Drama and Reading for Meaning Ages 4-11 contains over 40 creative drama ideas to help develop reading for meaning in the primary school. The wide range of clearly explained, structured and engaging drama activities will appeal to all primary practitioners who wish to develop more creative approaches to the teaching of reading. The activities show how drama can develop some of the skills associated with reading for meaning such as empathising with characters’ feelings, exploring settings and themes and making inferences based on evidence. The step-by-step activities range from familiar classroom drama strategies such as freeze-frames and hot-seating to less well-known approaches involving whole class drama experiences. The book also serves as an introduction to using drama as a learning medium, with advice on how to set the ground rules and clear explanations of the drama strategies. Each chapter has a detailed explanation of what to do, followed by a number of examples linked to quality texts, including poetry and non-fiction. From bringing books to life in reception and Years 1 and 2, to peeling back the layers of meanings in Years 3 to 6, all the drama activities in this book are designed to improve reading for meaning and help motivate children to read for pleasure, making this an essential resource for all primary settings.

Drama and Writing Ages 5-11 is a practical guide for teachers to develop and inspire writing through using drama in the classroom. Each of the ten chapters provides step-by-step guidance and creative prompts for writing that apply to both key stage one and key stage two, enabling teachers to motivate their pupils by creating meaningful contexts, audiences and purposes to encourage writing. With a wide range of ideas to apply to the classroom, from simple classroom strategies to more complex units of work, this book is suitable for all teachers – including those who hold limited experience of using drama in the classroom. Including key definitions of drama strategies and practical advice to apply to the classroom, chapters are presented in two parts: Part I provides short and simple drama strategies to act as a helping hand, stimulating the focus of a writing lesson Part II provides longer dramatic contexts with a compelling sense of audience and purpose, including a range of opportunities for writing. These prompts may span two or more lessons Drama and Writing Ages 5-11 is an essential read for any primary school teacher seeking practical strategies to incorporate drama into the classroom, teaching the craft of writing in a creative, fun and meaningful way.

What does it mean to teach English creatively to primary school children? Teaching English Creatively encourages and enables teachers to adopt a more creative approach to the teaching of English in the primary school. Fully updated to reflect the changing UK curricula, the third edition of this popular text explores research-informed practice and offers new ideas to imaginatively engage readers, writers, speakers and listeners. Underpinned by up-to-date theory and research and illustrated throughout with more examples of children’s work, it examines the core elements of creative practice and how to explore powerful literary, non-fiction, visual and digital texts creatively. Key themes addressed include: • Developing creativity in and through talk and drama • Creatively engaging readers and writers • Teaching grammar and comprehension imaginatively and in context • Profiling meaning and purpose, autonomy, collaboration and play • Planning, reviewing and celebrating literacy learning • Ensuring the creative involvement of the teacher Inspiring, accessible and connected to current challenges and new priorities in education, Teaching English Creatively puts contemporary and cutting-edge practice at the forefront and includes a wealth of innovative ideas to enrich English teaching. Written by an experienced author with extensive experience of initial teacher education and English teaching in the primary school, it is an invaluable resource for any teacher who wishes to embed creative approaches to teaching in their classroom.

Roz the robot discovers that she is alone on a remote, wild island with no memory of where she is from or why she is there, and her only hope of survival is to try to learn about her new environment from the island's hostile inhabitants.

Drama at the Heart of English is unique in its exploration of drama’s potential to revitalise English as a secondary school subject. It focuses specifically on the value and inclusive nature of educational drama practices in the reading of literary, dramatic and multimodal texts in the English classroom. Examples from the authors’ research show English teachers working in the drama-in-English mode with real learners as part of their everyday classroom activity. Challenging current curriculum and assessment constraints, the authors argue that drama-in-English pedagogy re-establishes English as a creative, imaginative and interactive subject. This book: offers a blend of theory and practice to demonstrate the powerful potential of drama-in-English proposes that drama is a uniquely sustainable form of learning in English when fully integrated into the daily work of classroom teachers highlights the intrinsic connection that exists between drama and the playful qualities of literary texts analyses landmark moments and key policy shifts that have shaped the development of the relationship between drama and English over time This resource is for all educators interested in and passionate about the field of English and Language Arts. It is a must-read for the international academic community of researchers, practitioners, teacher-educators and teachers of English, as well as student-teachers of English/Media/Drama.

Llama Llama holidays. Jingle music. Lights ablaze. How long till that special date? Llama Llama has to wait. If there's one thing Llama Llama doesn't like, it's waiting. He and Mama Llama rush around, shopping for presents, baking cookies, decorating the tree . . . but how long is it until Christmas? Will it ever come? Finally, Llama Llama just can't wait any more! It takes a cuddle from Mama Llama to remind him that "Gifts are nice, but there's another: The true gift is, we have each other."

How do we save play in a standard-driven educational environment? This edited collection, Play and Literacy: Play & Culture Studies provides a direct answer and solutions to this question. Researchers and theorists have argued for decades that play is the best way to learn language and literacy for children. This book provides theoretical and historical foundation of connection between play and literacy, applied research studies as well as practical strategies to connect play and literacy in early childhood and in teacher education. This book features chapters on the history of play and literacy research, book-play paradigm, play in digital writing, book-based play activities, play-based reader responses, classroom dynamics affecting literacy learning in play, and using play with adults in teacher education such as drama-based instruction. Variety of chapters addressing the strong connection between play and literacy will satisfy the readers who seek to understand the relationship between play and literacy and implement ways to use play to support language and literacy.