This practical teaching resource has been designed to give children aged 9-12 the basic tools required to challenge some of the conflicting information which they may encounter in everyday life. With increasing exposure to modern information technology and social media, amongst other things, children are increasingly exposed to misleading information that can seriously influence their worldview and self-esteem. The sooner they are helped to approach some of this material with a critical eye, the better they will be able to make independent judgements and resist undue persuasion. Key features of this book include: * Short texts designed to give opportunities for critical examination, created to be points of discussion with individuals, groups or whole classes * Topics covering seven areas of critical thought, ordered in level of difficulty, including finding contradictions, and detecting bias and fake news * Supporting teacher prompts and questions, as well as photocopiable resources without prompts The ability to question and evaluate information is an essential life skill, as well as a key skill for academic learning, yet it remains one of the most challenging aspects of comprehension to teach. This is a vital text for teachers, teaching assistants and other professionals looking to develop critical thinking skills in their students.

Making Good Communicators completes a quartet of resource books for teachers, teaching assistant and speech and language therapists. This resource offers activities which promote the specific areas of communication that underpin all areas of learning, including emotional literacy. By the upper end of Key Stage 2 it is assumed that children will have developed competence in effective communication. However it is now recognised that many children need targeted help to develop these skills. This sourcebook covers the key areas outlined in the Spoken Language National Curriculum. It offers practitioners easy access to a range of activities that can be used in a variety of settings, eg whole class, large or small group or pairs.

"Achieving Speech & Language Targets" is a practical resource book for Special Needs Coordinators (SENCOs), teachers, teaching assistants and speech & language therapists who are working with children who have significant language delay and who are in their first year at school. Checklists provide professionals with a shared reference from which both broad special needs areas and specific speech and language targets can be identified. The authors emphasise the crucial role of play in language development and the book offers more than 200 games and activities to help children achieve their targets for each stage using a simple, structured layout. The book offers: advice on how to draw up effective Individual Education Plans (IEPs); checklists which enable the user to identify a child's problems in the areas of: understanding language; using spoken language; and, developing speech sounds; a wide range of games, songs and rhymes to help children achieve specific targets; teaching ideas & targets, key vocabulary lists, and activity areas for each stage; a resources section containing photocopiable activity sheets; games & rhymes; a booklist; techniques used by speech & language therapists to encourage understanding and use of language; and, a dictionary of terms that refer to speech & language. This is an essential tool for busy teaching staff. Many of the activities can take place in the context of the everyday curriculum and include a range of play opportunities designed to make learning interesting and dynamic. Almost all activities can be carried out using equipment that is readily available in early years' classrooms.

This practical teaching resource has been designed to give children aged 9-12 the basic tools required to challenge some of the conflicting information which they may encounter in everyday life. With increasing exposure to modern information technology and social media, amongst other things, children are increasingly exposed to misleading information that can seriously influence their worldview and self-esteem. The sooner they are helped to approach some of this material with a critical eye, the better they will be able to make independent judgements and resist undue persuasion. Key features of this book include: * Short texts designed to give opportunities for critical examination, created to be points of discussion with individuals, groups or whole classes * Topics covering seven areas of critical thought, ordered in level of difficulty, including finding contradictions, and detecting bias and fake news * Supporting teacher prompts and questions, as well as photocopiable resources without prompts The ability to question and evaluate information is an essential life skill, as well as a key skill for academic learning, yet it remains one of the most challenging aspects of comprehension to teach. This is a vital text for teachers, teaching assistants and other professionals looking to develop critical thinking skills in their students.

Developing Baseline Communication Skills is a practical resource designed to fit with baseline assessments in primary school. The second edition of this bestselling resource contains a programme of games and activities to foster personal and social development, and promote language and literacy skills in 3-5 year olds. The book seeks to address language and communication difficulties for children coming into reception class by providing a range of fun and engaging activities. Suitable for whole classes or small groups of children, the activities focus on both personal, social, emotional development as well as language and literacy in areas such as body language, independence, turn taking, listening, speaking and auditory memory. Features include: 200 games and activities which are differentiated for different ages and levels of ability; A clear aim, equipment list and instructions for each activity; Photocopiable templates for ease of use; Supplementary resource sheets including pictures and scripts to use with the activities. Now fully revised and updated in line with current policy and legislation, this book is suitable for young children in any school setting including nurseries, playgroups and reception classes. It also includes material that may be used as an effective part of a speech and language therapy programme in consultation with a therapist. This is a unique manual that will be an essential addition to the materials used by professionals working with young children.

Reading Between the Lines Set Two is a sequel to the popular Reading Between the Lines. It is a resource book for teachers, teaching assistants, SENCOs and Speech and Language Therapists who need to support the development of inference skills in children aged 8-12. These unique guides offer accessible and easy-to-use material specifically targeted to improve inference, which is a crucial element in understanding spoken and written language. The book provides 370 engaging texts themed around different areas such as place and occupation, and includes short stories about everyday events, magic and adventure. Each short text is accompanied by guiding questions and is carefully graded to allow students to gradually progress from more simple texts with highlighted clues onto more challenging scenarios which will require higher level inferencing skills. Containing handy photocopiable material, this guide can be used with whole classes, small groups or individual children. It will be particularly valuable to professionals working with children who have Autism Spectrum Disorders or Speech, Language and Communication Needs, who need particular support with inference as they develop their broader social communication skills.

This book is designed for teachers and speech & language therapists working in the fields of language and literacy, and concerned with developing inferencing skills in their students. The ability to draw inference is a crucial element in the comprehension of written language, and this resource will be a valuable aid in mainstream classes throughout Key Stage 2. It is especially appropriate for work with children with speech, language and communication needs and those on the autistic spectrum, who are likely to have particular difficulty understanding inference. The book contains a collection of 300 texts which are graded and lead the student gradually from simple tasks with picture support and plentiful clues to more challenging scenarios where true inference is required. The texts can be used with whole classes, groups and individual children.

Understanding and Using Spoken Language is a collection of original games and activities designed to help and support children aged from 7 to 9 years. The book seeks to address language and communication diffi culties for children aged 7-9 by providing a range of fun and engaging activities. The activities focus on both social and language development in areas such as body language, independence, emotions, listening, speaking and auditory memory. The book includes: Over 150 games and activities, which are differentiated for different ages and levels of ability; A clear aim, equipment list and instructions for each activity; Photocopiable templates for ease of use; Supplementary resource sheets including pictures and scripts to use with the activities. Now fully revised and updated in line with current policy and legislation, this book includes material to create an effective speech and language therapy programme in consultation with a therapist. The activities are easy to set up and can be carried out by teachers, classroom assistants or volunteers. This is a unique manual that will be an essential addition to the materials used by professionals working with young children.

Speaking, Listening and Understanding is a practical resource packed full of games to improve young children’s communication skills. The second edition of this bestselling resource contains a programme of games and activities to foster the speaking, listening and understanding skills of children aged from 5 to 7 years. The book seeks to address language and communication difficulties for primary-aged children by providing a range of fun and engaging activities. Suitable for whole classes or small groups of children, the activities focus on both understanding and using language in areas such as following instructions, thinking skills, inference, describing, narrating and playing with words.

Features include:

 160 games and activities which are differentiated by stages and levels of ability;

 A clear aim, equipment list and instructions for each activity;

 Photocopiable templates for ease of use;

 Supplementary resource sheets including pictures and scripts to use with the activities.

Now fully revised and updated in line with current policy and legislation, this book is suitable for young children in any school setting. It also includes material that may be used as an effective part of a speech and language therapy programme in consultation with a therapist. This is a unique manual that will be an essential addition to the materials used by professionals working with young children.

Table of Contents

Part 1: Understanding Spoken Language

Following Instructions

Developing Vocabulary

Getting the Main Idea

Thinking Skills

Drawing Inference

Part 2: Using Spoken Language

Describing

Explaining

Narrating

Predicting

Playing with Words

Part 3: Teaching Resources/