TEACHING WITH TEXT: Geography ages 5-7 and 7-11. By Stuart May, Paula Richardson and Emma Till. Scholastic pound;18.50 each
These superb books offer valuable support for geography and literacy. They provide a selection of prepared materials ready to take straight into the classroom.
Each unit gives a photocopiable text to start the lesson. These cover a range of genres and focus on graphicacy, comprehension and thinking skills alongside literacy objectives. Each text has substantial and imaginative classroom ideas, closely linked with national literacy strategy and national curriculum objectives.
Throughout, the authors maintain that geographical skills are paramount within these lessons.
The materials are varied and interesting and will end hours of hunting for a suitable and workable text. They will stretch and inspire primary children of all ages and abilities.
START WITH A STORY - Supporting young children’s exploration of issues. Tide Development Education Centre. (Birmingham) DEC pound;8 www.tidec.org
This stimulating booklet is full of ideas to support an understanding of topical issues facing children at key stage 1. Subjects include global citizenship, emotional literacy, the ethos of the classroom and school, diversity and sustainable development.
The units are structured using children’s work to show the high quality range of outcomes outlined within the booklet. The authors write from their own varied experiences of children who bring many different lifestyles and problems of their own into the classroom.
They show resources with which to explore and stimulate thought and discussion. These come in a range of forms, such as a picture, poem, speech bubble or cartoon. Outcomes are also varied and include drama, role play, pictures, poetry, discussion and, perhaps most important of all, a rise in self esteem.
HELLO ST LUCIA! Hello England! Video. Suffolk County Council Worldaware pound;10. Tel: 020 8763 2555
This 30-minute video for key stage 2 links classrooms in Suffolk and St Lucia in the West Indies. Well structured questions extend children’s knowledge through glimpses of St Lucian schools, homes, markets and shops.
Many pictures show the physical geography of the island as well as plants, animals, birds, fish and landscapes, including the volcano. The questions extend geographical vocabulary and highlight similarities and differences between the two countries.
The video finishes with an update on the Harvey family, followed in previous resources, and with questions for the English children from the St Lucian classes. These will suggest further questions and introduce the possibility of emailing children from other countries.
Helen Martin is a key stage 2co-ordinator at Shelley Primary School, Horsham, West Sussex