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 - fi...

"A marvellous book of great practical value" – James CarterThe 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 litera...

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 thei...

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 lesso...

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 p...

This exciting and accessible book offers techniques for introducing some of Shakespeare’s plays to children between the ages of nine and twelve.

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; and mystery. Sharing these ...

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,...

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 Re...

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 ...

"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 manifestoIn Learning Outside the Primary Classroom, the educationalist and writer Fred Sedg...