These are unprecedented times, with millions of children and young people of all ages learning remotely from the first time. Over at our sister company As Creatives Connect we have been thinking about how we can adapt some of most popular programmes to allow them to be accessed by secondary aged students at home, to both engage and support them with their ongoing learning. These include workshops delivered via a live webinar with students, or as a pre-recorded challenge with supporting resources for students to do at home.![]()
The Bunker
Getting to the very heart of maths – identifying, analysing and predicting patterns – The Bunker has long been one of our most popular workshops. And now, responding to the school closures necessitated by the coronavirus crisis, we’re making it available in digital form! After watching a short, introductory film, students will be able to access a package comprising seven coded messages. And while the first is relatively straightforward to decrypt, the others get progressively more fiendish! They will, however, be given plenty of tips – and, as a last resort, a link to a page on our website with some Very Big Clues indeed!
CSI: Michaela Maths
Who was it that attempted to kill one of the UK’s most promising young sporting stars? After viewing a short film outlining the case and introducing the suspects, students will work individually on a series of questions, calling on a range of mathematical skills, to gather data. They’ll then be invited to join an online webinar, interacting with a member of our team as they’re guided through a process allowing them to use that data to eliminate suspects one by one – until only the criminal remains!
CSI: Reading Skills
Some Top Secret papers have been discovered on the late running 12.44 to Bath – and it’s up to your students to use a variety of reading skills to identify who took them, and why. After viewing a short film outlining the situation and introducing the suspects, students will work individually on a series of questions exploring “the world of books”. They’ll then be invited to join an online webinar, interacting with a member of our team as they’re guided through a process allowing them to use both what they’ve already learned and other evidence that’s been gathered to work out who the double agent is. As they examine and decode a range of both written and non-written texts, they’ll skim and scan, infer and deduce and read for both comprehension and context – and remind themselves of the huge number of ways we all use reading skills in everyday life.
The Priorities Game
The Community Centre in Amberton needs refurbishing, ready for the day when life returns to normality. There’s a healthy budget, but one little problem: different stakeholder groups have some very different ideas as to how the money should be best spent! In a live, online webinar, students will be introduced to the scenario, then split into breakout groups – each representing a different interest group in the village, and each with a shopping list. Their time-limited task is to follow their particular brief to design and cost the new centre – managing with a range of unexpected challenges along the way. Once the planning time is up, everyone will return to the webinar together to hear the different presentations – and agree on which one is the best!
Shakespeare Character Profiles
To support their Shakespeare studies, and gain skills that can be transferred to the close reading of other texts, students will be able to access specially written and designed profiles of six characters from Macbeth or Romeo and Juliet – together with introductory films and instructions for a range of exercises. What makes our profiles special is that they’ve been created by actors – bringing a unique perspective to interpretation.
Get in touch
If you would like to discuss how we could work with you during this challenging time to provide online content for your students please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us on 0151 708 8886 or email info@ascreatives.com