The Really Useful Literacy Book

Being Creative with Literacy in the Primary Classroom

By Tony Martin, Chira Lovat, Glynis Purnell

Price: $33.95

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About the Book

The Really Useful Literacy Book provides inventive ideas for the classroom together with an accessible and informative summary of the theories that underpin them. Written for the primary school teacher, student or trainee teacher, this book will act as a springboard for further inspiration. The authors of this book, all highly experienced literacy specialists, show the reader how to plan units of work with flexibility and creativity, with reference to the literacy learning objectives of the Primary National Strategy. They offer a number of imaginative literacy units based on exciting ideas that are designed to motivate, engage and challenge children in classrooms.

This fully updated second edition contains a brand new chapter based on working with museums and galleries in order to expand children’s literary creativity. Using as their base three ‘big ideas’ – contexts and coherence, motivation, and content and process – the authors lead the reader through a set of principles and practices which, when applied to familiar elements of the literacy strategy, will encourage teachers to formulate their own exciting, creative and flexible literacy teaching.

Among the literacy areas covered are:

This lively, stimulating book is an essential companion for teachers in Foundation, Key Stages 1 and 2, and those on initial teacher training courses who want to develop their literacy practice. In addition it is extremely useful for literacy leaders looking to develop whole school approaches in primary schools.

Table of Contents

1. The Big Ideas 2. Principles and Practices 3. "Tell Me a Story" 4. Playing With Roles in the Foundation Stage 5. Time for Rhyme 6. Outside In, Inside Out or Reading and Writing Out and About! 7. Reporting Back 8. Calligrams and Shape Poems 9. Dear Giant - Dear Jack 10. Cyclones! 11. Where Did Our Writing Come From? 12. Writing is Not Speech Written Down 13. Whatever Happened to Lucy Gray? 14. "We Made the Story" 15. Enjoying a Good Argument?

About the Author(s)

Tony Martin, Chira Lovat and Glynis Purnell work in the Educational Development

Unit of the University of Cumbria. Tony Martin (with Mick Waters) is author of

Coordinating English at Key Stage 2 (RoutledgeFalmer, 1999).