ABSTRACT
One of the problems all teachers face when set ways of working are developed (such as a literacy hour divided into timed sections) is that of the work becoming ‘ritualised’ in the classroom. If each literacy hour follows exactly the same format, and I’m a child in my eight hundred and forty third, the danger is that I might stop really engaging with the process and just go with the flow (or demonstrate that I’ve had enough by shuffling on my backside to the edge of the carpet – ‘Not another big book!’). The challenge we all face as teachers is wrapped up in the word ‘variation’- how can varied experiences and ways of working be provided so that children are kept on their metaphorical toes? Everyone likes novelty and tends to take notice when something is different.
