Literacy Online - Literacy
Introduction
This is based on the National Literacy Strategy (NLS) Framework
for teaching English at Key Stage 3.
The Framework represents a change of emphasis for English teachers.
Literacy Online is designed to make the task of fulfilling
the teaching objectives outlined within it more mangeable.
A key element is the importance of building on current practice
of English teaching at its best. The aim is to foster students'
creativity whilst keeping a close eye on the coverage of the Framework's
wider objectives.
Literacy Online - what is it?
Starting from September 2001, Literacy Online will build
up into a complete Key Stage 3 literacy programme, beginning with
Year 7. Units will vary in length - the first two are both five
weeks long. Each unit is set out as follows:
Plans
- Medium term plans show an overview of what is taught
in the unit, set out in a broad weekly outline. A summary is given
of the teaching objectives covered.
- Short term plans give a detailed summary of what is covered
in each lesson, week by week.
Lesson by lesson resources
- Lesson overviews are in the form of teachers' notes and
a detailed summary of the lesson format.
- Teaching objectives (as set out in the Framework) are
given, so that the English and literacy focus(es) of the lesson
can be easily identified.
- Printable resources for students are provided where necessary.
- Where relevant, ICT suggestions are offered.
The importance of planning - a little bit of numeracy
English departments usually run three or four lessons per year
group each week, or between 115 and 150 lessons in the whole year.
In the final version of the NLS Framework there are 98 teaching
objectives in Year 7 - which means that you've got between 70 and
90 minutes to cover each objective.
It doesn't really work like that, of course. For a start, English
teachers have always been good at making links between different
strands. You'd expect to teach a writing skill, or a whole raft
(or battleship, or aircraft carrier) of skills in connection with
work done through reading, speaking and listening, vocabulary work,
revision of sentence punctuation…. Suddenly, you're teaching the
whole of the Framework at once, or little bits of it wherever they
happen to fit.
It doesn't work like that either, not if you plan it properly.
That's where Literacy Online comes in.
A planned approach, drawing on the best practice of English
teaching
Literacy Online is carefully planned so that all the objectives
are met during the course of the year. More importantly, each objctive
is revisited whenever necessary: as we all know, many English skills
can only be acquired when students return to them regularly.
Quite a large number of the objectives can only be taught on a continuous
basis - the acquisition of skills has to be seen as ongoing. For
instance, here is writing objective one for Year 7:
