The government has increased the number of classroom assistants in schools to help schools raise their standards in literacy and numeracy. Classroom assistants are increasingly relied upon to support the most needy pupils, and they have had significantly less training than their colleagues with qualified teacher status. It is clear that these assistants need some very practical materials. The book provides a large section of photocopiable resources so that classroom assistants can get to work. The book covers all they need to know about literacy, and explains, in very simple terms, what is expected from them and: how the National Literacy Strategy works; how to support reading, writing and spelling; how to select fiction and non-fiction; and how to help children use computers. It also covers issues such as: how to help children for whom English is not their first language; how to help children with special needs; and how to set targets and monitor progress.