The article presents findings from a research project that investigated young, fluent writers' revision practices. The project adopted a qualitative approach, using semi-structured interviews based on the students' written scripts. This article focuses on a small sample of children and profiles the extent of their ability to reflect on their…

This paper documents an initiative in Continuing Professional Development, conceived and carried out by London's "Centre for Literacy in Primary Education" (CLPE). The intention was to improve the teaching and learning of writing in Years 5 and 6 of the primary school (9-11-year-olds), through working with challenging literature. This teacher…

Multimedia has had a widely recognised impact on society, but it is still under-represented in the literacy pedagogies of many schools. This may relate to the way we view assessment for literacy, which is still almost wholly monomodal. Students assessed at a low level as producers of verbal text may respond positively when working multimodally,…

This article is written in response to the article published in issue 39.3 of this journal, in November 2005, on the nature of the Key Stage 2 National Curriculum reading tests: "Examining England's National Curriculum assessments: an analysis of the KS2 reading test questions" by Anne Kispal of the National Foundation for Educational Research.…

This paper argues that teachers' recognition of children's cultural practices is an important positive step in helping socio-economically disadvantaged children engage with school literacies. Based on 21 longitudinal case studies of children's literacy development over a 3-year period, the authors demonstrate that when children's knowledges and…

This article considers the potential for dissonance that one 12-year-old child (Clare) may experience as a text producer using new technologies, when working across a range of contexts. In this ongoing case study, two types of text are explored: a computer-generated text produced as a homework task for school, and texts produced using an…

This paper examines the history, rationale, uses and abuses of writing journals in primary classrooms. We argue that writing journals form part of a pedagogy derived from an understanding of how children can be motivated to express themselves, independently of teachers. Moreover, they demonstrate the power of welcoming children's home cultures…

This paper recounts the process by which a severely reading-disabled adult student taught himself to read and write Ancient Greek, and in so doing, improved his ability to read and write in English. Initially, Keith's reading and writing were slow, difficult and inaccurate, accompanied by visual disturbance. However, motivated by a strong interest…

Although it contains a statutory inclusion statement, England's National Curriculum "hardly acknowledges the learning practices of different minority groups" ( Gregory and Williams, 2003, p. 103). Through observation and interview, this study examines the repertoire of languages that six children for whom English is an additional language (EAL)…

Both Kerala and Finland have made notable achievements in the realm of literacy: Kerala has one of the highest rates in the developing world and Finland ranks first in literacy among developed countries. Both also share a cultural history of granting women a high status in their respective societies. Using Kerala and Finland as examples, this…

This paper describes the development of an innovative resource, comprising authentic newspaper articles and associated activities, designed to broaden the range of reading material available for use in the science classroom. Science teachers' response to the publication is discussed. The resource was very well received, indicating that, given…

When teachers allow students to write stories that include elements of popular media, we must ask what to do with these media elements once they have entered the classroom. This article relates findings from a classroom study focusing on children's media-based story writing. The study looks at children as producers of new media texts and describes…

This paper examines young children's working styles when they are engaged with a peer on a computer-based reading task. Two types of pairing were investigated: (i) "Equal pairs", where the children were of equal reading attainment and (ii) "Unequal pairs", where there was a disparity between the children's reading attainment. The results suggest…

The Year 6 National Curriculum reading test has become a familiar and established annual experience at the end of the primary phase in schools throughout England. From 1993 onwards, each year the national reading test for 11-year-olds has consisted of a different set of texts, accompanied by a different set of questions. With over a decade's…

The Internet offers new possibilities for engaging with information and is associated with a wide range of literacy practices. National guidance in the United Kingdom on "reading the web", however, has focused largely on the different skills children may need to learn in school to navigate web-based texts successfully. Here it is argued that much…