Children of all abilities, but especially those who have trouble learning to read, can be greatly helped if they first understand what it feels like to be a "reader". In this practical book for teachers, support teachers and other classroom helpers, Brigid Smith shows how children's own words, dictated to an adult and then read back, can give them this initial experience of literacy. From their success in this, teachers can gradually guide them towards the skills needed to decode unfamiliar text. At the same time, the process of reading encourages the children to edit, thus practising compositional skills which would otherwise be beyond their reach. Brigid Smith explains how teachers can use this approach in their own classrooms with different kinds of texts, with individuals and with groups and with children with all levels of reading difficulty. While her emphasis is on enjoyment and independence for the reader, she also shows how the method she suggests can fulfil the requirements of the National Curriculum and how progress can be monitored for assessment purposes. The book is illustrated throughout with case studies and examples of childrens' writing.