Literacy
In the first half of literacy lessons the teacher will engage the whole class in shared reading or writing then focus on specific skills to be developed. Both these sections may involve the children sitting around the teacher working from a ‘Big Book’, or a piece of enlarged text, or a writing frame. The children will then return to their desks to work in their groups on independent activities, differentiated by the teacher, according to ability. Simultaneously the teacher will work with one or occasionally two guided reading or writing groups, working with every group in the class at least once during the course of the week. A plenary session to reinforce the objectives will be held before the end of the lesson.
The content of the Literacy lessons is determined by the Literacy Strategy which clearly indicates in a structured way what should be taught and learnt in each school year.
As teachers have become more familiar with the format, content and resources of the National Literacy Strategy, they have adapted and extended the Literacy Hour to allow extra time for children to work on independent activities and to extend opportunities for guided writing.