Literacy

Literacy is a vital skill that all children must learn properly. Without the basic foundations laid at an early age they are likely to struggle in later life to have full access to other areas of learning, to find a job or even to cope with everyday tasks.

What should literate children be able to do?
Literate primary pupils should be able to:

read and write with confidence, fluency and understanding
correct their own mistakes
understand the sound and spelling system and use this to read and spell accurately
have fluent and legible handwriting
have an interest in words and their meanings and a growing vocabulary
know about, understand and be able to write fiction and poetry
understand and be familiar with some of the ways in which narratives are structured through basic literary ideas of setting, character and plot
understand, use and be able to write a range of non-fiction texts
plan, draft, revise and edit their own writing
have a suitable technical vocabulary through which to understand and discuss their reading and writing
be interested in books, read with enjoyment and evaluate and justify their preferences
develop their powers of imagination, inventiveness and critical awareness through reading and writing

The National Curriculum for English helps your child gain these skills through reading and writing - but also through speaking and listening.

A typical Literacy Session
The National Literacy Strategy, which began in 1998 and is now part of the Primary Strategy, has transformed the quality of literacy teaching in primary schools. Government advice is based on extensive research and good practice, which shows that the most successful literacy teaching is interactive, allowing children’s contributions to be encouraged, expected and extended. In a literacy session pupils will spend about three-quarters of their time being taught as members of a whole-class or a smaller ability group. Some time will be spent on independent reading or writing work. The literacy session maximises opportunities for:

high quality oral work
guided reading and writing
structured teaching of phonics, spelling and grammar
shared reading and writing

Literacy skills should transfer to other curriculum areas so some literacy may be taught in other subject sessions such as history.

Source: DCSF

Further details can be obtained from:- DCSF - Parents' Centre

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