UEL PGCE group 2011-2012 discussion

Is there a book that you particularly recommend? It could be a favourite from your childhood, one that you've seen used in a school, or something that you've read recently- a book about teaching or a children's book.

I thought I would share a literacy lesson I witnessed whilst observing a Y6 class last year. The teacher I observed had a passion for poetry and history, and these two combined resulted in a lesson on Wilfred Owen and his most famous poem ‘Dulce et decorum est’ written in 1917.
The poem was taken from the book ‘The Poems of Wilfred Owen’ (Wordsworth Poetry), and is noted and recognised as one of the best-known poems of the First World War.
The class analysed the poem line-by-line focusing on the key adjectives and verbs, and then set about writing their own poetry from what they had learned. I found this lesson memorable as it combined history and literacy in one lesson and was a real though provoking exercise;you could see the children put themselves in Owen’s shoes through this classic piece of writing.
Please see the link below for ‘The War Poetry Website’ to read this poem and translation of some of the key parts, with some further links to other war poetry literature. This could be useful for those who aspire to teach upper KS2. I hope you enjoy this poem as much as I did.
http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/owen1.html

That sounds very interesting, Zaid.

http://awfullybigblogadventure.blogsp... is the blog of a group contemporary of children's authors. It is useful for book recommendations and to get to know some less well-known children's authors.

I'm so pleased that there have been so many reviews of Anthony Browne's books. I think he's wonderful. People who have enjoyed his books, have you read any Shaun Tan? I think he had a review of The Arrival by him? http://www.goodreads.com/search?query... What did you think? I think there's a similar ambiguous, dreamlike/ surreal quality.

Also, Jacqueline Wilson fans, have you read Anne Fine? http://www.goodreads.com/search?query... I think she has a similar social consciousness and understanding of the concerns and worries of children, and her books for younger readers are really funny.

Alison wrote: "I'm so pleased that there have been so many reviews of Anthony Browne's books. I think he's wonderful. People who have enjoyed his books, have you read any Shaun Tan? I think he had a review of The..."

I think Nina Bawden is another great author to look at. Her background is a great selling point to children in the area that we'll be based in, given that she grew up in Ilford. Her novels deal with the realities of surviving everyday life, which is certainly what especially appeals about her work to me. Given that she alternates between writing adult and children's fiction, as well as being pretty prolific, children who like her work can take her into adulthood with them and have her around for a pretty long time which is a great bonus. It always feels a bit like bereavement when you run out of books written by your favourite authors!

Beccy wrote: "Alison wrote: "I'm so pleased that there have been so many reviews of Anthony Browne's books. I think he's wonderful. People who have enjoyed his books, have you read any Shaun Tan? I think he had ..."

I had no idea thatNina Bawdengrew up in Ilford. That's great!

I scored 7/10 in this quiz! Have you read any good football books? Tom Palmer is highly recommended http://www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-b...

http://www.mittray.com/5-sports-story... These are American, but can you think of any good British sports stories? Stanley Bagshaw and the Short-Sighted Football Trainerwould be my suggestion!