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Writing Assessment using AI. Great for an overview of writing to assist in moderation.

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AIR → Your Personal Writing Assessment Assistant | AI Writing Assessment Tool for UK Primary Schools

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How AIR works

This is our Instant Writing Assessment Plan - a simple 3-step process to reduce teacher workload and improve pupil progress today:

Upload writing: capture photos of work directly from your phone, tablet, or computer.

Assess instantly: get assessment information and actionable feedback.

Improve outcomes: see your class's strengths and areas for improvement at a glance.

As a group of educationalists, we've seen first-hand how assessing writing can create excessive working hours. This impacts teacher well-being and pupil progress.

We've worked with many teachers to ensure this 3-step process has the teacher and pupil at the core. The teachers in our research group have helped ensure that this process is simple and effective for you.

We have a more detailed page explaining how AIR works.

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Marking writing, no stress. A powerful and stress-free way to mark writing whilst maximising pupil outcomes.

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Facebook Group - Whole Class Reading and More at The Teach Hub

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Facebook Group - Whole Class Reading and More at The Teach Hub

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Log in to Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family and people you know.

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The Teach Hub. 2,369 likes · 1 talking about this. The Teach Hub is the trade name of Hubbard Consultancy, set up by an experienced team of primary teachers and consultants. Information and advice…

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https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/686bf9432557debd867cbdb0/The_writing_framework.pdf

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Guess the hidden word in 6 tries. You can also share your own word!

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How to Teach Every Spelling Pattern Ever.

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How to Teach Every Spelling Pattern Ever.

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How to Teach Every Spelling Pattern Ever: The pal to The Ultimate Scope and Sequence (Teaching Structured Literacy)

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Buy How to Teach Every Spelling Pattern Ever: The pal to The Ultimate Scope and Sequence (Teaching Structured Literacy) by Mitchell, Sarah (ISBN: 9798852474742) from Amazon’s Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.

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Kate Atkinson of St Mary’s Church of England (VC) Junior School, St Mary’s Way, Baldock

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It takes a village: the need for a whole school approach to encourage reading for pleasure

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This guest blog from Kate Atkinson details her journey towards developing a reading for pleasure culture at her school.

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Reading For Pleasure - Reading for Pleasure

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We aim to support a vibrant professional community of teachers, student teachers, librarians, teaching assistants and literacy coordinators.

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Best Books for Children

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Highlights - Best books for children - Page 1 - The Times Bookshop

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The Times bookshop features thousands of titles including the latest books recommended by our literary experts, books written by our esteemed journalists and the Sunday Times bestsellers.

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BookTrust transforms lives by getting children and families reading. We are the UK’s largest children’s reading charity. Each year we reach 3.4 million children across the UK with books, resources and support.

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2020 KS2 standardisation exercise 1

These three collections were those published for the 2020 lead moderator standardisation tests. (Moderators were obliged to pass these, but moderation for this year did not then go ahead because of COVID-19.)

2020 KS2 standardisation exercise 2

These three collections of writing were published for use as the 2020 pool moderators' standardisation tests, round 1. (Statutory moderation was then cancelled for this year due to COVID-19.)

2020 KS2 standardisation exercise 3

These materials were used in the pool moderators' standardisation tests in 2020, round 2. (Statutory moderation did not then take place this year.)

2019 KS2 standardisation exercise 1

The three collections here were published for the 2019 lead moderator standardisation tests.

2019 KS2 standardisation exercise 2

These three collections of pupils' writing were used in the pool moderators' standardisation tests in 2019, round 1.

2019 KS2 standardisation exercise 3

These materials were published for use in the 2019 pool moderators' standardisation test, round 2.

2018 KS2 standardisation exercise 1

These three writing collections were published for use nationally as the 2018 lead moderators' standardisation tests:

2018 KS2 standardisation exercise 2

These three collections of writing were published to be used as the 2018 pool moderators' standardisation tests, round 1.

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KS2 pupil writing collections - Support for schools and settings

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These three collections were those published for the 2020 lead moderator standardisation tests. (Moderators were obliged to pass these, but moderation for this year did not then go ahead because of COVID-19.) These three collections of writing were published for use as the 2020 pool moderators' standardisation tests, round 1.

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Information pack on Greater Depth resources for both packs

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[FREE] Phonics Check Materials | For Year 1 and Year 2 | Gap Analysis

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Phonics Check Materials from 2000 onwards - free downloads. For Year 1 and Year 2. Practice Sheets, Score Sheets and Guidance included

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The Reader Teacher | Children's Books | Reads, Reviews & Recommendations

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The Reader Teacher shares the best reads, reviews and recommendations for children, teachers, schools and parents to choose from.

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When you order your book, please tell us the:

font type, such as Comic Sans or Verdana

font size, such as 18 or 48

font strength, such as bold or normal

line spacing, such as single, 1.5 or double

paper colour for the pages

binding, for example spiral binding so books lie flat

To work out what's best, add a free copy of our sample book to your order - at the top of each page, there are clear details about the font and spacing used. When you know what you need, please donate the sample book to a school or library so others can order large print CustomEyes Books. You can also send it back to us at:

CustomEyes Books
Hillfields
Burghfield Common
Reading
RG7 3YG

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When you order your book, please tell us the: font type, such as Comic Sans or Verdana font size, such as 18 or 48 font strength, such as bold or normal line spacing, such as single, 1.5 or double paper colour for the pages binding, for example spiral binding so books lie flat To work out what's best, add a free copy of our sample book to your order - at the top of each page, there are clear details about the font and spacing used.

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Morpheme Magic slides - Listed on TpT - Do Not Delete

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A4 Exercise Book Without Logo - Handwriting Lines - Direct ED

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This is the most popular and widely used book in our offering. The book is A4 in size (297mm x 210mm) with handwriting lines. It can be had in 4 page numbers (32pp, 48pp, 64pp, 80pp or 96 Pages), 4 different spacings (16/4mm with or without margin or 21/6mm with or without margin), 13 different cover colours and finish it with a gloss laminated cover if you prefer it that way.

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As children read aloud, the words turn green when read correctly, and if they misread a word or get stuck, they simply double-tap to hear how to pronounce the word. Fonetti uses gamification, in-app rewards and progress charts to motivate children to read more.

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Jo Thornhill Books | Education | Schools | England

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Jo Thornhill books - I supply schools with resources and books from all all UK publishers.

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Subject Leaders: Where Do I Start in Getting to Know My Subject?

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Leading a new subject? Find out how to get to know the strengths and weaknesses of your subject area with the ideas and top tips in this helpful blog.

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Learning resources Archives - The Bell Foundation

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This KS3 EAL resource supports learners in Maths to develop their vocabulary around using money in daily life including the topics of banking, taxes, employment, shopping, commerce and travel. It will also be useful for new arrivals to the UK to introduce them to English currency and conventions around payment and banking.

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Branching Out - Alternative Reads for Children

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Branching Out - Alternative Reads for Children

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Best children's books - Branching Out Booklists & Posters

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Discover our recommended booklist - Branching Out Booklists & Posters - with the best books and quality texts for primary ages and topics, reviewed and selected by experts.

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2017 Reading Comprehension Question Breakdown

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2018 Reading Comprehension Question Breakdown

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Rollama · SPAG Made Fun · FREE 4-Week Trial

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Most grammar practice can be dry, repetitive, and boring. But fluent fundamentals are really important for clear writing ...

That's why we built Rollama: a llama-themed universe of mini-games and teaching tools for , with medals, leaderboards, avatars, competitions, and more! spelling, punctuation,

Made by teachers, for teachers , we're fully aligned to the English National Curriculum, using robust, evidence-based principles, and we fit alongside any scheme or curriculum.

Rollama is the playful path to fluent fundamentals!

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Home | Rollama · SPAG Made Fun · FREE 4-Week Trial

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Super SPAG activities with a free 4-week trial · Top games to learn English spelling, punctuation, and grammar

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However, not every child in the UK has access to books and stories. Libraries are suffering from a chronic lack of investment - 44% of schools serving the UK's most disadvantaged communities do not have a school library. We created World of Stories in partnership with our friends at the UK's leading literacy charity, the National Literacy Trust, in 2018.

World of Stories aims to address some of the key challenges facing reading for pleasure in schools where budget constraints often mean investing in school libraries and librarians and buying new books is not an option. Research shows that reading for pleasure improves children's ability to read, write and progress at school, as well as having a positive impact on their mental wellbeing and empathy.

So far, we've worked with 377 primary schools, supporting them to transform their libraries and reading spaces into hubs of creativity and imagination.

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However, not every child in the UK has access to books and stories. Libraries are suffering from a chronic lack of investment - 44% of schools serving the UK's most disadvantaged communities do not have a school library. We created World of Stories in partnership with our friends at the UK's leading literacy charity, the National Literacy Trust, in 2018.

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Primary School Reading Books | Pandora Books

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Pandora Books offer perfectly-formed school-ready collections of primary school reading books, competitively priced with free protective jackets

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Kev F Comic Artist

Richard The Third - Shakespeare for fans of Dogman & Bunny vs Monkey. My 4th graphic novel and the most fun yet!

​

Amazon * Etsy (signed) * Waterstones * Barnes & Noble * ebook

Hi, I'm Kev F Sutherland. I've been writing and drawing comics for everyone from Beano to Marvel, Doctor Who to Viz, Red Dwarf to The Dandy and all points inbetween for some years now. My first three graphic novels, Findlay Macbeth, The Prince Of Denmark Street, and The Midsummer Night's Dream Team were published in 2020, followed by Comic Tales From The Bible in 2022. My latest, Richard The Third, came out in 2023. If you like your Shakespearean & Biblical comic adaptations with a twist, you'll like my books.

​

I'm represented by Emily Talbot of United Agents.

You may have heard of my far-famed Comic Art Masterclass? I hope so, because I'd like to bring it to to a school, college, art centre or screen near you.

I teach pupils all there is to know about making comic strips and manga. Working with any age from 7 upwards, by the end of a session the group has produced a comic containing a strip by every single one of them, a copy of which they take home, plus I've drawn a caricature of every one of them. Since lockdown, my classes are now available online - social distance no object!

I am also the writer and performer of the award winning Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre, which is a whole 'nother story.

Ring, text or email for details. 07931 810858. Join my free mailing list here.

Findlay Macbeth - my debut graphic novel. Shakespeare's Scottish Play meets Abigail's Party. 125 pages of comic strip action, plus the full play illustrated.

Amazon * Etsy * ebook

The Midsummer Night's Dream Team - Shakespeare's comedy as a heist movie in this 125 page graphic novel, plus the full play.

Amazon * Etsy * ebook

Comic Tales From The Bible - 90 pages of full colour humorous comic strip adaptations from Book of Esther to Joseph, and Jael Wife Of Heber.

Amazon * Etsy * ebook

Pop Star Colouring Books - Drawn and written by Kev F, from Punk to Eurovision, collect them all!

Etsy (signed) * Amazon

- Earth's funniest footwear, entertaining audiences live and online. Stars of the Edinburgh Fringe. See the latest at scottishfalsettosocks.com or on Facebook and Twitter.

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Kev F Comic Artist Richard The Third - Shakespeare for fans of Dogman & Bunny vs Monkey. My 4th graphic novel and the most fun yet! ​ Amazon * Etsy (signed) * Waterstones * Barnes & Noble * ebook Hi, I'm Kev F Sutherland.

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The Vocabu-Library, one of Vocabulary Ninja's most loved resources, is a comprehensive vocabulary resource designed to unpick and explain the vocabulary found within classic and modern children's literature. Each pack carefully analyses the vocabulary used by authors, chapter by chapter, then provides an explanation of these unfamiliar or meaning-rich words in context. By providing a contextual explanation rather than just a standard definition, we can better help children understand the stories we are sharing with them and widen their vocabulary. The pack even goes a step further by offering a selection of resources and activities at the end of the pack to support teachers in the classroom. These resources will encourage and support pupils to explore unknown vocabulary, classify tiered vocabulary independently, explore the wider application of newly acquired vocabulary and enhance classroom vocabulary display which ultimately leads to improved retention.

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Welcome

This is the companion website for Descriptosaurus, a book that aims to provide children with a comprehensive resource to expand their descriptive vocabulary, and to demonstrate how words, phrases and clauses can be incorporated in a variety of sentence structures. Originally created to enthuse and engage children, this companion website contains extra resources that work alongside the Descriptosaurus book to further encourage creative writing in children.

The resources include:

Downloadable documents, including writing tips, character profile ideas, sentence models and vocabulary banks

Flash cards

Games and activities

Lesson plans and planning sheets

By providing and connecting sentence models, ideas and descriptive vocabulary, I hope to fully engage children with the task of creative writing, rather than merely the mechanics of the language to tap into their imaginations and add colour to their writing.

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Picture Books for Cross-Curricular Planning

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Picture Books for Cross-Curricular Planning

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What can graphemes write flipbook Marie Foley

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What can graphemes write flipbook Marie Foley

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KS1 Standardisation Exercises and Commentary - OneDrive

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KS2 Standardisation Exercises and Commentary - 

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KS2 Standardisation Exercises and Commentary - OneDrive

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"We have found this resource to be extremely valuable to deliver both whole class writing sessions and small group interventions. A small investment that is certainly going a long way."
Jo Lindon, Head Teacher, Heathfield Primary School
"This resource has slotted seamlessly into our school, supporting well-established programmes of study. It does not require huge investments of training and our team are meeting regularly to share good practice and agree on new initiatives. Thank you Mighty Writer we are huge advocates!"
Mr McTernan, Teacher, Abbey Catholic Primary School

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Mighty Writer | Teaching Children to Write

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"We have found this resource to be extremely valuable to deliver both whole class writing sessions and small group interventions. A small investment that is certainly going a long way." Jo Lindon, Head Teacher, Heathfield Primary School "This resource has slotted seamlessly into our school, supporting well-established programmes of study.

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The Teach Hub website - courses and resources

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The Teach Hub website - courses and resources

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Welcome to The Teach Hub

Primary School Support & Teaching Resources

The Teach Hub is an English Consultancy and resources business set up by Claire Hubbard: a current Primary School Teacher, an experienced English Consultant and a current KS1/KS2 Moderator. Claire has 32+ years of teaching experience and works independently as an Education Consultant as well as being a part-time teacher in Year 2, intervention teacher in Y1/2, and is the Managing Director of The Teach Hub. As The Teach Hub has grown, her daughter, Amy Hubbard (Year 6 teacher), has joined Claire as Editorial Director to help build on the success Claire has founded.

The Teach Hub also runs a wide variety of online and face to face (when appropriate) English courses that support schools with varied INSET and CPD - these are often made bespoke to the schools' needs. The Teach Hub courses and training sessions often come with a huge array of tried and tested teaching resources that are warmly welcomed by those attending.

Browse our teaching resources by using the tabs at the top of the page.

For Primary English Courses delivered directly to your place of work or via Zoom, please Contact Us.

Current dates for Autumn Term Online Courses 2021
Whole Class Reading
Monday 10th May 1-3pm

Whole Class Reading 'Taking It Further' - Tuesday 2 nd November 1-3pm
Reading
Teaching Decoding and Fluency KS1 - Monday 18 th October 1-3pm
Reading Deep Dive
Monday 27 th September 1-3pm
Phonics EY-KS1 using Letters and Sounds
Monday 20 th September 1-3pm
Letters and Sounds Phonics Workshop
Tuesday 5 th October 1-3pm

Monday 4 th October 1-3pm
Teaching Spellings using Phonics KS1 and KS2
Monday 11 th October 1-3pm
Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar
Year One Monday 8 th November 1-3pm

Year Two Tuesday 9 th November 1-3pm

LKS2 Monday 15 th November 1-3pm

UKS2 Tuesday 16 th November 1-3pm
End of Key Stage Moderation
Moderation for End of Key Stage One - Monday 6 th December 1-3pm

Moderation for End of Key Stage Two - Tuesday 7 th December 1-3pm

Moderation Evidence Collection for End of Key Stage One - Monday 10 th January 2022

Moderation Evidence Collection for End of Key Stage Two - Monday 17 th January 2022
Greater Depth
Greater Depth within the Expected Standard in KS1 Reading and Writing - Monday 22 nd November 1-3pm

Greater Depth within the Expected Standard in LKS2 Reading and Writing- Tuesday 23 rd November 1-3pm

Greater Depth within the Expected Standard in KS2 Reading and Writing - Monday 29 th November 1-4pm

- Please visit the course pages for booking details.

Personal Consultancy Sessions

We are delighted to announce that Claire will be offering personal consultancy online sessions from January 2021.

Available sessions will be on a Thursday 4.30 - 5.30pm and a Saturday 9-10am. Full hour sessions are £40 and half an hour sessions are £20. These will be on a 'first come first served' basis.

Contact editor@theteachhub.co.uk for more information and to book your slot. Claire is also available to book for half days and full days for individual support (English or Phonic Lead, moderating work, deep dive advice, etc) as well as school support.

Look out for our open FREE group sessions coming soon which will be set up to allow participants to chat freely and to seek advice about anything English related! Keep an eye on our Facebook page: Whole Class Reading and more at The Teach Hub for these events.

Whole Class Reading at home

We have produced five sets of Whole Class Reading lessons for Key Stage One that can be used at home, some with accompanying videos on YouTube and some with recorded PowerPoints that explain each lesson, every step of the way.

Thank you - The Teach Hub team.

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The Teach Hub is an English Consultancy and resources business set up by Claire Hubbard: a current Primary School Teacher, an experienced English Consultant and a current KS1/KS2 Moderator. Claire has 32+ years of teaching experience and works independently as an Education Consultant as well as being a part-time teacher in Year 2, intervention teacher in Y1/2, and is the Managing Director of The Teach Hub.

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Corebooks | Centre for Literacy in Primary Education

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The books chosen for the Power of Pictures are high quality picturebooks that support the development of sophisticated reading skills, enabling children to develop deeper levels of comprehension and to learn about narrative structure and character development in an accessible way, shaping children's knowledge about how to craft writing using text and illustration.

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Each month CLPE's Librarian, Phoebe Demeger, will reveal some of her favourite books she has recently added to our Literacy Library.

Discover December's below:
EYFS
From independent publisher Bok Bok Books comes an exuberant and inclusive board book celebrating family and food. Bhorta Bhorta Baby (Jumana Rahman and Maryam Huq) centres around a parent and child preparing a meal of aloo bhorta together; it's filled with rhymes, rhythm and repetition, plus delicious sensory language.

In A Stick and a Stone (Sarina Dickson and Hilary Jean Tapper, Moa) a group of children and adults set out on a nature walk in Aotearoa New Zealand, before the children split off to have their own adventure, sparked by a cheeky kea bird. It celebrates the small wonders of wayfinding and the natural world in simple rhyming text: "A frond, a beak, a fossil, a creek".

Two for Me, One for You (Jörg Mühle, translated by Catherine Chidgey, Gecko Press) is a wonderfully witty picturebook about friendship and sharing: Bear finds three mushrooms in the woods, and Weasel cooks them, but how will they divide them up? The narrative of (in)justice calls to mind the tale of The Little Red Hen, and the illustrations carry a narrative of their own, such as the silent comedy of the approaching fox who just might solve Bear and Weasel's problem for them...
KS1
Poet James Carter joins with illustrator Nathalia Takeyama to bring us two interactive board books examining the natural world, All the Things a Tree Can Be and All the Things a River Can Be (Little Tiger). Information about the broad roles of these two natural entities is imparted in short phrases and labels, and hidden under flaps and moving pieces, great for supporting developing readers in Year 1.

New from Alison Green Books is Axel Scheffler's Fairy Tales, four new tellings of classic tales - The Hare and the Hedgehog, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Three Little Pigs and Puss in Boots. Each is warmly written and illustrated by Scheffler, and presented in pocket-sized, mini-hardback format.

How to Find a Rainbow (Alom Shaha and Sarthak Sinha, Scribble) sees red panda sisters Reena and Rekha - one loves staying indoors to paint, the other loves splashing in puddles - on a rainbow-chasing adventure. Shaha's narrative effortlessly weaves in the science of rainbows, accompanied by sumptuous pencil illustrations from Sinha. The perfect picturebook for a rainy day.

In Ning and the Night Spirits (Adriena Fong, Flying Eye), a shy boy finds making friends more terrifying than the rumours of sinister spirits that lurk in the forest around his village, but what happens when he meets a spirit for real? A magical picturebook about bravery and using your voice, drawing on East Asian folklore and mythology, with a stirring central message about the power of empathy and understanding to combat unfounded fear. For more information on the creatures of Ning and the Night Spirits, visit the Flying Eye website.

Bang! The Story of How Life on Earth Began (Katherine Halligan and Amy Grimes, Walker Studio) is an attractively presented and lyrical account of Earth's history from the Big Bang up to the present moment, told as narrative non-fiction. The poetic language makes effective use of repetition and patterns as various creatures appear and change and grow - would pair well with The Pebble in my Pocket.
Lower KS2
Zanib Mian, the celebrated author of , brings us a brand-new fiction series entitled Meet the Maliks: Twin Detectives (illustrated by Kyan Cheng, Hodder). Twins Maysa and Musa may be very different, but they work together to solve mini-mysteries in their community, such as investigating who destroyed their cookie sculptures before the big charity baking competition in Book 1, The Cookie Culprit. Like Planet Omar, Meet the Maliks is hilarious, warm-hearted and inclusive - the Malik family are practicing Muslims.

The Egg Incident (Ziggy Hanaor and Daisy Wynter, Cicada) is an offbeat reimaging of the Humpty Dumpty tale, told as a graphic novel. Young Humphrey's parents have taught him to always be extra-cautious after what happened to poor Uncle Humpty: no running, no playing catch, no sitting on walls...but where's the fun in that? An anti-cautionary tale about letting go of fear and embracing life and all its bumps.

Not only is How Do Meerkats Order Pizza? (Brooke Barker, Faber) entertaining and adorable, with cartoon illustrations by the creator of the popular Sad Animal Facts, it also spotlights real-life scientists and ecologists, prioritising women and people of colour, who are researching and working with the animals profiled. Filled with up-to-date and fascinating animal facts about crows, jaguars, Antarctic midges, meerkats, and many more.
Upper KS2
Newly published in the UK following its original 2018 publication in the US, Harbour Me (Jacqueline Woodson, Orion) centres around six sixth-grade children who come together in a weekly group meeting and share stories about themselves and their lives, forming friendships and developing advocacy for one another. Deeply empathetic and beautifully written.

100 Tales from the Tokyo Ghost Café (Julian Sedgwick and Chie Kutsuwada, Guppy Books) is a truly unique title, reuniting the creators of Tsunami Girl. It's a collection of short stories drawn from Japanese folklore, many involving ghosts, spirits and cats, intercut with short manga comics which tell a parallel story starring Sedgwick and Kutsuwada as characters. Atmospheric and endlessly creative, and closes with a glossary of Japanese words and phrases.

Finally, another title incorporating myths and folklore is Storyland: Discover the Magical Myths and Lost Legends of Britain (Amy Jeffs, Wren & Rook), a children's edition of Jeffs' adult title of the same name, and with woodcut illustrations by the author. It tells nineteen tales originating in Britian - a historian, Jeffs also includes historical notes on all the tales, and two introductions provide additional context on the relationship between history and myth.

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CLPE's December's New Books Round-Up - Hear from our Librarian! | Centre for Literacy in Primary Education

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Each month CLPE's Librarian, Phoebe Demeger, will reveal some of her favourite books she has recently added to our Literacy Library. Discover December's below:...

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When I read poetry or a novel, I keep a notebook nearby. A vivid, unusual word will often jump off the page. Sometimes I know what the word means, other times I don't. I put these words down in a notebook for later reference. This notebook is a treasury, a catalogue, an exclusive dictionary. Maybe these words will fill future pages?

Of course, no word is perfect on its own. Context is as important as sound and meaning. A word longs to be joined with others in lines, sentences, poems, and comic panels. A single word can be a springboard for a new piece of writing.

This is just a handful of perfect words I've found. What would you add to the list?

Some perfect words you'll find in my new book, POETRY COMICS:

jonquil, froth, glimpse, ultraviolet, cloudspotting, off-kilter, moongleam, and indigo.

You can pre-order it now at your favorite local bookstore or all the bookish places online. Thank you for your support!

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A review of different writing schemes for information.

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This page lists both prescription schemes for writing as well as general approaches to teaching writing at primary level. We also list schemes of work for other parts of the English Curriculum, including , ,

Scheme Support is also a member of the Amazon Associate programme. We receive a small affiliate revenue from any Amazon product link you purchase from below. This revenue goes towards supporting the site.

Ready Steady Write (new and improved Read to Write) is comprehensive and evidence-based. It provides a sequenced, ambitious curriculum, that places quality literature at its core. Our units have been carefully mapped out to match the entire statutory curriculum for writing.

Ready Steady Write enables high-quality teaching through evidence-based approaches and places engaging, vocabulary-rich children's literature at its core. Ready Steady Write is an online membership with everything a teacher and leader needs to a deliver dynamic and effective writing curriculum, available at the click of a button.

For Years Reception - 6 Features
For Teachers:

Over 1650 IWB slides with soundscapes and interactive features, daily lesson plans & Daily Sentence Accuracy included

Full colour image galleries

More Incidental Writes and accompanying word banks

Completed teacher plans and all spelling words linked to units...and much more

For Leaders:

Steps to Successful Implementation guidance with Ready Steady Write Non-Negotiables

Glossary of Terms, Mixed Age Planning Support, Assessment Support

Children's Book Audits and Monitoring and Evaluation Cycle

Editable Policy...and much more

Staff Training & Support
We provide a wealth of consultancy support to ensure the impact of this resource is maximised. This incorporates support for online resources, phone conferences, webinars and inset days.

In-school support is available for book looks against national standards, work scrutiny, environmental audits, leadership support and helping schools establish systems for monitoring and evaluation.
Cost
Ready Steady Write is a whole school membership to an entire writing curriculum. Contact hello@literacycounts.co.uk for a bespoke quote for your school.

hello@literacycounts.co.uk · 07522 514 759 · Visit Website

Created in 2012, the award-winning Literacy Tree is used by over 50,000 teachers across the UK and schools worldwide to 'Teach Through a Text'. It is a complete book-based approach to the teaching of primary English that can be used as a complete Scheme of Work or can be adapted by schools to fit with their existing curriculum provision. With over 400 book-based resources including Writing Roots for writing, Literary Leaves for reading, and Spelling Seeds to support spelling and vocabulary acquisition, this comprehensive resource supports schools with creating a community where children develop into critical readers and informed writers.

Literacy Tree won in the English category of the Teach Primary Awards in 2019 and 2020 and was the winner overall in 2022. It won the BETT award for Teaching and Learning in 2022.

For Years EYFS - 7

Features

Written by teachers, for teachers, Literacy Tree has complete coverage of all National Curriculum expectations for writing composition, grammar, punctuation, spelling and vocabulary, and reading comprehension. The plans for writing (Writing Roots) guide teachers through using a text starting with discovery points that lead to purposeful writing opportunities with a range of genres. The Literary Leaves teach Reading Comprehension and are written for Y2-Y6.

Deliberately designed 'Teach Through a Text' pedagogy for planning - designed to immerse, engage but also cover objectives.

Anyone can access whole-school curriculum maps which schools can use to adopt or adapt ( see our 'How it Works' page). Other features for members include an interactive assessment tool and a writing sharing platform. An APP is being launched in September 2023 to support assessment and further share work samples as well as annotate plans.

All members have access to the hundreds of work samples that appear on the site.

Curriculum maps, progression and coverage documents and overviews are included.

All plans are written with a consistent and cohesive approach that is used across a school from Reception to Y6 transition.

Resources included for Writing, Reading Comprehension and Spelling all link together under literary themes to support deepening knowledge around quality texts.

English Subject knowledge for teachers is embedded within resources. Examples of modelled writing and questioning as well as how to use grammar is detailed at the point of application.

Staff Training & Support

Our INSET and consultancy supports teachers to adopt and adapt the Teach Through a Text approach and embed the Literary Tree at their schools. Get in touch at to find out about how we can support you to develop a book-based curriculum. Our online programme of training can be booked here.

School members have access to a free termly subject leader meeting and free half-termly planning surgeries with a consultant as part of their membership.

Cost

Become an individual member for £3.99 a month to receive a token to use for any resource. The whole school membership is dependent on school size. A one form entry school (up to 10 users) is £595 plus vat for access to everything. Schools smaller than this can contact us directly for a discount.

Pathways to Write is an award winning proven methodology designed to equip pupils with key skills to move them through the writing process towards their final outcome. Each unit focuses on a finite number of skills that are built upon progressively and repeated throughout the year. This allows pupils to build confidence so that each skill can be mastered. To support this approach clear, detailed, lesson plans and classroom resources to support teacher workload and subject knowledge, are linked to high-quality texts to ensure engaging and purposeful English lessons. The units can be used thematically to encourage a whole school approach to writing with the opportunity for topics to link across all year groups. See a sample pack here.

For Years EYFS - Y7 (with mixed-age planning available)

Features

Our Primary School package includes units of work from EYFS to Y7 covering a range of content from the national curriculum including:

Many opportunities for writing in each unit with exemplified shared writing

Introductory online training video

Mastery of vocabulary, grammar and punctuation skills

Writing a range of genres across a year and using a wider range of reading comprehension strategies as a whole class

Spoken language activities including drama and presentations

Greater depth writing opportunities planned and guidance for pupils working below

Mixed-age packages available - Find out more here

Key Document Pack Includes:

Year group overview grids and PowerPoints for each unit, (Y1-Y6) to support the delivery of the planning

Tracking document to support pupils working below

Feature keys and progression

Spoken language and reading tracking

Opportunities for the application of grammar and punctuation

Wider curriculum map

Writing assessment grids

Staff Training & Support

The Literacy Company offer a range of training and support delivered face to face, online or via downloadable training modules. Please to see all of our upcoming courses.

We have a range of Pathways Literacy programmes supporting reading, intervention, home learning and poetry. Find out more here.

Cost

Pathways to Write prices start at £315+VAT for a full year's planning (6 units) for a single year group to £1975+VAT for the whole school programme. Please note this is a one-time payment and not a subscription model. The supporting texts are available at up to 30% off from Peters, visit our page on their website .

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Years 1 - 6

FREE 14 day trial with - the home of primary schemes of work

The curriculum is based on the use of high-quality texts which provide the driver for the unit. Across each year group, texts from classic to current authors have been selected to ensure that pupils experience a wide and rich reading curriculum to promote a life-long love of reading. Similarly, a range of poetry is fully integrated [].

Years EYFS - 6

FREE 14 day trial with - the home of primary schemes of work

At Teacher-of-Primary we know that teaching isn't easy. That's why we've created a website crammed with fantastic teaching resources - to help teachers deliver engaging lessons and to reduce the burden of planning [].

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KS1 & KS2 Writing Schemes of Work Compared | Scheme Support

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Every primary Writing scheme of work, curriculum and programme of study compared for the 2014 National Curriculum. See which resource fits your school and budget.

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Login to Think Forward Educators community via email or SSO today.

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Free Resources to improve sentences, step by step.

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Literacy Colours is a free scheme that improves writing across the curriculum, bringing SPaG (spelling, punctuation and grammar) and redrafting to the forefront. The scheme focuses on independent writing and provides ways to structure writing without caging creativity. It creates an opportunity for excellent self and peer assessment and it allows children and teachers to easily identify targets for improvement.

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Rising Stars

https://www.risingstars-uk.com/subjects/assessment/nts-assessments

NFER

https://www.nfer.ac.uk/for-schools/products-services/nfer-tests/nfer-reading-tests

GL Assessments

https://www.gl-assessment.co.uk/assessments/products/new-group-reading-test-for-primary/

FFT

https://fft.org.uk/literacy/reading-assessment-programme/?fbclid=IwAR3FxE5XE0nKQF2yOlqcXNvvQvL3WjDQx-ftJ48gBlEL-hlJ26tG8-LQBuw

Salford

https://www.ndcs.org.uk/information-and-support/professionals/assessments/literacy/reading-assessments/salford-test/

Reading Plus

https://www.readingplus.com/reading-intervention-program/reading-assessment/

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NTS Assessments - National Test Style Standardised Assessments

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National Test-style reading & maths papers which allow you to measure termly performance against thousands of pupils nationally. Take a look at our range now.

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Phonics Books for Older/Catch-Up Readers (8-year olds to 14+) - Phonic Books

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Age-appropriate and exciting stories for older children struggling with reading and specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia. Find out more. Widely used by schools, tutors and parents in the UK and 40 other countries around the world.

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Resources and programmes to help you deliver outstanding literacy provision at primary school.

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Description

Phonics Screening Check Grapheme Coverage and slides - taken from all the previous tests from 2012 onwards, and the 2017 statutory criteria for word structure inclusion. The PowerPoint includes over 400 slides to use when teaching to show the different word formations that need the most practise, using both the real and pseudo words.

The words are Split into Set One and Set Two to show the alternative pronunciations. We have added <le> and <ful> as they were included with some of the words and can be used as examples when looking at two-syllable words.

Could be used as a checklist to identify gaps and areas to focus on.

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The Teach Hub Letters and Sounds Phonics Screening Check Grapheme coverage PPT and word list - The Teach Hub

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Phonic Screening Check support materials

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Teaching children to read is complex. There are many things that schools need to get right for their pupils to flourish as readers. However, from observations in schools and discussions with fellow professionals, it is my belief that there are certain elements of reading teaching that are frequently overlooked despite their importance. Here are five questions that in many primary schools deserve more consideration than they are currently afforded:

How is phonics monitored?

Every primary school is required to teach phonics systematically. It goes without saying that if phonics is not taught well, then children's reading will suffer. However, the extent to which children's phonics progress is monitored through year two and beyond varies dramatically between schools. Often, even those children that pass the phonics screening check return to school in year two having forgotten much of the learning content experienced just a few months earlier. In response, schools should ensure that they can explain where every student is on their phonics journey and have systematic phonics interventions in place for those that still struggle despite thorough, responsive phonics teaching, be they in year two or year six.

2. How is reading fluency taught and assessed?

There are several reasons why children in upper key stage two might struggle to comprehend what they have read, and chief among these reasons is slow decoding that prevents understanding.[i] There is a substantial body of evidence to suggest that repeated oral reading of short texts that are towards the upper limits of children's current reading ability can support children's development of the components of fluency, which are essential to reading comprehension.[ii] Nevertheless, this crucial area is too often neglected in primary schools. In year two and lower key stage two, fluency practice should be a major component of reading instruction, either as standalone lessons or as a regular part of reading sessions.[iii] Either way, it should never be dissociated from the ultimate purpose of reading, and well-chosen texts should ensure that the comprehension undertaken during fluency practice is valuable on its own terms.[iv]

Fluency should also be assessed to allow timely responses to the needs of individual children and classes. Tests of reading fluency such as DIBELS assessments, while something of a blunt instrument, are useful when used in conjunction with teacher judgements, which give context to results.[v]

3. How much decoding do children do each week?

This is arguably the most important and overlooked question one can ask about a school's reading instruction. It may seem prosaic, but the process of learning to read - in particular the development of rapid word recognition - can be considered as statistical;[vi] our brains are pattern spotting machines, and we rely on vast quantities of information to strengthen and hone our command of the patterns in the English language. This means it is essential that children spend lots of time meeting new text every school day, increasing their reading 'mileage'. You might be thinking, "Isn't this obvious?" Maybe it is, but this doesn't stop some children spending as little as 10 or 20 minutes each week processing text while children in similar schools do several times as much. While children's fluency is still developing, whole-class reading can ensure that reading mileage is prioritised. (I recommend children and adults take turns to read aloud; rulers and quick word checks can be used to ensure that children are focusing and keeping pace, and struggling readers can explore the text in advance during interventions to support this.) Once fluency is relatively established (100+ words per minute oral reading speed with high accuracy), silent reading followed by text-dependent questions is the most efficient method for children to meet new text.

4. How is vocabulary development supported?

Reading comprehension and vocabulary development reinforce one another. Plenty of time spent reading is essential, but vocabulary development can be best supported in two ways - by teaching children particularly useful words and by revealing to them the etymological and morphological structure of the English language. The first of these requires a rationale for which words to choose, and Beck, Mckeown and Kucan attempt to provide one by considering vocabulary as existing in three tiers.[vii] Crucially, what they define as 'tier two' words are those that are rare in day-to-day informal language, but are used across the curriculum (i.e. they are not specific to particular subjects or contexts). By combining the concept of tier two vocabulary with the most common words in the English language, it is possible to compile a list of words that can be introduced to children, either in reading sessions, standalone vocabulary sessions or through 'word-of-the-day' style teaching.[viii] In addition, a large amount of the morphological and etymological structure of English can be revealed to children by teaching them key Latin and Greek root words (e.g. acro-, meta-) and by highlighting key morphemes that modify English words (e.g. un-, dis-). While this teaching of vocabulary might seem detached from context, trust me when I say that the context will find you; teach children a tier two word like 'influence' or a morpheme like 'dis', and you won't have to wait long for children to notice these in texts and class discussions, much to the benefit of their reading. Ideally, however, tier two vocabulary, Latin & Greek root words and morphological awareness can, and should, be integrated into your wider school curriculum, though this is naturally a task that takes a considerable amount of time and thought, so consider teaching discrete vocabulary lessons in the meantime.

5. Does the rest of the curriculum build children's knowledge of the world?

Reading comprehension relies on background knowledge.[ix] Put simply, high-quality teaching of science, history, geography, etc, is teaching reading. A curriculum that is coherently structured allows the knowledge children gain to become part of a rich network of understanding that they can use in their reading and beyond.

Many elements of the teaching of reading are not included above, not least the power of reading aloud to children. These are just the elements that are most frequently overlooked, despite their importance. Whether you're a headteacher, a reading coordinator or a class teacher, thinking carefully about the five questions above is a considerable step towards ensuring your students have the best chance of learning to read.
A version of this blog originally appeared in 'Teach Reading & Writing' magazine: https://www.theteachco.com/uploads/special-issues/TRW-Issue11-June-20-1.pdf
[i] National Reading Panel (US). (2000). Teaching children to read: Reports of the subgroups. The Panel.

[ii] These components of reading fluency can be described as accuracy, automaticity and prosody. Prosody is concerned with the tone, intonation, stress and rhythm of speech - in this case the idea that these allow oral reading to sound natural and comfortable, akin to spoken language.

[iii] For more on fluency practice, see this article: https://www.teachwire.net/news/i-was-bad-at-teaching-reading-but-then-i-found-a-better-way

[iv] Pikulski, J. J., & Chard, D. J. (2005). Fluency: Bridge between decoding and reading comprehension. The Reading Teacher, 58(6), 510-519.

[v] For more on DIBELS assessments: https://dibels.uoregon.edu/assessment/dibels/dibels-eighth-edition

[vi] Seidenberg, M. (2017). Language at the Speed of Sight: How we Read, Why so Many Can't, and what can be done about it. Basic Books.

[vii] Beck, I. L., McKeown, M. G., & Kucan, L. (2013). Bringing words to life: Robust vocabulary instruction. Guilford Press.

[viii]For just such a list - or guidance on how to compile one - see this blog: https://primarycolour.home.blog/2019/06/14/tier-two-vocabulary-for-primary-teachers-the-3-4-5-list/

[ix] Kendeou, P., & Van Den Broek, P. (2007). The effects of prior knowledge and text structure on comprehension processes during reading of scientific texts. Memory & cognition, 35(7), 1567-1577.

Like many others, I taught for several years with almost zero knowledge of how people learn to read. Yes, during my PGCE, I was told that phonics was a good thing, and I was given Letters and Sounds to read, but beyond that? Not much. Thus, it was something of a surprise to learn eventually that the science behind reading is arguably the most thoroughly explored area of cognitive psychology and that well-founded recommendations for pedagogy are available for teachers.

Perhaps you don't know much about the research into reading, but would like to change that. It can be difficult to know where to begin, and time is precious. This blog is my attempt to match a decent course of action to the amount of time that you have available. I'm no expert, but I hope that I've read and digested enough to support your first steps into this area of learning. Trust me: if you are someone who teaches children to read, you won't regret taking the time to better understand this subject. It will make you a better teacher.

If you effectively have no time to dedicate to this goal at present, then get the ball rolling by following these people on Twitter:

@TheReadingApe

This Twitter account posts about all things phonics and reading. The blogs are concise and informative, with references and further reading for those interested. A case in point: https://www.thereadingape.com/single-post/2019/06/23/Comprende-Reading-comprehension-a-skill-to-be-taught

@ReadingShanahan

Timothy Shanahan was a member of the National Reading Panel in the US, which was responsible for sifting through the mountains of research into reading and coming up with recommendations for educators. His blogs at shanahanonliteracy.com are always worth reading, and his views are informed by an extensive understanding of the current evidence. This one gives a pretty good flavour of what he does: https://shanahanonliteracy.com/blog/how-to-teach-fluency-so-that-it-takes

@c_mackechnie

Charlotte Mackechnie is an advocate for linguistic phonics who tweets and writes very persuasively on the subject. Here is an example from her excellent blog: https://linguisticphonics.wordpress.com/2018/07/01/what-skills-are-required-for-reading-and-spelling/

@SWLiteracy

John Walker is the man responsible for Sounds-Write phonics, and, given this fact, his blog is full of excellent advice for teachers on the subject of early reading: https://theliteracyblog.com/

If you have 1-2 hours only, read this overview of the research - Ending the Reading Wars: Reading Acquisition from Novice to Expert https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1529100618772271

I can't really imagine a more efficient way to get to grips with the subject than reading this. It covers everything from the alphabetic principle to different computational models of reading to language comprehension.
Where you go after reading this depends on your priorities...
If you have 5-10 hours and you want to get to grips with all aspects of reading, from phonics to fluency, from comprehension to leading reading across a school, then I'd be a fool not to recommend the book I wrote for precisely this purpose, The Art and Science of Teaching Primary Reading: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Science-Teaching-Primary-Reading-Corwin/dp/1529764165/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=teaching+primary+reading&qid=1621544542&sr=8-3

All royalties are going to the Malaria Consortium, a Give-Well recommended charity.

If you have 5-10 hours and you are most interested in understanding the history of reading (which is surprisingly relevant to understanding how it should be taught), scientific models of reading and where these might lead in the future, then read this book:

Language at the Speed of Sight by Mark Seidenberg.

Language at the Speed of Sight is an entertaining read that takes a broad view of reading acquisition. You will likely spend considerable chunks of the book thinking, "Do I really need to know this in this much detail?" and "Is this really relevant?" All I can say is that the more I learn about how people learn to read, the more I recognise that subjects like orthographic depth and the historical development of different writing systems are relevant and useful to know.

If you have 5-10 hours and you are most interested in the initial acquisition of reading and the pedagogical implications, then read this book:

Early Reading Instruction by Diane McGuinness.

Full of references and breakdowns of relevant research, this book gives a grand tour of the science into early reading. It is, in effect, a deeper exploration of most of the subjects explored in the Corrigendum: Ending the Reading Wars paper discussed above. (It is worth noting that I disagree with McGuinness's conclusions about dyslexia, which are based on the claim that "for a biological theory [of dyslexia] to be accurate, dyslexia would have to occur at the same rate in all populations." This seems an inaccurate account of how genes and environment can, and do, interact. The definition of dyslexia advocated in Mark Seidenberg's Language at the Speed of Sight makes more sense to me.) While it is a little dated and contains the odd dubious claim, it remains an excellent introduction into the research on early reading.

If you have 5-10 hours and you are most interested in immediate practical applications of research into reading, especially in a Key Stage 2 and secondary context, then read these two books:

Reading Reconsidered by Doug Lemov, Colleen Driggs and Erica Woolway

While at first glance this book seems most relevant to a US context, it doesn't take a great deal of imagination to see how the wealth of experience and strategies contained in this text could be applied in almost any setting where children have a solid level of reading fluency. (For more on what I mean by reading fluency, read this: https://primarycolour.home.blog/2019/08/10/how-i-will-teach-reading-this-year/)

Thinking Reading by James and Dianne Murphy

This short book is one part call to arms for secondary schools who are not yet systematically tackling student's reading difficulties, one part guide for school leaders and teachers on how to begin to answer that call. It is a perfect companion to Reading Reconsidered as it addresses a key question that Reading Reconsidered leaves unanswered: "What about the kids whose reading is so weak that they can't engage with these methods?"

If you have 5-10 hours and you are most interested in reading comprehension, then read this book:

Understanding and Reading Teaching Comprehension by Jane Oakhill

This book is a readable guide to the research into all the elements that make up reading comprehension - vocabulary, background knowledge, inference, text structure, cohesive devices and comprehension monitoring - with practical recommendations for how these can be taught. However, bear in mind that most of the strategies considered in the book are best taught quickly and explicitly, with little to be gained from extensive instruction. This is discussed here: http://www.danielwillingham.com/uploads/5/0/0/7/5007325/willingham&lovette_2014_can_reading_comprehension_be_taught_.pdf

and here:
https://www.readingrockets.org/blogs/shanahan-on-literacy/how-much-comprehension-strategy-instruction
If you have 25 hours, then read all four of the books mentioned above. While each might not be directly relevant to your context, as a whole they give a broader view of the research behind reading and its implications for instruction.

If you have more than 25 hours, here are some further options that are well worth your time:

The Science of reading podcasts - hosted by Susan Lambert

The Science of Reading podcasts by Amplify are pacy interviews about reading science and instruction that traverse all areas of the subject. Guests to far include such luminaries as Tim Shanahan, Natalie Wexler, Tim Rasinski and Emily Hanford. Find it here: https://amplify.com/science-of-reading-the-podcast/

Proust and the Squid by Maryanne Wolf

This book covers similar ground to the first section of Language at the Speed of Sight. However, Proust and the Squid provides a more wistful journey through the history and science of reading, along with an engaging and personal (if rose-tinted) exploration of dyslexia and its controversies.

Bringing Words to Lif e by Isabel Beck, Margaret McKeown and Linda Kucan

This is a fascinating look at the effective ways of teaching vocabulary

The Vocabulary Gap by Alex Quigley

In Closing the Vocabulary Gap, Alex Quigley argues for a thorough, cumulative approach to teaching vocabulary across schools.

Sounds Write - English Spellings: A Lexicon by Dave Philpot, John Walker and Susan Case

This is a detailed discussion and analysis of English spelling from a linguistic phonics perspective.

Words in the Mind by Jean Aitchison

This is an entertaining and informative guide to the best research on how our mind deals with words and the links between background knowledge and vocabulary:

Learn more about the best bets for developing reading fluency from this excellent paper:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328784455_A_SYNTHESIS_OF_RESEARCH_ON_READING_FLUENCY_DEVELOMPENT_STUDY_OF_EIGHT_META-ANALYSES
Dive into the weeds of comprehension strategies and inference training by reading these papers:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311215549_Activating_Background_Knowledge_An_Effective_Strategy_to_Develop_Reading_Comprehension_Skills https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313687046_Examining_the_Impact_of_Inference_Instruction_on_the_Literal_and_Inferential_Comprehension_of_Skilled_and_Less_Skilled_Readers_A_Meta-Analytic_Review https://www.researchgate.net/publication/49176228_An_instructional_study_Improving_the_inferential_comprehension_of_good_and_poor_fourth-grade_readers https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273162713_Inference_Instruction_for_Struggling_Readers_a_Synthesis_of_Intervention_Research
(It's worth noting here that some of this research is quite dated; the blog by @TheReadingApe described above is worth reading as context before reading these, as is this blog by @ReadingShanahan, where the sort of inference strategies discussed in the above papers are referred to using the umbrella term "comprehension strategies": https://shanahanonliteracy.com/blog/comprehension-skills-or-strategies-is-there-a-difference-and-does-it-matter

There is so much more that I could add, but I hope that the reading material above gives a flavour of the reading research to anyone new to the field. Now here's a shameless plug: my book, The Art and Science of Teaching Primary Reading is my attempt to summarise the research into teaching from the perspective of an experienced teacher and school leader. I think it has something to offer to trainee teachers, experienced teachers, reading coordinators, school leaders and those teaching reading at secondary schools. All royalties will go to the Malaria Consortium, a Give-Well recommended charity.

Feedback is, as ever, appreciated.

I'm pretty confident that for most of my teaching career I taught reading badly. I assiduously followed whatever structure was handed down from on high - and then ditched it as soon as a new structure was rolled out. As a trainee, I'd read the government-issued Letters and Sounds document, but I didn't have any idea of how children actually learned to read, which in hindsight seems utterly bonkers. In education we are only ever dealing in best bets, so certainty is always misplaced, but the science behind how people learn to read is arguably the most studied area of cognitive psychology. We should take advantage of that, and this is what I will attempt to do this year.

Here are some key points that I think primary teachers need to understand in order to teach reading well:

Solid phonological awareness underpins reading. Some children really struggle with phonics, but make their way towards something resembling fluency through other means (usually decoding the first few letters of a word followed by excellent semantic guesswork). In my experience, many of these children eventually come unstuck as their semantic guesswork increasingly fails when texts become more complex. (I've seen this happen in KS3 with children who have scored well on a year 6 SATs reading paper.) If a child's understanding of phonics is weak, stick with phonics. Even if a child's grasp of phonics never reaches a high standard, every small step towards that is a major advantage.

Reading fluency is an important step between phonics and the skills of reading comprehension. It needs to be explicitly and regularly taught if the vast majority of students are to become fluent. Reading fluency can be thought of as consisting of three elements: automaticity, accuracy and prosody (i.e. fluent readers read quickly, easily and with the patterns and rhythm of spoken language). Reading fluency is best achieved through repeated oral reading.[i] This entails children reading aloud and repeating passages or paragraphs, consciously aiming for fluent reading. Undertaking this with an adult, while ideal, is simply not logistically feasible, but reading aloud in dyadic pairs (described later) is an effective alternative. This is best achieved through the reading of texts that are somewhat beyond the grasp of the children.

In order to build up the knowledge and vocabulary upon which their future learning will rely, children need to read independently and often. However, inculcating a love of independent reading in children who are not yet fluent is extremely difficult. It seems to be the case that being a good reader is what initially causes children to develop beneficial independent reading habits rather than vice versa,[ii] though once established the relationship is likely reciprocal.

Comprehension and inference can be improved through the teaching of generic reading strategies, but these strategies have their full impact after a very short period and focusing lots of attention on these wastes precious time that could be spent on the real substance of reading, which is...

...vocabulary, background knowledge and knowledge of syntax. Along with reading fluency, comprehension is based upon one's understanding of the words in the text, the concepts to which the words are directly or indirectly referring and the structure of the language. Each of these is a huge and diverse knowledge domain. Due to this, we must understand the importance of text selection. Children should read a wide variety of non-fiction to develop their knowledge of the world along with some fiction. (I'd advocate a greater focus on non-fiction when explicitly teaching reading as children should experience more fiction when teachers share a chapter book with the class each day.)

The teaching of spelling rules and morphology is an underrated component of teaching children to read.[iii] (Personally, I would add etymology to this mix, but I'm not sure of the evidence base for this suggestion.)

In contrast, much of the teaching that I have observed (and done) touches on the key points above without ever prioritising them. The reading sessions I have seen instead generally displayed the following attributes:

The texts are chosen to match the reading ability of the children and sometimes the topic children are learning about, but they are not chosen for the explicit purpose of building up children's knowledge of the world.

The vocabulary and context of the text is sometimes discussed, but it is seen as secondary to the generic inference or comprehension skills that are apparently being developed in the session.

Fluency is rarely the explicit aim. Children may spend some time reading aloud to a teacher or a partner, but this rarely adds up to more than 10-15 minutes of reading aloud per week.

Based on what I have seen, I think a shift in perspective is required: we must focus on developing reading fluency. In addition, we must remember that when children are reading, what is being learned is entirely contained within the vocabulary and knowledge inherent to the text itself. If the text is about volcanoes, then that day's lesson is about learning the background knowledge and vocabulary relating to volcanoes (along with whatever syntactical structures are contained within the text.) When a child asks where volcanoes are found and the teacher shows a map of the globe with the tectonic plate margins delineated, thatis teaching reading as much as discussing why the author chose a specific simile or explaining how to summarise a paragraph. The ability to read is like an ability to see the images described in a pointillist painting where each person sees a different number of dots on their own canvas: experienced readers have enough dots to comprehend the entire image in fine detail; beginning readers can only see a few dots on their canvas. Tempting though the prospect is, trying to directly teach the 'skill' of reading comprehension is like trying to explain what the picture shows as if that will make it actually appear. Doing so has brief advantages, but the bulk of our teaching is better conceived as adding as many dots as we can to the children's canvasses and spreading these dots as widely as possible.

Here's how I will try to achieve that this year:

1. At the beginning of this year, I will hear each child read to find which of them are fluent readers. (As a rule of thumb, I count children's reading as fluent when they can read aloud at more than 120 words per minute with good prosody from an age-appropriate text and then answer a basic comprehension question.) Where phonics is an issue, systematic interventions will be put into place or whole-class phonics teaching will be implemented if more than 20% of the children require it. If phonics is necessary, this will naturally require familiarity with my school's phonics scheme.

2. If fewer than 80% of the children are fluent, as I expect to be the case, I will undertake daily fluency practice in mixed-ability dyadic pairs (a practice outlined in some detail in Timothy Shanahan's blog.[iv]) This entails children reading to one another from a text aimed at the best readers in the class for 20 minutes in total - 10 minutes each in alternating periods of roughly 5 minutes. All of the children will read the same text. Sometimes the paragraph will be read aloud to the children beforehand; other times they will dive in without this assistance. The children will read designated passages repeatedly - up to three or four times - aiming for fluency. The listening partners will keep track of where the reading partner is up to using a ruler and will be trained to offer support in decoding unfamiliar words. Where neither partner can decode a word, they will be expected to write it down for me to discuss later in the session. All students will gain from explicitly developing their fluency in this way, but the dysfluent will gain the most. The final 10 minutes of these half-hour sessions will be spent sharing the knowledge and vocabulary underpinning the text and discussing questions relating to comprehension, inference and authorial intent. (Where necessary, some of this discussion will take place before the children begin to read, so that the fluency practice is bookended by discussion of vocabulary and knowledge.)

3. If more than 80% of the children are fluent, I will undertake daily fluency practice in a guided group with the few children who are not yet fluent. At the same time, the rest of the class will read longer texts, sometimes in silence, sometimes aloud with a partner, but without the need for repeated reading, something most useful for developing fluency. As before, the final third of the session will be spent discussing unfamiliar vocabulary and the knowledge underpinning the text. There is an argument to be made here that the fluent readers are getting less of my time than those that are dysfluent. While this may be true, it is not to my mind an issue of fairness; the fluent readers can learn while reading independently as long as I discuss the text with them before and/or afterwards; the same is not true for dysfluent readers. If all children reach fluency, we will read a variety of texts together, sometimes in silence and sometimes aloud. At this stage, my key considerations will be mileage (the amount of reading my class is undertaking each day) and content (the knowledge of the language and of the world needed to comprehend the text).

4. Texts are chosen with variety in mind. Through the school year, children will read various texts on subjects from across the curriculum, but many that I choose will go beyond this. Texts might discuss marsupials, hurricanes, Gilgamesh, the history of flight or Mozart. All of these subjects - and the language and knowledge gained - adds a new set of dots to that canvas.

5. Beyond reading sessions, spelling and morphology will be explicitly taught. In particular, the explicit teaching of morphology will use words that the class already know to develop familiarity with the patterns of suffixes and prefixes that they will encounter frequently when they read. Word matrices can be a useful way of showing this:

6. I will spend at least 20 minutes each day reading stories to my class. Sometimes I will pause to discuss unfamiliar vocabulary, metaphors, stylistic features, etc, but more often than not the focus will be on the right pace to encourage engagement. The primary aim here will be to associate reading with enjoyment. Anything else is a bonus. [v]

7. I will do everything in my power to encourage children to read at home independently if they are fluent, including recommending books. (@smithsmm and @MissL_Y5 are both great Twitter people to ask for advice on children's books. I'd highly recommend that you follow both.) For children who are not fluent, I will discuss how parents can best support their children by reading with them at home, including the basics of fluency practice and how to segment and blend words. (Regardless, it's worth noting here that parental support is necessary for but not sufficient for many children to learn to read. Lots of children can be read with at home every night in a family that values books and still not necessarily becoming fluent readers. Schools must take ultimate responsibility for children learning to read.) Over the longer term, independent reading is absolutely essential. There simply isn't enough time in the school day for children to build up the bank of orthographic knowledge that is a requisite of mature reading.

And that's about it. How I teach reading is a work in progress. It is an attempt to align what I'm doing with the vast body of available research and the interpretations of this research made by experts in the field. I'm fairly confident that my views will evolve through the year, and any advice you can offer - or reading you can direct me towards - that will accelerate that evolution would be much appreciated.

[i] https://www.nichd.nih.gov/sites/default/files/publications/pubs/nrp/Documents/report.pdf

[ii] http://www.shanahanonliteracy.com/blog/isnt-independent-reading-a-research-based-practice#sthash.KsItNrst.dpbs

[iii] The Effects of Morphological Instruction on Literacy Skills: A Systematic Review of the Literature; (Bowers, Kirby & Deacon, 2010)

[iv] http://shanahanonliteracy.com/blog/how-to-teach-fluency-so-that-it-takes#sthash.tRGlpbNw.dpbs

[v] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/lit.12141

I was always jealous of people who could do cryptic crosswords. Observed up close, their completing of each clue seemed like a small act of genius, the answers appearing from nowhere, usually making some sense only in retrospect. I could see that there was a great deal of skill involved or at least I thought so. My attempts to learn the skill of crosswording began with guides to cryptic crosswords, which revealed that there were only a few different ways that a clue can be formed. For example, one clue type involves breaking down a word into chunks and then signaling each piece elsewhere in the clue. Here are a couple of examples:
Quiet bird has a sign on a strange occurrence (10) PHENOMENON (quiet = p; bird = hen; sign = omen; on = on) Stop! Everyone on the road. (5) STALL (road = st; everyone = all)
I've had some experience of musical notation so the fact that the word 'quiet' might signify the letter p made sense. However, road signifying st (from street) caught me off guard. "What other crossword abbreviations might I need to know?" I thought. Fortunately, Wikipedia had me covered.[i] I found to my dismay that there were literally hundreds of abbreviations. Not only that, but the Wikipedia list - according to other crossworders - was nowhere near exhaustive, and this was just one type of clue. With each new clue type that I encountered, there appeared to be an entire language of signifiers and abbreviations. On top of this, solving each clue depended utterly on the limits of my vocabulary. What had appeared from the outset to be a single learnable skill was in fact a vast array of overlapping fragments of knowledge. It was like the famous art gallery scene in Ferris Bueller's Day Off when Cameron, a teenager bunking off school, stares deeper and deeper into a pointillist masterpiece and sees the unified scene disintegrate into a multitude of individual coloured dots.[ii]

I know, I know: a truanting teenager choosing to go to the Art Institute of Chicago to contemplate existence in front of a Seurat painting is unrealistic. They'd choose a Rothko. Duh.

I think that my crossword experience can help us understand how to teach other skills that in reality consist of a vast array of overlapping fragments of knowledge, things like inference in reading...

Here is a statement from the national curriculum for year 5:
By the end of year 5, children should be able to understand what they read by drawing inferences such as inferring characters' feelings, thoughts and motives from their actions, and justifying inferences with evidence.
Assuming that this drawing and justifying of inferences is to be performed using age-appropriate texts, a teacher is left with the same one question that they wrestle with most days: how on Earth do I teach this? Far too often, teachers' understandable conclusion is to model the supposed skill of inference with one text and then have children mimic the skill with another text, one containing language and background knowledge with which the children are already familiar. This is the equivalent of teaching a novice crossworder by showing one clue and its solution and then giving them a clue of their own to solve, ensuring that the abbreviations, signifiers and vocabulary involved are already understood by the novice. In other words, in attempting to evidence a child's understanding of a generic skill that doesn't really exist, teachers - through necessity - avoid introducing children to the new language and background knowledge upon which inference is really based. If this all sounds slightly despairing, then fear not as perhaps our crossword example can shed some light on the methods through which we can develop children's ability to make inferences while reading.

I found that by far the most effective way to learn how to solve crosswords was to place each question and solution side by side. For every clue that proved impenetrable - at first, this was all of them - I went straight to the answer and attempted to understand how it was derived. Sometimes the entire clue made sense; sometimes only parts did. Nevertheless, the more my own internal store of abbreviations and signifiers grew, the quicker I could isolate and understand those that were a little rarer. (Knowledge assists in the acquisition of more knowledge, a relationship that makes initial learning intimidating, but that eventually encourages mastery.) In short, to get better at answering crossword clues, I had to be shown thousands upon thousands of them, each one adding or reinforcing a fragment of relevant knowledge.

The parallels between this experience and learning to infer while reading are clear. Both crosswording and reading inference are the result of countless accumulated experiences of language, remembered and connected. In both cases we must remember that, first and foremost, we are building knowledge of language and of the world, something that has consequences for how we teach reading:

Ensure that your reading lessons revolve around children encountering and understanding *lots* of text. Do not underestimate the quantitative aspects of reading instruction.

2. Ensure children learn from a wide variety of texts, carefully chosen to develop children's knowledge of language and of the world.

3. Make explicit connections to where children might have seen particular words or concepts before, perhaps in other texts you have read.

4. Ensure children become familiar with key cohesive devices in written language and how they work, specifically connectives and pronouns. (It might surprise you how rarely some children grasp what is being referred to by a given pronoun.)

5. How much independent work is appropriate will depend on where the children are in their learning journey and the difficulty of the text. When first starting out, the balance between independent practice and explicit explanation will strongly (but not entirely) favour the latter. There is much to value in simply explaining the meaning of some text, but children also need opportunities to grapple with meaning independently.

Thank you for reading. Constructive feedback is appreciated.

[i] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossword_abbreviations

[ii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubpRcZNJAnE

[iii] https://learningspy.co.uk/featured/what-do-we-mean-by-skills/

[iv] https://schoolsweek.co.uk/how-i-wish-id-taught-maths-by-craig-barton/

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Teaching children to read is complex. There are many things that schools need to get right for their pupils to flourish as readers. However, from observations in schools and discussions with fellow professionals, it is my belief that there are certain elements of reading teaching that are frequently overlooked despite their importance.

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Primary Assessment Grids and Reading Records

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Primary Assessment Grids and Reading Records

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Description
*** UPDATED ***
This grid pack now includes updates for the Autumn Term of 2023 onwards and assessment grids for every year group across the primary school!

The Year Two Reading, Writing and Maths grids have been rearranged and rewritten in line with the National Curriculum and the NAHT Key Performance Indicators, to allow a stronger earlier focus on the important aspects of fluency, editing, spelling, handwriting and number work. The original Teacher Assessment Framework sheets are also in the pack for those that wish to continue to use them.
Also included:
Assessment sheets for Y1-Y6 WTS, EXS and GDS for Reading - updated to include a specific focus on reading fluency and understanding of texts.

Assessment sheets for EYFS, Y1-Y6 WTS, EXS and GDS for Writing - updated to include a specific focus on writing for a purpose, editing and dictation across the whole school.

Individual WTS, EXS and GDS Reading Record sheets for each child updated to include a fluency grid, word reading and comprehension expectations and lists of the common exception and the KS2 statutory spelling words.

Pre-Autumn 2023 KS1 TAF Sheets - Individual and Class Moderation sheets for Key Stage One (for WTS, EXS and GDS)

PDF versions of the Class Sets included too.

Pre-Key Stage One (standards 1-4) Moderation Grids for Reading, Writing and Maths.

Key Stage One Moderation Grids (Working Towards the Expected Standard, Working at the Expected Standard Working at Greater Depth within the Expected Standard) for Reading, Writing and Maths.

KS2 TAF Sheets - Individual and Class Moderation sheets for Key Stage Two (for WTS, EXS and GDS)

Pre-Key Stage Two (standards 1-6) Moderation Grids for Reading, Writing and Maths.

Key Stage Two Moderation Grids (Working Towards the Expected Standard, Working at the Expected Standard Working at Greater Depth within the Expected Standard) for Writing.

Used as tick lists by many teachers (although it is not statutory to do so) and by some moderators. Easy to see if any gaps are appearing within the 100% model at the end of each Key Stage.

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EYFS Writing, Pre-Key Stage and Y1-6 Reading and Writing WTS, EXS and GDS Assessment Grids plus Y2 Maths grid - The Teach Hub

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Pre-Key Stage One (standards 1 to 6) and Key Stage Two Moderation Grids (standards Working Towards, Expected and Greater Depth) for Writing. Used as ticklists by many teachers (although it is not statutory to do so) and by some moderators. Easy to see if any gaps are appearing within the 100% model.

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In primary schools recently, there has been a lot of interest in ways to approach whole-class reading lessons. The imperative to raise standards in reading is leading many to question the dominance of small group guided reading, in which - at any one time - most pupils are not being taught by the 'expert' in the room. Teaching the whole class instead means that all pupils can read with the teacher more often, moving faster through more or longer texts and benefiting from the teacher's expert explanations, modelling, questioning and feedback. It also makes possible more integration between 'guided reading', topic-related reading, reading as stimulus for writing, daily reading aloud to the class and following a 'class reader'.

Of course, there can be anxieties around whole class reading, even as part of a 'mixed-economy' alongside work with small groups.

One is around differentiation and catering for the needs of a mixed-attainment class. (It is, of course, essential that there is other additional provision for pupils who are not yet fluent readers.)

Another is around inclusiveness: will all pupils receive equal attention and have similar opportunities to contribute and practise?

Another is assessment: it may be harder to do fine-grained monitoring of individuals' progress.

Some teachers are concerned about managing behaviour for learning, if there are more demands on pupils' autonomy.

These anxieties can make it more likely that, when teachers do experiment with whole-class reading, they structure lessons in very formalised ways. There may be a similar agenda for every session, with pupils always moving through a set series of activities. Texts might be subjected to quite repetitive kinds of interrogation, with pupils asking and answering similar questions each time. Such repetition can be reassuring. However, it can also be limiting, denying the potential of individual texts to teach particular aspects of reading, to demand particular kinds of thinking, to invite different kinds of response, and to offer opportunities for a variety of kinds of engaging, classroom activity.
Every lesson different
The contrasting approach is to have no set formula for whole-class reading sessions, but to let planning be flexible, led by the text's potential - what the particular text or section of text offers in terms of learning and approach, by the shifting needs of the pupils, by the class's developing relationship with the text as readers and - of course - by the inventiveness and resourcefulness of the teacher.

This, of course, places considerable demands on the teacher's subject pedagogical knowledge. This is where strong collaborative planning of medium-term plans can be important, and where access to published plans and materials relating to texts may be very helpful.

But even with such supportive plans and resources, teachers need to know how to pitch reading sessions high, while providing scaffolding to allow all pupils to access the text and practise reading and responding in challenging ways. In my experience, this usually means a blending together of whole class talk, pair or small group talk and individual thinking.

Teachers also need to have at their finger-tips a wide range of question types, for developing pupils' responses when reading - such as these ones:

They also need to be skilled at asking follow-up questions, to generate the sort of authentic dialogue in the classroom which develops real depth in pupils' responses and thinking.

And they need confident access to a repertoire of activities and approaches, out of which to build effective lessons. There are, of course, excellent texts which teachers can turn to for deeper guidance, such as the excellent Guiding Readers - Layers of meaning (Tennent, Reedy, Hobsbaum, Gamble, 2016) which also has excellent sections on scaffolding, on questioning, on developing dialogue and on 'text potential'.

However, below is a condensed list of suggested approaches, in case these are of interest. It is a work in progress and certainly not exhaustive. We put it together in response to requests from teachers for a handy 'menu' of lesson approaches, to help with planning. ( Download as a Word document here.)

Some of the activities listed here could take up just a few seconds of a lesson; some are more extended. For most of them, the talk and the follow-up questioning which surround them are key. Most will be carefully planned into a lesson or teaching sequence, in which whole class, individual and small group/pair talk are intertwined; some, however, will be spontaneous or responsive, inserted where appropriate.

(Of course, the planning of activities will come second to thinking about learning. What do you want to teach pupils? What do they need to practise? What do they need to be more confident doing? What can the text itself be teaching them - about language, about ideas, about the world, or about how texts work? What activities will help the text to do this?)
An example lesson
In case it's of interest, below is an account (with IWB slides) of a demonstration whole-class reading lesson which I recently taught to a Year 5 class. Lasting about 75 minutes, it really had enough activity for two or three sessions compressed into it. It is far from a perfect model, but might be useful for triggering discussion.

The text was a short story by Alasdair Gray, called 'The Star' from Unlikely Stories Mostly. ( Download a PDF copy here.) This was quite a challenging text, especially for some of the less fluent readers in the class, but they enjoyed it and pupils of all levels of attainment discussed it confidently.
Pre-reading (10 minutes)
As pupils settled, this illustration from the story was on the board. Pupils discussed the two questions at their tables. I then fielded ideas - from targeted individuals, and from volunteers.

Discussion focused on the boy's posture and attitude. Pupils said he looked lonely, fed-up, bored, miserable... I got the whole class to enact each suggested mood, sitting at their desks in a 'bored way' or a 'miserable way' and so on.

Several thought that he looked trapped, and that he wanted to be free, so we talked about that. Why? Free from what? How familiar is the feeling? The barred window was mentioned, and the exciting-looking stars in the distance.

Using a visual image to focus attention on key ideas, to engage their imaginations, to provide hooks for thinking

Using a visual image to think about symbolism and to get pupils to flex their inference muscles

I explained that we were going to read a story with this title, and that I was very interested in their ideas about it.

Opportunity (not taken) to explore the title: we could have explored associations with stars and the word's different meanings. How might these connect with the picture?

I explained that the writer is from Glasgow and that the story is set there in the 1950s. Under direction from pupils, I moved the blue blob to the correct place on the map on the IWB.

I briefly explained 'tenements' and a bit of their history, focusing on poor living conditions and lack of space - and the lack of privacy for families in single rooms. I asked pupils to look out for references to these things in the story.

I explained the importance of the enclosed back yard to people's lives, moving the labels onto the images. I explained these key words that we would meet. We all practised saying 'midden' in a Scottish accent.
First reading (10 minutes)
I displayed and explained the meaning of these further words, so that these would not present a problem in reading. We talked about the sound of the word 'lank'. We noted that there is a sort of 'lattice' in the image. We referenced the head-teacher's 'receding' hair. (He was in the room.)

I asked pupils to listen out for these words. I also told them to listen out for the characters listed. I left the slide up for pupils to keep an eye on while listening to the story.

Direct teaching of vocabulary in advance

Usefulness of introducing key characters for pupils to look out for

Usefulness of a visual focus, to aid comprehension while listening to/reading to the story

Pupils then listened to the story read aloud, uninterrupted until just before the end, at which point I showed the following slide. I explained that there was just one more paragraph left and asked pupils to think individually about what they thought would happen.

A few seconds in, I gave them this extra clue - the final illustration.

After about 30 seconds of pair discussion, I fielded ideas from the whole class.

There was some discussion of the details in the image. Is that a small boy's face? If not, whose is it?

Second reading & discussing responses (20 minutes)

I introduced a 'tell-me grid' (thanks to Aidan Chambers)and told pupils that they would be writing ideas on it when they'd read the story once more: something they liked; something they didn't like; something they wanted to know; and something they were reminded of.

I then re-read the story to them. Pupils had option to follow or to start filling in grid as listened.

Pupils had a couple of minutes to write ideas silently on the grid. I explained that this was not going to be marked - it was for them to sort out their thoughts.

They then swapped these thoughts at their tables, taking it in turns to share their ideas.

Importance of talk and analysis being rooted in personal response

'Tell-me grid' just one of many mechanisms for structuring thinking

Importance sometimes of silent 'writing before talk'; strategies to ensure that all pupils ready and able to contribute to whole class discussion

Importance of blending pair, small group and whole-class talk

Importance of training pupils over time to talk in small groups; strategies for structuring talk (turn-taking in a given order, asking each other questions, etc)

Importance of teacher spending time joining tables; over a series of lessons, can interact with and assess individuals as might in small group reading sessions

After a few minutes, I fielded some ideas for whole class discussion, choosing individuals to give ideas. Lots of interesting comments. Some explored further through follow-up questions.

I picked up on one pupil's 'like' of the descriptions. Had anyone else put this? Yes - several. I asked the pupil to give an example. Why did she like it?

I asked all pupils to look through the story and to underline their favourite bit of description in the story. I then targeted individuals to read out their chosen bits and to explain why they liked them.

( NB. WITH MORE TIME, THIS DISCUSSION COULD HAVE BEEN MUCH MORE EXTENDED)

Importance of responsive teaching, which can be led by pupils' comments, and which picks up on opportunities for shared exploration and for building knowledge

Opportunities, if appropriate, to pause for practice in writing. 'Everybody write a sentence about your chosen phrase. Here are some sentence starters and key words to help...' etc

Importance of follow-up questions, for challenge. Other pupils learn vicariously by listening to individuals justify and elaborate

I handed out these statements on strips of paper and also displayed them on the board. In pairs, pupils sorted them into AGREE, DISAGREE, NOT SURE

After a few minutes, I fielded ideas from targeted individuals, opening up to class discussion. There wasn't time to talk about more than one or two.

A pupil said the story was about loneliness. Most agreed. I asked for evidence and she referred to the bit where the boy is at the back of the classroom. I asked all the pupils to find that bit and to look at it. We re-read it. I asked follow-up questions about why/how this verbal image made him seem lonely. Was the phrase 'by himself' important? We compared it with the 'boys at the front'.

I asked all pupils to find any other bits which made him seem lonely. They scanned the text and discussed in pairs. I then fielded ideas for whole class discussion: the way he is on his own at the start, the mention of being 'insulted or neglected', the image of him alone under the sheets. As each bit was mentioned, I demanded the exact wording from the text and that all pupils find it.

We also discussed what really happened at the end. One pupil struggled to remember a word to express what she thought it really was, and eventually said 'hyperbole'. She explained that the ending was an exaggerated description of how he felt when he refused to hand over the star. I asked how he did feel. Pupils suggested a range of words: free, glorious, fabulous, set loose, wonderful...

AGAIN, THIS SECTION COULD HAVE BEEN MUCH MORE EXTENDED WITH MORE TIME

Opportunities for close reading; techniques for getting all to look again closely at details, to scan the text for patterns and to focus on language

Importance of follow-up questioning; exploratory reading

Opportunities for developing vocabulary by 'collecting' words

Reserve activities, for which there wasn't time in this demonstration

This was a back-up close-reading activity. All pupils close their eyes and decide what image sticks most strongly in their mind from the story. They all then find that moment. There is then discussion of why these moments stick.

This was a consolidatory, imaginative written task, for pupils to move on to.

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View all posts by James Durran (@jdurran)

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Whole-class reading: an example lesson and a menu of approaches

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In primary schools recently, there has been a lot of interest in ways to approach whole-class reading lessons. The imperative to raise standards in reading is leading many to question the dominance of small group guided reading, in which - at any one time - most pupils are not being taught by the 'expert' in...

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Beehive Books 2014 Book Lists by Theme Read Alouds Professor's List of Must Reads