The Whoosh Book

Gill’s most recent title, Literacy Activities for Classic and Contemporary Texts 7-14: The Whoosh Book is also co-authored  with Laura-Jane Evans Jones. It explores the use of the Whoosh, a  drama strategy devised by Professor Joe Winston of the University of  Warwick. The book provides Whooshes for a wide range of texts, together with follow-up activities to  encourage students to access texts with which they might not otherwise  engage with enthusiasm.

Learning Theories

Praise, Motivation and the Child should be read by  anyone who spends time with children and who believes that praise  works. It is a powerful motivator - praising children for good  behaviour or good work builds self- esteem and self-confidence. Young children love to collect stickers, certificates and rewards. Teenagers enjoy seeing their efforts rewarded – so what better way  is there to shape behaviour, encourage good work habits and produce confident learners? We also know that it works because our teachers used praise and reward, too, when we went to school.

But supposing these assumptions are wrong. Supposing that, instead of motivating students to learn, we are actually harming their self-confidence by making them dependent on the judgement of the adults around them. And what motivates people to learn anyway?

This book examines the development of learning theories from the 18th  century onwards, considering how praise and reward emerged as the most popular strategy for motivating learners. It then investigates current theories about motivation and self-theory, before considering what children and young people themselves think.

So do praise and reward motivate learning? Or are they just cherished assumptions?

Classic Texts

In February 2012, The Essential Charles Dickens School Resource for pupils aged 7 – 14 was  published, to coincide with the bicentenary of Dickens’ birth. Co-authored with a gifted young Secondary English teacher, Laura-Jane Evans-Jones, the book brings alive the characters and settings of six different Dickens novels.

The book suggests a wide range of creative responses, from drama and film to Web 2.0 technologies – a truly contemporary response to classic themes. And in responding, students will be introduced to Dickens language, Victorian society and the lives of children from another age. But their responses will be their own stories, expressed through contemporary culture using forms of communication which are their daily currency.

Lesson plans, themed units, schemes of work and resource sheets are provided on an accompanying CD, all supported with extensive text extracts. For secondary school teachers it is a great time-saving  resource. For primary English leaders and non-specialist staff alike, it provides full support as you embark on teaching Victorian literature. It will also have a place amongst students and trainee teachers.