A package which will help teachers and lecturers illustrate the relevance of Burns to contemporary Scotland is due to launch in August at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
The teaching resource, published by the Scottish Qualifications Authority in partnership with the Scottish Poetry Library and Learning and Teaching Scotland, is based on an anthology of 12 new pieces of writing by contemporary poets and writers, and designed to show how the work of Burns influences their thinking and creativity. It will be accompanied by teaching notes and online support, such as downloadable audio recordings.
The poets and writers contributing to the anthology are Meg Bateman, Robert Crawford, Carol Ann Duffy, Matthew Fitt, Bill Herbert, Jackie Kay, Janet Paisley, James Robertson, Liz Lochhead, Tim Turnbull, Rab Wilson and Seamus Heaney. The editor is Douglas Gifford, from the School of English and Scottish Language and Literature at Glasgow University.
Full class sets of the packs, “Addressing the Bard”, will go to every secondary school, further education college and HM Prisons education departments in late August. Lesson plans and back-up resources will be provided on the Learning and Teaching Scotland website.
www.ltscotland.org.uk.
