The Shine Centre
WORDS CAN CHANGE WORLDS ~ BUILDING A NATION OF READERS
Literacy Hour is a magical time in a second language learner's school day where they receive support to boost their English reading, writing and talking skills. The learners are selected based on the results of a simple assessment done at the end of Grade One.
They work in groups of two with a volunteer or Learning Partner, twice a week for an hour. The hour is divided into four 15-minute sections, in this order: Word Play, Have a Go Writing, Paired Reading and Shared Reading.
A simple checklist is provided to note which games have been played and the level of proficiency. The learners are re-assessed at the end of the year to determine their progress.
During Word Play, learners sound out words, blend sounds to form words, read and write simple words. They get plenty of practise hearing and writing the tricky English vowels sounds.
Have a Go Writing gets learners to write sentences, using whatever skills they have. Have a Go Writing is in direct opposition to perfect copying off a blackboard. Learners write their sentence on paper without correction. At the very beginning, words in sentences are represented by a line. As the learner develops letter knowledge and sound awareness, they write bits of words or even their own version of words on each line. The learners are praised for their attempts. Improvements in sound awareness, letter knowledge and English skills are directly reflected in their Have a Go Writing sentences.
During the 15 minutes of Paired Reading, books are read with a Learning Partner. These books are matched to the learner's own reading level. It may be that a book is all about the sound, with one word and picture per page. Or there may be a repeated sentence on each page with a clear picture explaining the words.
The 15 minutes of Shared Reading is very different from Paired Reading. The learner chooses any book of interest to him or her and the Learning Partner reads it with the learner. This is where we want the learners to get "hooked on books". Discussion is encouraged and English skills are extended.
