Tell Sports Wales about our Virtual Sports Day

Most schools are not having sports days this year, so help us celebrate ours.  Can you write an email or letter to Sports Wales (or a sporting celebrity) to let them know what we did for our virtual sports day?

email:- nationalcentre@sport.wales

Sports Commentary

Have you ever had a go at commentating on a sporting event as it happens?  With pupils and their families enjoying our Virtual Sports Day this week, why not have a go?  Film yourself or your family taking part in an activity and explain what is going on in an informative and fun way.

You will be able to see the Sports Day activities on our website from Tuesday 19th May at 09:00.  You can then choose which activities you want to try - the number is up to you.  For every different activity that a pupil sends into their teacher (by photograph or video on Seesaw) they will receive 5 points for their school house (i.e. Ty Glyndwr, Ty Bevan or Ty Bassey).

Below is the advice taken from the BBC's School Report Initiative (more information can be found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/schoolreport/17874384).  Whilst it is aimed at secondary school pupils, the basics/headlines are still useful.

BBC Sports Commentary

One way of covering big sporting events is with a regularly updated page of live commentary.

The BBC Sport website uses them regularly for the latest updates - whether from a Saturday afternoon of football or the Wimbledon final - and the pages are also suitable to tell the story of news events too.

Here are my top tips for making your live commentaries come to life and keep your readers coming back for more!

1) Preparation is key

You won't have any time to do any research during the action, so find out as much as you can beforehand - from things like tricky spellings of players to interesting statistics.

It is really important you know the basics about the event you will be describing and think about what you might write at different times when it is taking place.

2) Get others involved

Part of this preparation is making sure everyone in your team knows what they will be doing and when. Do they know when kick-off is, or what time different athletics events are taking place, for instance?

The live text commentator is the person typing everything in so they cannot always watch the action. it's important to have other people there to help, and to double check your work for mistakes and spelling errors etc.

Make sure the other people who will be telling you information know exactly what you need, and that you will need it quickly!

3) Engage your audience

Live text commentaries should never sound like one person airing their views - make your readers feel part of the action by getting them involved. Invite them to give their views on the action or ask them questions that they can answer.

You can do this with people who might be sitting nearby, or are with you in the classroom. If you are over 13 and old enough to use social networking sites, you might also think about using these to draw in responses.

You can complete the loop by responding to people in your live text after publishing their thoughts. Although don't be too confrontational if they disagree with you!

It helps to get a balance of views in there too. Using football as an example, don't just publish the views of one set of fans at a game!

4) Make them feel like they are there

Image captionMake sure you tell people what's going on away from the pitch too!

Even if you are not in the stadium or place where the sport you are commentating on is taking place, you will (hopefully!) be able to see it on TV.

Some of the people reading your live texts won't have images, just your words, so remember that when you come to describe things that are happening around the game, like the crowd singing or even the weather.

5) Tell people what is happening

Make sure you start your live text by explaining the event you will be writing about, and invite some debate about what might happen.

But when the action starts, that becomes your priority. Don't let the debate you started distract you from your main job as a LIVE text commentator, which is telling people what is happening as quickly as possible.

Look out for the 'key events' like goals, red cards and penalties at a football match - and who has scored them. All sports have key events - in some athletics races, for example, simply who won, or who is ahead and how much of the race is left is important.

And if those key events aren't happening, then try to get across what IS happening - is one team doing a lot of attacking?

6) Get your personality across too

When live sport is taking place, things are often happening so fast that you won't have time to think much about what you are writing.

Everyone has a different approach when they are writing live texts, but as long as you get the important information across it doesn't matter whether you do it while telling jokes or just by giving basic descriptions.

As you do more live texts, you will become more relaxed, and find it easier to get your personality across more.

7) Keep your cool

In live sport, lots of things often happen at the same time.

As a live text commentator you should get that information across as quickly as you can, but also as accurately as you can.

Don't lose your concentration if lots of people are telling you things at the same time, because those are the times when you can make mistakes. If things do get a bit crazy, laugh about it and mention how busy you are in your live text.

8) Enjoy yourself

Don't kick yourself if you do make an error. Everyone does it, even me!

Point out what you got wrong, apologise (by cracking a joke if you like!), correct it, and move on - don't dwell on it! You are watching live sport and every sort of commentator - TV, radio or live text - will get something wrong at some point.

You would have fun if you were doing these things while talking with a friend, so make sure you have fun doing the same on a live text commentary too!

Learn a poem

Developing memory skills is always a good idea.  Find a poem you like that’s not too long and learn it off-by-heart.  There are thousands of poems out there.  Below are a selection of funny and traditional, but it could be something entirely different. 

Find something that you enjoy and is not too long.  Read it through several times; then try to say the first few lines without looking.  Check how you got on.  Perseverance is key.  You won't always get it right, but that's okay.  Just read it through again and have another go.  If you find it is filling you with negative emotions, take a break, look back at how much you have learnt already, or ask someone in your household to help you.

You could ask your parents what they learnt in school.  Did they learn any poems in other languages? 

Once you've committed it to memory, why not perform it for the people in your house? Or post a video to your teacher?

The poem below is a reversal poem.  First you read down the page (as normal).  Then you read it line by line going up the page.  Think about how the meaning changes.

If any of the poems inspire you to write your own, please share them on Seesaw with your teacher.  If you'd like us to share them with everyone on the website let us know.

i-Spy 

A traditional game that still works well.  One player thinks of an item they can see and says “I spy with my little eye something beginning with …” (and the item’s first letter). 

This game can be adapted for many ages.  Alternatives can be “something the colour ..." (useful for younger players); "something that sounds like …” (add a rhyming word); “something with the middle sound …” etc.

Good luck

Rosetta stone - free trial

Foreign language tuition:  

Free language learning for school children with Rosetta Stone.

Enable your kids to use their time at home in a meaningful way. School children get 3 month free access to Rosetta Stone.* #StayAtHome 

https://www.rosettastone.co.uk/lp/freeforkids/ 

BBC Teach - Understanding POetry with Joseph Coelho

A series of short films with poet Joesph Coelho, pupils can explore the way poetry can be inspired by the everyday all around us.  In this resource, Joseph explains how poetry can be relatable, fun, and achievable and can open up new ways of understanding and expressing your own emotions and thoughts. 

Themes: 

Key Stage 1 

• Listen to, discuss and express views on a wide range of poetry 

• Talk about and draft ideas for writing 

• Explore and play with the patterns of sound and language 

• Explore and use sounds and words, discovering how they can work together to form ideas in poems 

• Respond to poems heard, discussing personal preferences 

Key Stage 2 

• Express thoughts and feelings in imaginative writing 

• Understand and use a range of vocabulary by investigating and experimenting with language 

• Assess the effectiveness of own writing and suggest improvements 

• Write own poetry without prompting, making decisions about form and content 

• Experiment with all kinds of wordplay 

• Explore poetic devices, such as onomatopoeia 

• Experiment with ideas for humorous writing and nonsense verse 

Suitable for: Primary English and literacy in  Wales. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/class-clips-video/english-ks1-ks2-understanding-poetry-with-joseph-coelho/zdhbqp3 

BBC Teach - Supermovers KS1 - English Collection

Song and movement routines covering Grammar Rules, Prefixes and Suffixes, the Alphabet and more! 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/supermovers/ks1-english-collection/zjsghbk 

Also available for KS2

Amazon Audible - free books

During the time schools are closed, a collection of stories are  available on Amazon Audible to “continue dreaming, learning and just being kids”.

Please be aware that this resource has a paid element and adult books too, so monitor carefully what you allow pupils to download.

https://stories.audible.com/discovery   

Online Read Alouds

We Are Teachers have compiled a long list of authors who will be providing read alouds, drawing workshops and many more! 

https://www.weareteachers.com/virtual-author-activities/

BBC Teach - Bringing Books to Life 1

An adventure into the world of children's literature as celebrity presenters share what they love about their favourite book.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/class-clips-video/english-ks1--ks2-bringing-books-to-life/zvg4xyc

First News- The newspaper designed to keep young people informed!

Take a look at the latest editions and activities below.

Why not visit the website for live news and interactive resources

https://live.firstnews.co.uk/?utm_source=neutral-homepage&utm_medium=for-kids-slider&utm_campaign=neutral-homepage