Year 2 Home-school Unit: Alfie’s Star

In this unit by Sue Cove, children can explore engaging, fun and purposeful activities based around a story about a star that falls to earth and is found by a hedgehog, an owl and a badger. Each of them use it in a different way and once the star has helped them all it returns to the sky.

Transforming Learning Across the Curriculum by Julia Strong and Pie Corbett

This guide to making language across the curriculum a practical reality, takes you step-by-step through the Talk for Writing process, showing how to adapt it to suit the linguistic demands of all subject areas. It illustrates how to get students from nine to nineteen to internalise the varying linguistic demands of all subject areas by talking their way to understanding.

Rosenshine’s Principles in Action – by Tom Sherrington

Rosenshine's Principles in Action front cover

Pie says: “This little book is about the research-based principles of effective teaching. It is brief, easy to read and clearly sets out the core practices. When I read it, I realised that all of them underpin Talk for Writing and Reading and can be applied and developed in any school. A little gem.”

Which Book and Why: Using Books Bands and book levels for guided reading in Key Stage 1 – edited by Sue Bodman and Glen Franklin

We want all children to love reading, and Which Book and Why demonstrates how effective guided reading for children in Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 can help teachers make this happen. Balancing theory and practice, this book explores how schools and teachers can implement guided reading more confidently and more effectively. Which Book and Why draws together the teaching pedagogy underpinning guided reading. …

Descriptosaurus – by Alison Wilcox

Descriptosaurus front cover

Descriptosaurus positions the word, zooms in on it to examine the meaning, expands it into phrases, and then provides alternatives in words, phrases and sentences. The model was created and refined over a number of years as a result of feedback from children inside and outside the classroom as to the resources they required to inspire and assist them with their …

A First Poetry Book – by Pie Corbett and Gaby Morgan

A First Poetry Book is a wonderful introduction to poetry. It includes hundreds of brand-new poems from the very best poets around, and some timeless gems too. Arranged by topic, it includes poems about: fairies, mermaids and princesses; monsters, mythical creatures and dinosaurs; transport; pets and animals; families; seasons and weather; school; people who help us; pirates; the senses; space; feelings; holidays and festivals; …

Time to Talk: Implementing Outstanding Practice in Speech, Language and Communication – by Jean Gross

Time to Talk front cover

Time to Talk provides a powerful and accessible resource for practitioners working to improve children’s language and communication skills. Showcasing effective approaches in schools and settings across the country from the early years through primary and secondary education, it summarises research on what helps children and young people develop good communication skills, and highlights the importance of key factors: a place to …

The Works 4 – chosen by Pie Corbett and Gaby Morgan

The Works 4 front cover

The Works 4 is divided into twenty-six alphabetical sections featuring poems about: The ark and other creatures, boys’ stuff, celebrations and festivals, dinosaurs, dragons and dodos, elements, seasons and the natural world, friends and families, girls’ stuff, home life, impossible and incredible, journeys, kissing and other things best avoided, love, death, war and peace, monsters, ghosts and ghouls, nonsense, ourselves and others, people and places, queens, kings and historical stuff, rescuing the world, senses and feeling, teachers, unpleasant things, viewpoint, wonder, x-words and wordplay, young and old, and zapping aliens.