When you explore the history and roots of a word – the etymology – you draw upon a rich story that can unlock understanding for our pupils in science, maths, geography, and …
The Surprising Secret of School Improvement
“In education, the only way to improve is to stop people doing good things, to give them time to do even better things.” Dylan Wiliam It appears like a trite piece of …
Closing the Reading Gap: ResearchED Home
On the 22nd of May, I had the great pleasure to join the researchEd Home gang to talk ‘Closing the Reading Gap (in the time of Coronavirus)’. A couple of years ago, …
Thinking about School Transition
Moving from primary school to secondary school, nursery to school, or school to college, is a seismic change for any child. The transition can be both exciting and frightening. As Covid closures …
5 Recent Articles on the Reading Gap
Over the past couple of months, I was asked to write about reading given interest in my new ‘reading gap’ book. Below is a list of the articles you can access online, …
Tricky Texts and the ‘Arduous Eight’
When it comes to reading, teachers are a little like Goldilocks. When it comes to spotting difficult texts – whether it is the class reader in year 5, or a maths word …
Introducing ‘Closing the Reading Gap’
Nearly two years ago, I began researching and writing ‘Closing the Reading Gap’. After writing my book on vocabulary, I knew that reading was the natural next step. I knew that every …
Home School: History Week
Ok – let’s be clear: I am not a historian, nor am I a primary school teacher. But in my newfound role as home-schooling Dad, I have wanted to devise some additional …
Home School Resources
Home schooling is a surprising new reality for lots of working parents. I have two young children – aged 8 (year 4) and 11 (year 6) – and now home school is …
‘We Did Vocabulary Last Year’
“We did vocabulary last year.” I have the privilege to speak to lots of teachers and school leaders about vocabulary, accessing the school curriculum, along with the challenges of making a difference …