Though famous first and foremost as a writer, Walter Scott's interests stretched far beyond literature. He was a collector of curious objects, and he was interested in scientific innovations. The same is true of his influence- though Scott left an incredible literary legacy, his creativity also inspired many artists and musicians to respond with paintings and illustrations; statues and monuments; operas and overtures. We hope that you find a rich source of inspiration in these resources, which could be used to explore and enhance learning in curriculum areas such as Expressive Arts, Social Studies, Language & Literature and more.
This page suggests activities which could be used flexibly to contribute to the learning requirements of your group- whether as a fun standalone activity, or as an active element in a larger topic around Scott, literature, or something else entirely.
An introduction to Walter Scott
All the activities in this resource have been inspired by Walter Scott. Your pupils might be interested to know more about his life and work. The PowerPoint goes through Walter Scott's life with discussion questions designed to help the pupils connect Scott to their own interests and lives. It is recommended that you choose a few discussion questions to use in class and delete the others. Click here to access the PowerPoint: Who was Walter Scott? - PPT. Click here to access a Teacher Document (Word: Who Was Walter Scott WORD / PDF: Who Was Walter Scott PDF) that gives additional information about Walter Scott and this resource.
Story cards
As well as an author and poet, Walter Scott was also a keen collector of all kinds of curious things. His passion was collecting objects that had interesting stories to tell- especially those objects connected to Scotland’s history. His house, Abbotsford, became a little bit like a museum, full of weird and wonderful objects. As a writer, Scott would often use these objects to find inspiration for his poems and stories.
These Story cards show objects from the 51cg’s collections, and from Abbotsford, Scott’s home in the Scottish Borders. One side of the card shows a picture of the object, and a quote from one of Scott’s works, whilst the other side shows three prompt questions. Story cards can be used in a range of storytelling and creative writing activities. Use the cards to get pupils taking to each other, or invite them to create their own scenarios and stories. You can find some suggestions of ways to use the Story cards in fun activities by clicking here. How to use story cards WORD How to use story cards PDF Click to see the full set of Story cards.
Booklet
Game
This board game introduces pupils to the world of Walter Scott. They begin by reading a couple of lines of Scott's poetry and then make their way around the board. At times, they may land on a "tasks" square, where they will read a bit of information about Scott and do an activity. The first pupil to make it all the way around the board wins.
In addition to the board and the cards, you will need dice and counters for this Game . Pupils should also have some scrap paper and pencils for some of the activities.
Click here for a guide on how to play the Walter Scott board game: How to play the Walter Scott board game PDF
A Story in Scots (prose)
This resource focuses on a short story written in Scots by Walter Scott. Pupils can read sections of the story and answer questions. The accompanying PowerPoint guides pupils to think about the different languages spoken in Scotland, including Scots.
Click here for the PowerPoint: A Story in Scots
Scottish writers
This poster and corresponding lesson are designed to give the pupils some background on Scottish literature. The poster includes quotations from seven Scottish writers across time.
Click here for the poster on Scottish writers.
Click here for the lesson plan on Scottish writers.
We would be very grateful if you could after using any of these standalone resources.
This work was supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council Grant Number AH/V011111/1.
It is part of The Edinburgh Edition of Walter Scott's Poetry: Engaging New Audiences. It was developed by Dr Anna Fancett as part of the Walter Scott Research Centre at the 51cg with the support of Abbotsford, Scott's home in the Scottish Borders and The Association for Scottish Literature.
