Masterful Grammar and Reading with Jennifer Webb, Mind the Gap, Ep. 47 (S3E3)

For this episode, Tom and Emma welcome author, leader, and English specialist Jennifer Webb to the podcast. They open the podcast with a discussion on grammar and how the teaching of grammar has changed from description and memorization of grammar parts to more student-led creation-focused lessons. Jennifer’s interesting background and her time at Oxford led her to develop a unique perspective on grammar and how it is taught in primary and secondary.

In the second part of the conversation, the trio discusses English teaching and learning from a more curriculum perspective, diving deeper into Jennifer’s beliefs on reading lists, explicit diversity, developing literary pallets, CPD, and creating reading cultures. Visit edCircuit.com to watch this episode.

About the participants:

Jennifer Webb is an English teacher and Assistant Principal with expertise in CPD, whole school T&L policy, literacy, and research. In addition to teaching and school leadership, she is the author of several books, including The Metacognition Handbook, Teaching Like A Writer, How to Teach English Literature: Overcoming Cultural Poverty, and more. You can learn more about her projects like The Reading List at her website: https://funkypedagogy.com/. Follow Jennifer on Twitter @FunkyPedagogy

Tom Sherrington has worked in schools as a teacher and leader for 30 years and is now a consultant specializing in teacher development and curriculum & assessment planning. His books include Teaching WalkThrus, Rosenshine’s Principles in Action, and The Learning Rainforest Fieldbook. He regularly contributes to conferences and CPD sessions locally and nationally and is busy working in schools and colleges across the UK and around the world. Follow Tom on Twitter @teacherhead

Emma Turner joined Discovery Schools Academy Trust as the Research and CPD lead after 20 years in primary teaching. She is the founder of ‘NewEd – Joyful CPD for early-career teachers’, a not-for-profit approach to CPD to encourage positivity amongst the profession and help to retain teachers in post. Turner is the author of  Be More Toddler: A Leadership Education From Our Little Learners, and Let’s Talk About Flex: Flipping the flexible working narrative for education, Follow Emma on Twitter @emma_turner75