Book Review: 'Urban Jungle' by Vicky Woodgate

Publishers Big Picture Press do not disappoint: they produce very big books full of wonderful pictures and this one by Vicky Woodgate is no exception. 'Urban Jungle' is an oversized non-fiction book which explores the fauna of the world's major cities.

Did you know that Spinybacked orbweavers can be found in Lima, Peru? Or that Milk sharks patrol the waters around Mumbai? Or that Vancouver is home to Bobcats, Coyotes, seals, bears, skunks, turtles and Rufous hummingbirds? With each turn of a page the reader encounters the surprising inhabitants of some of the world's busiest cities and surrounding urban areas. 

Each page begins with clear geographical summary of each city, a map of where in the country or continent it can be found and a plethora of stylistic animal illustrations. A particularly nice touch is the 'Animal Stories' box that can be found on each page where a particular animal is highlighted, sometimes with a funny story that made the news and often with tales of historical significance or surprising facts about the creatures.   

The book is split into sections based on continent and each part opens with a double page map - the book doesn't skimp the geography side of things. Urban Jungle definitely isn't just a book about animals; it's a brand new beast combining an Atlas with a natural history book, although it perhaps couldn't be used as either - it must be treated as something different.

With publishers pushing he boundaries of what non-fiction books look like this is an exciting time to be a child who loves to gather facts. With maps and animals being popular obsessions for primary aged children this book is sure to be a hit both at home and in the classroom and will hold up to repeat reads such is the wealth of information contained.

Book Review: 'The Elephant in the Room' by James Thorp and AngusMackinnon

This surprising and striking book appears to stand alone in today's picturebook market - there certainly aren't many books like it, illustrated in an psychedelic style reminiscent of The Beatle's Yellow Submarine film but with an even trippier colour pallete. This is a book which aesthetically stands out a mile and its eye catching design will draw children in, keen to know what this strange-looking book is all about.

Featuring a rhyming text (and a rather nice, but perhaps not always child-friendly Art Deco typeface) the story gets as bizarre as the illustrations themselves. But this bizarre story will be all too familiar to adults who, with a wry smile, will read this aloud to children and recognise the narrative: something gets broken and the culprit makes up all sorts of excuses in order to escape punishment. This story concludes however with a stronger moral message for adults as Father Giant realises that maybe he had been too busy and the accident had happened because he hadn't been with the children. It is certainly food for thought for the grown up who might be reading this to younger children.

However, subtext aside, children hearing the story and taking it face-value will laugh uproariously at its silliness and witty wordplay - lots of lovely alliteration and rhymes (rowdy cloudiness, yucky yakkiness) and made up words (squinching) will delight young minds ready to soak up new and imaginative language. They will identify with the protagonists and the feeling of guilt that comes with accidental misdemeanours and might even begin to question the folly of not telling the truth in such situations.

The Elephant in the Room, a title which bears multiple significance, is like one of those brilliant children's films which is clearly intended to entertain adults just as much as the kids. As C.S. Lewis said “A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children's story in the slightest.”. James Thorp and Angus Mackinnon have produced a good children's story. Highly recommended.

Book Review: 'Sky Song' by Abi Elphinstone

Once you've understood the particular brand of magic (which is not believed in even by many of the inhabitants of Abi Elphinstone's new fantasy world) you'll be taken on an adventure of discovery, unity and salvation. An evil queen is taking the voices of the icy land's adult subjects (literally in the story, but this metaphor would be exciting to explore with young readers) in order to gain immortality and Eska, although initially imprisoned, must do something about it.

Sky Song capers around the fringes of what has been termed Theological Fantasy with its undertone of the importance of belief, yet Elphinstone has no religious agenda to push. It plays with concepts from Greek and Roman mythology, traditional fairy tales and some more recent literary triumphs and blends them cohesively for a younger audience, than say, His Dark Materials was intended for. 

Whilst Erkenwald definitely feels like a realm that could be further explored, Eska and her eagle companion Balapan certainly give it a good initial once-over, encountering on the way, in the manner of all good expeditions, a number of problems which they must overcome, often with the help of Flint, his puppy pebble and his sister, Blu. The animal companions and the magic ways that some of the group's problems are solved definitely aim this book squarely at 8 to 10 year olds.

But this story, like all the best books, does more than just describe an adventure. It speaks of growing up and discovering one's own capabilities, facing adversity and the importance of companionship and collaboration. Sky Song is an important lesson in why tribalism, whilst comfortable, will not save the day - a political message that might give children a starting point to thinking about what their role on the world stage might be. Flint's character provides hope that people can change their ideological views in order to become more mindful of others. The character of his sister Blu, based on Elphinstone's own relative who has Down's Syndrome, is also a possible discussion starter for readers to explore and change their thoughts about those with genetic disorders and resulting learning difficulties.

Children who were a few years ago obsessed with Frozen, or those who have recently discovered and loved the more accessible parts of Narnia, or those looking to move on from reading short myths and fairy tales will find their perfect next book in Sky Song. Fans of Abi Elphinstone's Molly Pecksniff character will find another well-rounded female lead character to follow and be inspired by. With Sky Song, Abi Elphinstone invites her young readers into a new and exciting world which will not only thrill and entertain but might set children on the path to discover more of the brilliant fantasy fiction available for advancing readers.

Teaching Mathematical Problem Solving: What The Research Says

Recently the EEF published their guidance report for KS2 and KS 3 maths. It gives 8 recommendations for improving the teaching of mathematics:

In this blog post for Bradford Research School I focus in on problem solving but touch on the use of manipulatives, developing a network of mathematical knowledge and other areas of the guidance. In the article I outline a maths lesson which follows much of the advice given in the guidance (the cube trees at the centre of the lesson):

https://researchschool.org.uk/bradford/news/teaching-mathematical-problem-solving-what-the-research-says/

On The @TES Blog: Idealistic Leaders vs. Realistic Teachers

https://www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-views/fix-workload-put-ministers-school-leaders-policy-wonks-consultants

"Teachers must…", "Teachers need to…", "Teachers should…"

These are potentially my most used phrases when writing articles on education. Occasionally other groups will be on the receiving end of my strongly worded ‘advice’, but usually it’s teachers because teaching is what I know.

Recently, I have been pulled up on my use of these phrases – turns out teachers don’t like being told what to do. Now there’s a surprise.

My sharing comes from a desire to help others, never from a position of wanting to overburden and bludgeon teachers who are already striving to do their best. But I can see how it comes across sometimes and it got me thinking...

Click here to read more over on the TES blog

Why You Might Be Getting Feedback Wrong! (Part 2)

At the launch of Bradford Research School I held a workshop entitled Why You Might Be Getting Feedback Wrong! The workshop is now available in blog form over on the Bradford Research School blog. It comes in two parts:

Part 1 addresses 5 myths:

• Myth 1: marking is evidence-based
• Myth 2: feedback = marking
• Myth 3: marking is time consuming
• Myth 4: Ofsted require a particular kind of marking
• Myth 5: children need to know what level/grade their work is

Part 1: https://bradford.researchschool.org.uk/2017/12/08/why-you-might-be-getting-feedback-wrong-part-1/

Part 2 addresses 4 more myths:

• Myth 6: marking needs to be done in great detail
• Myth 7: marking will have an impact on progress
• Myth 8: all errors are equal
• Myth 9: triple/dialogic marking is best

Part 2: https://bradford.researchschool.org.uk/2017/12/15/why-you-might-be-getting-feedback-wrong-part-2/

I have also uploaded the PowerPoint I used in the workshop for anyone to use in their own training or discussions with SLT: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/why-you-might-be-getting-feedback-wrong-powerpoint-for-staff-training-11795794

Scaffolding Structures for Reading Comprehension Skills

This is a very different blog post to the sort I normally write; it represents some very hypothetical thinking and the purpose of writing it is to open it up to discussion. My hypothesis is that the reading skills outlined in the English Reading Test Framework for KS2 (and KS1) might be best taught in a particular order. I also hypothesise that when teaching particular skills (represented as being higher up the model pictured) teachers can guide children through how to use other skills (lower down the model) to arrive at a better ability to practice and use the skills that are higher up the model. First of all, here's the model I've put together to which I refer:

Skills (taken from English Reading Test Framework for KS2) are listed in the order that they might best be taught. This suggested order is based on the idea that some reading skills might be required prior to developing others. The most basic skills are towards the bottom.

The inclusion of 2d (inference) may depend on the text type. For example, in many non-fiction texts there is no requirement to infer information, only to retrieve it. In these cases the 2d (inference) step/building block can be skipped.

The only reading skill from the test framework which isn’t included here is 2h (make comparisons within the text). It is possible that texts can be compared at many different levels, for example, the vocabulary used can be compared (2a), summaries of plot can be compared (2c) or structure of the text can be compared (2f). The skill of making comparisons (2h) could be seen as a ‘floating’ skill – one which could be applied in different ways alongside other reading skills.

All of the following symbols and colours refer to the Reading Roles, a system I designed to make the different skills memorable for children and teachers. Read more about the Reading Roles here: http://thatboycanteach.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/reading-roles-cognitive-domains-made.html

2d – Inference (this one is lots of detail here: http://thatboycanteach.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/scaffolding-inference-trialling.html)

In order for children to begin to make inferences they need to at least be able to retrieve information in the text, and before this they need to be able to understand what the words mean.

(2a)       give/explain the meaning of words in context

(2b)       retrieve and record information/identify key details from fiction and non-fiction

(2d)       make inferences from the text/explain and justify inferences with evidence from the text

2f and 2g are very interlinked as they are both about meaning – one with a focus on word and phrase choice, and one with a focus on content choice. It is possible that 2g and 2f should precede 2d in the teaching sequence but if making inferences is one way in which we take information from a text, then arguably we need that information to make meaning; we can then go on to identify and explain how that meaning is enhanced through word choice and how the content included contributes to the meaning. The fact that these skills are not included in the KS1 test framework might suggest that this is correct, and that these are more advanced skills than making inferences.

2g – Author’s purpose

(2a)       give/explain the meaning of words in context

(2b)       retrieve and record information/identify key details from fiction and non-fiction

(2d)       make inferences from the text/explain and justify inferences with evidence from the text

(2g)       identify/explain how meaning is enhanced through choice of words and phrases

2f – Language structure and choice

(2a)       give/explain the meaning of words in context

(2b)       retrieve and record information/identify key details from fiction and non-fiction

(2d)       make inferences from the text/explain and justify inferences with evidence from the text

(2g)       identify/explain how meaning is enhanced through choice of words and phrases

(2f)        identify/explain how information/narrative content is related and contributes to meaning as a whole

Once children understand word meanings, can find and infer information, explain how language has been used to communicate meaning and, as a result, can understand the meaning of a whole piece of text, then they can begin to summarise the text, or make predictions based on their understanding. It might not be necessary to summarise a text before making a prediction, and the ability to summarise a text should not rely on the ability to make predictions based on it. These two skills are both included in the KS1 test framework, but children at this stage summarise and make predictions based only on word meaning, information retrieval and inference (missing out 2f and 2g) – summaries and predictions at this stage might be at a simpler level. It is probably true that in KS2 similar summaries and predictions could be made, without paying heed to 2g and 2f.

2c - Summarising

(2a)       give/explain the meaning of words in context

(2b)       retrieve and record information/identify key details from fiction and non-fiction

(2d)       make inferences from the text/explain and justify inferences with evidence from the text

(2g)       identify/explain how meaning is enhanced through choice of words and phrases

(2f)        identify/explain how information/narrative content is related and contributes to meaning as a whole

(2c)       summarise main ideas from more than one paragraph

2e – Predicting

(2a)       give/explain the meaning of words in context

(2b)       retrieve and record information/identify key details from fiction and non-fiction

(2d)       make inferences from the text/explain and justify inferences with evidence from the text

(2g)       identify/explain how meaning is enhanced through choice of words and phrases

(2f)        identify/explain how information/narrative content is related and contributes to meaning as a whole

(2e)       predict what might happen from details stated and implied

The model suggests that an understanding of word meaning is core to all reading – this model assumes that children already have the skills of decoding, sight recognition and phonological awareness. The model only includes reading skills outlined by the test framework and does not include factors such as the necessity of activating prior background and literacy knowledge when reading.

The model also suggests that there is a hierarchy of reading skills and that children might benefit from having some reading skills taught before others.

It also suggests that when requiring a child to work on a skill which is ‘higher up’ the model that they work through a sequence of skills usage in order to initially scaffold their ability to exercise the ‘higher’ skill. For example, if requiring a child to summarise a passage, they might first answer questions about the vocabulary used, the information contained within (given both literally and inferentially) and what the authors purpose was with regards to structure and language choices.

This model focuses on the following strands of Scarborough’s reading rope: vocabulary, verbal reasoning and language structures:

I hope I have made my thinking clear in this blog post and I would really appreciate any thoughts about what I have proposed. If you can back any of your comments either with research or with case studies from experience then even better!

If you would like Aidan to work with you on developing reading at your school, please visit his website at https://www.aidansevers.com/services and get in touch via the contact details that can be found there.