Michael Rosen joining us on Mumsnet on Friday 7th May from 12 - 1pm

[RachelMumsnet]

We're delighted that former Children's Laureate, Michael Rosen will be joining us for a live chat on Friday at midday. It's a topical webchat as Michael is supporting the SATS boycott and has set up the campaign, Authors Against SATS. Please post advance questions to Michael on this thread and join us here for the live chat on Friday.

[becaroo]

Hi...I got the last one!!!! Thanks anyway x

Really hoping it will help my ds1.

[Cat9999]

Amazon says it's now out of stock, but you can get it direct from the publisher www.yeswecanread.co.uk

[becaroo]

cat9999...have just ordered it from amazon!

[CoupleofKooks]

wonderful - thank you very much - ds and dp are so chuffed to hear that the Go Kart boy was Michael himeslf!

[spudmasher]

Awwww. Bit disappointed with my answer. (at least he answered)
New curriculum is on every shelf in every headteacher's office in the country. It cost millions. It is not just a review Michael.
Our children would love it and they would have fun at school.You do not know about it.

It now will probably never see the light of day. It has a fantastic child centred, cross curricular approach. The learning objectives are,at long last, what children need to learn.
No one seems to know about this.

[Feenie]

Sorry I missed the chat!

Just to clarify - Micahel is wrong about KS1 SATs, but he did ask us to correct him if he was [smile}.

In 2005, SATs stopped being the level reported at the end of Y2, and instead we were allowed to report the teacher assessment. The teacher assessment has to be drawn from many sources of evidence, a small part of which is still the tests. Schools don't have a choice in this.

Teachers loved this idea - previously we were sending up children to Y3 as levels based one piece of flimsy evidence, a test. (And never mind how the poor six/seven year old performed in class on a day to day basis).

Because the teacher assessment has to be built up, and looks at the whole picture of the child, most schools downplay these tests, and don't put any pressure in the Y2 children at all. Indeed, some LEAs refuse to look at the tests as part of the overall evidence when moderating teacher assessments and checking judgements.

However, there are some schools who still insist on drilling 6/7 year olds and boring them to death with past papers - this is terrible practice, and the 2005 changes should have eradicated this approach. See here for government advice on the changes.

Hope this clears things up

[Cat9999]

'Yes We Can Read' is ideal for parents who are concerned with their children's reluctance to read. It will diagnose the problem, solve it, and provide fun and laughter at the same time.

Has anyone tried it?

[elkiedee]

What a lovely webchat - our politicians could learn something from Michael Rosen about answering questions etc on these things. Seriously I enjoyed reading it and good luck to anyone involved in fighting against SATs - I hope the campaign succeeds before my little boys (3 and 15 months) have to worry about them.

[HelenMumsnet]

Thank you for coming in, Michael, and for answering so many questions.

(And for the impromptu MNHQ poem recital - v impressive!)

[GoldenSnitch]

I wish someone would tell Milton Keynes library that there are no late fees for children's books!!

We've been charged more than once for children's books taken out using DS's own library card!!

[sethstarkaddersmum]

we still haven't got a library.
it got flooded out in 2007 and they are taking forever to rebuild it. Meanwhile there is a van that comes round once a week but never outside school hours. Meh!

[nickelclegg]

thanks Michael, i've put your bookshop comment as a quote on my website!

[nickelclegg]

oh, i remember that book!
yeay!

[BessieBoots]

Thanks Michael. Inspirational chat.

[MichaelRosen]

I'm just about to scoot. I hope you carry on enjoying books with your children...enjoyment and sharing is the best you can offer them...remember libraries are full of FREE BOOKS! 12 PER TICKET! NO FINES FOR OVERDUE CHILDREN'S BOOKS!

best wishes
Michael
ps
I'm off to see a bloke who is going to design one of my books that went out of print so that we can do a diy print/publish job on it. It was called - and will go on being called! - Hairy Tales and Nursery Crimes.

[MichaelRosen]

cat9999, I would say, go to the library with your child and just browse and chat about what you find. I would spend plenty of time reading books to him/her, I would make sure that I left loads of books around in his/her way...on the floor in his/her bedroom, in amongst toys, etc. Don't put him/her under any pressure to 'learn how to read'. He/she will be getting heaps of that at school. Try and borrow or buy books that are related in some way or another to the outings, holidays and interests going on...Get tie-ins with films or plays you go to see...(They've just brought out a novelisation of the new Alice in Wonderland film, by the way)

[Tikkabillajive]

Found it - thank you!

[MichaelRosen]

superKat, I'm constantly pleasantly surprised by people saying to me that they remember when I visited their schools. Slightly disconcerting when the person is aged about 45, but I smile through that...

[Cat9999]

Hello Michael

What would you say to a parent who is concerned about their child's reluctance to read - the kind of child who doesn't ever seem to be ready to want to start to learn?

[antoxo]

Have been reading this with interest. So true what you say about SATS. My son (yr 6) was supposed to be revising for sats this week. His school has opted to boycott and so yesterday when his school was closed for the election instead of revising, he went swimming for the first time on his own with his mates! Says it all really. Will be interesting to see what happens in the next week. Is the SATS sitch dependent on who gets in this week?

[gingertoo]

Hi Michael,

Only just got back from the pre-school run so sorry I have not had time to read the whole thread.

Just wanted to say how brilliant it is that you and your fellow authors are supporting the SATs boycott. I have an 11 year old boy who loves science and IT but has not done any in class time since Easter 'because of SATs' Thankfully, I have the time to make sure that I keep his interests alive at home....

We love your books here. My pre-schooler plays 'bear hunt' in the garden and in the woods. He loves to scream at the top of his little voice when he finally finds his bear

[MichaelRosen]

tikkabillajive, i think there is a CD of me doing Chocolate Cake (and all the poems from the book it comes from 'Quick Let's Get Out of Here'). Last time I looked it's published by Abbey Media. Google?

[MichaelRosen]

Ifyou'rehappyandyouknowit, my experience with teens taught me that the stuff that interested them most was biography and autobiography. They seemed to want to check out what 'real' people had done with their lives. To tell the truth, these kinds of books are really another kind of fiction - they work to formulas Cinderella, Superhero etc but young readers are hooked into people from screen, sport etc and want to know how they got there. The other trick is to keep your ear to the ground and see what kinds of things are really interesting them, and then just find stuff that relates to it and leave it lying about.

[MichaelRosen]

hello squeaver, I'm reading about Edward Lear at the moment. What a sad, complicated, awful life and you don't have to look far in his poems to see that he's poured a lot of that into these 'funny' (really?) 'nonsense' (really?) poems. Yes, poems are there to be read and children will learn them if you enjoy reading them outloud, because poets know how to make language infectious. We spread poem-diseases!

[MichaelRosen]

hi Nickelclegg - you're right, bookshops are glorious springboards for us....go, browse, find, grab (o yes, pay) and you've got a treasure in your hand for life, a portable, durable browsable treasure. Unbeatable.