The Core Reader is for use between September and early January. There are 16 texts in total, 1 for each of the 16 weeks. As recommended by the Curriculum there is an equal balance of fiction and non-fiction texts across a range of genres, including: narrative, recount, report, procedure and poetry. The texts are mapped to the corresponding book band levels recommended by the PDST and increase gradually in length and difficulty.
The themes of the Core Reader tie in with the themes of the Oral Language Posters and Interactive Readers.