Product reviews for Manglish

A paint-coated hand -” where's the maths in that? Where's the number and algebra, geometry and measures, statistics? From this intriguing beginning, Lisa Jane Ashes explains, in an extremely enthusiastic and readable way, how all teachers need to be asking -˜Where is the maths in my subject?' And -˜where is the reading, writing and communication'? And -˜how can teachers work collaboratively in creating a -˜joined-up approach' to support students in -˜mastering' them'? You are probably asking these questions in your own schools -” and you may well find your answers here in this book.

In Manglish, Ashes, an English teacher, AST, trainer and CPD Leader in her school, and Independent Thinking Associate, explains the journey she and maths AST, Gary Mitchelson, took in her school to truly embed numeracy and literacy across the curriculum. In describing this journey she shows us how it can be done to foster pupils who are confident independent thinkers. She says they will not be asking why, but will be able to explain to the teacher why.

So how is this done? The Manglish curriculum is collaborative planning; it is central data provided by English teachers; it is all teachers using Manglish mats for fully differentiated planning and thus understanding how to support the pupils that they teach without having to compromise the lesson. Sound good? It sure does.

Ashes tells you how to put a Manglish curriculum into practice from scratch; she takes you through it step by step. It is fascinating and addictive reading, full of detailed long term plans showing how the subjects link and lead to the desired outcomes. The generosity of the book is extraordinary. There are detailed lesson outlines and Manglish mats for most subjects, and examples of how this method applies to all the writing purposes.

This curriculum promises a lot of things and it seriously looks like it can deliver them. Manglish is essential reading, and even if you decide it is not going to be the revolution your school is looking for, you are still going to get a lot from it. I really enjoyed reading this - and I can't say that too often about pedagogical tomes. Manglish made me think -” a lot! It gave me lots of ideas for my own classroom teaching. And once I've passed it round a few of my colleagues here at school I imagine we will be discussing whether Manglish may have some merit for us. Nice one Lisa -” my favourite -˜school' read this year.