Honey Ant Reader - Reader 11: Run Goanna, Run

The Honey Ant Readers (HAR) is an exciting literacy program that Indigenous learners can relate to and succeed with.

It is the first ever early reading program in Australia to be developed in collaboration with, and at the request of, Indigenous elders and community and written specifically for speakers of Aboriginal English. It is underpinned by sound pedagogy and second language acquisition theory and supported by songs and rhymes which teach Standard Australian English.

Honey Ant Reader 11, 'Run Goanna Run' is one of two level 2 Honey Ant Readers, written in Standard Australian English (SAE).

Nana and 3 young sisters go looking for honey ants, when they see a goanna running across the sand and up a tree. The 2 older sisters chase the goanna successfully and return home with it to an excited welcome from the children in the camp.

The song, 'Bush Tucker', at the end of the book recounts the story. The rhymes which follow give learners practise with the sounds /g/, /s/ and /z/. The words introduced in the first ten Honey Ant Readers are repeated frequently in this book.