The literacy hour in primary schools
In 1998 the National Literacy Strategy in the Framework for Teaching, developed the literacy hour for primary schools. The literacy hour was a daily English lesson that was structured in a specific way (see below). For the first half of the lesson pupils were taught as a whole class, reading together, extending their vocabulary, looking at the phonetics of words and being taught grammar, punctuation and spelling. The lesson began with clear objectives. The teacher-led part of the hour was interactive, with the teacher modelling what the pupils had to do and the pupils increasingly joining in the activity, so that they had the confidence to work on their own in the second half of the lesson. For the last half of the lesson they worked in groups or individually, with the teacher focussing on one group. The lesson ended with feedback from the children on what they had been doing in relation to the objectives of the lesson.
Recommended structure of a literacy hour
First section (15 minutes)
- Make the objectives of the lesson clear
- Whole class: Modelling reading using an enlarged text, or modelling writing by scribing with the class.
Second section (15 minutes)
-Whole class: Focused word or sentence work.
Third section (about 20 minutes)
- Group or individual work: Reading, writing or word and sentence work, while the teacher works with one or more ability group on guided text work.
Final section (about 10 minutes)
- Whole class plenary session: Reviewing the learning that has taken place related to the objectives of the lesson; the pupils, not the teacher, explain what they have learnt.
The renewed Framework for Teaching (2006)
The publication of the renewed Framework for Teaching (2006) continued to promote the daily teaching of literacy. However, much greater flexibility was and is still encouraged, with greater emphasis on how to teach these skills across other subjects and how to implement a range of approaches to structure learning within lessons. In Excellence and enjoyment: learning and teaching in the primary years (2004), schools were encouraged to be flexible in their use of the ‘literacy hour’ model. The renewed Framework reinforced this flexibility to ensure that the structure and organisation of the daily teaching of meet the needs of practitioners and children.
For practical ideas, resources and case studies to help you transform literacy in your school, visit our Schools and Teaching sector page.
