Table of Contents

Introduction

Part 1: Spoken Language

1. Developing talk

2. Spoken language for teaching and learning

3. Storytelling, drama and role play

4. Planning for developing and assessing speaking and listening

Part 2: Reading

5. Perspectives on learning to read

6. Reading for pleasure

7. Early reading including phonics

8. Comprehension

9. Describing and assessing progress in reading

10. Poetry

Part 3: Writing

11. What writing involves

12. Writing composition

13. Spelling and handwriting

14. Grammar and punctuation

15. Responding to and assessing writing

Part 4: Twenty-first century literacies

16. Digital literacy

17. Multimodality

18. Critical literacy

About the Author

Eve Bearne was a project officer for the National Writing Project after working for 20 years in schools and colleges. She then worked at Homerton College, University of Cambridge as a senior lecturer in language and Assistant Director in Research before moving to the University Faculty of Education as a researcher and lecturer. Eve was President of the United Kingdom Literacy Association from 2003–2005 and is a Fellow of the English Association. She has written and edited many books on English, literacy and children’s literature, the most recent of which include Teaching Grammar Effectively in the Primary Classroom (2nd Edition, 2020 UKLA) and Talk for Teaching and Learning: The Dialogic Classroom (UKLA 2021), both with David Reedy.

David Reedy is past President of the UK Literacy Association (UKLA). Until 2014 he was Principal Adviser for primary schools in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Publications include Talk for Teaching and Learning: The Dialogic Classroom (UKLA 2021) and Teaching Grammar Effectively in the Primary Classroom (2nd Edition, 2020 UKLA) with Eve Bearne and Guiding Readers: A Handbook for Teaching Reading Comprehension to 7–11 Year Olds (2016 UCL IoE Press) with Wayne Tennant, Nikki Gamble and Angela Hobsbaum. David is a Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching.

Paul Gardner is a senior lecturer in primary English in the School of Education, Curtin University. From 2019–2022 he was a lead researcher in the Centre for Excellence in the explicit teaching of literacy, funded by the State Government of Western Australia. He is currently a board member of the Primary English Teachers Association of Australia (PETAA), Vice-President of the Western Australian Institute for Educational Research (WAIER) and is the UK Literacy Association (UKLA) Country Ambassador to Australia. Paul has written five books and numerous book chapters on English. His journal articles have appeared in: Cambridge Journal of Education, Literacy, English in Education, English in Australia, Australian Journal of English Education and Arena.

Yvonne (Von) Sawers is a senior lecturer in primary English in the School of Education, Curtin University. From 2019–2022 she was a lead researcher in the Centre for Excellence in the explicit teaching of literacy, funded by the State Government of Western Australia. Von was a manager in the Office of Early Childhood for the Department of Education Western Australia and a literacy specialist. Von’s classroom teaching was predominantly with young children.