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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Some of our schools have already broken up for the summer; some abroad take their longer holiday at other times of the year but here in England, sun shining (finally!) many schools finish this Friday. Some lucky children will be…
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As we launch our brand-new Whole School Writing Root into the world, we’re excited at the prospect of children and teachers experiencing the joy of Poonam Mistry’s stunning book, The Midnight Panther. Dedicated to ‘anyone who has ever felt different’,…
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Staff summer bibliotherapy July 2024 At this time of year, with the summer holidays fast approaching, we’re thinking about what we might want to read during those (hopefully!) long sunny days and balmy evenings. Possibly sitting beside water, where the…
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In this instalment of our “How to use...’ series, we explore answers to the question ‘We love it all… but how do we fit it all in?’ Literacy Tree can be used as a whole school provision from Reception to…
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This blog post follows on from Impactful Moderation Conversations: Part 1, in which we discussed the value of writing moderation and explored key factors to consider when setting up for internal moderation. In this blog post, we will share a…
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We know that the second half of the Summer Term is a busy time for assessment in primary schools. As the academic year begins to draw to a close, there is a focus on ensuring that end-of-year assessment judgements accurately…
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In the next instalment of our ‘How to Use’ series, we take a look at some of the key documents from our Subject Leaders’ Toolkit which are designed to work alongside the curriculum maps to support schools with text selection:…
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A recent dinner-time conversation with a couple of tweens associated with Literacy Tree led to a brilliantly in-depth discussion around the origins of Pride. The catalyst? One child’s peer, during Personal Development time, which, at this particular secondary school happens…
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We are living through a period where LGBTQIA+ people are yet again having to fight for their right to exist and be represented, and this has unsurprisingly permeated through to a discussion around which books are ‘appropriate’ to share with…
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Representation is important and we believe it's vital that children see their realities reflected in literature and that they have the opportunity to learn about the history of significant LGBTQ+ people. Many of the LGBTQ+ children's books here have existed…
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In this latest instalment of our How to Use series, we look at the Literacy Tree Classroom Toolkit. The Classroom Toolkit can be found in the Member Resources section of the website and has a wealth of resources that can…
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