Mary Myatt

Brings the teaching of conceptual knowledge, vocabulary and challenging literature to the foreground and shows teachers how to develop students reading and writing proficiency over time. Making Every English Lesson Count: Six Principles to Support Great Reading and Writing goes in search of answers to the fundamental question that all English teachers must ask: What can I do to help my students to become confident and competent readers and writers? Writing in the practical, engaging style of the award-winning Making Every Lesson Count, Andy Tharby returns with an offering of gimmick-free advice that combines the time-honoured wisdom of excellent English teachers with the most useful evidence from cognitive science. The book is underpinned by six pedagogical principles challenge, explanation, modelling, practice, feedback and questioning and provides simple, realistic classroom strategies to bring the teaching of conceptual knowledge, vocabulary and challenging literature to the foreground. It also points a sceptical finger at the fashions and myths that have pervaded English teaching over the past decade or so such as the idea that English is a skills-based subject and the belief that students can make huge progress in a single lesson. Instead, Andy advocates an approach of artful repetition and consolidation and shows you how to help your students develop their reading and writing proficiency over time. Making Every English Lesson Count is for new and experienced English teachers alike. It does not pretend to be a magic bullet. It does not claim to have all the answers. Rather the aim of the book is to provide effective strategies designed to help you to bring the six principles to life, with each chapter concluding in a series of questions to inspire reflective thought and help you relate the content to your classroom practice. In an age of educational quick fixes, GCSE reform and ever-moving goalposts, this precise and timely addition to the Making Every Lesson Count series provides practical solutions to perennial problems and inspires a rich, challenging and evidence-informed approach to English teaching. Suitable for English teachers of students aged 11 16 years.

The Big Ideas in Physics and How to Teach Them provides all of the knowledge and skills you need to teach physics effectively at secondary level. Each chapter provides the historical narrative behind a Big Idea, explaining its significance, the key figures behind it, and its place in scientific history. Accompanied by detailed ready-to-use lesson plans and classroom activities, the book expertly fuses the ‘what to teach’ and the ‘how to teach it', creating an invaluable resource which contains not only a thorough explanation of physics, but also the applied pedagogy to ensure its effective translation to students in the classroom. Including a wide range of teaching strategies, archetypal assessment questions and model answers, the book tackles misconceptions and offers succinct and simple explanations of complex topics. Each of the five big ideas in physics are covered in detail: electricityforcesenergyparticlesthe universe.Aimed at new and trainee physics teachers, particularly non-specialists, this book provides the knowledge and skills you need to teach physics successfully at secondary level, and will inject new life into your physics teaching.

Universities in the Middle Ages focused on three skills to develop the intellectual abilities of students, one - grammar, two - logic, and three - rhetoric. In this well-researched and fascinating work discover how these three tenets are as relevant in education today as they were eight hundred years ago. Martin Robinson has taught for twenty years in state schools in London, as a teacher, head of department, head of faculty, assistant head teacher, and AST. He's now an entrepreneur, company director, and playwright interested in developing creativity in schools. Education policy and practice is a battleground. Traditionalists argue for the teaching of a privileged type of hard knowledge and deride soft skills. Progressives deride learning about great works of the past, preferring soft 21st century skills such as creativity and critical thinking. By looking at the great thinkers from Ancient Greece to the present day and through interviews with opinion formers, policy makers and practitioners, including Alain de Botton, Daniel T. Willingham, Matthew Taylor and Elizabeth Truss MP, this book explores whether a contemporary trivium (Grammar, Dialectic and Rhetoric) can unite institutions, teachers, politicians and parents in the common pursuit of providing a great education for our children in the 21st century. Martin Robinson sets out on a quest to discover the kind of education he wishes for his daughter and we all learn a great deal in the process. I love his writing: wise, well informed, provocative, thinking-out-loud. Robinson engages his reader from first to last. A terrific feat. Melissa Benn, writer and author of School Wars: The Battle for Britain’s Education Trivium 21c is essential reading for all educators and observers of the seemingly endless public debate about education who wish to go beyond simplistic polarities and find a way to integrate and relate in a historical context seemingly contradictory approaches. Ian Bauckham, Head Teacher and President, Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) 2013-14 In schools today a focus on contemporary relevance too often trumps educational depth. Martin Robinson makes a compelling case that turning instead to the tradition of the liberal arts can open the minds of a new generation. Marc Sidwell, co-author of The School of Freedom, Managing Editor City A.M. For the open-minded reader there is much to learn. I agree with Robinson that for students to acquire a sound blend of knowledge, questioning expertise, and communication skills (i.e. the trivium) is the basis of a great education. Dr Jacek Brant, Head of Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment (CPA), Senior Lecturer in Business Education, Institute of Education, University of London Anybody interested in education, citizenship, or how we want our children to learn would find this a thought-provoking read. Sunder Katwala, Director of British Future, the independent think tank After 20 years working in London in state schools – as teacher, head of department, AST, senior leader and QCA associate with a focus on creativity – Martin Robinson is now a parent, writer and consultant with an interest in how the arts should influence education.

Written by Chris Curtis, 'How to Teach: English: Novels, non-fiction and their artful navigation' is jam-packed with enlivening ideas to help teachers make the subject of English more intellectually challenging for students - and to make it fun too! Never underestimate your duty and power as a teacher of English. English teachers help students to think and feel. They prompt them to reflect on their actions. They hold a mirror to society and inspire students to see how they can make it better. What other subject does that? This insightful interpretation of what makes excellent secondary school English teaching is the work of a man whose humility fails to hide his brilliance and provides educators with a sophisticated yet simple framework upon which to hook their lessons. Covering poetry, grammar, Shakespeare and how to teach writing, Chris Curtis has furnished every page of this book with exciting ideas that can be put into practice immediately. Each chapter presents a store of practical strategies to help students in key areas - providing apposite examples, teaching sequences and the rationale behind them - and has been accessibly laid out so that teachers can pinpoint the solutions they need without having to spend an age wading through academic theory and pontification. The book explores the wealth of learning opportunities that can be derived from both classic and more contemporary literature and offers expert guidance on how teachers can exploit their own chosen texts to best effect with their students. Furthermore, it is replete with ready-to-use approaches that will help teachers upgrade their lesson planning, enhance their classroom practice and ensure that the content they cover sticks in their students heads for months and years afterwards. Suitable for all English teachers of students aged 11-18.

In A Step-by-Step Guide to Mark Making in the Early Years, internationally renowned teacher trainer Sue Cowley takes practitioners on a journey: the journey young children embark upon when they learn their first words and make their first marks. Filled with practical activities and honest advice, this must-have guide presents a wide range of creative approaches to developing mark making and building language skills in the Early Years. With ideas to build finger strength and eye-to-hand coordination, activities for understanding the concept of symbols and signs and strategies for building confidence in reading and writing including talk and drama, you'll find a variety of techniques to develop children's key skills and motivation. Sue also includes full-colour photographs and examples of early marks to illustrate how young children's communication skills develop. There are tips for getting boys engaged in writing and a companion website with downloadable resources and useful links. A Step-by-Step Guide to Mark Making in the Early Years is an invaluable source of inspiration for all those working with children aged three to seven.

Written by Haili Hughes, Mentoring in Schools: How to become an expert colleague is an all-encompassing guide to becoming a valued in-school mentor. Forewords by Professor Rachel Lofthouse and Reuben Moore. With low early career teacher retention rates and the introduction of the Department for Education’s new Early Career Framework, the role of mentor has never been so important in helping to keep teachers secure and happy in the classroom. Haili Hughes, a former senior leader with years of school mentoring experience, was involved in the consultation phase of the framework’s design – and in this book she imparts her wisdom on the subject in an accessible way. Haili offers busy teachers a practical interpretation of how to work with the Early Career Framework, sharing practical guidance to help them in the vital role of supporting new teachers. She also shares insights from recent trainee teachers, as well as more established voices in education, to provide tried-and-tested transferable tips that can be used straight away. Each chapter is based on a standard from the framework and begins by exploring the research which underpins the guidance, before then providing a summary of findings from the focus groups which link to the standard discussed. This leads on to a section which draws all the findings together to give practical advice and guidance for activities, reading and strategies that mentors can try with their early career teacher. Suitable for school-based mentors in primary or secondary settings, as well as those working in initial teacher training provision.