Power of Pictures - with Yijing Li

Enhance and develop your knowledge and understanding of how to develop visual literacy, reading comprehension and the teaching of creative writing alongside renowned author/illustrator Yijing Li, focussed on her stunning debut picturebook Through the Forest.

Over 2.5 days, participants will learn how working with picturebooks across the primary years supports the development of children as readers and writers with a greater depth of understanding about the writing process, learning directly from Yijing. 

The course has been evaluated by the Education Endowment Foundation. This evaluation proved that:

• Pupils who received the Power of Pictures programme had, on average, higher writing scores (equivalent to one month of additional progress) as compared to children in the control group.
• Among children eligible for free school meals (FSM), those in schools that PoP was delivered in also made one additional month’s progress.
• Children in PoP schools had higher writing self-efficacy (equivalent to two months additional progress) and writing creativity (ideation) scores than those from schools in which the programme was not taught.
• The visual element of this programme attracted learners who traditionally have difficulties engaging in literacy activities.
• Teachers reported high levels of engagement with the programme not only from the pupils and themselves, but also from the senior leadership teams at their schools.

Read the full research report

What you will learn:

This 2.5 day course was designed by CLPE's Learning and Programme Director, Charlotte Hacking in partnership with CLPE Patron Ed Vere and developed with a wide range of author/illustrators and will cover:

• Understanding the importance of picturebooks as a vital part of children’s reading experiences across the primary years;
• How to closely read illustration, developing visual literacy skills;
• Investigating approaches to develop children’s inference, deduction and to be critically reflective about a text and its impact on the reader;
• How to convey meaning in words and illustrations of their own, investigating the impact of drawing as a means of communicating and sharing ideas;
• How to teach children the building blocks of narrative by exploring a wide range of high-quality picturebooks;
• Developing your role as a teacher-writer and the practices that are involved in this role;
• How to support children in creating, shaping, developing and publishing their own narratives using words and pictures following the authentic process of a practicing writer; 
• Understanding the wider benefits of children being more visually literate, including how to develop news literacy in the current climate;
• How to embed creative practices across your school to develop childrens engagement and attainment in reading and writing.

What participants will receive:

As well as 2.5 days of in-depth training, participants will receive a copy of  a picture book, detailed teaching plans for each age phase to teach the text across a school and access to a suite of video resources to support teachers to use the book and develop children’s independent writing back in their own classrooms between the course days.

Participants will receive joining instructions for the course one week before the training date. If you have any queries, please email courses@clpe.org.uk.

View books, videos and resources for the author/illustrators who have been involved in the programme

About Yijing Li:

Yijing Li is a London based illustrator, author and graphic designer specialising in children's books and book illustrations.

Her debut book, Through The Forest, was published in Spring 2022 and won the Merit Award in the 9th Hiii Illustration International Competition, as well as being long listed for the 2023 Klaus Flugge Prize. Yijing is currently working on her second book, Grandpa's Shadow, the draft of which won the Merit Award in the 2nd Oriental Kids Picture Book Award 2023 and will be published shortly.

Yijing's illustration work has been longlisted in Folio Society's Book Illustration Competitions and Association of Illustrators' Prize For Illustration, exhibiting in the London Transport Museum in 2017. Yijing also received the highly commended honour in the Faber Andlyn Prize 2020.

Power of Pictures Training Programme and Resources won the Teach Primary Award in Best CPD 2022. 

Why choose CLPE for your literacy training?

CLPE is a respected, trusted and innovative centre of excellence, its reputation established over its fifty-year history of training teachers in best practice that is rooted in ground-breaking research. Our responsiveness to trends and patterns in education means we are able to guide you in interpreting policy with integrity.

Our face-to-face courses are all held at our Literacy Library a unique 25,000 volume resource, which enables us to place high-quality children’s literature at the heart of our ethos and practice. Each course is delivered by one of CLPE’s expert advisory teachers, who can draw on decades of experience and expertise in leadership and literacy, supporting you to effect sustainable change that is built on a solid foundation of evidence.