ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the principles on which Rachel Smith bases her literature teaching and some of the practices that she employs. It provides the episodes. The children are new to school and often new to the idea of sitting together to listen to and talk about books. The class gives the book undivided attention and many children comment. The children have a time for free-choice activities, so the teacher has time to read one-to-one with Ben. He chooses Rosie's Walk and is reading the written text that the teacher underlines with her finger. The common, class-shared, social experience of books read gives everybody a chance to make connections. There is clear evidence that children's enjoyment and interest is ensured if they sense and can identify these connections. In order to teach anything, a teacher has to induct children into the ground rules of the classroom.
