Reading

English

Secondary

An overview of changes to Chile's education system over 20 years

The first of six films about Chile's education system and the significant improvements the country has been making in its reading results, this video gives an overview of the changes made over the past two decades. Since 1990, when the country returned to democracy, Chile has prioritised education and invested in long-term, systemic changes such as school infrastructure and a new curriculum for the 21st century. Now, the emphasis is on improving the quality of initial teacher training. Leading academics, Dr Cristian Cox and Dr Gregory Elacqua, and the current Under Secretary of State for Education, Fernando Rojas, offer their views.

An Overview

Michael Rosen visits the home of Charles Dickens

A quick burst of festive spirit, as Michael Rosen visits Charles Dickens' London home to explore his Christmas legacy. Michael Rosen, Children's Laureate visits 48 Doughty St, the elegant townhouse in London where Dickens and his family once lived. Now a museum, Michael looks at how the house could have inspired characters from Dickens' Christmas classic A Christmas Carol and views memorabilia from the time it was written. The programme will give students and teachers an insight into how Dickens helped shape the Christmas we know today, as well as being a way to inject a bit of Christmas spirit in the classroom.

Charles Dickens

An exclusive interview with The Snowman's creator Raymond Briggs

Children's Laureate Michael Rosen unwraps a selection of literary treats, including a rare and exclusive interview with Raymond Briggs, creator of The Snowman. Rosen also reports on the enduing appeal of the pantomime, with a behind the scenes look at a production of The Pied Piper of Hamlyn and tips on how to stage your very own school panto. Meanwhile, the Charles Dickens Christmas legacy is explored with a visit to a elegant town house in Bloomsbury, London, where Dickens and his family once lived. Also in this programme: <ul> <li>critic Julia Eccleshare shares her top children's books for Christmas</li> <li>an alternative Christmas message, prepared by students at a school in Birmingham, provides a great opportunity to encourage speaking, listening and writing skills</li> <li>Michael continues his Poetry in Motion crusade to make poetry fun in the classroom</li> </ul>

Christmas Special

Michael Rosen meets Malorie Blackman

In this programme, Michael Rosen interviews the author Malorie Blackman and the creator of Horrid Henry, Francesca Simon. Malorie tells Michael how a game of noughts and crosses inspired her award-winning book, which seriously challenges conventional views of race and prejudice. The book, Noughts and Crosses, is now turning some teenagers into avid readers. Michael also discovers what it was like living through a revolution as Sir David Winkley shares his memoirs of being a headteacher at a school in Handsworth, Birmingham when the streets were overtaken by violent rioting 20 years ago. The Reading Aloud panel read Sir David's book, Handsworth Revolution. Winsome Thomas, Victoria Shaw, and John Richmond explore the many issues raised by the book that has become something of a template for those seeking to turn around a failing school.

Francesca Simon

Dyslexia: is it word blindness or deafness?

New research at Cambridge seems to suggest that problems with reading may have more to do with problems recognising rhythmic sounds, rather than the words on the page.

Good Readers, Bad Readers

Rosen examines Helen Cooper's Pipkin of Pepper

Michael Rosen examines the upsetting business of getting lost, with the absorbing picture book Pipkin of Pepper by Helen Cooper, which helps children handle this important matter. In the programme, reception children use role play and make soup to explore this engaging book. Also in the programme, Michael Rosen's Rant tackles synthetic phonics; he claims to have discovered the design fault in this method of teaching reading. John Richmond, educational writer, Sonya Bartley, a secondary English teacher and Winsome Thomas, a teacher adviser, read Purple Hibiscus, the debut novel by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Helen Cooper

Two HLTAs use one-to-one coaching with their pupils

HTLAs Judith Walker and Ashley Hunter use one-to-one coaching when working with pupils at a primary and secondary level in English and maths. Primary HLTA Judith, attends a coaching workshop with other TAs and draws upon what she has learned to help her tackle reading with Year 1 pupils Oliver and Thomas at All Saints Infants School in Normanton. At St Wilfrid School, Ashley coaches students a Year 7 Learning Support group, and helps focus them on literacy with some simple techniques. Later, Ashley encourages a student who is having trouble with maths think about how it relates to his life.

HLTAs - One-to-One Coaching

Strategies for improving boys' literacy

Teachers demonstrate their successful strategies for improving literacy in teenage boys at Barry Comprehensive School in Wales. The school has been recognised for its achievements in improving literacy, and teachers Jenny Conway and Sian Morgan show how the strategy works in the classroom. They make sure they provide frequent opportunities for its students to read and write and take time to understand their learning styles. Appropriate forms of assessment are used and they encourage positive role models within the school. There is also an insight into the role of libraries in the campaign to improve boys' literacy.

Improving Boys' Literacy in Wales - Barry Comprehensive School

A school shows how it has improved boys' literacy

Staff at Y Pant Comprehensive School in Pontyclun, South Wales, share their strategies for improving boys' literacy. Assistant head Helen Jones, and class teachers Andrew Hurley and Gareth Howells, demonstrate in class the importance of choosing appropriate classroom resources for boys and of encouraging good social interaction. They make sure that during lessons, reading and writing is made relevant to boys and that technology is used as a way to get boys interested in literacy. They also discuss the important role of the teacher in improving boys' literacy.

Improving Boys' Literacy in Wales - Y Pant Comprehensive School

Piloting the QCA's new approach to assessment APP in KS3 English

Naomi Hursthouse has been piloting the QCA's new approach to assessment, APP, in KS3 English at Bishop Luffa School in Chichester. She shares her experience of how this approach has helped teachers use a wider range of evidence to gauge pupils' achievement and give a fuller, more formative picture of students' strengths and weaknesses in relation to national standards. The programme focuses on APP Reading, with reference to AF6, as part of a lesson on reading satire. There is also a moderation session where Naomi and her colleague review two assessment folders from Year 7 pupils, and a parent-pupil review session.

Professional Development for Quality Teaching

Subjects

> Secondary English

> Reading