Reading

How to get reluctant boys reading

Boys and reading! Plucking hen’s teeth or getting blood out of a stone are some of the comments you’ll hear from teachers and parents when discussing trying to get boys to read. Look at any group of kids and you’re likely to see a girl with a book in hand… Read More

Coucou, j’ai pris le pain!

I believe it is important to get pupils interested in grammar and make sure they understand what they are doing when they put words together. Learners are therefore more likely to produce correct language with a higher level of accuracy. It is more motivating and speeds up foreign language learning. Read More

Primary – Activities to encourage reading practice

Reading is a vital skill but so few get enough practice at it. It’s no wonder that many fall behind. To encourage reading we’ve come up with a series of activities that will make reading fun as well as stimulating and challenging. Activity One – Paired Reading Younger children… Read More

Primary – Text Level Reading Activities

Activity One – Reading Buddies We often ask parents to help with reading at home but with the pressures of family and work life that’s not always possible. To counter it we’ve set up a Reading Buddies scheme in school asking for volunteers from our stronger readers to work with… Read More

Primary – phonemes

The national reading tests will soon be upon us and whilst the DFE has given schools a lot of material for them to implement and manage the scheme, it doesn’t hurt to have a few extra fun activities up your sleeve for when the children get weary of the practice. Read More

Primary – reading

Reading is a key part of the literacy curriculum and a vital part of the whole curriculum. Over the decades and even centuries there have been many different approaches to the topic with some of them working better than others. Everyone accepts that until a child can read effectively, large… Read More

Secondary English – Wish you were… analysing language!

Being able to comment on the effects of language choices is essential to achieving grade C and above in GCSE English. Nonetheless students often struggle with this, getting tangled up in knots listing any literary terms they can remember and forgetting that the foundation of all language is words. A… Read More

Secondary English – Best Reading Buddies

I have two big problems with my reading lessons, at present. Firstly I am becoming increasingly frustrated by students saying ‘I don’t like ANY of the books in here!’ as they point vaguely at the library shelves containing hundreds upon hundreds of books. Next on my list is that although… Read More