The literacy program
The next session The next day the literacy session began with a song whose lyrics were enlarged and written on a big chart, followed by another book of favourite children’s literature read aloud. Next the second enlarged book was read, such as The Gingerbread Man with its wonderful refrains of ‘Run, run as fast as you can, you can’t catch me I’m the Gingerbread Man’. Then the class requested a rereading of book that was read on the previous day, The Three Billy Goats Gruff. The children wanted to read the book with the teacher pointing to the words, and also act it out. To conclude the session the teacher read another book that she hoped would become a favourite.
Fast-paced sessions The sessions were fast paced as the children engaged with a song or chant, listened to a selected piece of literature read aloud, read an enlarged book with the teacher and joined in and perhaps dramatised some of the book, and finally listened to another new book. At this emergent reading phase the small books were not levelled texts but the original literature that had been enlarged and the literature, songs and nursery rhymes selected by the teacher.
Independent reading The big books and the original books were available in the classroom for children to read in independent reading time. The idea was to encourage children to want the books read and to request them reread time and time again just like bedtime story procedures. Some of the books that were enlarged in the original development of big books included: There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly; The Tailypo; The Owl And The Pussy Cat; Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?; The Three Bears; The Gingerbread Man; The Three Billy Goats Gruff; One Wide River To Cross; and My ABC. Holdaway wrote that children need security and predictability, and that sessions should follow the same format each day. • Tune-in with verse, song, chant— favourite and new with enlarged print and charts • Reread favourite books usually by request but sometimes planned—learning reading skills in context, exploring syntaxsubstitution, simplification, extension, transformation, innovating on verse and story structure • Teaching opportunities from a previously introduced book such as alphabet study and games, riddles, puzzles, vocabulary games, exploring writing and spelling • Introduce a new story for enjoyment
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