2020 Catalogue

The theme for this year's catalogue is 'practice', because if there is one thing that Schofield & Sims customers have in common, it's a firm belief that practice is key to success. The idea isn’t new, as evidenced by the enduring popularity of the phrase ‘practice makes perfect’. But developments in the fields of neuroscience and psychology mean that there is now an increasing body of scientific evidence to support this tenet of popular wisdom. 

The power of practice 

According to the Swedish academic Anders Ericsson, whose research into expertise formed the basis for Malcolm Gladwell’s often-cited 10,000-hour rule, practice is the single most important factor in determining a person’s ultimate achievement in a given field. There is an important caveat, however. To truly improve, learners must engage in what Ericsson calls ‘deliberate practice’. While regular practice might include mindless repetitions, ‘deliberate practice’ involves putting sustained effort into improving your performance in a specific area. It requires focused attention, constant monitoring and feedback and should be pitched just beyond one’s current capabilities.

In the classroom

It's easy to see how Ericsson’s theories can be translated to the classroom. Focused practice, both guided and independent, is an essential part of the learning process and something that teachers have relied on for centuries to improve attainment. Without it, pupils can have little hope of developing the automaticity and prior knowledge necessary to learn new information and progress to more challenging tasks. Moreover, practice significantly increases the likelihood that children will permanently remember what they have learned by creating deep and well-connected networks in the long-term memory.

Complete Comprehension

Not surprisingly, practice also lies at the heart of much of what we do at Schofield & Sims and is a key feature of all of our new publications for 2020. Complete Comprehension, for example, a new photocopiable comprehension resource for Years 1 to 6, is designed to develop children’s reading skills through targeted practice of key comprehension strategies. Each Complete Comprehension teaching unit revolves around a single text passage and focuses on a particular comprehension skill, which is introduced to pupils through an in-depth modelling session, followed by independent practice of test-style questions. 

SATs, Spelling and Times Tables 

Another new practice-focused resource for this year is the SATs Practice Papers, providing realistic and up-to-date practice for the 2020 tests and beyond. For pupils preparing to sit the new Year 4 Multiplication Check, there is My times tables book, a handy A5 times tables book packed with times tables questions that match the pace and style of actual check. A sister resource, My spelling book, is also available, allowing children to record and practise weekly spellings.

Of course, beyond the new titles mentioned above, there is also a wide range of existing Schofield & Sims practice materials for you to choose from. And if you can’t find what you are looking for? Please get in touch and let us know what other areas of the curriculum you would like to practise with your children.

You can view the full range of resources in the online version of the catalogue or order a printed copy on the catalogue page of the website.

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