This book will to help student and practicing teachers to understand the issues surrounding literacy, the place of transition in pupils' lives, and to feel confident in handling the National Literacy Strategy.

`Improving Literacy at KS2 and KS3 is all about primary-secondary transfer, seen mostly through the eyes of secondary teachers, but with some interesting contributions from middle-school staff who know the territory well. This book sees the NLS′s influence on primary practice as generally benign, but takes a more jaundiced view of the implications for secondary teaching, especially in its central chapter "Evidence from experienced practitioners". There are, however, many useful suggestions for reshaping and adapting parts of the strategy, including chapters on classroom literacy and everyday life and literacy and drama which consider ways of relating learning to the wider culture beyond school, including screen-based literacy. There is also a review of the language-across-the-curriculum movement and a chapter on subject literacies which has left me with an abiding admiration for geography teachers as lone voices of dissent′ - Sue Palmer, TES Teacher This book will to help students and practising teachers to understand the issues surrounding literacy, the place of transition in pupils′ lives, and to feel confident in handling The National Literacy Strategy. The book focuses on the crucial period when children complete primary schooling and begin in secondary schools. It examines the issue of transition from one phase to the other and specifically, the nature of literacy at this period. The authors contrast the `whole school′ approach of primaries to the very subject-specific nature of secondary teaching. The authors set the NLS in perspective, reviewing earlier movements such as Language across the Curriculum and the NLS itself. They offer a critique of the strategy and outline its strengths and weaknesses. The book sets out evidence of the way schools are reacting to the NLS, and what classroom teachers and their pupils think. Its coverage is comprehensive and includes focus on primary, secondary and middle schools, the teaching of literacy and English, the role of ICT, as well as important areas such as media education, drama and modern foreign languages. This book will be useful to education students and to practicing teachers in primary and secondary schools.

Reading fluency has been identified as a key component of proficient reading. Research has consistently demonstrated significant and substantial correlations between reading fluency and overall reading achievement. Despite the great potential for fluency to have a significant outcome on students’ reading achievement, it continues to be not well understood by teachers, school administrators and policy makers. The chapters in this volume examine reading fluency from a variety of perspectives. The initial chapter sketches the history of fluency as a literacy instruction component. Following chapters examine recent studies and approaches to reading fluency, followed by chapters that explore actual fluency instruction models and the impact of fluency instruction. Assessment of reading fluency is critical for monitoring progress and identifying students in need of intervention. Two articles on assessment, one focused on word recognition and the other on prosody, expand our understanding of fluency measurement. Finally, a study from Turkey explores the relationship of various reading competencies, including fluency, in an integrated model of reading. Our hope for this volume is that it may spark a renewed interest in research into reading fluency and fluency instruction and move toward making fluency instruction an even more integral part of all literacy instruction.

A comprehensive guide to the theory and practice of teaching English in secondary schools.

Presenting an informed view of current educational policy, this text encourages students of secondary English to take a creative and independent interpretation of government initiatives in order to achieve effective teaching practice. It provides a good balance of theoretical material with practical ideas for application in the classroom and strongly encourages reflection and critical thought. This new edition includes: coverage of the National Curriculum 2000, the National Literacy Strategy and the new Key Stage 3 Strategy a new chapter on how to teach ICT a new chapter on Inclusion – including differentiation, cultural diversity, EAL and teaching across the ability range new material on how to teach Shakespeare an introduction to cross-curricular themes – such as citizenship, and social, moral and spiritual values. Written in an accessible and conversational style, this text poses an excellent degree of challenge for all students on initial teacher training courses.

Cross-Curricular Teaching and Learning in the Secondary School ... English brings together ongoing debates about personalised learning, creativity and ICT in education, with a cross-curricular focus, and establishes a principled framework for cross-curricular teaching and learning English.

At a time when school-based English is in danger of becoming reductive and mechanistic, the authors of this book reconsider the fundamental philosophy of English teaching, evaluate current practice and offer a practical framework for new approaches to teaching this important subject. The authors draw on recent initiatives in the area, including the National Literacy Strategy, but also offer wider perspectives on the formation and development of both English and English teaching in a modern society. This will help teachers develop both a personal philosophy and a critical perspective on the various traditions of English teaching as well as on current initiatives and reforms. The book includes: provocative quotations from writers, artists and thinkers responses to key figures in modern educational thought exploration and development of the principle areas, illuminating key issues, tensions and opportunities practical possibilities for classroom practice. The Art of Teaching Secondary English is a practical and accessible resource for everyone involved in English teaching.