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Zoe Bullen - Curriculum Lead and Katherine Robertson - English Lead

\nFinding creative ways to help children enjoy learning and reading is a perennial teaching challenge—one that The Oaks Primary School in Bolton has been tackling head-on with their stunning ‘curriculum doorways’. \nSitting right outside the classrooms of each year group, these themed displays are designed to be visually stimulating as well as educational. We spoke with Curriculum Lead Zoe Bullen and English Lead Katherine Robertson to find out more. 

Year 1 (KS1)

Year 2 (KS1)

Year 3 (KS2)

Year 4 (KS2)

Year 5 (KS2)

Year 6 (KS2)

Areas of Learning and Development

ELL (English Language Learning)

English

Science

Design and Technology

Geography

History

Curriculum Doorways: sparking curious minds with creative classroom displays

Mark Soriano 

\nHistory: From the Dawn of Civilization to the Present Day\n is a dynamic visual encyclopedia of world events that explores the fascinating story of the human race and more than 6 million years of global history. Mark Soriano, Leader MS and HS History Content, explains how Success Academy Charter Schools in New York City is implementing this title as part of their curriculum for middle school students.\nWe undertook a redesign of our schools’ history program and we decided to move the study of world history into middle school, while moving American history into high school. We were concerned with finding the right “textbook” to support students in their studies. It is difficult to find a history book for middle school which supports our pedagogy, which is inquiry-based learning. The books are either not appropriate for the age range or they are super boring with columns of text and unengaging, small black-and-white photographs.\nWe were thrilled when we stumbled across DK’s \nHistory: From the Dawn of Civilization to the Present Day\n, which we call “Smithsonian History,” as it covers the chronology as we need it to be; it covers all the topics in one- or two-page spreads, and the artwork of maps, pictures, and photographs is really engaging.\nStudents are keeping the book at home so that they can read and refer to it as part of their homework assignments. We tend to assign two to five pages of reading a night, and students are asked to identify the key terms, write a summary paragraph of what they have read, and complete an activity centered on the visual material—the most exciting part!\nThe artwork is a great leveler. Even parents who don’t know much about history can ask their children to explain what is in the picture or to analyse the image. Parents like to see what kids are doing, and the artwork in this book is so engaging, it draws you in. At the start of the school year, we sent home guidance to parents on how to support their children in their studies by engaging in discussions about the artwork. One of my favourite spreads is the coverage of The Age of Exploration. The coverage of Indigenous Peoples in particular is very progressive compared to other texts.\n\n\n\n\n\nBefore adopting DK’s \nHistory \nfor this course, we got input from our schools’ review groups, including the school curriculum writers, and our Grade 5 parents’ groups. The final approval came from Eva Moskowitz, our CEO, who is a History PhD and takes a very personal interest in the schools’ history curriculum and resourcing. So far, the introduction of DK’s \nHistory\n has been a great success; it gets the kids engaged with the content and excited about learning, which frees up classroom time for dynamic discussions and debate about what students have read. Teachers are really excited that the inclusion of this new text supports their efforts to make class time focused on inquiry and exploration. 

Year 7 (KS3)

Year 8 (KS3)

Year 9 (KS3)

IB MYP

How Success Academy Is Using DK’s History: From the Dawn of Civilization to the Present Day

Katherine Fedor

\nEnglish for Everyone\n is a smart, simple, and highly visual language course designed to help anyone of any starting level to learn English. Though originally created for learners self-studying at home, ESL teacher Katherine Fedor of Virginia Beach City Public Schools has seen great success in using the series as a classroom resource for children learning English as a second language. We spoke with her to find out more.\nWhen veteran teacher Katherine Fedor discovered DK’s \nEnglish for Everyone\n \nseries online two years ago, it quickly became an invaluable resource in her classroom. With young learners from kindergarten to fifth grade coming to her from over 70 different countries of origin—all with different language-learning needs and a number of them having no knowledge of English at all—Katherine was looking for a resource that could cover all the fundamental areas in the English language continuum and help her pupils build a strong foundation. The \nEnglish for Everyone \nbooks caught her eye because the series was the only one she could find that taught English “as a language.”\n\n

Early Years and Reception (EYFS)

Year 10 + (GCSE)

English For Everyone: Teaching a class with different home languages successfully

Compelling Case Studies

PSHE and Citizenship

The Black Curriculum: Legacies - Vocabulary cards

Maths

Eyewitness: Climate Change Lesson Plan

SEL (Social Emotional Learning)

My Mixed Emotions Activity Pack

Favourite Resources

Sciences

Biology

Animals and Nature

Environmental Systems and Societies

Art and Design

Extracurricular Activities

Our School Wildlife Meadow

5 Key Benefits of Non-Fiction in Education

Common Maths Myths in Key Stage 2

Inspiring Articles

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