The Level 7 Biff, Chip and Kipper Stories, written by Roderick Hunt and illustrated by Alex Brychta, provide a rich story context to help develop language comprehension and decoding skills. Stories, More Stories A and More Stories B involve familiar situations and a variety of fantasy settings through the magic key adventures. Longer stories help to build reading stamina, which is important for later reading success. Books contain inside cover notes to support children in their reading. Help with childrens reading development is also available at www.oxfordowl.co.uk.

Now in its third edition and reflecting changes in the Primary National Strategy, this best-selling textbook introduces primary teachers to key issues in the teaching of writing. Strongly rooted in classroom practice, the book includes:

With its companion Reading under Control (also in its third edition), this book provides undergraduate and postgraduate teachers with comprehensive guidance for the teaching of literacy.

Every child needs to learn to read, write and spell. With Letterland it is simply an enjoyable journey of discovery. This new edition of the Letterland Teacher's Guide encompasses the fun of learning with Letterland friends, whilst ensuring that the core criteria of an effective, systematic, phonics programme are fully met.

Developing children's writing abilities boosts their confidence, creates enjoyment and relevance in the task and cultivates a range of decision-making and problem-solving skills that can then be applied across the curriculum. The Countdown series provides all the support you need in helping children to improve their prose, poetry and non-fiction writing.

This guide provides all the support you need in helping pupils to improve their poetry writing. Countdown to Poetry Writing is a comprehensive and flexible resource that you can use in different ways, including:

• stand-alone modules that cover all the essential aspects of writing a poem, including word play, use of metaphor, rhyme and many others
• countdown flowchart providing an overview showing how modules are linked and how teachers can progress through them with the pupils
• photocopiable activity sheets for each module that show how to make the decisions and solve the problems that all writers face along the road from first idea to finished piece of work
• teachers notes for modules, with tips and guidance, including how modules can be used in the classroom, links to other modules and curriculum links, and advice on helping and guiding pupils in their writing
• a self-study component so that children can make their own progress through the materials, giving young writers a sense of independence in thinking about their work and offering built-in scaffolding of tasks so that less experienced or less confident children get more support from the resource
• 'headers' for each module showing where along the 'countdown path' you are at that point.

In short, Countdown to Poetry Writing saves valuable planning time and gives you all the flexibility you need - teachers might want to utilise either the self-study or 'countdown' aspects of the book, or simply dip into it for individual lesson activities to fit in with their own programmes of work.

Spotlight on Reading offers teachers a wide variety of topics and activities to stimulate, engage, challenge, entertain and extend all pupils' reading skills. This extremely practical resource provides busy teachers and teaching assistants with a collection of worksheets that can be used as instant, educationally appropriate learning activities written specifically with the inclusive classroom in mind. The wide variety of exercises will enable pupils to understand and work on phonics and to improve their reading comprehension rehearsed reading. All the books in this series: Promote effective intervention and inclusion strategies for teachers and teaching assistants Provide materials that are solidly grounded in an understanding of how children learn and the particular difficulties of children with special needs. Stimulate discussion and interaction Can be used as part of an individual or small group learning programme for a child with special needs Provide 'whole class' materials that can also engage older children or those with a higher level of achievement Offer teachers quick, fun activities that never require additional resources, special materials or preparation. Spotlight on Reading is an essential tool for any teacher striving to offer every pupil opportunities to maximise their own potential and develop strong reading skills

"The content of tests can be puzzling to students and teachers alike. While a state test purports to measure the curriculum, often the curriculum standards seem mysterious as well--written in code or so general in meaning that it seems impossible for teachers to know if their instruction will adequately prepare their students." --Charles Fuhrken When he was a student struggling to concentrate on dreadfully boring passages of standardized reading tests, Charles Fuhrken remembers thinking to himself, "Who writes this stuff?" He had no idea that one day it would be him. Fuhrken has spent years working as a writer for several major testing companies, and he believes that what he's learned about testing could be very useful--even liberating--for teachers interested in teaching effective reading strategies as well as preparing students for reading tests. In "What Every Elementary Teacher Needs to Know About Reading Tests," Charles takes the mystery out of reading tests. He explains how reading tests are created, how standards are interpreted and assessed, and how students can apply their knowledge of reading to standardized tests. "What Every Elementary Teacher Needs to Know About Reading Tests" sets the record straight about the myths and realities of tests and offers extensive, practical strategies that help students perform well on test day. This ready to use, easy to understand resource provides a wealth of information about reading tests, including high-quality preparation materials; samples of the most frequently assessed reading standards; and more than thirty engaging, core-reading activities. Tests require a special kind of savvy, a kind of critical thinking and knowledge-application that is not always a part of classroom reading experiences. That's why teachers need to provide students with sound, specific information about reading tests. Only then can students feel prepared and confident on test day.

"Mum, dad, I don't know what to write next!" Using this book can really help children in a very practical way to overcome their anxieties as they began to develop the story writing skills so essential for their educational development. The ability to write good stories is a basic requirement of examinations at all the Key Stages in State schools. Furthermore it is often a requirement in eleven plus examinations as entry to Grammar Schools and Independent Private schools. Using this book can help children to develop self-confidence in their own ability as storywriters by using their own experiences as the starting point for writing. This book gives easy to understand advice on the importance of Parts of Speech, the job that words to in sentences, it provides a list of the eleven ingredients for a good story plus examples of how to set out direct speech. It also gives advice on how the feelings of characters should be expressed in a story to add interest. Book One contains twenty story plans based upon experiences and activities that most children will have had, for example, "The Birthday Party" and "My First Day at School".The story plans are written in a child friendly way that is accessible and easy for children to understand and follow. Using the structured story plans the young writers are able to write about their own experiences and activities, safe and secure in the knowledge that when they get stuck and aren't sure what to write next, instead of calling out for help, the story plan neatly helps them to move on.

According to a leading cognitive scientist, we've been teaching reading wrong. The latest science reveals how we can do it right. In 2011, when an international survey reported that students in Shanghai dramatically outperformed American students in reading, math, and science, President Obama declared it a "Sputnik moment": a wake-up call about the dismal state of American education. Little has changed, however, since then: over half of our children still read at a basic level and few become highly proficient. Many American children and adults are not functionally literate, with serious consequences. Poor readers are more likely to drop out of the educational system and as adults are unable to fully participate in the workforce, adequately manage their own health care, or advance their children's education. In Language at the Speed of Sight, internationally renowned cognitive scientist Mark Seidenberg reveals the underexplored science of reading, which spans cognitive science, neurobiology, and linguistics. As Seidenberg shows, the disconnect between science and education is a major factor in America's chronic underachievement. How we teach reading places many children at risk of failure, discriminates against poorer kids, and discourages even those who could have become more successful readers. Children aren't taught basic print skills because educators cling to the disproved theory that good readers guess the words in texts, a strategy that encourages skimming instead of close reading. Interventions for children with reading disabilities are delayed because parents are mistakenly told their kids will catch up if they work harder. Learning to read is more difficult for children who speak a minority dialect in the home, but that is not reflected in classroom practices. By building on science's insights, we can improve how our children read, and take real steps toward solving the inequality that illiteracy breeds. Both an expert look at our relationship with the written word and a rousing call to action, Language at the Speed of Sight is essential for parents, educators, policy makers, and all others who want to understand why so many fail to read, and how to change that.

Developing children's writing abilities boosts their confidence, creates enjoyment and relevance in the task and cultivates a range of decision-making and problem-solving skills that can then be applied across the curriculum. The Countdown series provides all the support you need in helping children to improve their prose, poetry and non-fiction writing. Countdown to Creative Writing is a comprehensive and flexible resource that you can use in different ways: 60 stand-alone modules that cover all the essential aspects of writing a story countdown flowchart providing an overview showing how modules are linked and how teachers can progress through them with the children photocopiable activity sheets for each module that show how to make the decisions and solve the problems that all writers face along the road from first idea to finished piece of work teachers' notes for each module with tips and guidance including how modules could be used as stand-alone units, but also with suggestions for useful links between modules, and curriculum links a self-study component so that children can make their own progress through the materials, giving young writers a sense of independence in thinking about their work 'headers' for each module showing where along the 'countdown path' you are at that point. In short Countdown to Creative Writing saves valuable planning time and gives you all the flexibility you need - teachers might want to utilise either the self-study or 'countdown' aspects of the book, or simply dip into it for individual lesson activities to fit in with their own programmes of work.

`Education is not about filling a pail, it's about lighting a fire.' -W.B.Yeats Through carefully selected and contextualized quotes, this book provides an engaging and inspiring way for reading teachers to look at and reflect on their own practice and grow professionally. A year's worth of thought-provoking quotations from thinkers in and out of education are tied to 11 themes for a reading educator's professional development. With each quote, the authors provide: Three reflective questions relating the core idea of the quote to teaching practice Lesson prompts that provide ways to use the quote with students Links to books for K-2, 3-8 and 9-12 to extend thinking generated by the quote The introduction spells out for teachers and literacy coaches how reflective use of the quotes and related prompts can promote and document professional development. It also provides multiple applications for the quotes in the classroom to directly foster enhancement of students' literacy, metacognitive skills and goal setting.

These engaging Storybooks provide structured practice for children learning to read the Read Write Inc. Set 1, 2 and 3 sounds. Each set of books is carefully levelled to match childrens growing phonic knowledge so children can read them with accuracy, fluency and comprehension. The Storybooks include a range of engaging stories such as fairy tales, myths and legends, rhyming stories and familiar settings. Activities at the start of the books help children to practise the sounds and words they will encounter in the story. Questions to talk about at the end of the story provide an extra opportunity for developing childrens comprehension. The books are part of the Read Write Inc. Phonics programme, developed by Ruth Miskin. The programme is designed to create fluent readers, confident speakers and willing writers. It includes Handbooks, Sounds Cards, Word Cards, Storybooks, Non-fiction, Writing books and an Online resource. Read Write Inc. is fully supported by comprehensive professional development from Ruth Miskin Training.

These engaging Storybooks provide structured practice for children learning to read the Read Write Inc. Set 1, 2 and 3 sounds. Each set of books is carefully levelled to match childrens growing phonic knowledge so children can read them with accuracy, fluency and comprehension. The Storybooks include a range of engaging stories such as fairy tales, myths and legends, rhyming stories and familiar settings. Activities at the start of the books help children to practise the sounds and words they will encounter in the story. Questions to talk about at the end of the story provide an extra opportunity for developing childrens comprehension. The books are part of the Read Write Inc. Phonics programme, developed by Ruth Miskin. The programme is designed to create fluent readers, confident speakers and willing writers. It includes Handbooks, Sounds Cards, Word Cards, Storybooks, Non-fiction, Writing books and an Online resource. Read Write Inc. is fully supported by comprehensive professional development from Ruth Miskin Training.

These engaging Storybooks provide structured practice for children learning to read the Read Write Inc. Set 1 and 2 sounds. Each set of books is carefully levelled to match childrens growing phonic knowledge so children can read them with accuracy, fluency and comprehension. The Storybooks include a range of engaging stories such as fairy tales, myths and legends, rhyming stories and familiar settings. Activities at the start of the books help children to practise the sounds and words they will encounter in the story. Questions to talk about at the end of the story provide an extra opportunity for developing childrens comprehension. The books are part of the Read Write Inc. Phonics programme, developed by Ruth Miskin. The programme is designed to create fluent readers, confident speakers and willing writers. It includes Handbooks, Sounds Cards, Word Cards, Storybooks, Non-fiction, Writing books and an Online resource. Read Write Inc. is fully supported by comprehensive professional development from Ruth Miskin Training.

These engaging Storybooks provide structured practice for children learning to read the Read Write Inc. Set 1, 2 and 3 sounds. Each set of books is carefully levelled to match childrens growing phonic knowledge so children can read them with accuracy, fluency and comprehension. The Storybooks include a range of engaging stories such as fairy tales, myths and legends, rhyming stories and familiar settings. Activities at the start of the books help children to practise the sounds and words they will encounter in the story. Questions to talk about at the end of the story provide an extra opportunity for developing childrens comprehension. The books are part of the Read Write Inc. Phonics programme, developed by Ruth Miskin. The programme is designed to create fluent readers, confident speakers and willing writers. It includes Handbooks, Sounds Cards, Word Cards, Storybooks, Non-fiction, Writing books and an Online resource. Read Write Inc. is fully supported by comprehensive professional development from Ruth Miskin Training.

Expressive writing is life-based writing that focuses on authentic expression of lived experience, with resultant insight, growth and skill-building. Research shows that expressive writing can help in the development of emotional intelligence, better choice-making, and healthy coping skills. In this remarkable collection, 11 experts from education and community service join to offer compelling guidance on applied practice. You'll discover *a model for a poetry group for youth at risk; *how to help students develop inner resources through metaphor; *a "photovoice" project to help at-risk students stay in school; *how storytelling develops emotional intelligence in primary school children; *a method that helps teachers become more confident writers; *how expressive writing can help teachers manage stress and avoid burn-out; *expressive writing as change agent for communities; *the benefits and limitations of writing programs in prisons and jails; *hip-hop as "the pen of the people"; *finding a writing group; writing with others; *the ethics and standards of practice for expressive writing in the classroom and community; *guidance for all levels of learners: Primary, teens, college-age, adult; professional development, personal growth. Whether you are a teacher, a counselor, a facilitator, or a writer you'll find this volume an invaluable and innovative resource for expressive writing in the classroom and in the community.

Nelson Comprehension provides a simple and effective course for the teaching of key comprehension skills. Units cover all genres of texts - including fiction, poetry, playscripts, instructions and biography - with plenty of practice, repetition and assessment built in. Differentiated questions and resource sheets as well as assessment materials help ensure that all children are on track. This Pupil Book offers 20 engaging illlustrated texts with accompanying differentiated questions which test the whole range of comprehension skills, including literal, inferential and deductive.

Practice reading comprehension with this activity sticker book, perfect for learning at home! Let's Do Comprehension 6-7 supports the National Curriculum for Key Stage 1 and is ideal for boosting English literacy skills at home. The workbook contains a variety of stimulating fiction and non-fiction texts, accompanied by comprehension questions of varying difficulty and over 100 colourful stickers to encourage and reward children. This comprehension practice book includes: - Tips and clues from Alice the Alligator to support children - Extra challenges in Brodie's Brain Boosters to stretch and challenge - Answers at the back of the book - Exciting, colourful illustrations and stickers For more in the popular Let's Do series by Andrew Brodie, see: Let's Do Handwriting, Let's Do Spelling, Let's Do Punctuation, Let's Do Grammar, Let's Do Times Tables, Let's Do Mental Maths, Let's Do Addition and Subtraction and Let's Do Arithmetic

Practice reading comprehension with this activity sticker book, perfect for learning at home! Let's Do Comprehension 7-8 supports the National Curriculum for Key Stage 2 and is ideal for boosting English literacy skills at home. The workbook contains a variety of stimulating fiction and non-fiction texts, accompanied by comprehension questions of varying difficulty and over 100 colourful stickers to encourage and reward children. This comprehension practice book includes: - Tips and clues from Alice the Alligator to support children - Extra challenges in Brodie's Brain Boosters to stretch and challenge - Answers at the back of the book - Exciting, colourful illustrations and stickers For more in the popular Let's Do series by Andrew Brodie, see: Let's Do Handwriting, Let's Do Spelling, Let's Do Punctuation, Let's Do Grammar, Let's Do Times Tables, Let's Do Mental Maths, Let's Do Addition and Subtraction and Let's Do Arithmetic

The Level 3 Biff, Chip and Kipper Stories, written by Roderick Hunt and illustrated by Alex Brychta, provide a rich story context to help develop language comprehension and decoding skills. Stories, More Stories A and More Stories B build on the reading skills from Level 2 and are slightly longer. First Sentences include a range of high frequency vocabulary with repetitive text to continue to build fluency. Books contain inside cover notes to support children in their reading. Help with childrens reading development is also available at www.oxfordowl.co.uk.

The Spelling & Vocabulary series provides a complete and comprehensive course building a child's spelling and vocabulary expertise. Working through the series will give your child a working vocabulary of more than 5,400 words. The series helps prepare children for the GL Assessment and CEM 11+ exams, SATs, CATs, the Northern Ireland Transfer Test, Common Entrance and scholarship examinations for independent schools, and all other styles of verbal reasoning/ability and English tests. This series of books is designed to be used in sequence and is divided into three levels: Foundation (Workbooks 1-3) for children aged 7 to 9 Intermediate (Workbooks 4-7) for children aged 8 to 10 Advanced (Workbooks 8-12) for children aged 9 to 12 We recommend older children who face challenges in spelling and vocabulary work from Workbook 1 to ensure that there are no gaps in their understanding and their skills are built progressively. Children with more developed skills could begin with the Intermediate or Advanced series. All our materials have been rigorously classroom tested. The methodologies have been successfully used in AE Tuition classes for over 20 years.

The Level 6 Biff, Chip and Kipper Stories, written by Roderick Hunt and illustrated by Alex Brychta, provide a rich story context to help develop language comprehension and decoding skills. Stories, More Stories A and More Stories B involve familiar situations and a variety of fantasy settings through the magic key adventures. This pack includes one copy of each of the following titles: Land of the Dinosaurs, In the Garden, Kipper and the Giant, The Outing, Robin Hood, and The Treasure Chest. Books contain inside cover notes to support children in their reading. Help with childrens reading development is also available at www.oxfordowl.co.uk.

Words consist of units of meaning, called morphemes. These morphemes have a striking effect on spelling which has been largely neglected until now. For example, nouns that end in "-ian" are words which refer to people, and so when this ending is attached to "magic" we can tell that the resulting word means someone who produces magic. Knowledge of this rule, therefore, helps us with spelling: it tells us that this word is spelled as "magician" and not as "magicion."
This new book by Terezinha Nunes and Peter Bryant and their colleagues shows how important and necessary it is for children to find out about morphemes when they are learning to read and to spell. The book concentrates on how to teach children about the morphemic structure of words and on the beneficial effects of this teaching for children's spelling and for the breadth of their vocabulary. It reports the results of several studies in the laboratory and in school classrooms of the effects of teaching children about a wide variety of morphemes. These projects showed that school children enjoy learning about morphemes and that this learning improves their spelling and their vocabulary as well. The book, therefore, suggests new directions in the teaching of literacy. It should be read by everyone concerned with helping children to learn to read and to write.