Studies on classroom practices in Africa and the developing world tend to report on the visible general features, i.e. code switching, rote learning, memorisation and safe talk, with very little on the micro, invisible, classroom life. This article, based on the findings of a study involving classroom observations of teachers and pupils' interactions around texts, interviews and focus-group discussions with teachers and pupils, considers ways in which certain classroom practices, such as teacher's selective attention to pupils, teacher remarks and comments, corporal punishment, power play among pupils and other classroom norms, help create inequality and cumulatively contribute to communication failure and underachievement in a diverse urban primary classroom in Ghana. The article discusses the wider implications of the findings from a socio-critical language and literacy-learning perspective and makes suggestions for improving teacher quality and effective use of textbooks and other resources. (Contains 1 table.)