Children’s use of language comes to life when it has a clear audience and purpose – not just because it is an English lesson or because they must tick their way through a checklist, but rather because they are acutely…
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Last term, we began exploring the various considerations needed when choosing which books to use at different points across the school year. In the second part of the blog, we will examine further some of the aspects to take into…
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At Literacy Tree, we believe that it’s crucial for children to encounter a wide range of lives, experiences and cultures through the texts that they read. Diversity to us doesn’t mean ticking a box. It means telling children that people…
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Over the last year, we have added new Writing Roots to our overall Reception provision. These include the beautifully illustrated Ning and the Night Pirates by the talented Adriena Fong as well as the heart warming And Tango makes Three…
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Deciding which texts to use across different parts of the year is one of our favourite things to do with our schools. While we hope that our suggested curriculum maps give schools a starting point with which to work, we…
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In the first of our How to Use series we look at the curriculum maps. This simple guide looks at how to interpret curriculum maps to meet the needs of your own setting. Schools and individual teachers may…
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We were thrilled to send our brand-new Whole School Writing Root into the world earlier this month when it was shared with our lovely subject leaders. And several of our schools have already said that they’re going to explore this…
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Reading matters. As one of the opening sentences in the DFE’s Reading Framework states, “To the individual, it matters emotionally, culturally and educationally; because of the economic impacts within society, it matters to everyone”. Following the initial release of the…
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Teaching through a text is an inclusive model of teaching reading and writing, allowing everyone in the class to become immersed in the world of a rich, high-quality text. This shared experience is central to our ethos at Literacy Tree.…
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At Literacy Tree, we are passionate about the inclusivity of our Teach Through a Text approach. The texts we select, from picture books to novels are chosen because of their quality language, rich themes and diverse characters. By selecting…
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At Literacy Tree, we are passionate about having carefully designed sequences which demonstrate a clear and coherent journey through a high-quality text. For us, the process is key to the outcomes. As children ‘travel’ through the text, we want them…
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Writing Across the Curriculum At Literacy Tree we are always weaving opportunities into our Planning Sequences to write for a range of purposes and audiences with links to multiple curriculum areas. While our text choices are organised…
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Here, at Literacy Tree, we adore non-fiction literature and strongly believe we are living in a golden age of non-fiction publishing. Many recently-published, non-fiction books are presenting information in engaging, innovative ways that are sure to open up new worlds…
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Dan is an Assistant Principal at Yew Tree Primary Academy with the responsibilities of leading whole school curriculum, assessment, and English. He is also the Lead KS2 Moderator for Knowsley as well as being a Literacy Tree Lead Teacher. Literary…
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The first school I ever taught in was a stone’s throw from the sea, in an area of significant deprivation on the South Coast. Safe to assume then, as a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed NQT, that our first topic of ‘Seaside…
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There are a lot of big changes for children to deal with in a new school year – some exciting, some daunting: new teacher; new routines; new things to learn and of course new books to read. Whilst thoughtful, planned…
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We were so pleased to hear the news that the wonderful poet, playwright and author, Joseph Coelho has been named the new Children’s Laureate. We have had the pleasure of working with Joseph and seeing him in action during school…
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We are often asked how to support children to be independent writers, especially as moderation and end-of-year assessments loom. The concept of supporting children towards independence could sound like a contradiction-in-terms, but it is a concept that underpins all our…
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