Resources for Teachers

Windows in the West and Angels are interdisciplinary resources for Primary schools.  They demonstrate ways in which a painting can be used as a stimulus for learning, and help deliver important elements of the Curriculum for Excellence.

The ideas in the resources are a starting point and we hope that teachers will contact us and add their thoughts, ideas and experiences.  

Angels

This project is the outcome of the National Gallery’s Take One Picture initiative.

The class of Primary 1's from St Charles Primary School in Glasgow used the painting Tobias and the Angel to explore many areas of the curriculum.

The PowerPoint presentation documents the project and the Class Teacher, Eileen Campbell, has written a supporting resource.  Both can be downloaded in PowerPoint and PDF formats by following the links on the right hand side of this page.

Glasgow Museums has a wonderful art collection, which could be used in a similar way.

Hands On

Hands On is directly linked to the Curriculum for Excellence.  It is a step-by-step guide to working with objects and paintings in the classroom and in a museum setting.  It demonstrates how to incorporate object-based learning into your teaching, and get more out of museum and gallery visits.

Find out more about Hands On from our Publications section​.

These videos were filmed as part of the “Talk of the Steamie” event at People’s Palace. They give a fascinating in depth insight into the artist Avril Paton’s career. In them she shares with the audience the ups and downs of her career and how it has developed over the years from her early work to the creation of the iconic “Windows in the West”. 

This video is an introduction to the talk. There are seven more short videos which each look at a different stage of her career. Please click the links below this video to view them.