ABSTRACT
The ability to explain clearly is highly esteemed by children. Although I had written previously about moving towards a science of teaching, I have never believed that one yet exists, certainly not in a form that would allow someone to prescribe precisely what a teacher should do. This study, Chapter 8 from my 1993 book Primary Teaching Skills, analyses how primary teachers explain topics like ‘Insects’ to their classes and I have always felt proud of it as something that at least attempted to tackle a topic often thought to be intractable: what is involved in clear explanations.
