Sam Creighton

How the new Writing Framework can transform primary school teaching Sam Creighton talks about building a writing curriculum based on meaningful projects. Children learn specific writing skills while keeping the joy and pride that comes from creating their work.

How lots of the Writing Framework was welcome news for Writing for Pleasure schools like mine. My blog for the DfE teaching.blog.gov.uk/2025/11/17/w... @writingrocks.bsky.social

That being said, it says explicitly at the end of the chapter that the teachers 'did not need to read poetry out of school to love it as people and professionals'. However, I wonder if they could have facilitated & contributed to richer discussions if they did have more of a hinterland to draw on.

Made it out for a run for the first time in six days this evening - in the pelting rain no less - and, not to overstate it, but running gives me more life than basically anything else 🏃‍♂️❤️ ☔️

In a case study, a teacher laments that rigidity at their school means they teach poetry like 'puppets on a string'. Autonomy is transformative for teacher & pupil but requires deep pedagogical & subject knowledge that only comes from being a genuine reader & writer of poetry.

I hope you enjoy it and yes, of course, DM away 👍

👆 this is a prevalent pedagogical style to avoid according to the book.

The teacher is an expert & should model to pupils how one can respond authentically to poetry's form & meaning. However, our role is to empower & prompt children to think & feel, not do it for them!

'The teacher is at the centre of the arena & the students are meant to be learning by watching the master reader as they unravel the poem. The teacher might occasionally ask a question but what tends to happen is more like an oral comprehension tests than a genuine discussion.'

Even reading poetry is an act of generating meaning & defining interpretation. When working with pupils we must 'make sure they know that what they're hearing when we read is an interpretation not a definitive reading.' They should experiment & explore to find their own meanings.

Interesting distinction made between reading of poetry & other texts. For most text, once we are 'expert' readers, reading becomes silently internal but poetry cannot be separated from its performance - it must be 'lifted off the page', even if only heard by the 'inner ear'

'It is no great victory to learn to do something that one will not choose to do given the choice.' Eisner quoted in Making Poetry Happen in the context of children being volitional readers of poetry, but it's just as true & vital for all aspects of reading & writing. We need the skill AND the will 👏

Book cover for Pandora in Puzzlevale by Paul Duffiled, Poqu and Siobhan McKenna

Book cover for Pierre the Maze Detective: The Search for the Stolen Maze Stone by Hiro Kamigaki

Book cover for Adventure Game Comics: Leviathan by Jason Shiga

Book cover for Molly and the Mathematical Mystery by Eugenia Cheung and Aleksandra Artymowska

For #KidsBooksFriday this week let’s highlight great kids puzzle and activity books. I find these are a great way to get kids to engage with physical books, particularly those who fear reading large swathes of text (as I did when I was wee). And they’re just great fun. #KidLitUK #UKKidLit #KidLit

'Times betwixt & between the demands of the curriculum where poetry can have a presence for teachers & pupils through reading aloud in an atmosphere of enjoyment & challenge is the place where poetry can matter most' My reading during kids' tennis lessons - real food for thought.

So glad you enjoyed it, it's brilliant, isn't it? I do hope there is a third instalment too.

Plain Jane and the Mermaid by @verabrosgol.bsky.social is an utterly brilliant graphic novel. Drawing from a range of folklore, it examines our eternal obsession with physical beauty & how we need to overcome that to find real worth and happiness. A great pick for UKS2 🌊 🧜‍♀️ 🦭

I'm enjoying Adventures in Wonderland by @michaelrosenyes.bsky.social (thanks for the rec @newhambookshop.bsky.social). This point is spot on, kids' lit is a place where it is sensible to hope. Opposed to most adult lit which is centred on the inevitability of tragedy/the tragedy of inevitability.

Book cover for Spirit Warriors by Ashley Thorpe

Book cover for Nush and the Stolen Emerald by Jasbinder Bilan

Book cover for Nate Yu’s Blast from the Past by Maisie Chan

Book cover for Birdie by J. P. Rose

With the IBC Excluded Voices report making for sober reading this week, let’s use #KidsBooksFriday to celebrate brilliant books from global majority writers.
#KidLitUK #UKKidLit #KidLit

www.inclusivebooksforchildren.org/excluded-voi...

What if the refugee crisis wasn’t happening far away, but here—in our own homes? No Refuge by Joe Brady & Patrice Aggs is a gripping, empathetic graphic novel that refuses to look away. I reviewed it for @justimaginecentre.bsky.social @the-phoenix-comic.bsky.social

justimagine.co.uk/childrens-bo...

Does your class love graphic novels? We are thrilled that Mai K. Nguyen is joining us for a Children's Authors Live event on Friday, 26th September at 1:15
justimagine.co.uk/author-live/... @uklitassociation.bsky.social @sconnor7.bsky.social @samcreighton.bsky.social

I really liked the first one quite a lot! It felt like a very cool collision between Farrant and Pullman.

As in this one or the first Impossible Creatures?

Thank you @newhambookshop.bsky.social! King's Hansel & Gretel is deliciously dark & more faithful than expected. Sendak's pictures are the right amount of scary. The Rosen/Oxenbury is so fun & I can't wait to read it aloud. My Hair... is beautifully lyrical. Now to start the new Rundell!

We do a GN in every KS2 year group:
Y3 - Mr Wolf's Class
Y4 - Cardboard Kingdon
Y5 - Lightfall
Y6 - When Stars Are Scattered
It's always a lot of fun 👏

These (+ Clockwork by Philip Pullman) are the books in our year five curriculum that I always particularly look forward to teaching #SundayMorningBookChat

Ditto!

I'm not sure exactly when it's released, but I think it's one of the strongest selections in years!

Yes, great to chat with you too Stephen!

Today's discussion with fellow @uklitassociation.bsky.social Award longlisters is absolutely one of the highlights of my year. An incredibly hard task to narrow the 7-10 category down to just 20 texts but the vibrant and thoughtful discussions are an honour to witness and be part of 👏 📚 ❤️

Got some 🔥 🎸 and, as you can see, my inner 18 year old emo is beyond happy:

Everything crossed to get MCR tickets. My teenage self is beyond excited... 😂😂

Book cover for Blitzers by Alastair Chisholm

Book cover for The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess by Tom Gauld

Book cover for It Might Be an Apple by Shinsuke Yoshitake

Book cover for Back to School Tortoise by Lucy M George

Schools are back this week in Scotland. So at @samcreighton.bsky.social’s suggestion, this week’s #KidsBooksFriday is about great books to share with a new class of kids. I’m not a teacher but I think these are all great books to read to kids as a first port of call. #UKKidLit #KidLit #KidLitUK