ABOUT LITERACY SHED
At Literacy Shed, we are dedicated to enhancing visual literacy in Primary Education.
We offer free access to a wide range of high-quality films and animations that teachers can use to inspire reading and writing lessons.
Our resources are carefully curated and organised thematically so teachers can use individual films or a range of them integrated into broader literacy units.
Film Ratings
Most films on the website are not subject to the usual film rating system which many people are familiar with (U, PG, 12 etc). The majority of the films on the website are suitable for children across the primary age range. However, some of them are more suited to older children. Where the films have a more mature or scary theme, such as ghosts or peril, we advise teachers to watch the films and make their own judgement on suitability. There are advisory notices on the film page where we think this is necessary.
We do not advocate allowing the children to have free access to the site as this can lead to them watching films that may not be suitable for them. They may also watch films that teachers have planned to use later.
Premium Resources and Lesson Planning
The resources on Literacy Shed are free. For most films, we include a brief synopsis with teaching ideas and other free resources where available.
Educators who would like to access planning and premium resources based on films and animations can find these on our premium resource website Literacy Shed Plus.
What others say about Literacy Shed
I find the Literacy Shed to be an exciting site with a wide range of superb resources freely available to all teachers. If I were back in the classroom I would certainly be using the great resource.
(Ros. Wilson)I have used The Literacy Shed website for some time now. In fact, it has been so useful in providing resources to support my own teaching that I have recommended it to all my colleagues at school. Every one of them has enthused about the resources available on the site.
For one particular lesson, I used the ‘Pandora’ animation to develop the children’s multi-sensory locational writing. The vocabulary that they used as a result of watching the video was amazing. They really connected with the resource.On another occasion, I used the short film ‘Replay’ to introduce a discussion about story endings. The children empathised with the video so much that two of them cried! The ensuing discussion was of such high quality that a visiting inspector rated it as outstanding.
I use The Literacy Shed on a weekly basis and my class is regularly inspired by its contents. It has definitely made my planning easier and my teaching of literacy more inspiring.
I would recommend The Literacy Shed to anyone who wants to deliver engaging lessons to their class.
(Bryn Goodman - Year 5 Teacher and English Coordinator Moorside Primary School, Droylsden)How We Use The Literacy Shed: I first came across the literacyshed after many recommendations on twitter. It's transformed creative writing in our classes. Every Friday is creative writing day whereby every teacher chooses a focus to write about. This can be a diary, report, newspaper, story etc. Using the videos from the literacyshed gives the kids the stimulus needed. Writing has improved greatly and the children are excited to write every Friday and can't wait to see what video we are going to use. I love it so much that I became a guest editor for the music shed. The difference it has made to our writing lessons is huge. A great hook into learning!
(Shaun Hopper - Teacher)