Resources to support the use of
Traveller culture in the Literacy Hour

Peta Ruddock, Parkside Primary School, Canterbury

Peta Ruddock has compiled a large index of resources which may be used by teachers wishing to incorporate aspects of Traveller culture into the Literacy Hour. Texts are grouped by genre, using categories from the Literacy Framework. There are also suggestions for using the texts. Some are available for downloading and immediate use. Wherever possible, Peta has obtained copyright holders' permission for use only within school. All texts for download are in Word 6.0/95.

Some of the shorter pieces are highly informative and evocative, offering much scope for text level work. Good examples are
The Burning, A Child is Born, Moving with the Times, Marriage and Death. The stories taken down from Duncan Williamson are superb examples of the oral tradition - it is impossible to recommend one above the others, but a shorter story is The Traveller Woman who Looked Back.

 

Materials to aid the writing of instructions

Year
Term
Materials
Activity
5.1

1. Designing a space to live in No 1: Making a Bender. £15 for 6 copies. Devon Consortium Traveller Education Service, DCC Education, Arts and Libraries Directorate, Southern Division Office, Redworth House, Ashburton Road, Totnes, Devon, TQ9 5JZ

2. Making Christmas wreaths (Instructions poster) £4 Devon consortium as above.

1. Write instructions to make a model bender.

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Classic Fiction / Longer Established Stories

Year
Term
Materials
Activity
6.1
6.1
5.3
4.2
1. The Diddakoi by Rumer Godden. £3.99 Macmillan/Pan. For children and young adults. See Kizzy, the TV adaptation.

2. Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl. Story of a boy and his father with gypsy heritage.

3. Horse Healer: Eclipse (and other stories in the horse healer series) by Judy Waite. £3.99 Scholastic Children's books, Commonwealth House, 1-19 New Oxford Street, London, WC1A 1NU

4. My Second Best Friend by Geraldine Kaye. £4.99. Scholastic Children's Books, as above. Story about Traveller child in school and the local community.
Use texts to reflect Traveller culture









4. Work pack available from publishers £9.99

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Non-Fiction

Year
Term
Materials
Activity
6.1
6.3
5.2
4.2

General Information

1. Traveller's homes £3. Multicultural Resource Centre, South Suffolf Professional Development Centre, Pauls Road, Ipswich IP2 0AN. (01473) 584212 Photo pack with notes and suggestions for activities

2. Romanichal Gypsies, by Thomas Acton and David Gallant. £10.99. Wayland Publishers, 61 Weston Road, Hove, East Sussex, BN3 1JD (01273) 722561. Information on gypsy history and culture.

3. Moving with the times by Goodiy Reilly. £2.95 or £10 for 6 copies. Devon Consortium as above. Autobiographical accounts of Irish Traveller women.

4. Looking Back on my Gypsy Childhood by Louise Orchard. £4 Devon Consortium as above.

5. In the Life of a Romany Gypsy by Manfri Frederick Wood. Out of print.

6 One in a million £7.95 Essex County Council Education Department, Information Services (Publications) PO Box 47, Chelmsford, CM1 1LD

Suggested Theme: Travellers' homes.

Look at books, pictures and artefacts of Traveller life.

Brainstorm what is already known about Travellers' homes (wagons, trailers and benders).

Decide what further information is needed.

Formulate a table from the gathered information about wagons, trailers and benders to show their construction and appearance, and the differences in lifestyle implied by each.

Use the information from the table to label a drawing of a wagon. trailer or bender. Or write up the information as a non-chronological report.

Please note: the Travellers' homes pack has excellent ideas for generating questions and research work.

Family Life

7. Romanichal Gypsies by Thomas Acton and David Gallant, as above.

8. Moving Stories by Southwark Traveller Womens Group. Traveller Education Team c/o Ilderton School, Varcoe Road, London, SE16 3LA. Irish Traveller women write about issues of importance to them. Note passage on birth pp12-13

9. Gypsy Camera by Tony Boxall. £9.95 Creative Monochrome, 20 St Peters Road, Croydon, Surrey, CR0 1HD. Family photographs and text

10. In the Life of a Romany Gypsy (as above)

11. Traveller's homes (as above)

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Biography and Autobiography

Year
Term
Materials
Activity
6.1

1. One in a Million, as above.
Download

2. Looking Back on My Gypsy Childhood, ' Early Days' , as above.

3. In the Life of a Romany Gypsy, as above
Download

4. The Life and Story of May Orchard by Dorothy Orchard £10 for 6 copies. Devon Consortium as above.
Download

5. Moving with the Times, as above
Download

6. Moving Stories, as above
Download

Use the extracts from these texts which cover different aspects of Traveller life. They can be used as models for childrens' autobiographies and/or as starting points for oral interviews.

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Recounts

Year
Term
Materials
Activity
5.1

Appleby Fair
Fiction

1. Gypsy Girl by Olga Sinclair. Out of print (Fontana). Chpt 9 'Appleby' story for young readers. Describes Gypsy Traveller lifestyle.
Download

2. A Horse for Joe, £4.50. Wiltshire and Swindon Traveller Education Service North and West, Longmeadow School, Broadcloth Lane, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, BA14 7AG. Story book plus big book.

Non-Fiction

3. Gypsies Today. Kent County Council. Photos and captions of meetings at fairs.

4. Families at Appleby Horse Fair. £3. Norfolk Traveller Education Service, The County INSET Centre, Witard Road, Norwich NR7 9WD. Photographs and captions.

5. A Time To Look Back: Appleby Fair Over the Last 50 Years. Complied and published by Barrie Law, 121 York Road, Strensall, York YO3 5ZG. Photographs (sepia) with some text.

6. Times to Remember. Compiled by Barrie Law, as above. Sepia photographs showing traditional lifestyle.

7. Videos: Appleby Horse Fair; A View of Appleby Fair. Each £12.95. Both available from Romany Gypsy Photograph Collection, 121 York Road, Strensall, York YO3 5ZG

8. Romanichal Gypsies by Thomas Acton and David Gallant, as above.

9. Appleby Horse Fair information sheets.
Download

10. Stalls selling goods from 'Education on the hoof' Appleby Horse Fair INSET pack, Acert, Moot House, The Stow, Harlow, Essex CM20 3AG
Download

Romany Weddings
Fiction

9. Gypsy Girl by Olga Sinclair, as above. Chpt 3 'Wedding Party'
Download

Poetry

10. Gavvered All Around 'Tina Lee's Wedding' (poetry anthology) £1.50. Travellers Education Service c/o Abbott CP School, Rochdale Road, Manchester, M10 7PR.
Download

11. A Moving Way of Life 'The Wedding' (poems by Kathleen Cunningham) £5. Cambridgeshire Team for Traveller Education, CPDC, Foster Road, Trumpington, Cambridge, CB2 2NL
Download

12. Romanichal Gypsies by Thomas Acton and David Gallant, as above. See chapter on values and religion.

13. In the Life of a Romany Gypsy by Manfri Frederick Wood, as above. Chpt 8: Marriage
Download .

Romany Funerals
Fiction

14. The Diddakoi by Rumer Godden, as above. Wagon burning - death of Grandma.

15. Tales of a Gypsy (poetry anthology) as above. 'The End of Love' - funeral.

16. Travellers' Tales by Anthony Masters. Out of print (Blackie). Novel about life in a Romany Family Chpt 5: The Burning.
Download

Non Fiction

17. Times to Remember, as above. Photos of wagon burning

18. Moving Stories, as above pp 13 - 15: death
Download

19. In the Life of a Romany Gypsy, as above. Chpt 9: Death
Download

20. The Life and Story of May Orchard, as above. pp 10-15: May's death

Appleby Fair


View Appleby Fair Video

Formulate a table to show activities seen on the video, with space for specific comments and impressions.


Study the model recount of Appleby Fair and compare with other materials / recounts.

Write a recount of Appleby Fair as if you had been there or write a recount of a similar experience at a Fair or gathering

Write a diary entry recording a day at Appleby Fair using the information from the text.

 

 

 

Use similar activities to those outlined above for Romany Weddings.

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Short Stories and Poems

Year
Term
Materials
Activity
5.3

Stories

1. Fireside Tales of the Traveller Children by Duncan Williamson. Canongate Press, 14 Frederick Street, Edinburgh, EH2 2HB. Traditional Scottish Traveller tales.

Download'The King and the Lamp',

Download'The Traveller Woman Who Looked Back',

Download'The Boy and the Boots',

Download'The Pot That Went to the Laird's Castle'.

2. May the Devil Walk Behind Ye! Scottish Traveller Tales by Duncan Williamson, Canongate Press, as above.
Download 'The Devil's Coat'.

3. Traditional Traveller Tale by Duncan Williamson, Central Region Traveller Project
Download


Poems

4. A Moving Way of Life by Kathleen Cunningham, as above

5. Not all Wagons and Lanes by Charles Smith. Essex TES Education Library and Publications Service, PO Box 47, Learning Services, County Hall, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 6WM (01245) 492211

6. Gavvered All Around, as above

7. Tales of a Gypsy by Julia Gentle. £1.50. Traveller Education Service, Parkside Centre, Sheepfoot Lane, Prestwich, Manchester M25 8BW.

Poems About Family Life

8. A Moving Way of Life, as above:
Download 'Grandma's',

Download 'Just Being Dad',

Download 'Old Turf Fen',

Download 'A Child is Born'.

8. Not All Wagons and Lanes, as above: 'Familiy'

9. Tales of a Gypsy, as above: 'Fight for a Site'.
Download

 

Use short stories to study form.

Develop story-telling activities.

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Alphabet Books and Picture Books

Year
Term
Materials
Activity
R
Y1
Y 2

1. Shaun's Wellies. £6.95 (A4). Norfolk Traveller Education Service, Traveller's Resource Base, Turner Road, Norwich, NR2 4HB (01603) 766133. Picture book with captions and flaps.

2. The Broken Broomstick by Karen Taylor. £5. Traveller Education Service, The Professional Centre, Woodford Lodge, Woodford Lane West, Winsford, Cheshire, CW7 4EH, (01606) 557328. Rhyming couplets, cartoon type illustrations.

3. Traveller Alphabet. £5. Esses TES, as above. English and Romany words. Illustrated with children's drawings.

4. Kushti-bet. £1. Humberside Traveller Education Service, Education Centre, Coronation Road North, Hull, HU5 5RL. Alphabet book.

5 Just Like You by Eileen Harron. £3. Haringey Traveller Education. Photographs of children and captions.

1. A2 version available £17.50

 

2. Work pack available from publisher.

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 | Published: 20-1-09  | TOP