Teach-Reading-and-Writing-Issue-22

Welcome… JONBIDDLE Talking about books helps children build their reading identities p.28 We think a lot about how to get children to read, but how do we keep them reading? On page 9, Kelly Ashley examines three core aspects of reader motivation to help us better understand how to get children hooked on books. Jon Biddle explores this concept further on page 28 with tried-and-tested ways you can establish a flourishing reading culture in your classroom. The titles that appear in our regular 10 books... feature this issue would be difficult for any child to ignore. Chosen from among the winners and finalists of a decade of the Klaus Flugge Prize, these glorious picturebooks combine stunning artwork with plenty of teaching opportunities (p12). We stick with a prizewinning theme on page 18, where Nikki Gamble and Stephen Dilley look at some unexpected ways in which getting involved with book awards can make you an even better teacher. On page 21 we have a really lovely new book topic from Jo Cummins, which uses Britta Teckentrup’s When I Feel Lonely to help you explore some painful and difficult feelings with Key Stage 2 pupils. There are some big emotions on page 54 too, where Georgia White demonstrates how to introduce primary pupils to King Lear . The RSC’s active, rehearsal-inspired way of teaching Shakespeare has yielded some amazing results and is well worth checking out. How confident are your children when it comes to sentence structure? On page 30, Amanda Webb shares her favourite methods for helping children really get to grips with the basics, so that they can write more fluently with ease. And speaking of nuts-and-bolts literacy, it’s already time to be thinking about SATs... On page 52, Andrew Jennings looks at the role of inference in the Key Stage 2 reading comprehension paper and offers some strategies and practice activities to help your pupils fly through the different question formats with ease. Wishing you a healthy and happy autumn term, Lydia Grove (editor) PIE CORBETT A word of warning: this activity might lead some children to go one step too far! p.35 VICTORIADILLY Libraries and librarians offer an antidote to many of the challenges schools face p.66 www.teachwire.net | 3 Practical teaching tips and expert advice from classroom teachers and literacy leaders In this issue… Cover illustration taken from The Bestest Big Brother, Ever by Ben Mantle (Walker Books, £12.99 HB)