Language Culture and Curriculum
Editor and Book Reviews Editor: Eoghan Mac Aogain (St Patrick's College)
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Volume: 16 Number: 3 Page: 284–297
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Classroom Discourse in the Literacy Hour in England: A Study of Two Lessons
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Kathy Hall, Christine Allan, Jacqui Dean and Sue Warren
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The National Literacy Strategy with its accompanying daily Literacy Hour was introduced into all primary schools in England in 1999 and aims to enhance literacy standards. This paper is about the nature of interaction in the Literacy Hour. It is based on a collaborative micro-analysis
of observational data from two poetry lessons conducted within the LH in two Year 6 classrooms in two different suburban schools in a city in the north of England. Taking a sociocultural perspective on literacy we attempt to make explicit the subject positions available to pupils and teachers
in both settings, to show what is available to be learned, and inter alia to demonstrate what counts as valuable knowledge. We begin by providing a brief background to the theoretical and policy context of our empirical work, we present a slice of life from both classrooms which we
then analyse. We conclude by speculating on the reasons for the deeply entrenched nature of recitation as a predominant interactional style in these lessons.
© 2003 Multilingual Matters
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