Runt

Runt is a realistic and humorous fiction story about a pig that was a runt and too small to live with other piglets. Runt was cared for by Peta and Tim as though he was a family pet. Runt became too big to live inside and eventually was returned to the pig pen. Everyone was upset that Runt had to go back, until the next morning when Runt banged on the door for his breakfast! The story is narrated with dialogue and illustrative text.

Runt is a simple narrative story. Critical thinking questions are provided to guide the reader. Illustrations match the text. A visual information guide is provided for teachers to draw students’ attention to the change in font styles, layout and design. There is an infographic at the end of the book outlining the parts of a narrative including the who, where, when, problem, and solution. An activity on drawing their own visual map of a narrative is provided for teachers to extend students’ learning.

Readers develop vocabulary such as singular/plural (potato/potatoes), homonyms (night/knight), synonyms (near/close), antonyms (near/far), and similes. Opportunities arise to discuss apostrophes to show possession (hen’s food) and apostrophes within contractions (he’s). Focus on long and short vowel e, suffix ed (pushed), base words (rattled), prefix un (unhappy), and silent letters (light).

This title is from the Sails Literacy series. Hook readers and ignite their curiosity - over 850 levelled texts with bright, colourful, sophisticated designs.