Talk Box supports teachers implementing the new curriculum, who are looking for fresh ideas with a focus on teaching talk skills, encouraging discussion and developing articulate children. It sets out different types of teaching involving children learning collaboratively through discussion with peers and centres on step-by-step lesson plans to develop hidden potential across the entire classroom.At the heart of the lesson plans is the ‘talk box’ - a collection of interesting objec...

Primary teachers need to incorporate the use of computers in their daily lesson plans, but how can this be done most effectively to promote learning skills in the classroom? In this fascinating book, Lyn Dawes and Rupert Wegerif outline a strategy for enhancing the effectiveness of computers for teaching and learning with an emphasis on:* raising pupil achievement in the core subject areas* developing collaborative learning in small groups* using group discussions as ...

Talking Points: Discussion Activities in the Primary Classroom encourages and supports classroom discussion on a range of topics, enabling children to develop the important life-skill of effective group communication. Children who can explain their own ideas and take account of the points of view and reasons of others are in the process of becoming truly educated. This book offers a straightforward way of teaching children discussion skills within the framework of a creative curri...

What do students think about Shakespeare? Classic, timeless and full of rich ideas; or difficult, impenetrable and completely uninteresting?We want young people to develop a real interest in Shakespeare, based on their understanding and engagement with the texts. A meaningful classroom discussion that enables every individual to contribute and covers a range of viewpoints, can help students’ understanding of Shakespeare’s plays, consolidate their learning, and increase their motiva...

Providing children with opportunities to talk about their learning enables teachers to hear what children are thinking. Talking with one another allows children to question, elaborate, and reflect on a range of ideas. Classroom talk can be motivating and involving, and helps children to think and learn. And yet it is difficult to organise such talk in a classroom. Children unaware of the importance of talk for learning may think of talk as ‘just chat’ – and learning falls away as they slip...

′An essential read for trainee and newly qualified teachers covering all key areas of the primary curriculum. There is a real sense of experienced and enthusiastic practitioners writing about "what makes good" and why, with lots of clear practical examples of how to put ideas into practice.′ - Jackie Keith, Deputy Head and Programme Leader for School Direct, London East Teacher Training AllianceTo be a successful teacher in primary schools you need to have...

Constructive Talk in Challenging Classrooms gives the practising teacher advice on how to make learning fun through the use of ‘talk’ and collaborative group work. Using clear examples, tried and tested in some of the most challenging classrooms in inner city schools, the book offers practical and honest advice on both the difficulties and rewards that can be gained when employing all forms of talk-based teaching in the classroom.Packed with real examples of successful tal...

This is a practical guide to reflective practice for teachers and trainee teachers in the FE and skills sector. Reflective practice is a key element of teaching and this comprehensive and accessible guide introduces and explains this area of practice for trainee and new teachers. It asks ′what is reflective practice?′ and includes an exclamation of the processes of reflection and tips on reflective writing.Many trainees and new teachers need support in reflective practice. Written ...

First Published in 2000. Based on the real-life experiences of teachers and student teachers using action research for the first time, this introductory text demystifies the issues commonly faced by the novice researcher. In an accessible and user-friendly style, the author explains how: the principles of action research can be effectively applied; small scale classroom research can discover important cues to aid learning; to implement action research in different curricular areas, individ...

Designed for students on Early Years Foundation Degrees and Early Childhood courses, Early Years professionals and Teaching Assistants, this engaging text provides a comprehensive introduction to the field of early childhood.Written and edited by experts in the field, the book clearly explains theory through illustrations of good practice, with case studies, reflective exercises and suggestions for further reading. Additional case studies and reflective questions for student or lec...

What do we mean by Active Learning?How can you inspire children to engage fully in their learning?How can you plan and organise a curriculum that ensures that children are actively involved in the learning process?This brand new text not only explores and examines the concept of active learning, but demonstrates how every teacher, new or experienced, can translate theory into practice and reap the rewards of children actively engaged in their own le...

This very popular series gives teachers practical advice and guidance, together with resource ideas and materials for the classroom.