We are pleased to be able to offer the following activities to our Partner and KMPF Schools. Please contact outreach@kent.ac.uk for more information or to book.
Literacy – for Year 7 and 8
Reading Support – This provision connects student ambassadors with small groups of approx 3 students to read aloud together and to discuss reading content. In this way students build their reading skills and confidence reading aloud, while also developing their engagement with reading material. Student ambassadors act as role models and supportive adult relationships, building confidence and aspiration in the young people they work with.
The online intervention, based on our successful face to face provision, will take place over zoom. Students will need access to a suitable device and a member of school staff must be present in the zoom call. Multiple ambassadors can be included in the project to increase the total group size to a max of 12. This intervention is suitable for students at all levels whose reading is below their expected level, but is not suitable for students with specific or substantial SEN needs. This intervention works best over a sustained period, such as 30 minutes or one hour weekly for at least six weeks.
Virtual Quest Project – Based on our popular Quest Creative Writing Project, the virtual Quest project takes students through the stages of creating a great narrative through the lens of a classic Quest story. The virtual Quest project builds concrete writing skills, while encouraging playfulness and a love of story to ignite a passion for writing and reading. Students will create heroes and villains, tackle monsters, build worlds and imagine magical objects. At the end of the project students will have completed their own story, and the best stories will be published on our ‘Quest’ blog.
The Virtual Quest Project consists of a package of easy to use resources produced by our Postgraduate Tutors, and professional writers, for schools to deliver in English lessons or other suitable timetable slots. The resources are divided into 6 30 minute segments which can be delivered over a sustained period of time or condensed into a single morning or day, with most students requiring some extra writing time to perfect their work. This project is suitable for year 7 and 8 students working at all levels, with differentiation built into the variety of possible final outcomes, and teacher support required, especially for students working at the lowest levels or those with SEN needs.
Online Games Club – Based on our successful in-school Games Club, the University of Kent now brings this innovative approach to literacy, oracy and classroom confidence to our online provision. The Games Club is a series of playful interactive activities designed to improve year 7 and 8 students’ confidence reading and speaking in front of others. The online games are carefully curated by our staff and professional writers to replicate as closely as possible the experience of our in person Games Club; students will be asked to think on their feet, to use language carefully, with depth and detail, and, most importantly, to participate and have fun.
This is a small group intervention, led by our outreach tutors, which builds relationships between participants and ambassadors over a series of sessions. The Online Games Club will run regularly for up to 6, 1 hour sessions, for groups of up to 10 students. The intervention will take place over zoom. Students will need access to a suitable device and a member of school staff must be present in the zoom call. It is particularly suitable for students whose confidence engaging in class does not match their individual attainment, or those with high prior attainment whose literacy levels fall below their targets. It has also been shown to effectively support EAL students to build their speaking skills, as well as to benefit students who experience anxiety about engagement in class.
GCSE Support – for Year 9, 10 and 11
GCSE English Digital Campus – This online resource contains mini-lectures, tips and activities prepared by University of Kent lecturers and writers to support students preparing for GCSE exams in English Language and Literature. As well as helping students revise and develop key elements of their GCSE syllabus, It is designed to show students how university staff and students think about the same topics they are studying, and to give them an insight into the study of English at HE level. There are three topic areas covered: Literature context (currently for students studying A Christmas Carol, but context for other texts could be prepared with prior discussion), Analysing Unseen Texts, and Writing Creatively from a Visual Prompt. Students can chose one topic, for an intervention lasting about 1 hour, or work through all 3, for an intervention lasting about 3 hours.
This resource is best used in a classroom setting, with students watching the videos collectively and working on the tasks individually or in groups. However, it could be set as homework or a self-guided revision task. The GCSE English Digital Campus is designed for mid to high attainers, to stretch their understanding and support development of key skills. It is aimed at year 10 or 11 students who have already covered the bulk of their course in class.
GCSE English – A Christmas Carol Context Workshops – This series of pre-prepared workshops is designed by University of Kent researchers for teachers to use with their students while studying A Christmas Carol. It is suitable for mid to high attainers while studying the text for the first time, or as a revision tool. The workshops consist of recorded mini-lectures and related tasks, created to help students understand the historical and literary context of the story and of Dickens himself, with insights from our experts.
This resource is best used in a classroom setting, with students watching the videos collectively and working on the tasks individually or in groups. However, it could be set as homework or a self-guided revision task.