Reading the Reader is about judging when and how to intervene when teaching children to read. It has been designed to enable teachers or student teachers to view and reflect upon the kinds of evidence available in schools of children at the early stages of reading. It is not a manual on the teaching of reading.

Reading the Reader gives practical help to teachers when assessing young readers' progress. By observing what the real children featured on the discs are doing, the teacher-user is able to decide what next steps the child and teacher should take. In a single package, the discs bring together not only a wide range of information about children's progress in reading, but also information about the context in which each child is learning. The discs allow the user to replay the actions of readers and to take time to analyse and reflect upon their progress in a way that is not possible in the busy classroom. Working with the materials enables teachers to develop their ability to answer the key question What do I do next? and to widen their repertoire of responses to children.