As ever, we’re astonished at the calibre of new literature that is sent to us from publishers and publicists alike at Literacy Tree HQ for review. It’s always incredibly difficult to choose just a few of the titles. Nonetheless, we’ve…
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We have been writing our Christmas Bibliotherapies for many years now; books that we feel would make perfect literary presents for Christmas. To accompany these festive recommendations, we wanted to compile a seasonal book list as there have been…
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Every year at Literacy Tree we do our December Literature Review a little differently to those of other months: team members of Literacy Tree are invited to choose and review a book. Every year there’s always at least one book…
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Nostalgia is a powerful thing: a memory evoked, sometimes triggered by a sight, scent or song can transport us back to another place in time: time-travel. And isn’t that what we want a text with strong historical links to do?…
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In this instalment of our ‘How to use…’ series, we explore the wider offer of Literacy Tree by having a look at the Catch-up Writing Roots. What is the purpose of the Catch-up Writing Roots? The Catch-up Writing Roots can…
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Last month saw the publication of We Need to Talk, the report of the Independent Oracy Education Commission on the future of Oracy Education in England. Oracy is something very close to our hearts here at Literacy Tree. The Commission’s…
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Humans and animals are innately curious about the world but are we innately kind? In one of this month’s books that we’ve reviewed (There’s no such thing as a Silly Question) this could even be one of the questions asked.…
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On 8th October, Ofsted published ‘Strong foundations in the first years of school’, a research report which examines how schools can secure the foundational knowledge and skills that every child needs by the end of key stage 1. This report…
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If you were to play a game of Literacy Tree bingo of the key terms we commonly use, you’d be placing a safe bet if you chose ‘live modelling’ as one of your options. We talk about live modelling a…
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This half term, a key theme to many conversations in both inset training and consultancy days has been the power of instant publishing. Instant publishing is sometimes mistaken as something gimmicky or something that can be brushed over, but when…
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Our online half-day pedagogy workshops have continued to prove a hit with our membership schools this term! Our consultants have been busy working with teachers across the country and beyond, supporting them to develop their understanding of and expertise in…
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Literature, through the act of storytelling, plays a vital role in unravelling history for children. Historical books in all their variety not only present the facts of the past but influence how children view the world, themselves and their hopes…
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One of the most important roles we play for the children in our lives is to guide them to develop a strong sense of self. Identity can be such a tricky thing to nurture: children learn from parents, family, teachers…
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As many children excitedly prepare to come back to school, teachers will be putting the final touches to their classrooms. Trays will have been labelled, pencils sharpened, the glue sticks and felt tip pens organised and, probably for the last…
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Change is afoot with children (and teachers!) heading back to school. there’ll be excitement for some; nerves for others. Some children will take the new school year as an opportunity for a fresh start; others will seek comfort in being…
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The 2014 Curriculum has posed many challenges for teachers and one of the most pressing is ensuring the breadth of coverage in spelling and vocabulary acquisition. There are a hundred words in each KS2 wordlist and multiple spelling rules to…
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Starting a new school year can be an exciting time for primary-aged children. There will often be a new teacher, a new classroom and a new timetable for children to get used to, as well as all of the new…
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At Literacy Tree, we are huge advocates of the value of wordless texts. Communicating through pictures on cave walls was the very first form of storytelling some 40,000 years ago, so this ancestral literary legacy living on must mean something.…
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KS: Lower KS2
Year Group: Year 4
