Stories for Circle Time and Assembly: Developing Literacy Skills and Classroom Values

Circle time is a very popular activity in today’s schools and creates a safe, fun environment where children can think about their relationships, their behaviour, and be honest about their problems and feelings.

In this book, the highly successful and popular author Mal Leicester offers a range of lively and engrossing stories, poems and songs for use in circle time activities and assemblies. They are specially written to develop the cognitive and emotional development of young children and aim to encourage active and responsible participation. Using plentiful illustrations, photocopiable pages and practical activities, the author links twelve key value-based themes in the circle time stories to stimulate discussion and enhance pupils’ literacy skills and citizenship education.

"It would be a pleasure to find a book on morals, values and literacy which work as well as this one... There is no counter-productive over simplification, hectoring, preaching or moralizing. Rather, children and teachers are invited to engage with issues"
Professor Morwenna Griffiths, Nottingham Trent University.

Circle time has always created a special time in the school week, when children can use a safe environment in which to think about their relationships, their behavior and be honest about their problems and their feelings.

This book provides a range of lively and engrossing stories for use in circle time activities, which are specially written to develop the cognitive and emotional development of young children.

The author cleverly links twelve key value-based themes in the circle time stories which will stimulate discussion and enhance pupils' literacy skills and citizenship education. The stories in this book will:

· Promote pupils' self confidence
· Develop their interpersonal skills
· Encourage active and responsible participation
· Support deeper reflection
· Enhance their literacy hour activities

As well as circle time activity, this indispensable book also offers poems and suggested songs that can be used as the basis of a school assembly. Over-stretched KS1 and 2 teachers will find the stories and learning activities time-saving in their clarity and highly enjoyable to deliver.

Professor Mal Leicester is Professor Emiritus at the University of Nottingham. She supervises doctoral students in the School of Education. She has published extensively in education. She is also author of the companion volumes to this book, Stories for Classroom and Assembly (2003) and Stories for Inclusive Schools (2004) published by Routledge Falmer.