Creative Planning with Whole Texts

Children’s literature deserves a central role in the Primary curriculum and has huge potential as a context for a wide range of exciting language, literacy and arts based work. This can draw children in to the world of the book and more broadly to the pleasures that books and reading can bring. It can also inspire teachers to take more risks and be creative with their planning. However, knowing where to start with a literature based approach can be daunting.This Minibook provides a clear rationale drawn from theory and research. It offers a straightforward guide for students and teachers embarking on planning around a text for the first time or wishing to invigorate their practice. It will also be helpful to school leaders wishing to transform their curriculum with literature at the core. There is guidance on how to choose books, the types of approaches to use and how to go about constructing a teaching sequence. This is illustrated with an exemplar teaching sequence, book recommendations and responses from children and teachers.