Helping children both to benefit from and enjoy informational reading and
writing is a considerable challenge for any practising teacher. We do not
want children trapped in tightly structured and essentially sterile learning
processes. Rather we want them to become avid and curious readers, intent
on finding out, and confident writers, practised in communicating
understanding and meaning. If teachers can achieve this in the primary years
they will have laid the foundations for a successful transition to the
information-based learning of the secondary years and for a lifetime in which
there will always be a need to acquire knowledge and skills.