This volume demonstrates how the social and instructional worlds that children inhabit influence their poetry writing and performances. Drawing on rich vignettes of students from different racial, ethnic and linguistic backgrounds, it describes and analyzes the work of eight to ten-year-old U.S. students involved in a month-long poetry unit. Children Writing Poems outlines the value of a ‘poetic-functional’ approach to help children convey a poem’s meaning and mood, and expresses the need for educators to scaffold children’s oral readings and performances over time.

This volume examines how oral and written language function in school learning , and how oral texts can be successfully inter-connected to the written texts that are used on a daily basis in schools. Rather than argue for the prominence of one over the other, the goal is to help the reader gain a rich understanding of how both might work together to create a new discourse that ultimately creates new knowledge. Talking Texts: Provides historical background for the study of talk and text Presents examples of children’s and adolescents’ natural conversations as analyzed by linguists Addresses talk as it interfaces with domains of knowledge taught in schools to show how talk is related to and may be influenced by the structure, language, and activities of a specific discipline. Bringing together seminal lines of research to create a cohesive picture of discourse issues germane to classrooms and other learning settings, this volume is an essential resource for researchers, graduate students, classroom teachers, and curriculum specialists across the fields of discourse studies, literacy and English education, composition studies, language development, sociolinguistics, and applied linguistics.

Teachers, trainees and learning support assistants will find this lively and accessible book combines creativity with skills teaching to stimulate and improve children's writing, both at foundation and primary levels. Based on the concepts and objectives of the National Literacy Strategy (NLS), the content is well founded in experience, research and classroom application. Special features include advice on planning, linking to NLS objectives, and selecting texts; demonstration scripts for teachers to use in the classroom; annotated extracts from quality literature to help children read as writers; practical advice on strategies to use in guided writing; and examples of children's work that show how to assess the children's writing and set 'next step' targets. The authors show how you can use drama techniques, story stacks, artifacts and scenarios to engage children in writing, both in fiction and non-fiction, right across the curriculum.

Written by one of the most well-regarded practitioners in the field this book is packed full of photocopiable exercises and suggestions for strategies and techniques that are instantly transferable to classroom environments.

"First Published in 1998, Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company."

How to Sparkle at Writing Stories and Poems will help early and beginning writers to master some of the skills of composition and writing conventions. All of the activities stimulate creative writing, in the form of stories or poetry. They are designed to give children lots of ideas and to help them plan and develop those ideas. The book contains 40 photocopiable worksheets. Pupils are asked to describe what is happening in pictures on the worksheets or to write stories about topics such as their best friend, who they would like to be, or what it would be like if their world shrank in size. The worksheets also give models for poems of different types, for example acrostic poems, shape poems and poems about feelings. The tasks are designed to be open-ended so that they will be a stimulus for children of all abilities. Some of the extension activities will also encourage children to think of different audiences for their writing.

Crafting Poems demystifies the genre through diverse examples, clear instruction, and emphases on practice, enjoyment, and developing a distinct voice. By connecting reading with writing and balancing discipline with self-expression and improvisation, Crafting Poems gives aspiring poets a flexible and powerful toolbox with which to build their work.

What do trainee teachers need to know about English to teach it effectively in primary schools? How do children learn English and how can students teach it? What does a good primary English lesson look like? Answering these important questions and more, this new edition covers all areas of the new National Curriculum for primary English. By offering insight into effective teaching, it helps students connect what they need to teach to how it can be taught. This book opens up opportunities in the new curriculum for creative and imaginative teaching and covers all areas of children′s literacy from poetry and literature to SPAG. Case studies of teaching are used as a starting point for learning, and guidance on practical teaching strategies is included throughout. Now comes with: A new chapter on Multi-modal texts A new chapter on Mastery in English

This essential text provides ideas for trainees and teachers to extend both their own teaching and their pupils’ learning in primary English through creative approaches and enrichment strategies to promote best practice and outstanding teaching. The book is accessible to all levels of experience and combines theory with practice throughout, delivering the required subject knowledge while encouraging innovative approaches that demand critical reflection. It looks closely at how young children learn to read and write and how practitioners can enable this development through creative ideas. The book begins with an exploration of the development of speaking and listening skills which form the foundation of successful literacy. Chapters then cover all the key elements of the new curriculum including word reading, reading comprehension, transcription and composition, plus additional material on drama and reading for pleasure. Throughout the book there is a clear progression from KS1 to KS2 and a focus on creativity as a vital ingredient in successful English teaching.