Descriptosaurus


Book Description

Reviews of the first edition "This book is a treasure trove of descriptive language... Highly recommended for both teachers and parents. I wish I’d had a copy of this book when I was a full time English teacher! Invest in a copy today; you’ll be glad you did." Sue Cowley, bestselling author, teacher and teacher trainer "Help to banish 'blank page syndrome' for ever, with this innovative book... Created by teacher, Alison Wilcox, this inspirational book will build children's confidence in their writing ability." Literacy Times Plus "A real ‘godsend’ to hard-pressed teachers, parents and pupils." Denis Hayes, author of Foundations of Primary Teaching ? Reviews of the second edition ‘...the addition of the CD is perfect for the modern day classroom... fantastic!’ ?Emma Palastanga, primary deputy head ‘The... book/CD, will be so helpful to teachers who are struggling to think of different ways to say things and will enhance their planning and teaching. As a classroom resource it will be invaluable.’ Elaine Smitheman, primary school teacher ? Now available with a CD-ROM for classroom use, Descriptosaurus is the first book for creative writing that is a thematic expansion of a dictionary and a thesaurus. It provides children with a comprehensive resource with which to expand their descriptive vocabulary, experiment with language and sentence structure and build up narratives based around the following areas: Settings – landscapes, settlements and atmosphere, Characters – appearance, emotions and personality, and Creatures – appearance, abilities and habitats. New features for the second edition include: IWB compatible CD-ROM containing all the main elements of the book New VCOP coverage Expanded coverage of adverbs and connectives New planning sheets to help children organise and structure descriptions Character cards, games and mountain pyramid vocabulary builders The Descriptosaurus model was created and refined over a number of years as a result of feedback from children inside and outside the classroom as to the resources they required to inspire and assist them with their writing. For reluctant writers or those faced with blank page syndrome, it provides essential starting points to encourage putting pen to paper. Using Descriptosaurus will not only inspire children, it will build their confidence and dramatically improve the content of their writing. This is an ideal resource for all KS2 primary and KS3 secondary English teachers, literacy coordinators and parents keen to support their childrens’ creative writing. It would also make an excellent classroom book for PGCE students, particularly Primary PGCE with English specialism.




Descriptosaurus Story Writing


Book Description

Descriptosaurus Story Writing provides a resource for younger pupils that will not only expand their descriptive vocabulary but also provide them with models that demonstrate ‘language in action,’ in a genre that is popular and familiar to children aged 5–9. Providing the essential building blocks to create a narrative text, alongside contexualised banks of vocabulary, phrases and sentence types, this book is designed to provide young pupils with the opportunity to see how a text is constructed using words, phrases and sentences. This exciting new resource: Provides vocabulary for setting, character, ‘show not tell’ and sensory descriptions with clearly defined progression Demonstrates how to use this vocabulary in different contexts using set sentence structures Offers four model narratives written in different styles and level of difficulty Presents modelled sentences with exercises so that pupils can expand their vocabulary Enables young pupils to develop their understanding of how sentences are constructed and become more confident about using these skills in their own story writing This is an ideal resource to dramatically improve children’s knowledge and understanding of language, grammar and punctuation for all KS1 and KS2 primary English teachers, literacy coordinators and parents. This easily accessible guide will also be helpful for teachers to use in preparation for Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (SPAG) alongside a creative writing task.




Descriptosaurus: Myths & Legends


Book Description

Descriptosaurus: Myths & Legends builds on the vocabulary and descriptive phrases introduced in the original bestselling Descriptosaurus and, within the context of myths and legends, develops the structure and use of the words and phrases to promote colourful cinematic writing. This essential guide will enable children to take their writing to the next level, combine their descriptions of setting and character and show how the two interact. Children can then experiment with heroes, gods and supernatural beings to create a legendary story. This new system also provides a contextualised alternative to grammar textbooks and will assist children in acquiring, understanding and applying the grammar they will need to improve their writing, both creative and technical.




10 Steps to Develop Great Learners


Book Description

What can concerned parents and carers do to ensure their children, of all ages, develop great learning habits which will help them achieve their maximum at school and in life? This is probably one of the most important questions any parent can ask and now John Hattie, one of the most respected and renowned Education researchers in the world draws on his globally famous Visible Learning research to provide some answers. Writing this book with his own son Kyle, himself a respected teacher, the Hatties offer a 10-step plan to nurturing curiosity and intellectual ambition and providing a home environment that encourages and values learning. These simple steps based on the strongest of research evidence and packed full of practical advice can be followed by any parent or carer to support and enhance learning and maximize the potential of their children. Areas covered include: Communicating effectively with teachers Being the ‘first learner’ and demonstrating openness to new ideas and thinking Choosing the right school for your child Promoting the ‘language of learning’ Having appropriately high expectations and understanding the power of feedback Anyone concerned about the education and development of our children should read this book. For parents it is an essential guide that could make a vital difference to your child's life. For schools, school leaders and education authorities this is a book you should be encouraging every parent to read to support learning and maximize opportunities for all.




Modelling Exciting Writing


Book Description

The Primary National Curriculum sets challenging expectations for the teaching of writing. Children must master the process of composition, redrafting, editing and writing final pieces. The book: *Provides practical advice for the teaching of writing *Demonstrates how to model writing for children *Includes examples of good classroom practice of modelling writing *Focuses on writing in different aspects of the curriculum *Provides guidance, case studies and theoretical perspectives to show readers how they can become writers with and for children The updated second edition includes: *Ideas for discussion in a seminar/staff meeting/CPD event *A new chapter enabling teachers to support children to bring their own cultures and ethnicities into their writing




Descriptosaurus Personal Writing


Book Description

Descriptosaurus Personal Writing provides young writers with an opportunity to link their personal lives and school experiences and gives writing a meaningful and personal context. It is a resource that will guide students to produce powerful and meaningful personal text and will dramatically improve the their writing.




Descriptosaurus: Fantasy


Book Description

Descriptosaurus: Fantasy builds on the vocabulary and descriptive phrases introduced in the original bestselling Descriptosaurus and within the context of fantasy develops the structure and use of the words and phrases to promote colourful, cinematic writing. This essential guide will enable children to take their writing to the next level. It incorporates the essential skills and creative devices that are used in other genres while extending to themes of battle, sieges, magic and mystery to unleash children’s imaginations. This new system also provides a contextualised alternative to textbook grammar and will assist children in acquiring, understanding and applying the grammar required to improve their writing, both creative and technical.




Descriptosaurus Punctuation in Action Years 4-6


Book Description

Descriptosaurus Punctuation in Action Years 4-6: Jack and the Crystal Fang is part of a short series of age specific, beautifully illustrated stories that can be read for pleasure and/or used as a contextualized resource, containing a step by step guide to teaching punctuation.




Voices of Oman


Book Description

Voices of Oman is a collection of eyewitness accounts of the most significant event of modern Omani history, the Omani Renaissance of 1970, which transformed a tent-in-the-desert culture into a modern urban state. The stories told in the 15 interviews contained in this work show the human dimension of a large historical change. Whatever cultural ground the reader may or may not share with these individuals, these stories show in poignant detail how we are all alike and how we are all different. History is the glue that holds a culture together, and Oman's past is filled with periods of glorious achievement that contribute to the contemporary Omani's sense of continuity and cultural identity. In the twentieth century the definition of history expanded to include, not just the exploits of the famous and powerful but also the stories of "everyday" people. This large group, the overwhelming majority of any culture, in the past had no voice in the historical narrative. Voices of Oman draws from a diverse cross-section of society to tell the story of the Omani Renaissance in the words of those who lived the transition.




Descriptosaurus: Ghost Stories


Book Description

Descriptosaurus: Ghost Stories builds on the vocabulary and descriptive phrases introduced in the original bestselling Descriptosaurus and, within the context of ghost stories, develops the structure and use of the words and phrases to promote colourful cinematic writing. This essential guide will enable children to take their writing to the next level, combine their descriptions of setting and character and show how the two interact. Children can then experiment with their own ghost stories, armed with the skills, techniques and vocabulary necessary to describe their ghostly scenes in a way that allows the reader to feel the characters’ fear and visualise the source of their terror within the setting. This new system also provides a contextualised alternative to grammar textbooks and will assist children in acquiring, understanding and applying the grammar they will need to improve their writing, both creative and technical.