Best Primary Resource or Equipment - Bags of Fun..Pirates

1. ERA Awards 2011
Brand: Hope Education
Resource Name: Bags of Fun… Pirates
Category: Best Primary Resource or Equipment - non ICT
Price: £99.95
Age Range: KS1 and KS2
Inspired by classroom themed learning and children’s fantastic creative
imagination, we are proud to launch our exciting new range of Bags of Fun...
story packs, and have chosen our favourite “Pirates” themed pack for the ERA
Awards 2011. The Bags of Fun… pack is a great value non-prescriptive teaching
resource for KS1 and KS2, providing teachers with a solid foundation of
resources and activities to be used time and time again to spark further
discussion. Bags of Fun... Pirates extends across many learning areas
encompassing literacy, art and craft and speaking and listening, and combines
factual information with fictional stories and develop simple understanding while
motivating early learners to extend their knowledge.
The Bags of Fun… range was designed with the aim to inspire children to take
on different roles (in this case Pirates), learn about their historical origins, pirate
language and secret codes. The pack includes resources to make your own
treasure maps and messages in bottles, decorate treasure chests with sacred
jewels and make pirate hats. The pack also includes a fantastic pirate hand
puppet, 2 board games: Yo Ho Ho and Walk the Plank! and a themed
background, all supplied in a unique Bags of Fun... sack which doubles up as a
seating mat suitable for outdoor use.

2. The idea for this new range was initiated from a brainstorming session with a
local primary school. By combining the governmental plans at that time for
themed / topical learning, and building on the success of our previous
“Storysack” (but with an older KS1/2 target audience), the Bags of Fun… concept
was conceived. The new government is committed to giving schools greater
freedom over the curriculum. Although we cannot predict the outcome of the
National Curriculum review, we can be assured that any resource that allows
teachers to incorporate fun into their lessons can only aid children’s learning and
help them realise their potential.
We were conscious not to make Bags of Fun… as prescriptive as our Storysack
range which only focuses on a singular book. Instead we aimed towards
designing the product on feedback we had already received from teachers on
how much fun and excitement the idea of themed learning, in particular pirates,
generates in the classroom for both girls and boys across a broad age range.
Although not an official curricular topic, teachers stated they found them “great
starting points” and useful for engaging the children and introducing them to
History and Science. We believe that Bags of Fun… could provide a starting
point for teacher’s lesson plans and can act as a gentle introduction to fun and
intriguing topics such as pirates, dinosaurs, space, under the sea etc, which they
can then expand on as and when they feel it is appropriate.
With the combination of books, activities, hat making and board games to name
a few, the Bags of Fun… Pirates pack is a great resource for encouraging role
play, introducing new topics and doing something a little bit different to brighten
the day. It has been designed to be suitable for both group work and individual
use, and as it can be used again and again it is a valuable resource for any
classroom.
When developing the Bags of Fun… product range, we wanted to make the
storage sack more than just a container for all the packs elements, so we
designed it to double as a weatherproof outdoor mat to offer added value and
allow teachers the added function of embracing the idea of outdoor learning (UK
weather permitting of course!).
The new Bags of Fun… Pirates pack was given to Lyndhurst Primary School and
Arundale Primary School to test out with their KS1 classes. Each school kindly
offered us feedback on how they found the resources and what their children
thought of it.
Arundale Primary School
Tony Hoskin, KS1 Teacher
This is a great resource for using in several different subjects including English,
music, maths, drama and art. The treasure boxes and gems for treasure trail
were great for encouraging discussion, and the hats and puppets created some

3. great activity ideas. We used the games inside the pack during play time and
‘treat time’.
The unique selection of elements inside the Bags of Fun… Pirates pack is great
for inspiring a range of activities; some of our children sang pirate songs and put
on a puppet show for the rest of the class. The children really loved it!
When we asked the children what they liked about the pack, this is what they
said:
“I like the games because you can play with your friends and the puppets
because we can have a lot of fun and make up different stories.”
“Gems and boxes – we could hide them in school and make a treasure map to
find them.”
“I liked the board game because you can have a competition with your friends
and it’s exciting.”
“The Bags of Fun… Pirates pack is excellent value for money. The variety of
activities inside and the fact it can be used across key stages make it an effective
and useful resource for the school to have.”
Children were encouraged to read The class put on a puppet show
the story books together using the Pirate puppet and
backdrop
Everyone sang Pirate songs …and played “Walk The Plank” to
together… win themselves some treasure

4. Lyndhurst Primary School
Ann Burke, Year 2 Teacher
“The Bags of Fun… Pirates pack was excellent as a cross curricular resource,
and a great role play stimulus. The games were good, and the pack encouraged
the children’s imaginations and got them talking and writing about the activities
and different topics.
The children were really excited about the pack, and particularly enjoyed making
the hats.”