Libby Martin

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 Libby Martin Big Book, written by Maggie Walker and illustrated by Sarah Wimperis, is the story of a day in the life of Libby Martin, a very special person. Libby's Dad says she's a creature of habit. Every day she gets herself ready for school, and every day she does the same things in exactly the same order... This story is written for Year 3, and is designed to help teachers build work on the non-fiction instruction genre. The story features a key character with Downs Syndrome, and incorporates lists, recipes and directions. Suggested activities in the Libby Martin Teachers' Book, by Maggie Walker, Val Davis and Ann Berger, include many opportunities for work on using instructions, making lists and using the alphabet. The structure of the school day and other ordering activities are familiar to teachers of pupils with severe and profound learning difficulties.