Arabian Nights

Arabian Nights

A new term means new topics and themes. One colleague is going to be looking at the Arabian Nights. Not an easy topic if you look beyond Aladdin and Sinbad.

The stories first came to prominence in the UK with the publication of Sir Richard Burton's translation in Victorian times. (Burton was a fascinating character and worthy of a blog on his own.) Burton's stories had to be privately published because of their erotic element, for more detail pop over to Wikipedia.

I'm going to look at what seems most appropriate for primary school children and in particular modern illustrated versions of well-known tales. I'll also suggest ideas for activities.

Illustrators
    Disney (unknown illustrators)
    (This is here to mark the strong contrast between Disney and the original versions of the
       stories and the rich illustrated history of these collected tales) 



Grolier (1996) ISBN 0-7172-8755-6

    Errol LeCain


Aladdin retold by A. Lang. Faber (1981) ISBN 0-571 11656 6

    Victor Ambrus

Tales from the Arabian Nights by J. Riordan Hamlyn (1983) ISBN 0 600 36693 6

If you're like me, then you might want to explore Michael Foreman, Stephen Lavis, David Wyatt, Maxfield Parrish, Arthur Rackham, Edmund Dulac and others.

Activities
   Digital-storytelling
          (i) Write the 1002nd tale with a cliff-hanging, unresolved ending
         (ii) Illustrate the story
        (iii) Record the work:-
                 as a performance of the tale using green-screen technology
                 using 2Simple Publish, Create-a-Story or Create
                 using M/S Word, Publisher or PowerPoint
                 with Interactive Whiteboard Software
                 using Comic Life
   Other things
         2Simple Do-It_Yourself - make games
         Lego WeDo - Build and programme "Sailboat Storm" and "Flying Bird" to
              include in Sinbad's tale. Build and programme original ideas for other
              tales.
         Scratch - get stuck into some simple programming with Scratch such
              as animation and conversations.
         Mount a production for Christmas (though I find the thought totally
              overwhelming).

SOLO Taxonomy

I've been out of the scheme of things for a number of years and so wasn't surprised when I began to hear about SOLO Taxonomy for teaching. The first time was at a TeachMeet which meant information was limited of necessity. More recently, I was part of a SOLO Taxonomy workshop and got quite excited to try to come to terms with it. I obviously need to explore and learn more about its practicalities. If only I was teaching full-time, I think I'd enjoy the challenge.

I loved this graphic -

and it fits in so well with my constructivist background.

SOLO and my dismay at hearing how little practical work seems to be being done in some secondary schools almost had me wanting to get back to full-time Science teaching. Now that would be a challenge!

What also proved of great interest was the use of Lego blocks to explain the ideas behind the process.

(Sorry about the quality)

I had just spent five weeks working with Y3 and 4 with Lego WeDo (see separate blog). I explained how I wanted them to make models by carefully following instructions, copying the programming instructions. They were then to experiment with both the model's construction and the program. In the final session, I asked them to take what they'd learned and use their imagination to come up with a novel model and an accompanying set of program instructions.

As an aside, for all of its expense, I'm becoming a Lego-holic. Any fellow sufferers out there?

L'Inconnue

I've been around on the planet so long now that the number of coincidences I encounter seems to be improbably high. (It's not but I know how some people look at the world.).

I bought a(nother) book which brought together graphic images, text and music called "The Legend of L'Inconnue by L. Chopin & JB Frye. The subject matter was new to me but maybe shouldn't have been.

Publisher & ISBN to follow

L'Inconnue is the death mask of a young woman pulled out of the Seine in Paris. Its beauty lies in its unexpected serenity. It is supposedly the most reproduced death mask ever and was to be found in many homes.

One home in which it hung was that of Amund Laerdal (a Norwegian toymaker) and the image became the model for his Resusci Annie. I caught something about this on the tv and it brought back memories of First Aid training (and lots of other training) where I was uncomfortable having to "do" rather than "soak up" stuff. Thank goodness, I don't teach in the way that I was taught to learn.

Four Rooms is a strange TV programme where "dealers" vie to buy works of art and collectable items. What should turn up but the L'Inconnue death mask. The chap wanted over a thousand pounds for it and, for once, I knew he was whistling in the dark. They offered around the £100 mark.

Elements of the Periodic Table

ELEMENTS - a book, a diary, art work and poems

It started with me buying a book. The book gave me a buzz and reminded me of an old diary I had, the art work for the elements commissioned by the Royal Society of Chemistry and the poems of Roger McGough.

The Book - The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean

Back Bay Books (2011) ISBN 978-0-316-05163-7

It's been a while since I enjoyed a Science book as much as this one. So much information to add spice to teaching and to highlight how behind the times I've become. Highly recommended.

The Diary



Not sure of the details but a poster with the diary is (c) T.W.Gray & N. Mann (2009)

Images can make all the difference to a presentation. Beats me why presenters don't take more pride in their work.

The Art

Yes, images can really make a difference and those produced for the Royal Society of Chemistry for their Periodic Table are among some of my favourites.

http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table

The Poems
I'm not sure if Roger McGough wrote a number of "element" poems for a TV documentary or if the poems were taken from his collection "Defying Gravity" (Viking 1992 ISBN 0-670-84413-6) They are well worth looking up and, if you can find a copy of the TV broadcast, the visuals add to the words.

Eisner's "The Plot"

I picked up a copy of "The Plot" by Will Eisner based solely on his reputation  and a couple of his graphic novels that I've enjoyed in the past. 

Will Eisner - The Plot (2005) Norton Books ISBN-13: 978-0-393-32860-8

This isn't a graphic novel. This is graphic fact. Here is an important insight into (in)humanity.
Why isn't this used to teach about History in school? 
Why have I never heard of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion?
Want to know more? Then a little research is in order.
 
It had quite an impact on me, akin to Maus by Art Spiegelman and Alice in Sunderland by Bryan Talbot.

I came to the book after having, once again, asked Science teachers "How many senses do you have?" and getting the usual answer "5".
Q. : "Why that number?"
A. : "That's what we were taught and we believed our teachers." 
Maybe it should be compulsory for all teachers to read Dawkins' "Letter to my daughter Juliet".

Education is supposed to be rearing future generations of critical, clear thinking adults. Education needs critical, clear thinking teachers and a thoughtfully constructed curriculum to develop the adults who are going to have to come to terms with the future. Any chance?