Gill Matthews' News

Back From the Future

Building on the success of S.P.O.O.C.S, Back From the Future provides an innovative and fun way to prepare for KS2 English SATs.

Back From the Future is an experiential learning resource for upper KS2 that has been developed by Gill Matthews and Sylvia Karavis. Back From the Future gives children a context in which to write, authentic audiences to write to and real purposes for their writing. The unfolding narrative in Back From the Future engages the children and motivates them as writers. Find out more about Back From the Future.

Due to be published in October 2010, the resource can be pre-ordered at the introductory price of £95.00 (plus £1.50 P&P), a saving of £30 on the RRP of £125.00. To place your order, please contact Gill.

S.P.O.O.C.S

S.P.O.O.C.S is an experiential learning resource for upper KS2 that has been developed by Gill Matthews and Sylvia Karavis. S.P.O.O.C.S gives children a context in which to write, authentic audiences to write to and real purposes for their writing. The unfolding narrative in S.P.O.O.C.S engages the children and motivates them as writers. S.P.O.O.C.S can be used as a stand alone literacy resource, for ongoing assessment and for preparation for KS2 SATs, as all major non-fiction text types as well as narrative are covered.

Gill says “We hold the firm belief that offering children a range of writing activities within a lively, interesting context not only supports their writing development but also enthuses them as writers. S.P.O.O.C.S gives children opportunities to write for real purposes and real audiences. All too often we have come across Y6 children, and teachers, who are preparing for SATs by trawling through past papers. This doesn’t motivate or excite them, let alone ready them for the challenge of SATs.”

S.P.O.O.C.S was trialled by over 400 pupils in Sandwell in the West Midlands. It is now used by over 360 schools in 60 local education authorities to prepare pupils for KS2 SATs.

Find out more about S.P.O.O.C.S in the Publications and Products section of this site. Alternatively, visit the S.P.O.O.C.S website.