Language and Accessibility Issues in Curriculum and Assessment plus workshops in Art & Design, Modern Languages, Environmental Studies
Presented in November 2005
Teaching social subjects to pupils at Secondary level
Milissa Millan, St Vincent's School for the Deaf
Secondary education.
Subjects:
- Science
- English
- Job Skills
- Maths
- Social subjects
- RMP
- Art
- IT
- PSE
- PE
- Enterprise
- Home economics
Secondary
Outreach
College Links
Wprl experience placements
Social subjects 5-14
- Choice of topics important
- Based on glasgow 5-14 Social subjects Management Guidelines but adapted;
- Builds on prior learning at primary;
- Age group appropriate.
5-14:
People & place
People in society
People in the past
Social subjects access 1-3.
Access made up of a cluster of 3 integrated units.
| Deciding | Contrasting | Organising & presenting |
| Media | Glasgow | Europe |
| Road to War | Gender & race | Developing world |
Adapting & developing resources:
SQA materials
Adapted materials
Modern Studies - Intermediate 1/2
One question to be answered from each section.
- Political issues in the United Kingdom
- Social issues in the United Kingdom
- International issues
Barriers to learning 'politics'
- Dissilution with politics/voting
- Complex layout
- Lack of incidental learning
- Subject specific language
- Difficult concepts
- Little background knowledge
- Lack of interest - 'boring'
Adapting & developing resources
SQA materials;
the Scottish Parliament Education service
Adapted materials
Choices:
- Folder with polypockets and dividers
- what will you learn?
- Choose to sign or write answers or assessment
- Various learning strageties
- Graphs, tables, visual aids to reduce language
- Responsibility for own learning
- Adapted summary sheets
- Choice of topics.
Conclusions
- Allow for views of pupils
- Vary teaching strategies
- Start teaching 'politics' and citizenship from young age
- Mock elections
- Need for constant update of materials
- Topic choice - appropriate?
- Become familiar with exam/past paper from early age