This is an excellent text. I particularly liked how the authors share examples of critical literacy throughout the book, especially with digital and multimedia texts. -Peter McDermott, "The Sage Colleges"

Through realistic discussion of how text shapes us and is shaped by us, Critical Literacy provides pre- and in-service teachers with concrete ways to engage in critical literacy practices with children from elementary through high school. -Cheryl A. Kreutter, "St. John"" Fisher College"""

a unique, practical critical literacy text with concrete examples and theoretical tools for pre- and in-service teachers

Authors Lisa Patel Stevens and Thomas W. Bean explore the historical and political foundations of critical literacy and present a comprehensive examination of its uses for K-12 classroom practice.

Key Features:

- Focuses on the nexus of critical literacy theory and practice through real classroom examples, vignettes, and conversations among teachers and teacher educators

. Illustrates how critical literacy practices are enacted in the classroom at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.

. Offers step-by-step teaching strategies for implementing critical literacy in K-12 classrooms at different paces, depending on existing curriculum

Intended Audience:

This is an excellent supplemental text for a variety of advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in education departments on how to teach reading and writing. This text will also appeal to instructors and students exploring issues of representation, linguistics, and critical deconstruction.

Professional poets spend many hours crafting a finished piece of work, yet we expect children in school to sit down and write when they are told to, whether they feel inspired or not. This series of four books is a toolkit to help you build a positive framework for children to read, write, understand and enjoy poetry - to bring a creative spark to the poetry classroom. A combination of featured poems, creative ideas, structured lesson plans and differentiated photocopiable activity sheets gives the series a uniquely flexible approach - which means you can use the materials in any classroom context. If you're wary of poetry, if you think it's boring, or if you're nervous about teaching poetry, then you've chosen the right book. Key themes covered in BOOK 3: Style, Shape and Structure are style and structure, addressing regular and standard forms, the impact of layout, free form, 'found' poetry, and concrete poetry. Other books in the series are: BOOK 1:Words and Wordplay; BOOK 2: Rhymes, Rhythms and Rattles;and BOOK 4: Language and Performance.

The book report is due and panic sets in. A THIN book is the ticket. But perhaps a THINNER book? Or the THINNEST book of all? And how to pick one (quickly) that will be interesting? Students, teachers, and librarians will love this handy little volume that describes 100 titles recommended for middle and high school students. Readable, attention-grabbing all are less than 200 pages. Each entry lists title and author, provides information on characters, plot, and action, and even suggests topics to cover in a book report. Librarians and teachers will appreciate the inclusion of curricular areas and readability indexes, and students will find the appendix on approaches to writing a book report or booktalk a real gold mine. Five indexes make locating the perfect title a breeze.The genre index guides you to the kind of book you want to read. The subject index lists dozens of subjects, from adoption to writing, divorce to time travel. The readability index guides you to the "quick reads" or "thoughtful novels." If you have a favorite author or already know of a novel you want to read, there is the author or title index. Finally, the curriculum index allows you to look for a book for a particular class.

This book brings together a collection of essays on the teaching of writing. It is a companion to Prue Goodwin's The Literate Classroom and The Articulate Classroom and aims to: augment our existing knowledge about the teaching and learning of writing stimulate thought and provoke discussion about writing offer a blend of theory and practice give 'food for thought' and ideas for teaching writing to primary age children. The topic of writing is one which is under the spotlight with increasing regularity as politicians and policy makers move on from reading as an 'issue'. This has already happened in England where the National Literacy Strategy is urging more emphasis on the teaching of writing to remedy weaknesses in this area.

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.

A comprehensive blended print and digital English programme for Years 1 to 6, Oxford International Primary English offers a clear and coherent literacy and language course with inspiring and culturally diverse content that puts each child at the heart of the learning experience. For Primary Literacy teachers in International schools following the Cambridge, ENC or OIC curriculum, this course is underpinned by a strong digital offer. Oxford International Primary English Offers a flexible, forward-looking and engaging route through primary English based on international best practice, with coverage of a range of curricula and a strong focus on wellbeing to fully prepare children for their onward studies.

Treasure House Spelling Skills Pupil Books are aimed at ages 5-11 offering complete coverage of the 2014 National Curriculum. Treasure House Spelling Skills Pupil Book 1: - has 33 units - is directly matched to the 2014 National Curriculum - explains each spelling rule clearly and simply, followed by a set of carefully tailored questions - ensures pupils will master all appropriate language skills - provides regular reviews. This pupil book can be used with Treasure House Spelling Skills Teacher's Guide 1 and activities on Collins Connect for a complete spelling programme.

Success in School and Career: Common Core Standards in Language Arts K-5 provides kindergarten through grade-five educators and school and district administrators with historical perspectives that shaped the Common Core State Standards. In addition, this book provides a rich resource that explains the core components of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts for kindergarten through grade five, clarifies the base of research, and delivers handy resources to all such participants.

The Level 8 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 and More Stories continue to provide a mix of fantasy settings and familiar situations. More complex sentences develop stamina, ensuring that readers will be able to progress to more demanding texts with confidence. Books contain inside cover notes to support children in their reading. Help with childrens reading development is also available at www.oxfordowl.co.uk.

Poetry is a joyful art form, but how do you teach students to joyfully read, analyze, and write poems? In Text Structures from Poetry, Grades 4-12, award-winning educator Gretchen Bernabei teams up with noted poet Laura Van Prooyen to light the path. Centered around 50 classroom-proven lesson and poem pairs, the mentor texts represent a broad range of voices in contemporary poetry and the canon. These unique and engaging lessons show educators how to "pop the hood" on a poem to discover what makes it work, using text structures to unlock the engine of a poem. This method enables educators to engage students in reading and re-reading a poem closely, to identify how the parts of the poem relate to each other to create movement, and to leverage what they have learned to write their own evocative poems. Each of the 50 lessons includes a mentor poem that serves as an excellent model for young writers, a diagram that illustrates the text structure of the poem, and several inspiring examples of student poems written to emulate the mentor poem. Easy-to-use instructional resources enhance instructor and student understanding and include: Teaching notes for unlocking the text structure of a poem and the engine that makes it work. Tips for exploring rhyme scheme, meter, and fixed forms. Instructional sequences that vary the ways students can read and write poems and other prose forms. Ideas for revising and publishing student poems. A "Meet the Contemporary Authors" section that includes fascinating messages from the contemporary poets. Teach your students to learn about poetry using the magic of poems themselves and lead the way to a rewarding love of poetry for teachers and students alike.

This is a pack of 80 versatile flashcards featuring decodable picture-coded words. Lots of game ideas are included, along with opportunities to create meaningful phrases and sentences. It includes key sight words with less regular parts underlined. Plain letters are on the reverse sides. Size of 80 cards is 85x132 mm/3.6"x 5.2".

Comic Connections: Building Character and Theme is designed to help teachers from middle school through college find exciting new strategies to help students develop their literacy skills. Each chapter has three pieces: comic relevance, classroom connections, and concluding thoughts; this format allows a reader to pick-and-choose where to start. Some readers might want to delve into the history of a comic to better understand characters and their usefulness, while other readers might want to pick up an activity, presentation, or project that they can fold into that day's lesson. This volume in Comic Connections series focuses on two literary elements-character and theme-that instructors can use to build a foundation for advanced literary studies. By connecting comics and pop culture with these elements, students and teachers can be more energized and invested in the ELA curriculum.

Each book in this series features 15 comprehension passages. Each passage is accompanied by three differentiated comprehension worksheets - one sheet aimed at lower ability pupils, one aimed at the middle range and one for higher ability. It is envisaged that teachers may well end up using two of the three worksheets with each child as progress is made. The books cover a variety of genres and styles e.g. fiction, non-fiction, poetry, newspaper reports, etc. Some passages are taken from existing literature by well-known authors and some are original pieces written by the authors. The carefully worded questions include those with obvious answers to provide practice in writing clear, well-punctuated sentences, and those with less obvious answers so that higher ability pupils will need to 'read between the lines'. Once completed the worksheets will also provide evidence for teachers when monitoring pupils' progress and assessing their level. The series addresses strands 7 and 8 of the new Primary Framework for literacy, which refer to understanding, interpreting, engaging with and responding to texts, and also strands 11 and 12, which are concerned with sentence structure, punctuation and presentation.

Some of you may be familiar with the stories in this guide as they were previously covered in the "Classic Programme Two Teacher's Guide". This "Advanced Teacher's Guide" uses Letterland's vivid story logic to explain all the remaining spelling patterns not covered in the "Primary Years Letterland Teacher's Guide". For example, the irregular schwa sounds in "America", soft c and g words and the popular -tion story which makes over 1000 words ending in -tion easy to read and spell correctly.

A good poetry idea should help the children feel excited about writing and enable them to think of what to write - developing their imagination, creativity and writing skills.

Jumpstart! Poetry is about involving children as creative writers through writing poems. The book contains a bank of ideas that can be drawn upon when teaching poetry but also at other times to provide a source for creative writing that children relish. There are more than 100 quick warm-ups to fire the brain into a creative mood and to a ~jumpstarta (TM) reading, writing and performing poetry in any key stage 1 or 2 classroom.

Practical, easy-to-do and vastly entertaining, this new a ~jumpstartsa (TM) will appeal to busy teachers in any primary classroom.

The Level 5 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, More Stories B and More Stories C take the children from familiar, predictable events at home and school into the less certain realms of fantasy through the magic key adventures. 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 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.

Written by trusted author Geoff Barton, this new edition of a classroom favourite has been completely rewritten to support the latest Key Stage 3 requirements. It includes clear progression through reading levels, with a focus on building essential reading skills through fresh, relevant texts from a range of media and a variety of engaging activities - an ideal resource for busy teachers.

Literacy for Learning: A Handbook of Teaching Strategies for Middle and High School Teachers is a collection of proven, effective teaching strategies to promote content area literacy and help teachers incorporate literacy learning as a means of improving learning in all subject areas. The book presents a concise overview of content area literacy research and a rationale for teachers in all subject areas. Those who teach, or are about to teach, middle and high school students, will find a variety of engaging strategies for improving student comprehension and retention of content material. Numerous examples of how the strategies can be used across the curriculum are included. 122 strategies in all are included, plus tips and suggestions for their use. This valuable, handy, and easy-to-use resource contains strategies for teaching reading, writing, and vocabulary. Each section contains numerous strategies for use across the curriculum. An additional section focuses on ways to incorporate technology and multi-media resources into teaching to promote learning. Each strategy presented includes learning objectives, Common Core State Standards connections, a concise overview, and simple, easy-to-follow instructions for implementing the strategies. Teachers can pick up this book and immediately begin using the strategies in their own classrooms. With the implementation of Common Core State Standards, it will become more important than ever for every teacher to be a literacy teacher. This book should find widespread acceptance as a handy tool to help all teachers achieve this goal."

Yellow Workbook, along with the accompanying Key and the Core Instructor Text, make up a full year of Grammar for the Well-Trained Mind: a complete course that takes students from basic definitions ("A noun is the name of a person, place, thing, or idea") through advanced sentence structure and analysis, all the grammar skills needed to write and speak with eloquence and confidence. This innovative program combines the three essential elements of language learning: understanding and memorizing rules (prescriptive teaching), repeated exposure to examples of how those rules are used (descriptive instruction), and practice using those rules in exercises and in writing (practical experience). Each year, parents and teachers go through the dialogue, rules, and examples in the Core Instructor Text; students follow along in the Workbook. This repetition solidifies the concepts, definitions, and examples in the student's mind. There are four Workbooks. Each Workbook contains the same rules and examples, but four completely different sets of exercises and assignments, allowing students to develop a wide-ranging knowledge of how the rules and examples are put to use in writing. The Workbook comes with its own Key, providing not only answers, but also explanations for the parent/instructor, and guidance as to when the answers might be ambiguous (as, in English, they often are). All of the rules covered, along with the repeated examples for each, are assembled for ongoing reference in The Grammar Guidebook. Every step of the sentence diagramming process is gathered for reference, along with illustrations, in The Diagramming Dictionary. These will become the student's indispensable guide to writing through high school, into college and beyond. Step-by-step instruction takes students from the most basic concepts through advanced grammatical concepts such as modal and hortative verbs and multiple functions of noun clauses. Extensive diagramming exercises reinforce the rules and help technical and visual learners to understand and use the English language effectively. Each step of the diagramming process is illustrated and thoroughly explained to the student. Text for examples and exercises are drawn from great works of literature, as well as from well-written nonfiction texts in science, mathematics, and the social sciences. *Regular review is built into each year of work. One of four non-sequential workbooks, each containing new exercises that allow students to practice and apply the grammar principles under study.

The Level 1+ 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. First Sentences and More First Sentences A, B and C introduce children to stories told through complete sentences to provide practice of high frequency vocabulary to build confidence and fluency. Patterned Stories and More Patterned Stories A practise vocabulary in the context of a repeated sentence structure to help develop confidence and 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.

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 Resources and Assessment Book provides two photocopiable resource sheets at different ability levels for every text in Pupil Books 5 and 6 (120 resource sheets in total).