A Practical Guide to Teaching Reading in the Early Years

Practitioners are entering a period of immense curriculum change in literacy. Teachers are being asked to adopt unfamiliar approaches to teaching reading and students are entering classrooms where these new practices are not yet established.

A Practical Guide to Teaching Reading in the Early Years will help those who work with young children, from nursery to the end of Key Stage 1, to implement the requirements of the National Literacy Strategy for reading. It examines the statutory requirements, classroom management techniques, assessment and approaches to planning for reading and places these practical considerations in the context of up-to-date thinking about learning to read. In line with recent reports about improving reading, the book focuses in detail on classroom strategies which should help practitioners to organize the curriculum for reading efficiently. It contains a number of examples of short and medium term plans for reading which are based on the work of experienced teachers and students who have been involved in the early stages of the National Literacy Project.

A Practical Guide to Teaching Reading in the Early Years is intended to meet the needs of student teachers on undergraduate and postgraduate teachr training courses. It addressses the English National Curriculum for Teacher Training as well as covering the curriculum requirements for young children. It will also be relevant to others who work in early years environments and who are concerned with developing reading in considered and knowledgable ways.