Education News

Imagine a farmer coming into your nursery and transporting your children (figuratively) to his farmyard through song, dance and story-telling and the power of make-believe.

This is exactly what happens with our Funky Farmyard workshop.

Here at Perform we specialise in running workshops in nursery schools using imaginative creative resources, performing arts-based exercises and role-play scenarios which stimulate each child’s physical, cognitive and social development.

Our teachers (who are fully trained actors and singers) are able to captivate children’s imaginations with their dramatic story telling, specially written catchy themed songs, games and poems.

“The children were enriched and enthused, as were the staff!” – Whitchurch First School.

In addition to our Funky Farmyard theme we also offer Rumble in the Jungle, Tea Under The Sea and Beep, beep!

There are more details on our website at www.perform.org.uk/classes/primary-schools/explorer-workshops/nursery-themes.html

To book a workshop, or to ask any questions about our work, please either:

Call me on 0207 255 9136
Email me at allisonsmith@perform.org.uk
See the website
Allison Smith
Perform4Schools

The chances are that for many young people today newspapers are either something that exist in other households but not their own or they are gossip columns with very little international news.

Which is why Newsademic exists – for it is an international newspaper written and edited for KS 3 and KS 4 students.

To date we have over 30,000 readers – which is why we know there is a demand for such a publication.

It is also why we are happy to offer a free two month subscription to the paper. We know that schools that see it, like it.

The publication supports the PSHE, History, Geography, Science, English and RE curricula though its focus is on international news events that shape and affect the world that we all live in today.

Newsademic carries no advertising. Neither does it feature articles about television, sport, computer games, pop music or celebrity culture.

The newspaper is distributed fortnightly as a PDF file by email or as a download. Although it can be read on screen it is designed to be printed out and read as a paper copy. An intranet licence allows all students to access an HTML searchable version of Newsademic via their school network. Two levels of activities, based on some of the featured articles, accompany each issue.

Annual subscription rates start at £24.00 and schools can photocopy any part of the newspaper as many times as they wish for use within their school.

To subscribe free of charge for two months please go to: www.newsademic.com/promo/h0112

For more information visit www.newsademic.com

Constructing schemes of work and curriculum documents in drama to meet the needs of the department and OFSTED is one thing. Providing the rationale behind the work of the drama department is another. As is providing teaching material for colleagues who are not drama trained, and yet find themselves teaching drama lessons.

I am sure that for those who were drama trained it is all a straightforward process – but for those who were not, there is a need for support.

One possible way forward is through the use of the copiable book “Alive and Kicking” (also available on CD so that it can be loaded onto the school’s learning network – which means everyone can read the scheme of work at any time).

It provides a series of templates for all three years of Key Stage 3. There are schemes of work taken term by term, with three distinct modules per year. There is a detailed scheme of assessment criteria tied in to an expectation of many students going on to GCSE courses but also tied in to National Curriculum Level equivalents. There is also a package of resource materials for use with the modules, most notably a series of mini-scripts for children to work on in combinations of twos, threes, fours or fives.

The list of contents is huge – for example within the section on classroom practice there are articles on:

Rules of the studio
Key concepts and key words, year by year
Solo work (from simultaneous solo activities to audition speeches)
Improvisation
Scripts
Workshops
Use of Games
Alternative strategies
Feedback.
Other chapters cover key skills, assessment, reporting – and of course the complete year by year schemes of work. There is a sample chapter available on-line at http://www.pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/drama/T1650.pdf

Cat No: 978 1 86083 569 8; Publisher reference no: T1650emn

Prices

Photocopiable report in a ring binder, £29.95. plus £3.95 delivery
CD with school-wide rights: £29.95 plus £3.95 delivery
Both the Ring Binder and the CD £36.94 plus £3.95 delivery
Prices include VAT.
You can purchase the book…

By post to First and Best, Hamilton House, Earlstrees Ct., Earlstrees Way, Corby, NN17 4HH
By fax to 01536 399 012
By phone with a school order number on 01536 399 011
On line with a credit card at http://shop.firstandbest.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=28&products_id=474