Barbican - Can I have a word?
http://www.barbican.org.uk/canihaveaword/
Award winning UK site that inspires creative writing and poetry reading. (Primary & Post Primary)
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What is the site about?
A multimedia-rich site devoted to creative writing and poetry reading, "Can I have a Word" features poems by leading poets, video animations, downloadable classroom activities and more. It focuses on four main themes:
- Changing Voices
- The Elements
- The Human Body
- The Odyssey
Macromedia Flash Player is required. |
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Why was it chosen as Site of the week?
It was chosen because:
- It promotes reading/writing and therefore is somewhat relevant to World Book Day on the 4th March
- Margot Henderson, Michael Rosen, and Valerie Bloom and other poets are featured on video reading their poetry
- Four main projects/topics are prominently featured on the main page, each including three areas based on listening, responding to a visual stimulus and creating
- These projects/areas cover various areas of creative writing such as descriptive writing, conversational and narrative prose, creative character prose, and influential writing
- It has an excellent use of multimedia, for example you can listen to a poet read his/her poem and at the same time download or read online the poem
- The visual films in each section are very enagaging and present an opportunity to respond and be creative
- It also presents worksheets, classroom displays, teacher tips and a feedback area
- Contains an essay by Michael Rosen on the Wonder of Words.
How may it be used as an educational resource?Although this site is mapped to the UK curriculum, both upper primary students and post post primary students in the Irish education system could benefit in terms of poetry appreciation, improving their reading and creative writing/thinking skills.
It is mapped to the curricula as follows:
Primary: Receptiveness to Language, Competence and Confidence in using Language
Post Primary: Junior Cycle: Poetry, Reading, Language and Style.
Senior Cycle:Language and Style, Poetry