Rab Ha' - The Glasgow Glutton

Rab Ha’ was a colourful Victorian Glaswegian figure, whose feats of gluttony earned him notoriety the length and breadth of Scotland. Engage and captivate your pupils with the tale of Rab’s excesses and exploits. This entertaining character is rich for exploration and discussion, and the lessons have been designed to take account of visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learning styles. Colloquial expressions are explained clearly, and the use of techniques such as alliteration and similes are brought to life.

This resource was developed to support teachers in the delivery of Glasgow City Council’s New Horizons ‘Reading into Writing’ literacy strategies. It examines elements of the Writer’s Craft, with a particular focus on characterisation, and encourages pupils to read like a writer and write like a reader. Aimed at the Primary 6 stage, the resource requires close examination of how the story has been crafted. Pupils highlight tools used by the writer to reveal Rab’s character, and use what they have learned to continue the story from a nail-biting cliffhanger.

The lessons set out learning intentions for pupils, and they are encouraged to use before, during and after writing strategies. Writing frames have been differentiated to give a varied amount of scaffolding, and technical targets for punctuation and grammar can be set for levels ranging from B to D. This allows the basic concepts to be introduced to the whole class, with support given to different degrees and the expected outcomes tailored to meet the abilities of individual pupils.

Working and planning with writing partners, pupils are involved in self and peer assessment. Mind maps and visual resources such as photographs have all been supplied for teachers to download. Have fun predicting the events of the great pie-eating contest – will Rab win? Will his gluttonous ways finally catch up with him?