ABSTRACT
The four language processes, speaking and listening, reading and writing work together as children think and learn in every part of the primary school curriculum. The rich landscape of children's literature gives examples of children's books in different genres. Non-fiction texts in all media and formats are an important resource in lessons across the curriculum. Learning to read material on significant but less subject-specific topics, for example advertisements and news reports, is a well-established part of the English curriculum. It is of continuing importance since advertising material is more prolific than ever before and reaches into every format, context and medium. Access internet sites or use a mobile phone and advertisements constantly spring up. Tim Stafford's analysis of some aspects of what is involved in helping children to become visually literate. He argues that in the English lesson visual literacy is often developed through narrative and story-telling and suggests some terminology for children's critical comment on visual texts, including comics.
