New Resource for Schools

Tobar an Dualchais has created a new Gaelic resource for schools, entitled ‘Mapa na Sgìre Agam’ (‘My Own Place’), which will encourage children to learn about, and be part of, their own cultural heritage. This is part a pilot project working in collaboration with Sabhal Mòr Ostaig to promote and assist with cultural education in schools. This resource comes to life when it’s scanned with a mobile phone and Kaitlin (a teaching student at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig) pops up to provide activities and information to help pupils research their own local heritage.

TAD has delivered workshops around the theme of heritage to five schools to date: Sgoil an Ìochdair in South Uist; Sgoil Lìonacleit in Benbecula; Nicholson Institute in Lewis; and Portree Primary and High Schools in Skye. Floraidh Forrest (TAD Director) and Raghnaid Sandilands visited the schools to talk to pupils about heritage, with dressers being used as a metaphor for this. The children had plenty of stories to tell as they created artwork for their life-size dresser, which contained things which were precious to them.

In the next phase of the project local artists/other creative people will visit the schools to support the pupils in making their own large-scale charcoal map of their place. Part of this activity will be guided by the ‘Mapa na Sgìre Agam’ resource, encouraging the children to think about their local area in terms of: people’s work (today and in the past); buildings of all kinds; creatures, trees and terrain; and intangible heritage such as stories and songs.