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The unit is presented in two parts. The first part provides background knowledge and concepts that will help you understand the nature of literature and its role in children’s learning. The second part focuses on exploring a range of books available for children in primary and middle school classrooms, and looks at some strategies to engage children in reading and writing. An important element of this unit is reading aloud. Reading aloud to children is known to have a powerful influence on their language development, on their emergent literacy and on their reading achievement. The second of two workshops on reading aloud focuses on the performance aspect and the importance to children’s development of prosodic sensitivity (sensitivity to the rhythms and patterns of the written language) of listening to stories read aloud well. You will explore effective ways to practise reading aloud and examine the way the narrator ‘carries’ the story.