Comprehension

Reading comprehension – understanding the meaning of a text – is key to developing the reading skills of all students, and particularly struggling readers at secondary school. Here's a selection of our favourite lesson ideas, comprehension worksheets and classroom resources. 

Sarah Longshaw leads the Cheshire and Stockport Science Learning Partnership. Here she shares her tips for making science mock marking easier during your training year.

Martin Sutton is the subject leader for Secondary Geography ITT at the University of Reading and a former head of department. Here he shares his ideas for championing fieldwork during your training year.

Comma splices? Misplaced apostrophes? Excessive exclamation marks? Get KS3-5 English students back on track with this selection of spelling, punctuation and grammar resources.

Expert guidance, tips and advice to help you to succeed during your history training year from Will Bailey-Watson, PGCE History Subject Lead at the University of Reading.

Ease the transition from primary to secondary, and welcome new students with a selection of icebreakers, getting to know you and relationship-building activities to help year 7s settle quickly and confidently at secondary school.   

With so many non-fiction text types to cover and so little time, English Language teachers need engaging classroom resources that get the job done, while also building students' writing skills under timed conditions. Here's our selection of hard-working resources that you'll also enjoy teaching with.  

James Crossland, Senior Lecturer in International History at Liverpool John Moores University, offers a much needed historical perspective on the contemporary problem of fake news, and explores its strategic use in Churchill’s wartime government.

John Foot, Professor of Modern Italian history at the University of Bristol, discusses the return of fascism in contemporary Italian politics, and provides a useful context for students studying its origins and role in WW2.

Dr Martha Vandrei, Senior Lecturer at the University of Exeter, shares her observations about historical bias and the changing narratives of ‘history’ by exploring the retelling of Boudica’s story.

Dr Kehinde Andrew, Professor of Black Studies at Birmingham City University, explores our increasingly uncomfortable relationship with historical figures, such as Colston and Columbus, whose legacy was built on slavery and genocide. He argues that we need to interrogate our complicity in the unjust world they bequeathed to us.

Every year, a third of children fail to achieve a standard pass in GCSE Maths and English. In The forgotten third, leading educationalists, teachers and politicians argue that this injustice is built into our school and exam system - and make a compelling case for change.

As schools adjust to the realities of post-lockdown learning, could vocabulary development help to close the attainment gap?

As primary schools react to the challenges of the recovery curriculum in the wake of the pandemic, we consider how targeted vocabulary development can help to close the language gap and become a cornerstone your school's curriculum.