Oracy books
We’re known for our compact books packed with practical ideas for the classroom. We’ve been selling them for over ten years and are continually adding to the collection.
They’re handy, effective and the perfect go-to for oracy ideas. But don’t just take our word for it…
“If you only own one ‘little black book’ in your lifetime make it THIS one! After 30 plus years of teaching, advisory and inspection experience I thought I’d seen plenty of innovative and exciting approaches in the classroom but whilst sitting in a session led by Tom I couldn’t help feeling that here was something new and of superior standing. Philosophy Circles is like a magic portal (dare I say TARDIS….bigger on the inside!). I’ve been carrying it around in my handbag for months. Just 50 pages but packed with an ever expanding wealth of resources and don’t get me started on what it feels like when you try them out in class. As the book says ‘take the road less travelled’ and it will make ALL the difference to your class!”
Sharon Hallis, Teacher, Advisor and Inspector, Wiltshire
Help Me Find My Voice: A Practical Guide to Oracy for Schools
We’d never let a child leave school unable to read or write because “that’s how they are.” But we do sometimes make a mistake in thinking that when a child won’t speak in the classroom, it’s the child, not the classroom.
This practical guide to oracy explores why kids don’t talk in class – from kids who are “playground confident, classroom shy” to those who need to be someone else before they can be themselves. It’s fifteen years of experience of getting kids talking, boiled down to twelve principles you can use in every setting.
We hope this book arms you with the strategies you need to make one of the biggest differences you can - helping a child find their voice.
Philosophy Circles: How to Embed P4C into Your Curricuum
Philosophy for Children (P4C) creates deeper thinking and better talk in the classroom. It has proven benefits for literacy and numeracy and is popular with children and teachers. However, schools can struggle to find time for “traditional” P4C, and it can be slow, lack rigour, or be too teacher-led.
Philosophy Circles is a streamlined approach to P4C, based on extensive trials with thousands of children. It enables shorter, high-impact sessions that use your existing curricula as fuel for philosophy.
This book explains the three key principles of Philosophy Circles, and equips teachers to run successful sessions using the support download provided, or to devise their own.
Thinkers’ Games
Some children avoid classroom discussions. Others speak to please the teacher rather than to argue authentically with their peers.
The thirty eight adaptable games in this book help children throw themselves into the joyful argy-bargy of argument. They help children become independent, risk-taking thinkers.
By making thinking physical and borrowing features of children’s social talk, they give the children ownership of the discussion. You get fewer “I dunnos” and more engaged arguments that are a pleasure to watch
Thinking Beans: A Year of Classroom Philosophy Lessons
These excellent sessions combine deep thinking with a playful approach that is a great hit with children. Each explores a different theme via some interesting “experiments in thinking” and accompanying questions. It’s a great support to people who are new to facilitating philosophy for children.
“As someone who has been doing this for 15 years it’s also the best book of stand-alone sessions I’ve come across. I can only contain my professional jealousy because I had the pleasure of publishing it!” - Jason Buckley
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