The 4th edition of this bestselling textbook has been fully updated with the latest research and initiatives in the field, as well as the most recent changes to the National Curriculum. With ten brand new units, including tackling SPAG, the creative curriculum, teaching for mastery and teaching in the current climate, there is even more practical advice and guidance for trainees. A selection of extra tasks have been woven throughout, with an emphasis on innovative and reflective practice, and new 'vivid examples' bring each chapter's argument alive in a classroom context. This accessible and engaging textbook is essential reading for all students training to be primary school teachers.

Introduction Section 1: Becoming a Teacher 1.1. Primary teaching: a personal perspective 1.2. Becoming a professional in the current context 1.3. Making the most of your placements Section 2: Exploring the Nature of Learning and Teaching 2.1. Looking at children 2.2. Looking at learning 6. From learning to teaching 2.3. Moving from novice towards expert teacher 2.4. Building on firm foundations: Early years practice 2.5. The importance of play and explorative learning Section 3: Planning and Managing Learning 3.1. Building inclusive communities of engaged learners 3.2. Approaching Short-term planning 3.3. Organising your classroom for learning 3.4. Managing classroom behaviour 3.5. Handling difficulties in social, emotional and behaviour development 3.6. Organising effective classroom talk 3.7. The value of outdoor learning Section 4: Approaches to the Curriculum 4.1. Investigating the aims, values and purposes of primary education: the case of the Cambridge Primary Review 4.2. Aims into practice: Understanding schools' aims and enacting your own 4.3. Critical perspectives on the curriculum Section 5: Assessment 5.1 Assessment for learning: Formative approaches 5.2 Assessment for learning: Summative approaches Section 6: Diversity and Inclusion 6.1 Providing for differentiation 6.2 Special educational needs and inclusion 6.3 Teaching for social justice: Creating equity for pupils living in poverty and those from black minority ethnic backgrounds 6.4 Responding to cultural diversity and citizenship 6.5 Responding to linguistic diversity 6.6 Responding to gender differences Section 7: Recent Developments 7.1 Engaging with pupils: Listening to the voices of children and young people 7.2 Reading: marrying word recognition with comprehension and pleasure 7.3 The creative and the critical: Grammar and punctuation 7.4 Creativity and creative teaching and learning 7.5 Thinking skills 7.6 Understanding mastery in primary mathematics 7.7 Primary education in a digital age Section 8: Partnership in Practice 8.1 Working with teaching assistants 8.2 Partnerships with parents 8.3 Understanding the teacher's pastoral role Section 9: Your Professional Development 9.1 Applying for jobs and preparing for your induction year 9.2 Understanding and planning your continuing professional development 9.3 Research and professional development: using research and enquiry to develop as a teacher