I had known for some time that my knowledge of children's books was a weak area and when I came cross the Open University's self-review document for teachers whilst scrolling through twitter one day, I thought, 'why not?' I clicked on the link and started dutifully answering the questions. It was worse than I thought. I was lured... Continue Reading →
I was thinking about National Libraries Week (taking place from 8 - 13 October 2018) and how we might celebrate our much-loved school library, when I stumbled upon the idea of having a blind date with a book. The aim is to encourage children to explore new genres and authors in an exciting, engaging way and the 'blind... Continue Reading →
The Day War Came by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Rebecca Cobb Published by Walker Book, £10 (£1 from each copy sold donated to Help Refugees)Recommended Key Stages: 1 or 2 Year Group: 3+ In 2016, our own government refused to allow 3,000 unaccompanied child refugees to enter the UK. Around the same time, Nicola Davies... Continue Reading →
Building vocabulary is essential for all pupils to ensure that they are able to access the curriculum and reach their full potential academically. Of course, vocabulary building continues to evolve throughout our lives, but creating a curiosity around words from a young age can have a big impact. Embedding positive reading and vocabulary-building habits can... Continue Reading →
If there is a better way to motivate and excite children about books, than by turning them into published authors, I do not know about it. Publishing books gives children the most authentic purpose and audience for their writing and is an incredible way of inspiring writing in school. Publishing, sharing, performing and celebrating their... Continue Reading →
Much of what I do in the classroom relies heavily on quality, authentic texts, so knowing where to find them is crucial. Ensuring that children have access to fantastic books – whether it’s for lessons, a read aloud or simply for pleasure – is absolutely essential to inspire and build a community of lifelong readers.... Continue Reading →
Astonishing, isn't it? Our ability to decipher words. It's thought that we rely heavily on a word's shape and layout to decode its meaning, rather than the precise order of the letters which is why the above passage is so easy to read, despite being absolute nonsense. Fluent readers have the ability to read words... Continue Reading →
To teach reading and writing effectively and enthusiastically, we must be keen readers and writers ourselves. With this in mind, I was looking for opportunities to develop myself as a reader and, through twitter, I stumbled upon the Open University and UKLA Teachers' Reading Groups. Initially, I thought it was simply a book club led... Continue Reading →
Whether or not you agree with the term 'more able' or prefer to think of these pupils as ‘high potential’ (or whether you prefer not to label children at all - after all, don't all children have high potential?), you will inevitably encounter many mixed ability classes in your time teaching Literacy at primary school.... Continue Reading →
