"We believe that every young person should experience the world beyond the classroom as an essential part of learning and personal development, whatever their age, ability or circumstances. Learning outside the classroom is about raising achievement through an organised, powerful approach to learning in which direct experience is of prime importance."

LOTC Initiative manifesto

In Learning Outside the Primary Classroom, the educationalist and writer Fred Sedgwick explores in a practical way the many opportunities for intense learning that children and teachers can find outside the confines of the usual learning environment, the classroom.

This original work is based on tried and tested methods from UK primary schools. The author draws on current concerns in the educational world regarding outdoor learning as exemplified by the eight sector Learning Outside the Classroom (LOtC) initiative (supported by Ofsted), but remains refreshingly independent in approach.

Using a metaphor of concentric circles Learning Outside the Primary Classroom starts with a brief opening chapter based in the classroom itself before moving outwards to explore the learning possibilities presented by the immediate environs of the school playgrounds, gym halls, sports fields etc. Later chapters move beyond the school gates to explore the local shops, parks, religious centres, libraries and town halls and the myriad learning opportunities they represent. The final chapters explore the possibilities of larger scale day trips to major galleries and museums and more ambitious field trips.

Shakespeare and the Young Writer presents fascinating and impressive accounts of primary school children encountering Shakespeare's work for the first time.
Fred Sedgwick shows how careful selection of scenes, lines and images from the plays and sonnets - in their original language - can be used to great effect as the starting point for children's writing. Examples of children's work show just how powerful the stimulus can be. The book will be of great value to all teachers looking for new ideas to improve their practice in teaching literacy.

Originally published in 1989, this is a book about managing a real primary school - but, unlike most management books, it places the child at the centre of the exercise. It concentrates on an untidy reality rather than a system - on a human perspective rather than one which is manipulative of human reality. The books narrative structure makes it unique amongst other books in the field. Sedgwick writes with warmth and perception. His insights into the relations between the children and their teachers form part of a collage of material. Many accounts from parents, visitors, teachers and children are included in his colourful prose, providing other points of view and changes in narrative gear. Letters, poems, photographs and drawings complete the collage so that the book takes on a form which is appropriate to its subject - the randomness and variety of a school's life. Here Comes the Assembly Man is always absorbing, at times highly amusing - a rewarding read for all parents, teachers and educationalists alike.

Originally published in 1993, this book addresses the issue of the place of the expressive arts in primary schools in the years around and beyond the implementation of the National Curriculum. It comprises a set of case studies on the language arts, painting and drawing, dance, drama and music, that suggest ways forward in teaching these arts to children aged between four and eleven.

Originally published in 1994, this book enables primary school teachers to take steps to make Personal, Social and Moral Education (PSME) central to the work of their schools. Links to the National Curriculum are implicit and explicit throughout the book, and the author covers ways in which whole staffs are to be involved in the development of PSME. Case studies of good reflective teaching are taken from many curriculum areas and from rural and urban schools. The author draws out the lessons they impart with insight, precision and principle, emphasising the values of openness, encouragement, sensitivity and respect for the children and adults engaged in the development of personal, social and moral values.

Originally published in 1993, this book addresses the issue of the place of the expressive arts in primary schools in the years around and beyond the implementation of the National Curriculum. It comprises a set of case studies on the language arts, painting and drawing, dance, drama and music, that suggest ways forward in teaching these arts to children aged between four and eleven.

"A marvellous book of great practical value" - James Carter

The lack of interest in reading for pleasure amongst large numbers of primary age pupils, put off by 'mechanical' worksheet-driven approaches, is a cause for major concern amongst education professionals and parents. However, Inspiring Children to Read and Write for Pleasure from writer, journalist and education commentator Fred Sedgwick uses the context of literature to illuminate and inform the teaching of literacy in the primary classroom and inspire children to a love of books.

Aimed at Year 4, 5 and 6 primary pupils, but also significant as a transitions text to teaching secondary school pupils, this book shows how children's fluency in language - their thinking, their talking, their reading, their listening and their writing - can be greatly improved and enriched through contact with literature placed in an understandable context. With both focus on prose and poetry, primary pupils will be introduced to using grammar, syntax and sentence construction skills in meaningful contexts. Through the use of inspiring case studies, schedules of work and practical classroom applications as well as literary figures like Dickens, Coleridge, Carroll, Rossetti and Shakespeare, primary school children can enjoy reading and writing again.

With a number of sample passages to use, teaching guidelines and examples of children's work, this book will be of great interest to literacy coordinators, practicing Primary PGCE and Key Stage 2 teachers and those on BA Primary/B'Ed courses.

"A marvellous book of great practical value" James Carter

The lack of interest in reading for pleasure amongst large numbers of primary age pupils, put off by mechanical worksheet-driven approaches, is a cause for major concern amongst education professionals and parents. However, Inspiring Children to Read and Write for Pleasure from writer, journalist and education commentator Fred Sedgwick uses the context of literature to illuminate and inform the teaching of literacy in the primary classroom and inspire children to a love of books.

Aimed at Year 4, 5 and 6 primary pupils, but also significant as a transitions text to teaching secondary school pupils, this book shows how children s fluency in language - their thinking, their talking, their reading, their listening and their writing can be greatly improved and enriched through contact with literature placed in an understandable context. With both focus on prose and poetry, primary pupils will be introduced to using grammar, syntax and sentence construction skills in meaningful contexts. Through the use of inspiring case studies, schedules of work and practical classroom applications as well as literary figures like Dickens, Coleridge, Carroll, Rossetti and Shakespeare, primary school children can enjoy reading and writing again.

With a number of sample passages to use, teaching guidelines and examples of children s work, this book will be of great interest to literacy coordinators, practicing Primary PGCE and Key Stage 2 teachers and those on BA Primary/B Ed courses.

At the heart of this book is an emphasis on helping children to learn about themselves, their world and their relationships, through drawing. It also shows how teachers can use drawing as an in road into art, language, literacy, and other aspects of the curriculum; how children can improve their writing through drawing, concentrating on draftsmanship, the lines of letters, words and sentences; and how children can improve the quality of their drawing; with four basic rules that have been proven to raise standards throughout school.

Based on case studies of children from six to eleven years of age, this passionately written book draws inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci's sketchbooks and from Nigerian art to show how children can learn more effectively through the medium of drawing.

Contents:
Introduction Part I: Poetry and Science 1. Observing the Human Body 2. Fruit and Other Natural Things 3. Bicycles and Other Machines 4. Cats and Other Animals Footnote: some haikus and some riddles Prose Interlude: Children and their Names Part II: Poetry and Personal, Social and Moral Education 5. Me and the Rest of the World 6. Lists Part III: Putting Art in Prison to Set it Free 7. Pattern 8. Using Visual Images 9. Art and Multicultural Education 10. Poetry for Its Own Sake Prose Interlude: Stories and Beginning a Novel 11. 'So help me God': Poetry and Religious Education Appendices Bringing Living Writers into the Classroom Learning by Heart

Writing to Learn looks at how poetry can be used as an enjoyable way to teach literacy across the curriculum. It includes remarkable poems and stories by children as well as clear descriptions of how to teach creatively within the framework of the National Literacy Strategy. The book goes through the primary curriculum, subject by subject:
*Poetry and Science and Maths
*Poetry and Personal, Social and Moral Education
*Poetry and Art and Music
*Poetry and Religious Education
*Poetry for its Own Sake.
The author includes:
*advice on different ways children can compose their writing and how computers can be a valuable aid to children's writing
*examples of published poetry and how it can be used to stimulate good writing
*advice on bringing writers into schools and publishing school anthologies.
This book will prove invaluable to teachers and parents keen to teach writing whilst seeing children as active and critical learners. It shows that if we expect great things from children in writing, we get them.

Thinking About Literacy discusses the literacy of children in the infant years. The author takes the view that the child is an active learner when he/she arrives in school, and that it is the school's job to build on what the child already knows. The book addresses issues such as spelling, writing, and children talking and writing about moral matters. It has an optimistic view of the potential of children to surprise us with their language and emphasises that literacy is for life, not just for an hour.

Thinking About Literacy discusses the literacy of children in the infant years. The author takes the view that the child is an active learner when he/she arrives in school, and that it is the school's job to build on what the child already knows. The book addresses issues such as spelling, writing, and children talking and writing about moral matters. It has an optimistic view of the potential of children to surprise us with their language and emphasises that literacy is for life, not just for an hour.

At the heart of this book is an emphasis on helping children to learn about themselves, their world and their relationships, through drawing. It also shows how teachers can use drawing as an in road into art, language, literacy, and other aspects of the curriculum; how children can improve their writing through drawing, concentrating on draftsmanship, the lines of letters, words and sentences; and how children can improve the quality of their drawing; with four basic rules that have been proven to raise standards throughout school. Based on case studies of children from six to eleven years of age, this passionately written book draws inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci's sketchbooks and from Nigerian art to show how children can learn more effectively through the medium of drawing.

In this, Sedgwick's latest book, he aims to help all those involved with children and their learning through poem-writing improve their practice. He argues that through poetry, children can learn about the whole curriculum, including history and science. The book begins with an introduction outlining the importance of poetry, and defining it. It discusses poetry in terms of children's learning and the imagination. Case studies are used to show how children learn about themselves - first, their bodies, and second, their thoughts and emotions - through the writing of poetry. Using many examples of childrens work he considers how children learn about their environment and the relationship between themselves and their environment. Finally, he discusses his techniques for getting children to write and provides recommendations for further reading. Fred Sedgwick is a freelance lecturer and writer specialising in children's writing, art and personal, social and moral education and has been described as 'the nearest thing I've seen to the Pied Piper'. Previously a headteacher in primary schools for 16 years, he has published books of poetry for both children and adults.

"We believe that every young person should experience the world beyond the classroom as an essential part of learning and personal development, whatever their age, ability or circumstances. Learning outside the classroom is about raising achievement through an organised, powerful approach to learning in which direct experience is of prime importance."

LOTC Initiative manifesto

In Learning Outside the Primary Classroom, the educationalist and writer Fred Sedgwick explores in a practical way the many opportunities for intense learning that children and teachers can find outside the confines of the usual learning environment, the classroom.

This original work is based on tried and tested methods from UK primary schools. The author draws on current concerns in the educational world regarding outdoor learning as exemplified by the eight sector Learning Outside the Classroom (LOtC) initiative (supported by Ofsted), but remains refreshingly independent in approach.

Using a metaphor of concentric circles Learning Outside the Primary Classroom starts with a brief opening chapter based in the classroom itself before moving outwards to explore the learning possibilities presented by the immediate environs of the school playgrounds, gym halls, sports fields etc. Later chapters move beyond the school gates to explore the local shops, parks, religious centres, libraries and town halls and the myriad learning opportunities they represent. The final chapters explore the possibilities of larger scale day trips to major galleries and museums and more ambitious field trips.

In this, Sedgwick's latest book, he aims to help all those involved with children and their learning through poem-writing improve their practice. He argues that through poetry, children can learn about the whole curriculum, including history and science. The book begins with an introduction outlining the importance of poetry, and defining it. It discusses poetry in terms of children's learning and the imagination. Case studies are used to show how children learn about themselves - first, their bodies, and second, their thoughts and emotions - through the writing of poetry. Using many examples of childrens work he considers how children learn about their environment and the relationship between themselves and their environment. Finally, he discusses his techniques for getting children to write and provides recommendations for further reading. Fred Sedgwick is a freelance lecturer and writer specialising in children's writing, art and personal, social and moral education and has been described as 'the nearest thing I've seen to the Pied Piper'. Previously a headteacher in primary schools for 16 years, he has published books of poetry for both children and adults.

This is a book about the power of poetry to speak about the central themes of what it is to be a human being. The first part is an anthology of specially selected poems; the second part provides detailed notes for teachers on how to use these poems in the classroom.;The poems in the book are about morality: how we get on, or don't get on, with each other; how we feel when we are alone; the destruction of the world we live in; childhood; celebration; fear; death; mystery. Sharing these poems helps us to understand ourselves, and to express ourselves. The poems are selected to help to break down the barriers between curriculum subjects, and to be specially useful for religious education and personal, social and moral education. There is a mixture of the classic, the traditional and the new here, but all of the selected poems show the true power of poetry to express feelings about things that matter.

If you are interested in a career in teaching but not sure where to start, this book is the perfect guide. Written for anybody considering taking an initial teacher training course, this down-to-earth book is a straightforward and very helpful manual which will take you through all the stages of choosing a course, preparing for training and completing the course itself. It is a comprehensive and supportive guide to help you decide whether teaching is the career for you, and to what you can expect in the job.

Chapters include:

o What is a teacher?

o The good news about teaching - working with children

o Routes to qualified teacher status and how to choose the right one for you

o Help with study skills, including essay writing, organisation and record-keeping

o How to survive your teaching placements

o Developing your professionalism

o Coping with the bad news - teacher workload, bureaucracy and stress

o How to get your first job

Written in an engaging and humorous - but above all, supportive - style, the book is essential pre-course reading for prospective student teachers.

If you are interested in a career in teaching but not sure where to start, this book is the perfect guide. Written for anybody considering taking an initial teacher training course, this down-to-earth book is a straightforward and very helpful manual which will take you through all the stages of choosing a course, preparing for training and completing the course itself. It is a comprehensive and supportive guide to help you decide whether teaching is the career for you, and to what you can expect in the job.

Chapters include:

o What is a teacher?

o The good news about teaching - working with children

o Routes to qualified teacher status and how to choose the right one for you

o Help with study skills, including essay writing, organisation and record-keeping

o How to survive your teaching placements

o Developing your professionalism

o Coping with the bad news - teacher workload, bureaucracy and stress

o How to get your first job

Written in an engaging and humorous - but above all, supportive - style, the book is essential pre-course reading for prospective student teachers.

This resource contains inspirational lesson plans for teaching Shakespeare to students aged 11-16. Despite being dead for nearly 400 years, Shakespeare's plays and plots are very much alive in the modern curriculum. For many of those required to study him, however, their enthusiasm is dead and buried. This fantastic resource provides lessons to engage and enlighten students and is guaranteed to breathe fresh life into the language of a writer which, as his friend Ben Jonson said, is 'for all time'. Aimed at those teaching Shakespeare to students aged from 11-16, Fred Sedgwick provides tried-and-tested lessons accompanied by photocopiable resources to enable teachers to develop their good practice and inspire their students. This book is a user-friendly manual featuring activities, teaching strategies and schemes informed by current ideas about teaching and learning and the curriculum, designed to assist busy teachers. The lessons are all clearly linked to the National Curriculum requirements but the ideas are accessible and applicable to anyone studying Shakespeare at this level. The photocopiable material accompanying each activity is also available for download from the companion website. It's hard enough for teachers to fit all their marking, extra-curricular duties and training into their lives, let alone finding time to think up exciting new ways of delivering their subject to a mixed-ability class. This new series offers complete, curriculum-friendly lesson plans for busy secondary school teachers of various disciplines. Each title includes an assortment of lesson plans designed to motivate and inspire students. Each plan consists of a teacher's sheet, providing: the aims and objectives of the lesson; a lesson starter, main phase, plenary and homework ideas, each with suggested timeframes, and guidance on how to adapt the activities to make them harder or easier for gifted and talented, or less able pupils. Each plan also includes a photocopiable, or downloadable student task sheet which corresponds to the teacher's lesson plan, plus online resources including links to useful websites, material to display on the whiteboard and time-saving cheat sheets.

This is an invaluable guide to the fascinating origins of everyday words crafted into pithy annecdotes and facts. Did you know that 'aardvark' comes from the South African for 'earth pig'? Or that 'assassin' actually comes from the Arabic for 'smoker of hashish'? This book explains why 'bungalow' comes from Hindi and what exactly 'hello' is short for.It is an invaluable guide to the fascinating origins of everyday words. There are literally tens of thousands of English words with entertaining and engaging stories behind them. Tackling the topic in an anecdotal and yet thorough manner, Fred Sedgwick's pithy, interesting, upbeat and approachable "Where Words Come From" is the etymological dictionary for everyone, a book to inspire wonder, debate and laughter.

Features lists ranging from the practical, such as preparing for an interview, organising your classroom and dealing with difficulties, to the fun, such as how the children perceive you and what not to wear.

Plenty of people want to write poetry yet while it is not necessarily difficult to write poetry badly, it is harder to write it well. In this guide Fred Sedgwick explains - this numerous examples from successful poets - how the creative process works, from the initial impulse to write all the way through to the crafted and expressive poetry at the end. Fred Sedgwich is a poet, former headteacher and the author of numerous books in the areas of literature, expressive arts, education and creativity.

Part of the successful "100 Ideas" series, this book offers primary school teachers creative tips and clever suggestions that will help their pupils to develop their thinking skills. This area is gaining increasing importance within the primary classroom as pupils are required to apply their thinking not just to their school work, but also to the world in which they live.It contains one hundred ideas on how to develop children's thinking skills in the primary school. Fred takes large themes such as thinking about the world in which the child lives and suggests ways in which the teacher can help the child to think purposefully and creatively about them."The Continuum One Hundreds" series offers 100 invaluable and practical ideas for teachers of all levels.