Poetry in the Foundation Stage

The NLS (DfES, 1998) introduced shared reading and the use of big books into many early years’ classrooms. These enlarged texts are useful for the teacher to model reading processes such as anticipation (‘I wonder what’s on the next page . . .’) and understanding of concepts of print such as directionality (‘point to the words as we say them’). All this can be achieved while maintaining the intimacy of a whole class read, an important consideration in any early years’ setting. Andreae’s episodic poem ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ is available as a big book, dramatically illustrated with the vibrant colours of an imaginary jungle.