FREE session online for English Leads:
This is on June 29th, 2022. Please register and hear more on how ambitious English is being planned and led.
‘Teach Reading and Writing’ Article
I hope you will find this article useful, published in ‘Teach Reading and Writing’. The link will enable you to read and digest it properly. I’m responding to feedback from schools on how important pupil response is. I use just four lines from a poem to show how knowledge rich texts increase opportunities to participate, explore and go even deeper!
https://ace-mags.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/trw/TRW-2021/75/index.html
A Teacher’s View
Please do read this beautifully written account by Kerrie Hope at Ryefield Primary School, Uxbridge, of her schools’ journey to date with ‘opening doors’ and how it has been adapted to tailor the needs of Ryefield pupils!
You will really enjoy this!
Thanks Kerrie and thanks The National Association for the Teaching of English (NATE) for their brilliant online publication ‘Primary Matters’ from which this article comes with permission.
‘Be inspired by this charming article by Kerrie Hope, KS2 Literacy
Support Teacher at Ryefield Primary School in Hillingdon, London as
she shares her experience of resisting then embracing challenging texts. ‘ (from ‘Primary Matters’)
Resources from the ‘Opening Doors to Richer English for All’ Online Conference.
This was held on March 16th 2021. We were proud to have about 240 people logged on to hear from three of our schools. Their talks were inspirational and showed how each had been influenced by ‘Opening Doors’ texts and approaches in different ways. This comment sums up the feedback:
‘A session which makes you feel excited about teaching texts! Really useful to see how these have been used in schools.’
Please see below resources you can download from the session. There may be more when I secure permissions.
Thanks to Kerrie Hope at Ryefield Primary for these superb case studies and an excellent planning example.
Opening Doors – a KS2 Approach RYEFIELD
This is my introduction to the session
Thanks to Jacob Wahab at Mottingham Primary School for these resources used for his talk on ‘Opening Doors’ and impact!
Mottingham Primary IMPACT slides
Articles from the National Association for the Teaching of English magazine ‘Primary Matters’ edited by Janet Gough
I am delighted to be able to attach these superb articles on a variety of themes from the 2020 and 2021 NATE magazine.
p37-42 Transforming learning across the curriculump34-35
You can never have too much poetryp39-42
During reading visual responsep15-18
p4-8 Reading for meaning part 2
You might want to find out more about NATE primary. If so, follow this link:
https://www.nate.org.uk/join-nate/
Free ghost story written by Bob
‘I’m trying to write my own responses to a chosen concept and text used in ‘Opening Doors’. I’ve also added some typical OD strategies at the foot of my short story so, if you like it, please use it with your classes as a link reader. Let’s all keep writing for pleasure. The chosen concept is ‘atmosphere and anticipation’ from ‘Opening Doors to a Richer English Curriculum, 10-13’ and a unit called ‘A Ghost Mystery for Flaxman Low’. So, here is my ghost story and I hope you enjoy it:
Illustration to complement the ghost story by Victoria Cox!
‘Baelbrow’ featuring Flaxman Low is a unit in the latest 10-13 book found here:
Do let me have any feedback! Keep chilled!
Free 15 minute modules on selected units from ‘Opening Doors’.
We are really excited about our growing suite of free online resources which are independent in themselves but link with units in the ‘Opening Doors’ series. Do take a look and choose one to start with! They can be used for remote learning or as lessons in the classroom! Each one is a commentary with tuition and suggestions for explorations and writing from one of the ‘Opening Doors’ team:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxCgNvQM8mbQK9KZ3P5UtQ5dmy5uQrRAX
You can read more about the resources on the home page:
To find out more about the books and have the chance to purchase them see here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bob-Cox/s?k=Bob+Cox
Video from South Rise Primary showing how the ‘Pinocchio’ unit can be used in different ways for different year groups.
Webinar for Bucks Teacher Learning Day
Please enjoy understanding more about including all learners in a challenging English curriculum:
‘Opening Doors to Challenging Reading for ALL Learners’
https://www.connectingbucksschools.com/bob-cox/
Poetry
About half the units in each of the ‘Opening Doors’ books are on poetry. See the crown house links for the poems used and the titles. Work through from this 6-9 book:
www.crownhouse.co.uk/publications/opening-doors-to-a-richer-english-curriculum-for-ages-6-to-9
You may find these lists useful as starting points for discovering poets and poems. That’s all any list can be!
This is a webinar made for ‘The National Association of Advisers in English’. In it, I explain the importance of poetry and how the opening doors strategies can help access, enjoyment and achievement.
Example Units
So many teachers are asking about the ‘Opening Doors’ series as a whole with the new books being published that I thought I would post some full units for you to peruse and use from ‘Opening Doors to Quality Writing’, one example for ages 6-9 and one for 10-13.
Please let me have any resulting pupils’ work for consideration for the site here, kindly run by Crown House. You will see many examples and they are very inspiring.
Free Resources
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins ( from Opening Doors to Quality Writing 10-13) and Slowly by James Reeves (from Opening Doors to Quality Writing, 6-9)
The Woman in White 10 to 13 (1)
Among the White Clouds – Cold Mountain by Han-Shan from Opening Doors to a Richer English Curriculum, 10-13
‘Voices in an Empty Room’ – Green Candles by Humbert Wolfe in Opening Doors to a Richer English Curriculum, 6-9
To find out more about the books and have the chance to purchase them see here:
Searching for Excellence 