Soft Technology

It is that time of year!! We've been waiting all year in anticipation for the new John Lewis Christmas Advert and I love this year's effort. I know not everyone is a fan. Personally, I think it is more about people possibly not liking Elton John but the message of the advert is brilliant. If you're not a fan, you can always use the adverts I have previously blogged about here: Here is this year's advert: As always, I would start with the text, What text I hear you cry? The song! One of my favourite songs, I just love it! YOUR SONG Why do you think the song has this title?  Who is this song going to be about? It's a little bit funny, this feeling inside I'm not one of those who can easily hide I don't have much money, but boy if I did I'd buy a big house where we both could live If I was a sculptor, but, but then again, no Or a woman who makes potions on a traveling show I know it's not much, but it's the best I can do My gift is my song, and this...

A couple of months ago, we released this eBook: The feedback from the eBook has been fantastic! You can get a taste of what is included in the eBook by clicking here. Building on this, I have now written and released another ebook, this time looking at Disney Villain Songs.  Click the picture to download a copy. This eBook is exclusive to the supporters of my Facebook page.  This video explains all about the Facebook supporter page.  Here is a taste of what is included in the Disney Villain Comprehension eBook: Tangled - Mother Knows Best You want to go outside? Why, Rapunzel...! Look at you, as fragile as a flower Still a little sapling, just a sprout You know why we stay up in this tower Rapunzel: I know but... That's right, to keep you safe and sound, dear What does Gothel compare Rapunzel to? A flower What is a sapling? A young tree What is a sprout? It can either be the shoot of a plant or describe a young plant growing. Which word shows Gothel thinks Rapunzel i...

A few weeks ago, I blogged about a project my Year 4 class had started, inspired by the recent Greenpeace advert - There's a Rang-Tan in my Bedroom. To read that blog post, which includes original questions linked to the advert, please click the picture: The response we received from the video the class created where they wrote in role as a helpless Orangutan, seeing their home destroyed was so positive and empowering.  Again you can read more about this by clicking the picture above. If you haven't yet seen the video, here it is: From the reaction to the video, my class were inspired to go further and investigate the issue more. We discovered this from Greenpeace, which identifies companies with links to Dirty Palm Oil: According to Greenpeace, these companies made a promise to be clean of dirty palm oil by 2020. My pupils decided to write to these companies to provide a polite reminder and ensure they are on target to keep their promise.  After drafting their letters, I gave...

In Year 4, we have been inspired by the latest Greenpeace Advert - There's a Rang-Tan in My Bedroom. The advert tells the story of Rang-Tan, a young Indonesian orangutan that has been forced out of her home by humans. It is a beautifully animated video with a very powerful message: We decided to look at the text used in the advert in more detail: There's a Rang-tan in my bedroom and I don't know what to do. She plays with all my teddies and keeps borrowing my shoe. She destroys all of my house plants and she keeps on shouting 'oo'. She throws away my chocolate and she howls at my shampoo. There's a Rang-tan in my bedroom and I don't want her to stay, So I told the naughty Rang-tan that she had to go away. Oh, Rang-tan in my bedroom, just before you go, Why were you in my bedroom? I really want to know. There's a human in my forest and I don't know what to do. He destroyed all of our trees for your food and your shampoo. There's a human in my for...

I've just seen the new Nike advert and was blown away. It has such a powerful message. The advert has been in the news and faced a backlash because of the narrator - Colin Kaepernick. The NFL star was the first athlete to kneel during pre-game anthems to protest against social and racial inequality in the US. I was, however, impressed with the advert as I believe it has a very powerful message. See what you think: Here is the text from the ad: If people say your dreams are crazy If they laugh at what you think you can do Good Stay that way Because what non-believers fail to understand is that calling a dream crazy is not an insult It's a compliment Don't try to be the fastest runner in your school Or the fastest in the world Be the fastest ever Don't picture yourself wearing OBJ's jersey Picture OBJ wearing yours Don't settle for homecoming queen or linebacker Do both Lose 120 pounds and become an Ironman after beating a brain tumor Don't believe you have t...

If you are a follower of this blog, you will know that I am a massive fan of using music in the classroom. I have often blogged examples of songs I have used to develop reading comprehension. Click the following image to see all the previous songs I have blogged: To further improve reading comprehension the latest songs I have chosen to work on gives the opportunity for pupils to make valuable links and compare similar texts. All the questions have been put into a downloadable pack you can buy for JUST £1.99.  Here is a taste of what is included in the pack: The Little Mermaid - Part of Your World Maybe he's right. Maybe there is something the matter with me I just don't see how a world that makes such wonderful things could be bad... Look at this stuff
 Isn't it neat?
 Wouldn't you think my collection’s complete?
 Wouldn't you think I'm the girl
 The girl who has everything? Who is Ariel talking about when she says ‘Maybe he’s right’? Her Dad Why do you think...

So the World Cup is here! I'm sure many of your pupils are excited and can't wait to see their footballing idols in action. A great resources to link to the World Cup, which helps raise standards in English but also embeds key digital literacy skills is the Read Write Perform Sports Manager Pack: Buy the pack before England are knocked out and get my 15 iPad Lessons for the World Cup eBook for FREE! There are also other ways in which you can use the World Cup to engage pupils in English. Music seems to go hand in hand with football, from chants in the stadiums to songs in the charts. This great article discussing the power of the football song -  http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20180614-world-cup-2018-the-extraordinary-power-of-the-football-song Why not use some of the most popular songs from past World Cups and Euros as texts for comprehension?  I have previously blogged loads of different songs you can use in class and you can read them all here: Songs for Reading Comp...

If you have followed my blog for a while, you will know I am a massive fan of using music in the classroom, especially for reading comprehension. You can read about other songs I have blogged here. Here is another example: Here is a lyric video to the song: “Praying” is a song by Kesha believed to be directed at her long legal battle with producer Dr. Luke. It is believed the producer sexually and emotionally abused the singer over a number of years. While I wouldn't share this sensitive information with the class, the song has a powerful message about being positive when bad things have happened. Kesha described this song as: This song is about me finding peace in the fact that I can’t control everything — because trying to control everyone was killing me. It’s about learning to let go and realize that the universe is in control of my fate, not me.   “Praying” was written about that moment when the sun starts peeking through the darkest storm clouds, creating the most beautiful ra...