This is the first in a series of podcasts where I focus on a specific area of English instruction. In this episode I’m delighted to be talking to David Didau about how to construct a knowledge rich curriculum.

David has authored numerous books on a wide range of school topics, including literacy, accountability and psychology. But his most recent publication, Making Meaning in English is the one that I was most keen to question him on. The book’s ideas and further reading recommendations have fundamentally altered the way I see the subject moving forwards and as such it was a pleasure to have David on to discuss aspects of it in more detail. 

We cover: 

• The best book David’s ever read, taught or been taught
• His reaction to the assertion from some teachers who claim that they are already applying curriculum guidance that has come about in the past few years
• Texts he has included in the Key Stage 3 curriculum as part of his role in a Lead Practitioners team for English
• How ambitious David thinks we can be in the younger years in terms of book choice and whether the only thing limiting our aspirations is age appropriate content
• The thought process behind his choice of disciplinary lenses in the book.
• The way in which these 6 disciplinary lenses can be structured or layered to ensure they have the desired effect
• And finally, what this looks like in a spiral curriculum across Key Stage 3.

A massive thanks again to David for offering up some time to discuss the book. If you haven’t read it already then I strongly suggest you do, particularly if you’re in a position requiring curriculum design and review. 

If you’d like to be made aware of when more education chat like this happens then be sure to subscribe to the podcast and/or follow me on Twitter @chrisjordanhk