English teachers are always keen to explore new ways of motivating their pupils to engage with reading, both for learning and for pleasure. Literacy Activities for Classic and Contemporary Texts 7-14 is a practical, friendly book which uses the ‘whoosh’ to cover some of our best known classic and contemporary texts and offers a thoroughly enjoyable way for pupils to become part of the story, rather than just passive recipients of it. As an innovative and active learning strategy, the whoosh technique allows all students, regardless of gender, age, ability, learning need or command of language, to partake on an equal footing. For younger pupils, the activities in this book provide an ideal way to internalise structure and key elements in story telling through physical response. For older students, they provide an enjoyable way to engage with challenging texts as well as facilitating the analysis of themes, issues, characterisation and setting. Students themselves become the story as its characters, sounds and even objects – once they are familiar with whooshing, many students will want to write and produce a whoosh of their own. Classic authors and texts covered by this book include:- Aesop’s fables, Greek myths and legends; Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Oscar Wilde; Shakespeare (The Tempest, Twelfth Night, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream); Charlotte Bronte, Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Robert Louis Stevenson, Mary Shelley; Andrew Norriss , Frank Cottrell Boyce, Nina Bawden, Michelle Magorian and much more... You can use a whoosh to introduce a new text, to examine conflict, dilemma, plot, setting or characterisation, whoosh a controversial section of text to provoke discussion, or overcome reluctance to engage with archaic language by whooshing key sections of a story. Discussion starters, lesson objectives and follow-up activities are included throughout the text alongside the whooshes, and scripts enabling pupils to deliver dialogue are provided on the book’s eResource. This book is an invaluable resource, providing whooshes across a wide range of genres to meet the learning needs of children from 7 to 14, for both practising primary and lower secondary teachers.

Charles Dickens is arguably the greatest storyteller in English Literature and his novels have been loved and respected for nearly two hundred years. As accurate reflections of Victorian society they are unparalleled. Vivid characters and realistic settings are created in the mind of the reader, all laced with Dickens inimitable humour, wit and lacerating political comment. This book aims to bring alive these characters and settings in the minds of children. It provides a comprehensive resource for children not only to learn about the literary heritage of the English language, but also to encourage them to create meanings from these classic stories through their personal, social and cultural experiences. The authors set each novel in context, providing a synopsis of the book, as well as characters, settings themes and symbolism. Works covered include: A Christmas Carol Bleak House David Copperfield Great Expectations Hard Times Oliver Twist But this book doesn’t just aim to introduce classic literature to children; it also provides a wide range of truly contemporary tools with which they can respond creatively, including: drama and film, blogs, web 2.0 technologies, multimodality and animation and graphic novels. The book is also accompanied by downloadable resources which contain chapter outlines, extended text extracts, and practical resource sheets, including PowerPoint presentations, book review templates and flash cards, as well as a set of 8 week lesson plans for each novel. The Essential Charles Dickens School Resource provides essential classroom learning material for teachers and literacy co-ordinators teaching Key Stages 1 -3, as well as CPD students and those studying on PGCE English/Drama courses.

Educational resource for teachers, parents and kids!

Get students in grades 4–5 reading with Reading: Daily Skill Builders. This 96-page book features two short, reproducible activities per page and includes enough lessons for an entire school year. It covers topics such as author’s purpose, context clues, character analysis, comparing and contrasting, main idea, fact and opinion, diagrams, and summarizing. Frequent reviews provide practice in a standardized test format, the activities align with state standards, and the book includes a matrix for selected states.

"Each reproducible page features two short reading activities arranged by grade-appropriate topic and skill level, becoming progressively more challenging"--Back cover.

Each CD is accompanied by a FREE Teaching Guide, however the opportunity to purchase additional teachers guides is available by clicking to order on the adjacent tab

Learn how to use literature and informational texts related to sports as an alternative or a supplement to a canon-centric English classroom. This practical book promotes an instructional approach that honors students’ knowledge of, interests in, and experiences with sports culture to advance literacy learning. Informed by his own experiences in high school classrooms, the author documents the distinct methods employed by four secondary English teachers in rural, urban, and suburban schools. Each narrative features the voices of teachers and students and details a range of activities that readers can adapt for their unique contexts. Whether teaching traditional English courses or those focused on the study of sports literature, teachers can use this book to tap into students’ sporting interests and foster critical readings of sports culture as a mirror to our greater society. Book Features:Adaptable methods for using sports-related content to foster the six language arts: reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, and visually representing.Actionable ideas for going beyond sports fandom and, instead, reading sports culture through a critical lens.Implications for incorporating sports culture into the English curriculum, whether teaching traditional courses or a stand-alone sports literature class.Answers to frequently asked questions that can support teachers as they bring sports culture to the English classroom. “Luke Rodesiler demonstrates that moving beyond traditional canonical texts and topics contributes to an understanding that racism, sexism, inequity, and inequality of all kinds are current ongoing problems. When we expand our teaching to include new topics and new voices, we can invigorate our teaching in ways that make it matter more—in both the immediate and the long term.” —From the Foreword by Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Distinguished Professor, Boise State University

"Each reproducible page features two short reading activities arranged by grade-appropriate topic and skill level, becoming progressively more challenging"--Back cover.

Get students in grades 3–4 reading with Reading: Daily Skill Builders. This 96-page book features two short, reproducible activities per page and includes enough lessons for an entire school year. It covers topics such as author’s purpose, context clues, character analysis, comparing and contrasting, main idea, fact and opinion, diagrams, and summarizing. Frequent reviews provide practice in a standardized test format, the activities align with state standards, and the book includes a matrix for selected states.

Engaging, readable, student-friendly, and practical, this text is built on a strong theoretical and research base, and illustrated and clarified with real-life examples of children and teachers from today's diverse classrooms. Written to reflect cutting-edge theory, new research, the latest policies, the new Common Core State Standards, and best practices in the rapidly changing world of language arts instruction, Carole Cox's new Seventh Edition continues to guide students as they learn the many skills required to become an effective teacher today.--Publisher's description.