Relevant websites

The aim of this area is to give you some short cuts to relevant websites that will offer you help with action research and practical strategies for classroom methodologies to draw on. Look also to the reading and research areas for more ideas. 

If you come across a good resource, please share it with us by contacting the Building Bridges content editor. 

Has an area which focuses on Scotland, giving news and information, as well as areas on research, events and case studies. 
The Reading Connects initiative is about creating reading communities in secondary schools and has lots of useful ideas and information. 
Their very readable quarterly journal Literacy Today is a very good way of keeping in touch with developments in literacy. 

Publishes and distributes a variety of resources on literacy for both primary and secondary teachers. NATE is the UK subject teacher association for all aspects of English from pre-school to university. It supports effective teaching and learning, keeps teachers informed about current developments and provides them with a voice at a national level. 

Formerly the United Kingdom Reading Association (UKRA). Has a wealth of information about research both in the UK and internationally. They provide a forum for professional support and discussion and publish a journal, Reading, three times a year, which is a good way of keeping up with recent research and developments in language and literacy. 

Formerly the Reading and Language Information Centre (RALIC). The NCLL are concerned with all aspects of language and literacy learning and has a unique resource centre as well as producing excellent publications (including several by David Wray and Maureen Lewis), undertaking research, providing training and hosting conferences. 

A very good range of case studies and excellent classroom and training resources, many of which are free, to support teaching and learning in literacy. If you are prepared to ignore the English system's year group names, there is much here of value.

The framework contains useful detail of possible learning objectives for reading and writing at word, sentence and whole text level in fiction and non-fiction, term by term over the primary years. It can look a little unwieldy at first glance, but offers a challenging and in many ways helpful expansion to the 5-14 guidance, and, excitingly, children have proved able to rise to these challenges. 

As above, but for the lower secondary year groups, and includes objectives for talking and listening. A very useful set of leaflets to support writing across the curriculum can be freely downloaded from the cross-curricular part of the KS3 English publications section: Learning Styles and Writing in . . . English, maths, science, history, geography, modern foreign languages and physical education - very accessible, lots of good ideas based on visual, auditory, kinaesthetic, interpersonal and intrapersonal learning. 

Print copies of both frameworks can be ordered from the NLS publications section.

This resource introduces fundamental concepts about language and literacy in education through explanations, examples and activities. It contains useful and challenging staff development activities. CD-ROM distributed in the UK by NATE. 

A Knowledge About Language resource for teachers of English and modern languages in primary and secondary classrooms. It contains a range of information and resources to support teacher understanding of grammar and linguistic features. 3 booklets and CD ROM, published by University of Glasgow and SEED. Issued to all schools in 2001. 

Contact Dr Jim McGonigal, Head of Language and Literature, Faculty of Education, University of Glasgow G61 4QA. Tel: 0141 330 3005. CPD sessions available for LILT. 

Contains activities and themes to support CPD and school improvement. Topics include literacy, pupil participation, critical friends – follow the resources link and go to activities, or follow the school or local authority links and go to themes.