Wananga Landing

Whanau Resources

10 November 2025


Please enjoy our free resources for helping your child get a great start to reading. Our resources are based on evidence from several years of research trials investigating ways to support literacy success for all children.

Visit our online shop for readers and story books:
 

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Introduction


The Better Start Literacy Approach and Words Can POP has been developed by a team of researchers at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand.

It is based on research evidence from several years of research trials investigating effective and efficient ways to ensure early language and literacy success for all children.

This page provides you access to children’s early readers that are aligned to a series of classroom activities designed to support children’s early literacy and language success.

For school-aged children, we invite you to enjoy reading these stories with your child, helping them to begin to learn to read, write talk about the stories. There are teaching notes at the end of each of the School Readers to guide your support.

For preschool-aged children these readers are great short stories for children to listen to and enjoy. The Early Childhood Books also have reading notes at the back, with suggestions for other ways to help support your child’s early reading and language development.

Hardcopy sets of these readers can be purchased from our shop.

Remember to give your children plenty of praise and encouragement in listening with you to the stories or in reading the stories themselves (as appropriate to their level of development). It is important children experience success and enjoyment when engaged in language activities.

Your positive encouragement will motivate your children to keep listening and reading stories, which in turn, will help build important foundational learning skills for educational success.

Profile picture of Gail Gillon.
Professor Gail Gillon
Director, Professor of Literacy Research

Professor Gail Gillon, PhD, FRSNZ, FASHA, (Ngāi Tahu iwi) is the founding director of the Child Well-Being Research Institute, University of Canterbury. Prof Gillon is the Director of the national implementation of PLD in BSLA structure literacy teaching for teachers and literacy specialists in Years 0- 8.

Professor Gillon has extensive leadership experience in education. She is the currently New Zealand’s National UNESCO Commissioner for Education and formerly she has held positions as Pro-Vice Chancellor for the College of Education and Dean of Education at the University of Canterbury.

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