The National Literacy Strategy has helped us to raise standards for pupils with learning difficulties. The Inclusive Readers Series is designed to support teachers in this area by providing attractive, stimulating and appropriate reading materials for children with moderate or severe learning difficulties across the 7-11 age range. It includes fiction, non-fiction and poetry, and could help to support a multi-sensory approach to learning.

The Inclusive Readers Series aims to do more than develop children's reading and writing - it aims to enable readers to extend their knowledge and understanding, to develop a fascination with language, to explore a range of emotions and, where appropriate, to help them to deal with difficult issues. The books represent positively many aspects of disability, and reflect the cultural diversity of society.

Each pack consists of a 16-page A3 (11-2/3 x 16-1/2) big book, with full color illustrations; a pull-out section of characters and images from the text to cut out and laminate for use in follow-up work; a teachers' book with half-term and weekly plans, plus activities for pupils at different levels; and photocopiable differentiated versions of the text at four levels (P5-6, P7-1C and 1C-2A) for use with individual pupils - the lowest level using words with symbols.

The A Day Out Big Book is written by Maggie Walker, with photographs by John Redman. Everyone else in our school was just having an ordinary day, but our class was going on a visit. We were going to the arboretum. Anne said we had to take our coats with us in case it rained. She said we had to take wellington boots as well because it might be muddy. But Andrew doesn't like the mud, and Michael never wants to do anything until he has had something to eat.

This story is written for Year 4, and uses the recount genre. It is suitable for all children in mainstream and special schools, and there are ample opportunities for sensory work. Suggested activities in the A Day Out Teachers' Book, by Maggie Walker, Val Davis and Ann Berger, include short modules on sequencing, letters and words in the community, and recalling events. This book celebrates the excitement of the school visit.

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