The Literacy Shed is a new website that has been online only a couple of weeks but it is getting great reviews from many in the online education community and is building up a large following. The reason is that it is providing great inspiration, ideas and resources for literacy lessons in the classroom. The site is split up into different areas/genres, each of which is called a “shed”. There is The Fantasy Shed, The Love Shed, The Ghostly Shed, The Moral Shed, The Fairy Tale Shed, The Poetry Shed, The Myths and Legends Shed among others. Different “sheds” and resources are being added on an almost daily basis.
For example, The Fairy Tale Shed has a great video about the Three Little Pigs, where the third pig is arrested for boiling the wolf alive and poses questions about homeowner’s rights to protect their properties. The three pigs are also brought to court charged with conspiracy to commit insurance fraud. The whole video is presented in a very realistic, modern, news report style which challenges pupils to look at a traditional Fairy Tale in a new way. Suggestions are given on the site as to how such an approach could be used to look at other Fairy Tales and question how the stories are presented to younger children.
The Images Shed has some fantastic pictures/photographs which can be used as a stimulus for creative writing. There’s a Non-Literacy Shed with some interesting maths videos. There’s a Fun Shed with fun and quirky videos to stimulate writing. There’s a Film Trailers Shed with video trailers of films and suggestions of how they can be used in literacy lessons.
Rob Smith is the person behind this great website and I think that this site is only going to grow in popularity. Rob is also interesting in hearing from teachers with their own suggestions of videos/resources that they have used in the classroom. I’m looking forward to exploring this site in a little more detail over the summer and I’ve already identified some lessons that I’ll definitely try in the new school year. Visit the site at www.literacyshed.com
