachers from around the world have shared activities for you to use, but for me, it is the personal touch that makes this tool more powerful.
When creating an activity, teachers can write a set of instructions but also record a voice recording explaining the task, which makes it easy for pupils who still may struggle decoding text. There is also the option to add images of the Seesaw icons in the written instructions to make it easier for pupils to follow the instructions to complete the task. Here are the icon shortcuts for you to use:
So for 2018, why not give Seesaw and Seesaw Activities a go!
Earlier this week, I did a Facebook live video sharing my top 5 apps of the year. You can watch it here.
It made me reflect on 2017 and what an amazing year it has been. Especially when it comes to my social media channels. It has been a year where the videos I make about life as a teacher have had such an amazing response from you guys. I thought I would compile a top ten list of videos from my page based on views from Facebook, I hope you enjoy:
10 - What would Love Island look like in a Primary School Staffroom? 383k Views
4 - Why Teachers Can't Sleep on a Sunday 728k Views
3 - How Teachers Walk Down The Corridor - 2.5m views
2 - #BeLikeTheRenegade Series - Combined over 3.5m Views. Here is the YouTube Playlist of all the adventures with Mrs May, make sure you subscribe!
1 - Now That's What I Call Being a Teacher Series - Combined over 4m views. Here is the YouTube Playlist of every Volume, please make sure you subscribe!
I hope you enjoy this list, plenty more planned for 2018. Again, I would love to take the opportunity to thank everyone for their continued support! Have a wonderful Christmas!
So as 2017 comes to an end, it is time to reflect on the past year. For me, it has been another incredible year. The support and feedback I have received from teachers all over the world has been amazing. There are still huge issues in education and 2017 hasn't been the best year for schools, especially in the UK. However, it is my mission to change that, take teaching back and get schools working smarter, not harder.
I decided to do a LIVE Vlog on my facebook page tonight to share my top 5 apps in 2017. These aren't necessarily the best apps, I have picked them based on which apps I have used the most in the classroom this year. Here is the whole video which also talks about John Murray's new book - Reading Rocketeers.
So here are links to the apps mentioned:
5 - iVisualiser - Along with Airserver.com, this tool can transform your teaching by turning your iPad into a mobile Visualiser. To find out more, check out this blog post I put together - click here.
4 - Adobe Spark Apps - Post, Pages and Video - These apps have been some of my favourites for the past few years. It would be further up the list, however, the update that removed some themes didn't make sense. Still, it is a brilliant example of how to the iPad can be used creatively to allow students to share their knowledge and understanding.
3 - Shadow Puppets Edu - This has to be one of the best apps I use in EYFS and KS1. It is so versatile and lends itself brilliantly to so many different areas of the curriculum. As I have been spending a lot of time in KS1 this term, we have used it brilliantly to enhance the whole curriculum. See it in action here.
2 - Apple Clips - A new app from Apple has great potential for the classroom. The downside, it only works on devices which run iOS 10. An app that allows you to create videos about absolutely anything adding filters, effects, graphics and more. It is one I use personally for a lot of my videos but also have used a lot in the classroom. Watch this space for more ways in which we explore this app in 2018.
1 - Seesaw - It couldn't be anything else. This tool has continued to transform teaching and learning in our school, helping teachers work smarter, not harder. There is so much I could share about how we use seesaw, but I'll save that for when you join me on a training day.
I have received a few messages from teachers who have been told they can no longer use seesaw as it will not comply with the new GDPR guidelines coming into force in May. I have received this statement directly from Seesaw addressing this issue:
GDPR goes into effect in the EU in May 2018 and Seesaw is preparing to be compliant with it.
If you are concerned about data storage, the GDPR has specific requirements regarding the transfer of data out of the EU. One of these requirements is that the transfer must only happen to countries deemed as having adequate data protection laws. Privacy Shield is an agreement between the EU and US allowing for the transfer of personal data from the EU to US. Privacy Shield allows US companies to meet this requirement of the GDPR.
Seesaw complies with Privacy Shield regarding the collection, use and retention of personal information from European Union member countries. Seesaw has certified that it adheres to the Privacy Shield Privacy Principles of notice, choice, accountability for onward transfer, security, data integrity, access, and enforcement and liability. You can learn more about the Privacy Shield program on their website and view our certification page.
We hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any other questions.
One of my favourite days of the school year has to be our Christmas dinner day. Not only is the food always immense, we spend the afternoon doing an annual talent show. I've had the pleasure of hosting the talent show for the past few years and have always treated the pupils to a little surprise at the end. I say 'surprise' but as this is the 8th year or so that we have done it, I think the children expect it now. Anyway, this year we decided to make a teacher's version of one of the biggest songs of the year - Mans Not Hot. As much as the students love it, I wanted to share a message that hopefully will resonate with a lot of teachers too.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. Please feel free to share. I will take this opportunity to say a massive thank you for continuing to support the blog, my social media pages and my CPD and conferences. 2017 has been an incredible year, and 2018 is shaping up to be just as good if not better. I hope everyone has a wonderful and restful Christmas. I'll be back with more ideas after Christmas. If you do have a spare minute, I would really appreciate if you could vote for me in the UK Blog Awards - Click Here.
We recently discovered the Read Write Perform has now been used in over 2000 schools around the world. This is incredible! For a fairly new approach, to see it grow so quickly has been amazing. The best part is the positive feedback we receive from teachers, who say it has revolutionised the way in which they teach English. At present, there are 10 packs, we have mapped out around 30+ to hopefully get to a point where schools could do a pack a half term from year 1-6. Unfortunately, due to the amount of detail and quality that goes into the packs, they take a while to write.
However, we love how teachers are now innovating on the approach. After trying one of the teaching packs, teachers and schools understand the pedagogy behind the approach and now use the overview to plan their English. This includes some of the teachers in my school. So Year 2 have been writing newspaper articles about the Great Fire of London. Using the ReadWritePerform approach, the children then performed their writing as live news broadcasts from the scene of the event. This motivated the pupils with their writing; adding purpose and an authentic audience. By performing their writing they were then improving their oral speaking skills as well as digital literacy skills.
Although Remembrance Day has passed, I wanted to share a couple of activities we did across our school to learn about this important and significant day.
In KS1, the pupils created videos using the fantastic Adobe Spark Video app to share their knowledge and understanding about Armistice Day; how it happened and how we remember it.
Here is one of their examples:
In KS2, the pupils created greenscreen videos as paperboys sharing the news about the end of the Great War. Brilliant little task which challenged the children to think about abstraction and constraints with their writing. They had to be paper boys spreading the news about Armistice day. The challenge was to grab people’s attention but it had to be short, almost speak in headlines. The boys in the video would love to hear what you think, so please leave them a comment!
Watch this space, as this will be developed into a READWRITEPERFORM pack soon.
As a whole school, we created a Padlet wall for families to share stories of relatives who served for our country. It was a great way to make Remembrance Day more personal. Read more about this idea here.
One of the best ways in which I use iPad in the classroom is to encourage and improve student's speaking and listening. In a culture of teaching, where we are so accountable to prove what we have done in books, I fear we do not develop young children's oral speaking skills. In my opinion, if a child cannot talk you through a story, I don't believe they can effectively write one. So over the past few weeks, I have been using one of my favourite apps - Puppetpals HD Directors Pass, to improve and develop children oral storytelling.
The app, which I have enjoyed using for a number of years, allows pupils to add pictures of characters alongside background and record their own cartoon. It lends itself brilliantly to so many different areas of the curriculum. Working with Reception over the past few weeks, we have focused on using it to allow pupils retell stories they have been reading in class. Here are a couple of recent projects the students have created:
This is something I share a lot on my training. I explain how, as teachers, we need to embrace the internet and demonstrate how to use it safely. I also demonstrate how when utilised in the right way, it can have an incredible impact on children's learning. I have previously blogged plenty of examples where the internet has enhanced our learning in class and the experiences my pupils have had from it.
This week I've had a much more personal example of how incredibly powerful the internet is. A close family friend is currently undergoing a lot of treatment to battle Leukemia. Rather than me tell you all about her battle, here is our superstar Emmie talking all about her current illness:
Now before Emmie was diagnosed with this illness, my wife had managed to get tickets for her and her Mum to attend the Little Mix concert in Manchester alongside my wife and daughter. Everyone was really looking forward to seeing their favourite band perform. Unfortunately, over the past week, Emmie has had a couple of complications which has meant she has had to stay in hospital, meaning she would miss the concert. Devastated, her Dad tried to do something to sort this and so posted this:
"To all my friends, I need your help. As most of you already know my beautiful daughter Emmie was diagnosed with leukemia back in September 2017. Over the last couple of weeks Emmie, as in-counted a couple of setbacks due to having an Infection in her medication line, which has resulted in her having to have her medication line removed. My wife after some difficulties and support from a friend, was able to get hold of some little mix tickets, and Emmie was due to go and Watch them on Wednesday night. Unfortunately, Emmie is not going to be able to attend this concert, as she is still to unwell. What I’m aiming to do is to get Little Mix to visit Ward 84 at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, to see Emmie and the other children on the ward. So please please share this message, so we can see if we can make this happen. Hopefully, we will come up with a contact who can help. Thanks"
I shared this post on all of my social media platforms and I just want to say a MASSIVE thank you to anyone who shared and commented. I know Emmie has been touched to read so many comments on her video. I want to thank you all as it worked! Little Mix got the message. Due to their busy schedule, they couldn't visit the hospital in person, but they did send this:
Again, just want to say a massive thank you to everyone for helping make Emmie's day including Little Mix of course, I know she will be buzzing to receive that message and for such an incredibly brave little girl these things can really help.
Please keep sharing and commenting on Emmie's video above.
So it is that time of year again and already our TVs are flooded with different adverts. Over the past few years, I have blogged a number of ways to use some of the more popular adverts in class, which you can read here:
So as Christmas is all about traditions, here are some ideas for this year's adverts.
Before I start I must mention some other resources worth checking out. Firstly, the Christmas Letter ReadWritePerform Pack:
There is also my eBook - The 12 iPad lessons of Christmas which you can download by clicking the picture:
So let's start with the most popular - John Lewis and their Moz the Monster advert:
Now as the advert doesn't have any text, John Lewis has provided a book to work alongside the advert. You can grab a copy here.
You may have also seen in the news this week that the fantastic Chris Riddel has likened the advert to his picture book - Mr Underbed. Read the article here. I would definitely grab a copy of the book and read it to ask my class whether Chris Riddell has a valid point. It would open a fantastic discussion around copyright and link very well to some digital literacy about using images and content online. This would provide opportunity to deconstruct and enjoy a quality text but also develop links by focusing on text to text similarities and difference. You can buy a copy of Mr Underbed here:
So here are some questions to pose when watching the video:
Pause at 5 seconds. Ask the children to share clues about the boy and his room - bed sheets, the book he is reading, his animal slippers etc. What can we infer from this about the boy? What words can we use to describe him?
Pause at 11 seconds. How is the boy feeling? How do we know? What could the noise be?
Pause at 16 seconds. How does the boy feel? How do we know? What about the monster? How does he feel? why do you think this?
Pause at 29 seconds. Is the boy happy about having a monster under the bed? How do you know? What has the boy done to try and sleep? Has it worked? Why?
Pause at 40 seconds. What has made the monster come out from under the bed? Why did he choose to do that? Who was more scared of each other - the boy or the monster?
Pause at 1 minute. How old is the monster? What makes you think this? Why do the boy and monster hide from Dad? What might happen if they get caught?
Pause at 1.10. What are the positives of having the monster under the bed? What are the negatives? Would you like a monster under your bed? Why?
Pause at 1.22. What does the monster realise? Why do you think? What do you think the monster will do?
Pause at 1.45. Why are they having to say goodbye to each other? How do they feel about it? Why do they feel this way?
Watch to the end. What did the monster give as a present? Why did he choose this gift?
Do you like the story? Why/why not?
There is also this Bedtime Story of Moz the Monster read by Sally Phillips:
What I like most about the advert is the song 'Golden Slumbers' by Elbow, which was originally performed by the Beatles. Here are the lyrics:
[Verse 1] Once there was a way To get back homeward Once there was a way To get back home [Chorus] Sleep, little darling, do not cry I will sing a lullaby Golden slumbers fill your eyes Smiles awake you when you rise Sleep, little darling, do not cry And I will sing a lullaby And I will sing a lullaby [Verse 2] Once there was a way To get back homeward Once there was a way To get back home [Chorus] Sleep, little darling, do not cry And I will sing a lullaby
The lyrics were inspired by a poem by Thomas Dekker. Here is a copy of the original poem:
Golden slumbers kiss your eyes, Smiles awake you when you rise. Sleep, pretty wantons, do not cry, And I will sing a lullaby: Rock them, rock them, lullaby. Care is heavy, therefore sleep you; You are care, and care must keep you. Sleep, pretty wantons, do not cry, And I will sing a lullaby: Rock them, rock them, lullaby.
I would use this poem and explore it.
After reading the poem ask the children what the poem is about? It is a lullaby designed to send a little baby off to the land of sleep. It is about a parent dealing with all the worries of another so they can be truly relaxed and serene. At this point you may need to clarify a lullaby.
What does the phrase Golden Slumber mean? Why has the author use the word golden? Why does he choose the verb kiss?
'Smiles awake when you rise' tells us what about the baby? They are well loved, it shows us that the baby is be watched carefully by loving parents. Once the slumber is over, this baby will be confronted by love and happiness rather than troubles and worries.
What do you think the phrase 'pretty wantons' means?
Why does the author repeat the words lullaby and rock them? The repetition of ‘lullaby’ and ‘rock them’ and the gentle rhyme at the end of each line. This is designed to be read softly and be soothing. It is describing the actions of the person singing it – ‘sing a lullaby’, while they ‘rock’ the baby to sleep.
In the second verse, the word care is used in three ways, in what ways is the word used? First, ‘care is heavy’ meaning that troubles and worries weigh us down and make life difficult. Then the baby is described as ‘care’ for someone else, as its parents have to watch over and worry about its health and happiness, so the baby is something for them to ‘care’ or worry about, but the baby itself is always kept free from worry.
Is this poem a happy or sad one? What makes you think this.
Relating back to the advert, ask the students to consider why this song/poem was chosen.
Aldi - Kevin the Carrot returns!
One cold Christmas Eve on snow-covered ground, A carrot awoke to a most mysterious sound, As he departed that magical night, His heart skipped a beat it was love at first sight.
But a midnight express is no place to be, Was it a murder? Only carrot could see, And a turn of events caused a commotion, A chance for our hero to show his devotion.
"Are you OK?" "I think I just peed myself!"
So our carrots made tracks through the wind and the snow, On the lookout for Santa, would they find him? Ho Ho Ho.
Why has the author described the weather at the start? How does this set the atmosphere for the story?
What does Kevin think the mysterious sound might be?
Why has the night been described as magical?
Why did Kevin's heart skip a beat? Why has the author made a link to his heart?
How do we know Kevin is on a train? What evidence from the text supports this?
What does the word commotion mean?
What caused the commotion?
What does the word devotion mean?
Why is Kevin's response funny? Pun on the word peed.
What is unusual about the phrase 'made tracks' linked in the video?
What might the train be?
Debenhams - #YouShall
After watching the advert, ask the pupils what story this is familar too and how they know? Ask them to then list the similarities and differences between Cinderella and this advert.
Manchester City Council Advert
This advert has such a powerful message to discuss what has happened in Manchester this year. After watching the advert, discuss with your pupils how Santa must feel when he struggles to skate and how he overcomes it through the help of others. Use it as an opportunity to make connections to how Manchester came together after the tragedy. The symbol of the bee and everything that represents.
The Digital Leaders also researched famous people who had also struggled in their journey to reach their goal. To share what they had learned, they used the app Apple Clips to create a short video about each person, why they are famous and what failure or obstacle they faced on their journey to being a success.
