Can Big Books help the visually impaired?
Initially the school was not convinced that the children would benefit greatly from a huge expense on big books. However, from the outset the children loved them as did the staff. For those children with some vision, they could read some of the larger print or were drawn into parts of the text, which were in bold lettering. The colourful nature of many of the books also enabled some pupils to access different aspects of the text. For those children with no vision, they initially loved to feel the sheer size of the book before it was read. The teachers had been careful about how to position their pupils during whole-class work: pupils with some vision sat close to the teacher; those with no vision sat a little further back.

How storysacks, puppets, music and drama tell the story
A year on, staff confidently ensure there is a strong oral and interactive element during the whole-class work. One of the principal ways in which this has been achieved is through the use of storysacks. These contain objects linked to a particular book. As the book is being shared, the children hold up an object at an appropriate time or the objects form part of a drama activity based upon the book. The storysack is also useful when retelling a story or sequencing the main events.

One class of children used a storysack to link with a book called The Cat Sat on the Mat. The book was read to the children on several occasions during the week and the teacher used the storysack objects as a way of reinforcing its sequence. A cloth was laid on a table and the pupils remembered the order in which the different animals in the story had sat on the mat. The story was then re-read to check the children's suggestions.

A reception class used the storysack The Big Hungry Bear and The Red Ripe Strawberry. The children loved the tactile nature of the objects and worked closely together to act out the story as it was being read. They were encouraged to move away from the actual text and describe in their own words how they would feel as a particular character.

Similarly, puppets are frequently used to motivate and engage the pupils actively within the shared reading. A reception class teacher reinforced children's understanding of The Tiger Who Came to Tea by encouraging the children to participate in a role play activity in which they acted out a 'tea party' and the guest of honour was a tiger.

For children with visual impairment and additional needs, music is often used as a way into a shared text. The teacher reads the book while pupils play percussion instruments to add sound effects at the required times. Again the teacher is encouraging good listening skills and active involvement by all pupils.

Tackling word and sentence level work
During the second part of the literacy hour the emphasis again is upon developing the pupils' oral skills. The word/sentence level work gives the pupils an opportunity to enlarge and enrich their language in a meaningful and exciting way.

A mixed Year 1 and 2 class session on adjectives was brought alive when the teacher, having read a book called Mrs. Hippopotamus' Bad Hair Day, brought out a variety of colourful wigs. A volunteer was selected to wear a wig and the pupils suggested as many adjectives beginning with a specified letter to describe the pupil's new hair-do. In another lesson the children were being taught to read consonant/vowel/consonant words starting with the letter b, like bat. The teacher stuck the words onto different coloured balloons adding the Braille equivalent above the word. If a child could read one of the words, the balloon was popped. The ultimate aim was to pop all of the balloons in order to release a squeaking pig from beneath the bunch of balloons. The children were very keen to help each other to decode the words and strategies were readily shared so that the pig could escape.

In all the lessons observed, the emphasis was upon oral work, using as many props and as much drama work as possible. Although Braille has a different code from the printed language, phonics is of equal importance and is used from the beginning of Braille reading. Word recognition is different for a blind or partially sighted child as he/she can rarely access a whole word shape, and has to build up a word letter by letter. As a consequence, the teachers need to spend more time upon a particular word/sentence objective, continually revisiting objectives to reinforce previous learning.

The next stage of the hour, guided reading, can be achieved in a number of ways. In one Y1/Y2 guided reading session the pupils had different-size print versions of the story The Three Billy Goats Gruff. The teacher, in her book introduction, encouraged the pupils to discuss the pictures in some detail, familiarised them with some vocabulary and helped them make predictions as the story unfolded. Independent activities were also encouraged, with suitable support.

The end-of-hour review session enables teachers to develop children's confidence and self-esteem by judicious use of praise. The motto at Joseph Clarke seems to be Where there's a will, there's a way.

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