Book excerpt: Now in its fourth edition, The Literate Classroom combines a range of refreshing and challenging viewpoints from experienced classroom practitioners in order to offer practical and effective approaches to teaching reading and writing to primary students. Over the last few years, how teachers talk with children about their learning has been missing from much of the documentation going into school, but with essential information and advice, this book highlights the importance of speaking and listening in literacy learning and recognises the powerful links between reading, writing and dialogic talk. This fully updated edition includes: shared and guided reading and writing comprehension through response to children’s literature guidance on literacy teaching with ELL pupils new chapters on digital literacy, drama for literacy, talk for spelling and poetry. The Literate Classroom describes how the theory behind key areas of literacy teaching can be transformed into realistic learning experiences within the classroom. An accessible and informative collection, this book is a must-have for any teachers of literacy in the primary sector.