Not all books are the same
Not all books are the same
Well hello there, and welcome to update #097!
I said in my last post that there’s massive potential for helping our pupils to know more, remember more and be able to do more as a result of what we are teaching them, if their learning is underpinned by high quality texts.
However, I think there needs to be some criteria for the texts we select, because not any text will do!
I have three criteria:
First of all, the visuals have got to be gorgeous! Too much of what lands on pupils’ desks is poor quality.
I think our pupils deserve the best…Also, we know that learning is likely to be deeper if we are curious about what we are going to learn.
The visuals in Sabina Radeva’s ‘Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species’ and the anniversary edition of ‘The Great Fire of London’ will draw pupils in and prompt them to ask questions.
Next, the tone has got to appropriate. I want the text to talk to pupils as though they are intelligent human beings, because that’s what they are!
They don’t need dumbed down content, they have a right to material that is rich and demanding.
Finally, I want the text to contain the rich, tier three vocabulary that is the gateway into the domain.
The vocabulary is meant to be difficult, not all pupils will be able to decode it.
But that doesn’t matter because they are going to hear it read aloud: our aural comprehension is more developed than our visual comprehension and working in this way means that the content is inclusive for all.
Once we have a great text that matches the programme of study, we can then use it to teach the content.
I’ve shown how draft planning units and draft vocabularly lists might work with this.
They are in draft for two reasons: I reserve the right to change them if someone makes a better suggestion!
And I want to encourage colleagues to realise that we don’t have to have everything perfect before we get cracking!
There are some examples from Key Stages 1 and 2 to show how it’s possible to use beautiful texts to underpin our pupils’ learning, free to access here.
Until next time
Mary
PS If you’d like to see the different ways in which books can be used to consolidate pupils’ learning, there’s more here.
I love these books and, as someone who worked in a bookshop for a year and a half and now spends time every day helping children choose books in school, I cannot believe how much choice there is these days. Just in the last 15 years, it seems to have absolutely exploded. It’s one element of the modern world that actually makes me feel very hopeful, grateful and inspired.