This essential text provides ideas for trainees and teachers to extend both their own teaching and their pupils' learning in primary English, through creative approaches and enrichment strategies that promote best practice and outstanding teaching. The book is accessible to all levels of experience and combines theory with practice throughout, while encouraging innovative approaches that demand critical reflection. It looks closely at how young children learn to read and write, and how practitioners can enable this development through creative ideas. The book begins with an exploration of the development of speaking and listening skills, which form the foundation of successful literacy. Chapters then cover all the key elements of the new curriculum, including word reading, reading comprehension, transcription, and composition, plus additional material on drama and reading for pleasure. Throughout, there is a clear progression from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 2, and a focus on creativity as a vital ingredient in successful English teaching. *** Librarians: ebook available on ProQuest and EBSCO (Series: Critical Teaching) [Subject: Education, English]