Given the number of recent politically related international and national events, I would be safe in saying that as a British public we are more aware than ever of ‘political policy’ and its impact. Brexit; Presidential elections; general elections – to name but a few – have given rise to a wealth of conversations about […]
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From Agent Wonka to Big Friendly Zombies, snozsprouts to puckleberries, this year’s entrants to the BBC Radio 2 500 Words competition show how Roald Dahl’s language continues to inspire them. At the end of Roald Dahl’s much-loved tale of The BFG, the eponymous giant is inspired to take up storywriting, and generations of Dahl’s young readers have done likewise, using […]
Read moreSome stories have a kind of DNA. The characters, themes and ideas pass from story to story, evolving and changing along the way. Each new storyteller adds their own ideas and interprets the characters and the dilemmas they face in new and unexpected ways. In popular culture, we retell these great stories again and again, […]
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If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart. (N.Mandela) Our children’s world revolves around using huge amounts of highly advanced accessible technology. Surrounded by computers and social media, children “chat” more than ever, but spend less […]
Read moreWe know that giving children strong grammar, punctuation and spelling skills really helps them to communicate clearly, but children often find the rules difficult to understand. Here are some top tips from our resources to help. Brush up your knowledge The National Curriculum includes an extensive list of grammar terms for children to understand. You […]
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Giving children the skills to become confident spellers has a huge impact across the curriculum – not only helping them approach their weekly spelling tests with ease, but importantly helping them make effective vocabulary choices in all of their writing. Here are some top tips from our resources to help. Make the most of staff […]
Read moreDespite my ongoing uncertainty about the age old conundrum of which came first the reading ‘chicken’ and oracy ‘egg’, one thing I am sure of is where writing fits– and it is justifiably at the bottom. It seems fitting to end with writing since that is ultimately where the ideas gathered from talking and reading […]
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Digital is the channel of choice for an increasing number of people globally – for play, interaction and information. As teachers, we need to take advantage of the fact that these individuals are highly engaged with their devices, and translate that into an engagement with learning.
Read moreIn my previous blogs I have suggested that if the three strands of Literacy education had a hierarchy then mine would place reading as the star at the top of the tree. However, as I have also noted, there are arguments which would place oracy at the top and I do believe that on any […]
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A zany was a Fool or a jester’s assistant, a bit like a clown.
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