Worked example: All Are Welcome
All Are Welcome: from a welcome message to participation
This worked example shows how a book observation can lead to a teaching decision. Read the book before using the model, then question at least one of its decisions. The analysis concerns the 2019 Bloomsbury edition; the lesson is an original planning proposal and has not been classroom-tested.
A. Book and reading context
Book: Alexandra Penfold, illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman, All Are Welcome. The reviewed copy names Bloomsbury Children's Books and states that this edition was published in 2019; the first US publication was in 2018. Its imprint lists hardback ISBN 978-1-5266-0408-8 and paperback ISBN 978-1-5266-0407-1. Check the ISBN and binding of your own copy.
Access and scene references: Use a library, purchased or otherwise authorised copy of the complete book. The commercial book scan is not provided in this course. Scene descriptions below help you find the evidence across editions; add the page or spread numbers from your own copy. The model was prepared from the narrative and images available for review on 2 October 2026; covers and additional back matter were outside that review.
Summary in three sentences: Children with varied appearances and ways of participating move through familiar school activities. A repeated welcome message accompanies classroom work, stories, food, play and discovery. Home scenes and a gathering of families extend the picture of belonging beyond the classroom.
Proposed group: a fictional Year 4 EFL class familiar with school objects, a few action words and supported pair work. Some learners benefit from spoken instructions, a less crowded visual focus, extra rehearsal or an established communication system. This is a planning context, not an age-band claim about every reader.
B. Content, language and visual form
The familiar school setting supports connections with everyday routines. The book offers an affirmative vision rather than a conflict-and-resolution plot: we see many children taking part, but rarely a disagreement or an unsuccessful attempt to join. That makes it useful for asking what a welcome promise requires in practice; it does not show that all barriers have been removed.
Rhyming groups and the refrain “All are welcome here” give the reading a predictable return point. The opening school-morning verse links case, haste and chase; the verse about community introduces the more abstract words community, diversity and adversity. Short verses therefore do not guarantee easy EFL comprehension. Shared reading can support the overall meaning without requiring children to decode every word independently. The proposed classroom frames “We can …” and “You can …” are our additions, not quotations presented as the book's language.
Busy double-page scenes alternate with smaller episodes on white backgrounds. Recurring children can be followed across school and home scenes, giving a reason to look again. Images specify activities and relationships that the broad welcome refrain leaves open. Do not infer a child's nationality, beliefs, diagnosis or family relationship solely from dress, appearance or proximity.
Three observations and their consequences
| Reference and observation | Interpretation, with a limit | Teaching decision |
|---|---|---|
| Classroom desks: several children raise a hand; others read or interact. The verse associates the classroom with safety and then gives a hand-raising instruction. | The scene makes participation visible through a familiar routine. It does not establish that hand raising or immediate public speech is available or comfortable for every learner. | Ask “How could someone join in without raising a hand?” Accept a rehearsed phrase, an agreed signal or an AAC selection. Do not make the depicted routine the only acceptable one. |
| Playground: several activities occupy different parts of the spread. A child using a wheelchair appears beside other children near the slide; other children swing, run or use marked play areas. | The image includes mobility difference within a shared setting. Presence alone cannot prove that every activity is accessible, and the image does not prove that the child wants a particular activity. | Separate “I can see …” from “I would need to ask …”. Plan an offer that preserves the other person's choice, rather than deciding what they must want. |
| Community gathering: children and adults occupy multiple activity and food areas in a large hall. The final welcome addresses the reader directly. | Welcome is represented as a shared space with varied activities, extending the school community. We cannot infer equal influence, comfort or access for every person from the celebratory image. | Ask for one concrete action that could help a fictional visitor participate, and what the visitor should be able to choose or decline. |
C. Development and language-learning possibilities
Emotion, empathy and agency: the course's EMPATHICS lens helps us distinguish an adult's claim that a place is welcoming from a learner's opportunity to participate and express a preference. The pictures invite perspective-taking; they do not demonstrate an increase in empathy. A useful task lets the imagined newcomer accept, change or decline an offer.
Memory and attention: the refrain and recurring characters can support anticipation. Crowded scenes can also make locating evidence difficult. Name a region of the spread, describe relevant details aloud and leave time to look. Let learners revisit the image instead of testing unaided recall.
- Pronunciation and phonological awareness: optionally notice a rhyme pair and the stress of the refrain. Joining a repeated line can show participation, but is not evidence of independent comprehension.
- Grammar and vocabulary: model one useful offer with a familiar action, such as “We can show you”. Introduce only the action words needed for the response task; explain abstract terms in accessible language when they matter.
- Communication: use an offer, a choice and a response. Accept “No, thank you” or an equivalent established signal.
- Literacy: the speech bubbles in the multilingual closing spread offer an optional comparison of visible writing forms. Do not ask a child to translate or represent a language based on appearance. Extended independent reading and spelling accuracy are not the targets of this sequence.
D. A 25-minute teaching sequence
Language goal: make one relevant offer in English using “We can …” or “You can …”, through speech, writing or an established communication system. Interpretive goal: connect the offer to a stated participation need and recognise that the recipient has a choice.
Preparation: use an authorised book copy, bookmark the three anchor scenes, and prepare the original response task below in a format the group can use. Check sightlines and provide spoken descriptions. Read the book aloud in rehearsal to check the proposed timing.
- Before reading, 4 minutes: introduce a fictional child who wants to join a drawing activity but does not yet understand its instructions. Model “We can show you” with a demonstration. Ask what information we need before choosing help; do not appoint a real pupil as the outsider.
- During reading, 10 minutes: share the whole narrative and its closing images, allowing the refrain to remain optional. Plan only two brief pauses: at the classroom scene with raised hands, ask how a child could contribute; at the playground with several simultaneous activities, distinguish one visible detail from one question we would need to ask. Continue to the family gathering and multilingual ending. If the group needs longer, extend the reading rather than rushing the pictures.
- After reading, 8 minutes: briefly revisit the community gathering. Each learner designs or selects an offer for the fictional drawing activity and links it to the stated need. Partners try the offer; the recipient may accept, request a different option or decline. Change roles. The response can be a short exchange, a labelled drawing with explanation, or a selected English phrase plus symbols showing the reason.
- Learning check, 3 minutes: ask each learner for an offer and a reason, then ask how the recipient could express a different preference. Record the language and interpretation separately. Keep unfinished responses for a later turn if necessary.
Original pupil response task
Make welcome useful. An imaginary child wants to join our drawing activity. The child does not understand the instructions yet.
- Choose or draw one offer: show the first step; offer a partner; offer words or symbols to choose from. You may suggest another option.
- Build your message: “We can …” or “You can …”.
- Show why it may help. You can explain, connect pictures with an arrow, or use your communication system.
- Try the offer with a partner. Your partner can say or signal “Yes, please”, “Something else” or “No, thank you”.
Optional words: show, draw, choose, together, first, help. A reason can be clarified in a familiar language; record English production separately. You do not need to tell a personal story.
Supports, evidence and feedback
| Possible barrier | Support preserving the goal | Evidence to seek |
|---|---|---|
| Unfamiliar written instructions | Read the task aloud and demonstrate one turn; keep a short English phrase strip available. | The learner chooses an offer appropriate to the stated need and communicates its English message with the recorded support. |
| Visual crowding or limited access to the image | Describe the anchor scene and direct attention to a small, named region; allow a second look or description. | The explanation refers to an actual detail or the spoken description, rather than guessing from the title. |
| Public speaking or motor access | Offer partner rehearsal, writing, accessible selections or the learner's usual AAC. Let the learner confirm the final message. | The learner controls the offer and response. Record whether the English was independently formed, selected or modelled; do not relabel a selected phrase as fluent speech. |
A possible response: “We can show you the first step.” The learner points to the instruction card to explain the need and lets the partner choose another option. A partial response: a decorated card saying only “Welcome” expresses a theme but does not yet identify a useful action. Feedback: “What could we offer this child? Show me what your offer would help with.”
Teacher record: relevant English offer / link to need / recipient's choice; alongside each, note independent response, prompt or model. These are observations, not a score for kindness. Reduce a rehearsal prompt only when useful; keep an access arrangement available as needed.
Representation, judgement and reflection
Visible diversity is a strength of the book, but a cheerful image cannot establish a child's experience of belonging. Avoid turning clothing, food or flags into a quiz assigning identities. Do not infer that every family has the same resources, routines or sense of safety. If a pupil excludes a group, stop the generalisation, reaffirm that everyone belongs and return to the concrete participation question.
Selection judgement: this book supports shared reading and a focused task about practical welcome for the proposed Year 4 group. I would avoid using it as proof that schools are already inclusive, or requiring independent reading of the abstract vocabulary. The final choice still depends on the actual learners and their access to the images and discussion.
Revision after analysis: the initial plan was simply to make a welcome card. The hand-raising routine and playground scene led to a more precise task: offer an action, link it to a need, and preserve the recipient's choice. Before adopting the model, find a different detail that challenges this decision and explain what you would change.
Sources and review scope
Primary source: Penfold and Kaufman, All Are Welcome, Bloomsbury edition 2019. Evidence anchors: the classroom with raised hands, playground activities, family gathering and multilingual ending. Official publisher resources and linked Brightly read-aloud offer a legitimate starting point; obtain a complete authorised copy for close analysis. Framework: Analysing Picture Books to Further Language Learning, adapted from Riehemann (2006), p. 174. The EFL goals, prompts and response task above are original course proposals.
Review: text and images examined on 2 October 2026. The analysis is an interpretive planning model; suitability for actual learners and classroom effects require teaching judgement and review. Consult your authorised copy alongside the model. No complete commercial book, scanned spread or cover image is reproduced here.