List of Primary Age-Appropriate Books

In response to my blog posts about teaching reading, I received many emails and tweets asking if I have a list of book suggestions to use in each year group.  I didn't but thought it would be a really useful resource to have.  Through Twitter, I've collected this massive list of texts (over 350) which could be used in EYFS, KS1 or KS2.  Thanks must go to everyone who filled in the form or shared it with their followers on Twitter and Facebook.  

You can read this list below or can open the PDF document into a new tab by clicking the pop-out button.  From there, you can also print or download the document to share with others.  

If, after reading the list, you feel there are key texts missing from a certain year group, you can submit any additions by filling in this form.  I will endeavour to update it from time-to-time.

Personally, I can see this list being important for planning reading lessons and finding high-quality whole-class readers for across the school.  Also, it is a good starting point for recommending appropriate books to children and parents.  Parents could use this to loosely match new books to their child's approximate reading age and ability.  

Six Things To Do Before Accepting A Teaching Job

I am writing this post because, after becoming sad and then angry reading this post entitled "How to Break a Teacher in 12 Months" (UPDATE: The blog post, which detailed someone's year in a school which forced them to leave the profession, has since been deleted.), I asked on Twitter how you can spot a school like that before you accept a job there.  One teacher has suggested there should be a survey of teachers in schools about how happy they are and that the results should be made public.  In the article, the strategy is described as a 'no-brainer' however I can see it potentially causing more trouble than good, especially if it's filled out on a bad day and, as with all cold-hard data, you really don't get to experience the stories behind the figures.

I am not in the market for a new job at the moment.  However, if I were, these would be some of the things I would do before accepting a job in a new school to ensure that I don't end up uninspired, unhappy and in a position to quit.  

1) Speak to someone who works there or a local supply teacher

You've probably heard of the theory of six degrees of separation?  It is believed that we are only six steps away from every single person on the planet.  This is especially true in the world of Education and Twitter has helped to make that world smaller.  Through Twitter and Teachmeets, I have links with many teachers and leaders in schools across the county.  Use any links to have to find out from the inside what it is like to work in the school.  My husband is a supply teacher and, from his work, he has made it very clear in which schools he would be willing to accept a class teacher job and for which leadership teams he would happily work.  He can also tell me which schools provide reasonable planning, others where teachers rarely enter the staffroom for lunch and which SLT give little support for poor behaviour.  

2) Visit the school...twice

Obviously, if you are invited for interview you will get one chance to visit the school but I would suggest you go before handing in your application form.  Teacher applications take a few hours to prepare so you need to know whether it is going to be worth your time.  Most schools offer tours so take them up on this.  

3) Look closely on the tour

Of course, look at the classroom environment and the children's faces.  You can pick up on some of the philosophies which the school holds for teaching and learning.  Keep an eye open for educational fads and fashions and ask the tour guide about the impact of these on the learning; you can see whether they are making a difference or just being done for show.  Also look closely at the teacher.  If you get the chance, have a quick chat with one or two; you can very quickly tell how they are feeling. 

4) Talk to children and parents

Again, this won't tell you a huge amount about what life is like for teachers in the school but you can gauge whether the children are happy and how behaviour is dealt with.  Children are often more honest than adults and will be happy to tell you the truth - just be prepared to hear it! 

5) Read the OfSTED report

This doesn't give you a huge amount of detail about what it's like to work there but it will give you an idea of what the school is working hard to improve.  If you accept the job, it is likely that those suggestions will take up a significant percentage of staff meeting and INSET time. 

6) Ask Questions

At the end of an interview, the panel should ask if the candidate has any questions.  This is your chance to dig below the shiny prospectus and "outstanding" banners and find out what it is like to work in the school.  Remember, teaching is a difficult job in any school however it is easier in some schools that others.  Personally, I would want to know about observation procedures, performance management reviews and professional development opportunities.  It's also important to find out a school's teaching and learning beliefs so I would ask about how classes are organised (streamed/mixed), which strategies have been introduced in the last few years that have had the biggest impact on learning and the biggest challenges which their current teachers are facing.  This sounds like a lot of questions however, as was pointed out to me on Twitter, you will want to know exactly what you are walking into, should you be offered and accept the job.  Therefore, if the school isn't willing to answer your questions or wiggles out of them with edu-jargon, then it's probably not the sort of place you want to be in the first place.  I would want to be in a place which values teachers who care about teaching, learning and wellbeing and so is willing to answer any questions. 

This is not a flawless way of choosing the perfect school in which to work however doing these six things will give you a better impression of the sort of work/life balance you will end up with and could prevent you ending up broken like the teacher in the article above.  

Preventing Extinction

There is a sound which is slowly become extinct from our spoken language and I'm on a mission to ensure it remains:

'th'

There are over four thousand words in the English language which contain the 'th' sound and some of them are among the most common words used.  However, in the last couple of years I have a noticed a deterioration in the pronunciation of it.  Often, children and adults are replacing it with a 'v', 'ff' or 'd' sound.  

Before training to teach, I spent four months in a children's centre on the outskirts of Mexico City. To bring in some money for the centre, I taught English classes to adult beginners in the evenings.  'Th' is a very unusual sound for South American Spanish speakers; they don't have any sounds which require them to push their tongue forward like that.  I always encouraged them to show their tongue to ensure they were making the right sound.  "Quiero ver tu lengua," (I want to see your tongue) became a regular phrase in the English lessons.  It was hard work for them but when they persevered they made much clearer English sounds.  Why, then, are we not encouraging native English speakers to make the real 'th' sound?

When I first started recognising this as a problem among my primary students, I found it hard to correct children because I felt like it might be an inappropriate thing to insist on.  After all, very few people speak the highest quality English and I was worried about highlighting the fact that children weren't speaking correctly.  It was when I realised this lazy form of speaking was having a negative impact on the spelling of some of my best writers that I started taking action.  

Below you can see some of the errors I've come across since September.  These are from a range of abilities and contexts. 

fin - thin

somefing - something 

ve/de - the

dere/fer - there

dat - that

phrone - throne

deaf - death

over - other

To try and tackle this and prevent the correct 'th' sound from being extinct from some children's speech, I've made it explicit in my class that every time we us a 'th' sound, it needs to be correct.  They can correct me, I can correct them and, most importantly, they can correct each other.  To help remind them, I've put this poster up on our Scribble HQ wall.  

It has quite shocked me the extent to which some children struggle to make the 'th' sound but, with the highest of expectations now, I am hoping to prevent extinction and improve the high-frequency spelling of my class.

UPDATE: I have recently added the poster below to my walls after discovering that well over half my class cannot correctly pronounce the number three.

Quick, Free, Online Tools (NQT Presentation)

I recently was asked to present to some NQTs the quick, free, online tools which I use to enhance teaching and learning in my classroom.  I've embedded the presentation below and will try and add a commentary after.  Some of the slides link to sites which I demonstrated and the NQTs could try on our Chromebooks.  The Kahoot link won't work as it requires more than one player & a teacher! 

S2: The link will take you to the Kahoot I demonstrated but will require you to sign in.
S3: You can click and use this link. Explore by adding the X-Ray Goggles.
S4: The link will take you straight to our Year 4 Wibki page as an example.
S5: The link and QR code will take you to a Lino canvas which you can practise using the post-it notes and posting your answer.  Write your name as the "tag".  You can click a tag to view all post-its by that person.
S6: The link will show you my Pinterest so you can see how I've organised it. 

What's in my marking kit?

Recently I tweeted this photo of my marking kit as I was sitting down to mark some Y4 writing.  There was a lot of interest in the box and its contents so I thought I'd go through what I have in it and how I use them.  The box itself is from Hobbycraft and was a bargain £5 when I bought it in the summer.  Some colleagues have gone back to buy it and been successful.  It's available in clear, pink, blue and green. 

Marking Kit

Click on an item to view it on the seller's website - it will open in a new window so you can keep reading.

Repetitive Phrases Stampers - e.g. "Please use full stops", "Take more care with your presentation" or Personalised Stampers

I first started buying stampers when I found myself using the same phrases over and over again.  These save me so much time.  

Personalised Stampers

Repetitive Phrases

Growth Mindset Stamper - e.g. "Super Effort" or "Great Work - Keep It Up"

Some work simply needs to be seen by a teacher - it may be that no in depth marking is required or that children have marked the work themselves.  Alternatively, you may need to get somewhere fast or just improve your life-work balance.  A stamper like this will help you whizz through a set of books in around 15 minutes and praise children for their effort.  

Special Stickers - e.g. Dinosaurs, Football, Minions, Frozen etc!)

Nowadays, stickers are useful for giving children information but they started life as pure rewards.  Stickers like this, which are linked to children's hobbies and passions, can give children a wonderful feeling of pride when they see it on their work.  My class love to get a special sticker, they even put in requests and are incredibly grateful when I buy some and use them on their work.  Sometimes they choose to wear the sticker instead or collect them on Reading Records.  These don't have a direct impact on learning but, in my eyes, anything which gives children excitement about learning is of value.  

"On Target" Stamper and "Target Met" stickers (could be a stamper instead)

Our target sheets have numbers so we simply put the sticker and a number. The child can then highlight it on their record.  We've found this has really enhanced children's engagement with their writing targets and the impact of them.  

Targets in action

"Your Next Step" Stamper and Coloured Dots 

These go hand in hand to encourage children with how they move on. I used to use just the stamper but I found myself writing the same thing out hundreds of times.  Instead of doing that, I now use the coloured dots to show children what their next step is and I display the code in the next lesson.  I also link the colours in with our Good, Amazing, Awesome way of challenging children.  You can read a bit about that here. 

Your Next Step in action

There are also two stampers I have which don't stay in my marking kit; they stay on my desk:

"We've Talked About This" Stamper 

Lots of people hate the idea of stampers like this and the "verbal feedback given" ones.  However I find this is very useful to carry around when helping children during a lesson. Sometimes, especially in maths, you come across children who have got lots of answers wrong.  Instead of marking each one, I just stamp thing after their incorrect work, support them to improve their understanding and then I only need to mark the work below the stamper which the child has completed after my intervention.  Sometimes I ask the child to note down what we talked about to help remind them of their mistake and their new knowledge.  Obviously, this helps anyone who is looking at your books to see what happened in that lesson too. 

We've Talked About This in action

"Adult Assisted Work" Stamper 

This is really important for assessment in this new curriculum.  I have to look through children's books to check which objectives they are able to do independently.  Every adult has access to this stamper in a lesson and it enables me to differentiate the independent work from assisted work.  

Other items

• Green pens - my choice of marking colour. I love green! 
• Random stampers - most of these I've inherited or bought very early on.  
• Highlighters - see how I use them here.
• Tabs - to show where children have forgotten to go back and respond to feedback. 
• House point stickers and headteacher's award stampers/stickers (watch out for apostrophes!)
• Stickers which praise handwriting and spelling.

Tabs in action - show where a child needs to respond to feedback but has forgotten.

Other posts about marking and feedback:
Stamper Snobs and Me
Stampers in Action
Marking Marking Speedy
Making Marking Meaningful

Please note that some of the contents of my marking kit were given to me by Brainwaves.

Life + Work = Balance?

Teaching is a job in which it is possible to fill every single hour of everyday.  Earlier this year, I wrote this post about how I realised it was my fault that I was working all the time.  Not long after writing that, things got on top of me and I ended up at the doctors.  Thankfully, I didn't miss any school time but it made me realise that rather than just reflecting on the choices I've made, I need to change some of them.  I need to transform my work/life balance into a life/work balance.  I need to 'work to live' not 'live to work'.  I read Andy Tharby's post about 'becoming a happier teacher' and this made me consider how I could make choices to bring the time I spend on "life" closer to the time I spend on "work". 

An ex-colleague of mine, who is also a wonderful friend, started working with me during my NQT year.  We were both getting married and working every hour that we possibly could.  When we weren't working, we were wedding planning.  That school year was bonkers and then the following year OfSTED (booooo!) turned up.   The next year, she had a baby.  I don't have kids and recently she gave me some brilliant advice about my life/work balance (as I am now calling it).  She explained how she cannot imagine how we filled all that time with work because she manages to complete enough work for her job and  have time with her children; quality time.  Gently, she encouraged me to consider what life would be like with kids - of course I would make time.  Her point was that I should make that time now. But not make it for kids; make it for me.  

I am trying some new things this year to improve my life/work balance and general well-being:

• Removing work emails on my phone - This has made an enormous difference. I remember sleepless nights in the last few years because of something I have read at 11pm after accidentally opening my emails on my phone and loading my work messages. 
• Removing all phone notifications - I discovered how freeing this is when on holiday.  I turned off all notifications to avoid the massive phone bill from abroad.  When I returned home, I didn't turn any of them back on and loved it.  Notifications were coming through from Twitter and Facebook but it was the news notifications which were probably affected me most because they are rarely positive distractions during the day.  It's so refreshing to see a blank screen nowadays - I'll never go back! 
• Drinking caffeine-free tea and coffee - I find caffeine not only reduces the quality of my sleep but also puts me on edge.  Switching to caffeine-free was easy and I am loving lemon and ginger tea as well. 
• Burning candles, especially lavender - A friend recommended lavender for relaxation and I've found candles instantly make me feel relaxed and chilled. 
• Trying to stop work at 8pm - I say "trying" because sometimes I know I will need to work later than 8pm.  Generally, though, I am turning the laptop off at 8pm and stopping work.  Last Thursday I found myself marking at 8:15.  It may sound silly but I stopped exactly where I was and stuck to my guns.  I marked the books the next morning and it didn't affect anything else in my teaching.  That proved to me what my friend had suggested - you can still do a good job with time away from work. 
• One set of books home...maximum - In my experience, two sets never get marked.  If two sets need to be marked, I'll do the most important/urgent set.
• Not checking Twitter/Facebook in bed - Like teaching, social networks can fill every hour of every day if we let them.  I'm trying to use them downstairs only so that when I head to bed my head is clear and ready to dream. 
• Reading before bed - Reading takes me away to another place and keeps my mind firmly on something other than school; even if my choice of genre is crime/thriller!  I try to make time to read every night before bed even if it's just ten minutes reading one chapter. 
• Going to bed on time - Sleep is important so I want to make it a priority.  I am trying to get to bed around 10pm so I can aim for eight hours every night.  That means recording later TV shows to watch at another (earlier) time! 
• Prioritising exercise - Although after a day of work I just want to sit and chill, I am making sure that I get to my netball matches no matter how I feel.  I always feel better after playing so I'm forcing myself to go every week! 
• Adult Colouring - Yes.  I've joined the bandwagon.  We'll see how it goes! 

I will update here and on Twitter as the school year continues but the overall aim is to be healthier, happier and more efficient.

#Summer10 Debrief

1) Get better and relax - Things are still not perfect and the summer holidays hasn't had the curing effect that I thought it would. However, it has been good to not have to worry about work.  I'm still taking things one day at a time and I'm staying positive! 

2) Read...alot - I have definitely managed to do this! I'll include some of the books I've read below and a mini-review! Please note: None of these books are suitable for children.

Someone recommended Rachel Abbot to me as I like crime/thriller books.  This was superb and exactly what I enjoy reading - it was fast-paced, easy-to-read and unpredictable.  It turns out this is the author's fourth book so I look forward to reading the other three.


I had no idea what this book would be like but I was recommended it and so downloaded it onto my Kindle.  The best description I can give of it is that it's like Room by Emma Donoghue but at the other end of life.  Written from the perspective of a forgetful older lady who is trying to find her friend, Elizabeth.  I would say it was a charming read but not as fast-paced and exciting as some of the others that I read this summer.


This was quite simply a cracking read.  This book starts with a tragic hit-and-run in which a child is killed before spiraling down some surprising story lines!  I can't say much more but it was a brilliant book.


I was recommended this by a lot of people who said it was exactly my type of genre and they were right.  When trying to persuade my husband to watch the movie with me, I described it as 'like 50 First Dates but after the happy ever after'.  Christine wakes up everyday with no memory beyond her early twenties.  It was a great psychological thriller! The movie was also good but very different.


The Letter was a very easy-going holiday read about a woman who discovers a 40-year-old letter in a pocket of a jacket.  She tries to trace its owner whilst battling her own struggles. It wasn't life-changing but was a fairly-good read.

I've also read books 5 and 6 in the Roy Grace series by Peter James.  I love his books as they are in the style of James Patterson but are set in and around Brighton, a town local to me!

3) Read Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg - I am half-way through this book and absolutely loving it. It's a must-read for all women and Sheryl's message is that we should lean into our careers and not let the fear of rejection or failure stop us from pushing ourselves to the limit.  

4) Catch up with friends - Thankfully I have managed to get out and about and see quite a few of the friends that I hadn't seen much in the final few weeks of term.

5) Try yoga or pilates - I managed some morning stretches (pilates-style) and some water Zumba while on holiday in Crete.  

6) Tidy up & clear out - The house is still a mess but a few important things have been sorted.  Getting there...slowly but surely! 

7) Fall back in love with running - Hmmmm - I haven't done so well with this one. The closest I've come is stewarding a 10k race at the back of the runners.  This will continue to be an aim for this term! 

8) Family time - I've had lots of this which has been lovely. 

9) Bake / Cook / Make - I've had the chance to fix and alter some clothes to make them wearable and have done a bit of cooking. 

10) IT Logins - I have really started to do this and have got quite far.  I've also managed to delegate some of this and my final step is out of my hands so this is pretty much done!