To introduce the children to the Tortoise; a mythical character in West African fables. It was explained liked Ananse the Spider. The Tortoise was also cunning. The two stories had a moral to them. The Cunning Tortoise fable ,was to demonstrate that greed robbed people of their dignity, coupled with the loss of the love and respect of other people. The other fable: The fable of the Tortoise and the Sardines, was a cautionary tale which warned children never to take people at face value and to be careful with strangers.

In the course of delivering the Home Office funded project-'Connecting Communities' for the black community in Manchester, I brought to the attention of the Learning Trust, the fact that the number of black students of African origin was steadily outstripping that of black students of Caribbean origin within the Secondary School system. The choice of literature or reading material within the secondary school environment is yet to reflect this.

It is a brief course, delivered to NVQ students, under the "Aim Higher Programme" in Manchester. This brief course, was prepared by the Literature Department at the University of Manchester, continuing Education Faculty. It was also delivered to Consultants at the School Improvement Service in Manchester. It is also excellent continuing professional development material, for all teachers, who engage with pupils during the literacy hour at the early learning years, and primary levels of education.