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Thinking about settings with Leigh Hobbs

As Leigh Hobbs says, the great thing about inventing a character is that you also have the power to choose where they live. What's your character's world like? Describe your character at home. Where do they live? And what do they do there? Now choose a completely different location and plonk your character there. Think ...

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Tony Wilson's advice for new writers

What does author Tony Wilson think the hardest thing for new writers is? What does he say is the best way to get better at writing? Tony mentions an Australian author called Sonya Hartnett. Do some research and find out how old Sonya was when she wrote her first book. If writing is something you have fun doing, perhaps ...

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Sally Rippin on sculpting stories

Watch this clip to learn where Sally Rippin finds inspiration for her writing. What does she say about where story ideas come from? Sally talks about noting down ideas in a notebook and remembering how particular experiences made her feel. What does she say about turning ideas into stories? Why not try keeping a notebook ...

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Why is it useful to have a big bad wolf character in stories?

Watch this clip to hear Andy Griffiths explain why it's good to have villains in stories. How can the "big bad wolf" character help to move the story along? Think about some of the stories you've read lately. Which characters were the "big bad wolf" characters and what did they add to the stories? 

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What is the biggest lesson Andy Griffiths has learnt?

Listen as Andy Griffiths reveals the biggest lesson he's learnt as a writer. What did he once think he needed to do to be successful? And what did he discover? Why does Andy believe that being yourself when you write is the most important thing?

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Story development and plot holes with Andy Griffiths

How do you move your characters forward in a story? A trick Andy Griffiths uses is asking a lot of questions. His favourite question to ask is "what's the worst thing that can happen next?" Try asking yourself that question if you get stuck when writing your next story. In this clip Andy also talks about plot holes. What ...

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Sculpting ideas into stories with Andy Griffiths

Watch this clip to learn how Andy Griffiths turns his ideas into stories. In particular, listen to the way Andy describes how his collaboration with illustrator Terry Denton works. Now team up with a friend or family member and take on the roles of author and illustrator. What ideas can you come up with by working together? ...

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BTN: Meet a young author

Do you love writing stories? Learn how Hannah Chandler got a book published at the age of 12! Why don't you make your own book? Once you're happy with your story, find yourself an illustrator (a friend, family member or even yourself!) and start designing your pages. Once they're ready attach them all together. Don't forget ...

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Sally Rippin on authors and illustrators

Watch this clip to find out about the relationship between authors and illustrators. What role does the publisher play in this relationship? What does Sally Rippin say about the role of illustrations in books for young children?

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Andy Griffiths on writing songs and stories

What's the difference between writing song lyrics and writing a story? Andy Griffiths thinks they are quite similar. Why does he think this? How important is rhythm in Andy's stories? Next time you write a story, try reading it out loud and listen for the rhythm of the words. Can you make your story's rhythm sound even better?

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Andy Griffiths' tips for starting your story

Get some tips from Andy Griffiths on what to think about when you start to write a story. What does he say about plot? Why not take Andy's advice and start a story by thinking about something that has happened to you and then exaggerate it somehow. Concentrate on writing a short, dramatic moment by using lots of detail ...

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Andy Griffiths' tips for writing funny stories

Watch this video and learn how to write funny stories with tips from Andy Griffiths! What does he say is a good starting point? Why don't you try writing a story about a time something embarrassing happened to you? What does Andy say is the key to getting readers to enjoy your story and have a laugh?

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Introduction to SSP - Module 4: features of a systematic synthetic phonics approach

This 23-minute professional learning video, presented by literacy expert Jocelyn Seamer, discusses the features of a systematic, synthetic approach to teaching phonics. It includes information on decodable texts, alphabetic code, and how to teach new sounds. The other videos in the series are; The research base of structured ...

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Q&A session: Making a start with a phonics progression and phonological awareness instruction

This recording of a 30-minute Q&A session supports schools in choosing and following a systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) progression, including phonological and phonemic awareness instruction.

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Year 1 Phonics Check overview video

This short video (2 minutes and 2 seconds) outlines what the Year 1 Phonics Check is and includes clips of teachers administering this assessment to test students' decoding abilities. It also includes a clip of two teachers discussing the students' results.

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Oral language development in the classroom

This one-hour webinar recording provides an overview of oral language development and practical teaching strategies to assist students with the development of speaking and listening skills. Presented by Amanda McDonald this webinar is the second in a series of eight webinars about the Big Six components of literacy (oral ...

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Introduction to SSP - Module 2: framework for evidence-informed reading instruction

This 14-minute professional learning video, presented by literacy expert Jocelyn Seamer, discusses the framework for evidence-informed reading instruction. It includes information on the Simple View of Reading, Scarborough’s Reading Rope model and the Big Six of reading instruction (oral language, phonological awareness, ...

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Explicit instruction for phonics - an instructional model

This self-paced learning module explains the principles of explicit instruction, and outlines an instructional model for reading and spelling, with practical guidance for implementation. It contains a webinar, free downloadable resources and further professional reading. It is the second of seven professional learning modules ...

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How to choose a decodable text

This video provides an overview of how to choose a decodable text for your students' needs. It is presented by literacy specialists Elaine Stanley and Rebecca McEwan.

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Teaching irregular words

This short video (4 minutes and 3 seconds) shows two teachers discussing why and how to teach irregular words (words that contain letter-sound correspondences that students have not yet learned) as part of a systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) approach.