ABSTRACT
We now turn to the classroom practice of the teaching of literacy. In 1997 a major change in the way that teachers should teach literacy was introduced. Detailed documentation spelling out both content and teaching methods was sent by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) to each classroom teacher. The documentation was detailed, extensive and explicit, and additional documentation was added to the original package on an almost yearly basis. The most striking aspect of the original documentation was the way in which the hour devoted to literacy was set against the clock. Originally segments of the hour were given over to particular aspects of reading instruction following these components:
word-level work – phonics, spelling and vocabulary • sentence-level work – grammar and punctuation • text-level work – comprehension and composition. •
In a sense, this notion of strictly following the clock and the documentation was at odds with the way English primary school teachers had previously viewed their role, but the experience of the National Curriculum, its attendant assessment and Ofsted inspections, had made the teachers much more biddable.
