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Adventures in language and making
Welcome to
Welcome to
Traditional Tales, Untraditionally Told
Traditional Tales, Untraditionally Told
We are inviting your school or library to take part in this multilingual family storytelling project run by researchers from The University of Sheffield’s School of Education and Maker{Futures}; we are working together to give children the chance to use all their languages when in libraries or schools.
Launch webinar
Launch webinar
Over 100 educators joined us from around the world for our launch webinar on the 21st January 2025. If you missed it, you can catch up by watching the recording of the live event.
Over 100 educators joined us from around the world for our launch webinar on the 21st January 2025. If you missed it, you can catch up by watching the recording of the live event.
We’ll be running a follow-up celebration event in May. During this webinar we will hear from schools and libraries that have taken part. They will share their experiences and insights and we'll showcase some of the wonderful digital creations from the workshops so far!
This event is for schools and libraries that have taken part AND those that wish to find out more, get involved and run their own events. The webinar is FREE but booking is required.
We’re also launching the Maker{Library} awards later this year. If your library already offers opportunities for making or you are interested in setting up your own makerspace and clubs this FREE webinar is for you! Book online.
All about this project including a downloadable session plan
Find out how to get started and facilitate multilingual makerspaces in your setting - with slides, videos and templates
Videos, downloadable guides and skills cards to support your family workshops
Aims
Aims
To explore how multilingual families use their languages when engaging in joint making activities, supporting children in using their full linguistic repertoire.
To support teachers and librarians to understand how to provide space for multilingual children and their families to use their heritage languages through pop-up makerspaces.
To demonstrate how to create characters and settings and to capture stories digitally
To embed and normalise multilingualism in our school and library settings.
Our workshops and resources explore…
Our workshops and resources explore…
- Sharing stories in multiple languages and why this is important
- Crafting characters and settings and incorporating multilingualism
- Using stop motion to capture stories digitally
- Using the Octostudio app to code and create simple animations for our stories while recording your voice in your heritage language
Take a look at our overview page to find out more about the project and a downloadable session plan
Why?
Why?
Cardboard lion with words written in the children's heritage language
With over 20% of current pupils having a first language other than English (DoE, 2023), there is an importance of multilingual activities in engaging families from migration backgrounds in education.
For these activities to be situated in “official” spaces, such as schools and libraries
Multilingual activities bring an enhanced sense of belonging and the resources on this website will help you to embed these in your setting.
To support parental engagement in educational activities and intergenerational communication, and facilitating language development in both English and the heritage language.
What’s involved?
What’s involved?
Cardboard poster for "school stuff," written in Tigrinya and English
Using the resources on this website, we will find fun and new ways to tell or 'reimagine' traditional stories from different languages and cultures.
All you need is cardboard, craft materials and some iPads or computers and we will show you how you can work with multilingual families to create digital representations of traditional tales.
You could run these over the course of the half term, as an after school club or as a whole day event - it’s entirely up to you!
You could use these resources leading up to International Mother Language Day on 21st February or European Day of languages on 26th September. They are also a great catalyst to engage with your multilingual families at any time of the year.
Benefits for libraries and schools:
Benefits for libraries and schools:
Clear guidance materials, to be used in perpetuity, on makerspace pedagogies and working with linguistically and culturally diverse communities.
Increased confidence for staff in implementing makerspace pedagogies.
Increased confidence for staff in working with families from different language and culture background.
Increased engagement with families from different language and culture background.
Strengthened relationship with the University, building up resilience for future projects.
Stop Motion animation in Polish
For Families:
For Families:
Opportunity to bring the home language into an “official” educational space, raising its status for the younger generation
Improved intergenerational communication regarding the home/heritage language
Increased confidence in engaging with formal education spaces
Parent and child enjoying the workshops
So have fun, making space for heritage languages, using our free resources, in your setting!
Thanks to our partners
Thanks to our partners
Thank you to all the schools, libraries and families that have contributed their wonderful stories, time and insights into creating this project.
Follow us on social media
Follow us on social media
You can keep up to date with this project and our other multilingual and making adventures on social media with Dr Sabine Little, Lost Wor(l)ds and Maker{Futures} .
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