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

"There is a reason why this book is now in its fourth edition - it is a classic. The work of the editors and authors responding to new research, new policies and new practices, over the many years of the book’s life, is one of its many outstanding features. And for this edition the renewed emphasis on critical analysis is most welcome. Not only is this book invaluable for trainee teachers but policy makers could well find food for thought as well."- Dominic Wyse, Professor of Early Childhood & Primary Education, University College London"Unquestionably, teaching in the primary school is a messy, complex, demanding business. For anyone starting out in the classroom, this book is an easily accessible guide to the challenges you may face, offering both theoretical rationales and practical advice to help." - Megan Dixon, Director of Literacy for the Aspire Educational Trust"A welcome new edition of this outstanding, comprehensive book that should be a core reader for anyone embarking on primary teacher training. It will become the 'go-to text' for trainees across all routes into teaching. A highly accessible, interactive book written by highly qualified teacher educators who are experts in their field."- Jane Warwick, Primary PGCE Course Manager, University of Cambridge"This 4th edition is a contemporary and extremely relevant resource for prospective and qualified primary teachers alike. The wide range of established authors provides a detailed discussion and focussed insight into the complexities of being a primary teacher. The child as an individual and a reflective approach to the curriculum are valued as key components of effective learning and teaching. This is a must-read for all professional practitioners."- Jenny Carpenter, Director of Partnerships, York St John University