The Really Useful Literacy Book: Being Creative with Literacy in the Primary Classroom

The Really Useful Literacy Book provides inventive ideas for the classroom together with an accessible and informative summary of the theories that underpin them. Written for the primary school teacher, student or trainee teacher, this book will act as a springboard for further inspiration. The authors of this book, all highly experienced literacy specialists, show the reader how to plan units of work with flexibility and creativity, with reference to the literacy learning objectives of the Primary National Strategy. They offer a number of imaginative literacy units based on exciting ideas that are designed to motivate, engage and challenge children in classrooms.

This fully updated second edition contains a brand new chapter based on working with museums and galleries in order to expand children’s literary creativity. Using as their base three ‘big ideas’ – contexts and coherence, motivation, and content and process – the authors lead the reader through a set of principles and practices which, when applied to familiar elements of the literacy strategy, will encourage teachers to formulate their own exciting, creative and flexible literacy teaching.

Among the literacy areas covered are:

• Narrative
• Non-fiction
• Traditional tales
• Poems
• Spoken and written language.

This lively, stimulating book is an essential companion for teachers in Foundation, Key Stages 1 and 2, and those on initial teacher training courses who want to develop their literacy practice. In addition it is extremely useful for literacy leaders looking to develop whole school approaches in primary schools.

Tony Martin, Chira Lovat and Glynis Purnell work in the Educational Development

Unit of the University of Cumbria. Tony Martin (with Mick Waters) is author of

Coordinating English at Key Stage 2 (RoutledgeFalmer, 1999).