The Languages of Sunderland: Part 1

The Languages of...Sunderland

After a discussion into where we lived and where we are from, children began to look at a satellite view of a map of Sunderland.

“Things look so different on a map; this is what we look like from space.”-  Megan

“Is this the whole of Sunderland? In one picture?” – Geoffrey

“We all live here. Our houses are all here in this map.”- Ben

“Yeah, but we were not all born here. I’m from China, that is where I’m from, but now me and my family we live in Sunderland”- Geoffrey

“Sunderland looks so big.”- Megan

“There is so many different places.”- Ben

“Everything on here looks the same. But, I don’t think everything will.”- Geoffrey 

Conversations continued to advance as children began to read the different places that were labelled and started to make connections to where they may have visited or heard of…   

“What is all the blue?”- Scarlett

“I think it is the sea, we live next to the sea.”- Megan

“That is why we get to go to the beach.”- Ethan

“We go to Seaham, this is where Seaham is, we visit here all the time at Beach School.”- Megan

“The sea is so long and big”- Ben

“It stretches for miles and miles, I’m not too sure where it stops.”- Geoffrey

“There is Seaburn beach too, it’s the same sea.”- Scarlett

“Seaburn is further up, you can see it here.”- Ben

“It’s next to Roker.”- Megan

The group were extremely interested in our city and they started to work in smaller groups to enhance their knowledge and they started to research the rich history of Sunderland by using books. 

“People are wearing different clothes here, Fallon”- George

“Why? They all look so different.”- Fallon

“I have never seen people where clothes like this before.”- George

“They look so different to what we wear now.”- Isabella

“I think it’s what people used to wear.”- Ethan

“People didn’t look like what we look like now.”- George

“There was different times, it was called the olden days.”- Amy

“It was such a long time ago.”- Scarlett

The children’s research furthered as they began to use technology to discover their own city, Sunderland.

“Let’s find where we are now.”- Megan

“At school?”- Lucas

“Yeah! We can see whereabouts Benedict Biscop lives in Sunderland on the map.”- Ben

“I wonder what we are close to and if there is somewhere we have never seen before.”- George 

“Here is our school! This is where we are right now!”- Ben

“I wonder what else we can find.”- Megan

“I don’t know, but I’m sure we will find out…”- Ben 

The Languages of Sunderland will continue...