THE AGE Newspaper article of Monday June 4th 2007.

Question: My daughter is in her prep year. I thought she would receive two hours of daily literacy instruction, an hour for writing and an hour for reading. However, this is not happening on a daily basis, or for two hours. Can you please explain if this is in contrast to the expectations of education departments and literacy experts?

Answer:  IT IS understandable that you have some confusion and concern about this. For a number of years it has been quite common for many schools to use a morning session of two hours where literacy was taught in a block of time. Many schools still do this. However, many schools do not place all their literacy learning sessions into a morning block any more. The tendency sometimes is to hear terminology used such as, "we do literacy in the morning". This is actually quite misleading, as children are multi-literate and numerate, and being literate and learning literacy in all its forms takes shape in many different ways in a school environment. Many schools use active engagement through play as one way in which children can speak, listen, interact, take turns, practise vocabulary, widen their use of language and practise speech. Perhaps children will be writing lists for their pretend shop or writing about their investigations. Also, direct instruction can occur all day. Many schools are now moving away from the strict morning literacy block and, in my opinion, this is refreshing. Teachers are able to respond to the dynamics of each day, the needs of children and place their focus teaching and explicit instruction times for children's literacy and numeracy throughout the day when it seems most relevant. This provides children with a sense that we don't "do" literacy, rather we experience it in a range of forms, we practise it at various times throughout a day and that literacy itself is rich with many different ways and times of exploring it. Often, moving every 10-15 minutes from one activity to another in the form of a rotation during a two-hour block, particularly in the first two years of school does not necessarily help children to have time to engage at a deep level of learning. Many students comment about the traditional literacv block with simply reading and writing. However, to be literate means to find meaning, to understand, to comprehend, to make sense of, to symbolically represent, to articulate, to represent, to speak, to enjoy conversation and communication. So while your daughter's school may not necessarily provide a one-hour block of reading, and a one-hour block of writing each morning, it doesn't mean she isn't receiving a rich range of literacy instruction and experience. To become literate means interacting in the everyday. Children experience elements of literacy as they move around their home, as they pass by shops with signs, cars with registration plates, with sounds and signs and words wherever they go. To be literate and to learn elements of literacy is much richer and broader than simply assuming a bock of time that does the same thing each day will teach it. During the early years of school, parents can promote literacy at home by reading and telling stories with their children, and singing, talking and conversing with them. Sitting around a meal table without the TV on and modelling talking and listening and shared experiences is an easy but important part of becoming literate. Literacy is part of life. It is, of course, important that children acquire the skills of reading and writing. But this can occur in many different ways and times throughout a school day and doesn't have to occur in the morning. Often children within a playbased curriculum in prep will be motivated to write about their projects, play and investigations each day, and this is supported and modelled by the teacher. But it is true that all children need time and practise to learn and acquire new skills. Teachers still instruct, model, provide time and examples of literacy but not all during a morning session. I would encourage all parents to ask their school the variety of ways in which literacy and numeracy are taught. Don't be alarmed or disturbed if not all are placing their literacy first thing every morning in a block of time. We used to teach literacy before a literacy block was ever heard of and many schools have now returned to a greater range of flexible and comprehensive strategies for literacy that don't all have to occur in the morning. It is not so much when it happens but how, why and when that provides rich and engaging and meaningful experiences to children who will feel motivated to want to learn to read, write, converse and represent because it is relevant to their lives and fun at the same time.

Copyright © Kathy Walker 2007

Kathy Walker is an education consultant specialising in early childhood and primary years and a former lecturer at RMIT University.