Teach Reading and Writing Issue 19

EDITOR Lydia Grove, lydia.grove@artichokehq.com PUBLISHERS Joe Carter, Sam Reubin, Richard Stebbing GROUP ADVERTISING MANAGER Samantha Law, 01206 505499 samantha.law@artichokehq.com ADVERTISING MANAGER Salema Khan, 01206 414217 salema.khan@artichokehq.com SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER Demi Maynard, 01206 505962 demi.maynard@artichokehq.com ACCOUNT MANAGER Kim Richards, 01206 505240 kim.richards@artichokehq.com DISTRIBUTED BY Frontline Ltd, Peterborough ART EDITORS Richard Allen Sarah Barajas ACCOUNTS artichokemedialtd@integral2.com, CUSTOMER SERVICES primary@artichokehq.com 60 INSIDE THE ACTOR’S STUDIO Explore literature as performers to fuel pupils’ creativity and inspire deeper textual understanding 62 OUT OF ORDER Want your Year 6 pupils to write great non-chronological reports? Start early, says Aidan Severs 66 LAST WORDS Nicola Baker discusses animals, books and why she wants everyone to experience the joys of rural life Contents Published by: Artichoke Media, Jubilee House, 92 Lincoln Road, Peterborough, PE1 2SN Tel: 01206 505900 The views in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher. We try to ensure the veracity and integrity of the companies, persons, products and services mentioned in this publication, and the details given are believed to be accurate at the time of going to press. However, no responsibility or liability whatsoever can be accepted for any consequence or repercussion of responding to information or advice given or inferred. ©Artichoke Media Ltd www.teachwire.net | 5 26 LET IT GO Chris Youles explains how to assess writing by ignoring complicated assessment criteria 30 TAKE IT OUTSIDE Want to inspire and support your pupils to write? Get outdoors and try these practical activities 36 BRING SOME ‘KAPOW!’ TO THE CURRICULUM Unleash the untapped power of comics and graphic novels 39 CORALINE BOOK TOPIC Help your class get the most from Neil Gaiman’s gothic favourite 42 RETELLING A TRADITIONAL TALE A fun new model text and teaching notes from Pie Corbett 47 PHASE 4 PHONICS Conquer blending and segmenting with this guide to building on previous learning 49 A STREET DOG NAMED PUP Jon Biddle shares tried-and-tested ways to teach this emotive book from Gill Lewis 52 PRIORITISING PROSODY Find out how to boost this often-overlooked component of reading fluency 54 WRITE THIS WAY Wave goodbye to writer’s block 56 THE STORY CENTRE How one school transformed their tired library into a vibrant community space 6 “HOW DO WE FIND HOPE WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN?” Author and scriptwriter Jacob Sager Weinstein on his new novel about the Holocaust 8 CRAFTING A SCENE OF CONTENTMENT A.F. Steadman takes an in-depth look at an extract from her book Skandar and the Unicorn Thief 10 LEMONY SNICKET SPEAKS! The legendary chronicler on work experience, spying and Count Olaf 12 10 BOOKS ABOUT WAR AND CONFLICT Carey Fluker-Hunt selects the best titles to help children think about these tricky topics 18 WELL-VERSED Matt Goodfellow explores how verse novels can be used to introduce children to the power of poetry 20 NARRATIVE WRITING WAGOLL Award-winning author Liz Flanagan shows how to describe important events through a character’s eyes 23 TURN ON THE SUBTITLES One simple trick to transform literacy outcomes 24 THE FACTS OF LIFE BookTrust writer-in-residence Rashmi Sirdeshpande on why she is passionate about using non-fiction books to help children navigate our complex world