Primary Colours and 'Did You Know? 2'

A great privilege for ickledot to be invited to the launch of Primary Colours’ latest publication ‘Did You Know? 2’ yesterday. This took place in the presence of Key Stage 2 pupils at Spring Grove School in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.
For those who are unfamiliar with Primary Colours, its aim is to promote the celebration of diversity in schools by producing teaching resources which are colourful and humorous, and by performing their very individual brand of theatre-in-education. Their productions range in suitability from Early Years Foundation through Key Stages 1 and 2 to Lower Key Stage 3. For those of you not familiar with the English education system, that’s from around four years to thirteen.
Yesterday’s launch was accompanied by a performance of ‘Rock ‘n’ Role Play’, one of PC’s newer shows. This tells the story of Rosa Parks and her famous refusal to move to the back of the bus, linking it to next Tuesday’s historic inauguration of Barack Obama as President of the United States of America. This involves dramatised descriptions of the inequalities of segregation, the Civil Rights Movement and South Africa’s system of apartheid.
Heavy stuff, hey? Not a bit of it! Primary Colours’ unique approach is chock-full of laughter, music and dancing throughout. As they learn, both children and adults are simply (and more importantly) having a great time.
There are also moments of magic that leave you wondering why you’re sitting in a school hall on a cold Friday afternoon, blinking away a tear. These are often almost unknowingly invoked by the pupils themselves during improvised role-play. Such a one yesterday was produced by a child playing the part of Rosa Parks herself. Her quiet, stoic refusal to move seats induced the atmosphere and significance of the original event perfectly.

We were similarly moved by a presentation of a copy of ‘Did You Know? 2’ to Lewis, aged 10. His remark, ‘Miss; Martin Luther King had a dream and today it came true,’ made to his teacher (and co-author), Shazia Azhar, on the day of Obama’s election, now appears as a quotation on its back cover.
ickledot is proud to have worked with Primary Colours on various projects for just over a year, culminating in this latest one, the ‘Did You Know? 2’ Teaching Pack. Released to coincide with the inauguration, it can now be ordered from Primary Colours’ own website.