This book offers practical advice and guidance on how children can be helped to use language to transform knowledge and experience into understanding across the curriculum, and thus become active learners.

PART 1: Language and Learning 1. 'Why do we have to write it down?' Young children learning to write and writing to learn 2. 'I want to find out': what is involved in reading for learning? 3. Significant speech PART 2: Getting ideas going 4. 'British maths fails to add up' 5. Who's asking the questions? Year 4 pupils extend their question and answer skills while studying the Tudors 6. Rights and responsibilities: persuasive language and points of viewPART 3: Looking closely at language 7. Talking mathematics 8. Language for science 9. Language and musicPART 4: Narrative across the curriculum 10. In which we are introduced to the boxes and some children, and the stories begin 11. 'My priority is language': a design technology project 12. 'Don't look out of the window, you'll only have to write about it!' Developing texts from first-hand experiencesPART 5: The language of reflection and evaluation 13. Great debate 14. Storysearch: children using information technology to interpret texts 15. 'I like climbing, hoping and biking': the language of physical educationPART 6: A common approach to language development