Katie Morag's Island Stories (Katie Morag, 8)

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For a way of imagining the dramatic islands through sound, you can pair it with our Mendelssohn's Hebrides Overture Listening Activity. What are the islands of Scotland? Katie Morag herself lives – above the family shop, by the island pier - on the fictitious Isle of Struay and in a village closely modeled on Coll’s main community of Arinagour. Her mother is the local postmistress; her Dad runs the store and her jolly, dungaree-clad, tractor-driving ‘Granny Island’ is another central character. Some of the existing stories would prove impossible for us to adapt; some of the scenarios were totally impractical, which is why it was really excellent to have the director and producers there, for their practical reigning-in of the blue-sky thinking! Casting for the series included a casting call in Stornoway, Lewis in March 2013. [7] [8] The casting team also held extensive auditions in Glasgow and Edinburgh. The part was eventually won by seven-year-old Cherry Campbell from Glasgow (whose grandmother was born, and still lives, on Lewis). Campbell took part in the Stornoway auditions. Director Don Coutts said, "We were looking for someone with energy, humour and courage to play the feisty wee character of Katie Morag and we think that Cherry has all three of these attributes in spades!" [9] Locations [ edit ] Struay Shop and Post Office from the TV series Katie Morag

Never in a thousand years! With the first book, I was given a brief to write and illustrate a picture storybook. My own children were teenagers by this point and so it was a self-indulgent nostalgia re-run of my children’s upbringing on the Isle of Coll. There are no Katie Morag official experiences, and we do not endorse any initiative over another. Mairi and Move on Up wouldn't like any island to claim that theirs had any kind of Katie Morag-ness any more than another because it isn't true. Although Coll can for ever claim to be the inspiration! You can also encourage learners to act out the events of the Katie Morag books using these lovely role-play masks. Perfect for supporting reading comprehension skills in a fun group activity! What is the Isle of Struay? During the discussions we talked about doing an episode that explored the theme of death, even in a small way. Our series already portrayed all kinds of emotional, sometimes uncomfortable feelings, and we didn’t want to leave out grief. But we couldn’t have one of our human characters die; it would be far too traumatic for our young viewers. We felt we couldn’t even have a beloved animal die for the same reason. But we could perhaps allude to the inevitability of one dying, thereby creating a natural setting for the big questions that might emanate from any child. It’s difficult to find words of comfort - especially for those of us who have no religious faith. But the more we talk about death and dying the more healthily we can expect our children to cope with it when, in due course (but hopefully not for a very long time) they encounter it.The Isle of Struay is a fictional Scottish island, home to Katie Morag. Here is where she has all of her fun adventures with her little brother and two grannies. Watch the video below to take a tour of this beautiful island with Katie Morag herself! Mark Brown, Christmas show review: Peter Pan and Katie Morag, The Daily Telegraph, 11 December 2007 If you do manage to find some of the locations we filmed in, please be aware of your safety and also that there are people who live and work very close by , who were very kind and patient with us, and we don't want their lives to be disrupted in any way so please be sensitive. Also parking is not easy, as we found when we were planning how our cast and crew would arrive on set! Katie Morag to return in new series on CBeebies and CBBC". BBC News. 18 June 2014 . Retrieved 13 July 2014.

In The Times, Helen Rumbelow suggested viewers, "Draw the curtains, pour a whisky and enjoy one of the most realistic child performances of the decade, the butchest grandma on screen, and the best Hebridean landscape in the world. It's as close as you can get to not watching TV without having to give up TV." [17] Awards [ edit ] Alexandria Patience, Artistic Evaluation: Katie Morag at Ardross Hall, Scottish Arts Council, 5 October 2005 Chilton, Martin. "Katie Morag: Charming in print and on TV". The Telegraph . Retrieved 3 January 2014. Before disillusionment sets in, and you decide to take the boat to Mull or Rum instead of Coll, I can assure Katie Morag aficionados that the first clutch of Struay characters in the first books did have Collach forbears, old friends. Granma Mainland, however, is my mother visiting Coll in the ’60s, handbag and all. You can use this PowerPoint to introduce your learners to the topic of the Scottish Islands and to lead on to learning about the history, landscape, and culture of each of the different islands or island groups.

Alongside this Isle of Struay Map, we have a huge range of Katie Morag resources to use with your First Level children.