4 Innovative Ways to Teach Literacy in Primary Schools

4 Innovative Ways to Teach Literacy in Primary Schools

Teaching literacy skills to children is one of the most important aspects of a primary teacher’s job. Literacy is the ability to read, write, speak and listen in a way that lets us communicate with each other and make sense of the world.

Learning literacy gives children some of the most basic tools they need to participate in modern life. That sounds like a lot of pressure on those entrusted to teach it. Teaching literacy in primary schools can certainly be a challenging task that involves engaging a variety of young children’s nascent learning processes, from graphomotor skills to abstract thinking.

To give you a helping hand, we’ve put together a range of methods from the forefront of modern teaching practice that you can deploy to effectively teach literacy in your classes.

1. Weave games into your teaching curriculum

When teaching literacy in primary schools, it’s worth remembering that your pupils will need hours of practice to internalise concepts like phonics, vocabulary and sentence structure. For this practice to be worthwhile, students must feel engaged.

Gamifying the learning process can be a particularly impactful way to get children engrossed in what they are learning. It is hardly a secret that kids can learn best when they’re having fun!

Students can develop a number of skills through game playing, such as critical thinking , creativity and communication. They also serve as a great way for students to form positive relationships with learning and education, which can benefit them in the long term.

To start you off, here are some free, online games that you could try to get your class to play.

2. Focus on building students’ vocabulary

Students with greater vocabulary skills are much more likely to understand more of what they read and hear. That’s why building the foundations of their vocabulary is an essential starting point. It’s helpful to teach the meanings of new words via multisensory means, such as using visual aids, graphic novels and songs for younger students.

Pupils should be encouraged to learn new vocabulary daily in short stints. Trying to cram too many words into their memory at once can be counter-productive, and most words will be forgotten in the long term. You can incorporate this practice into the student’s classroom routine, to get them used to learning new words each day.

Buttressing children’s vocabulary at an early stage will maximise the number of words they encounter as they expand their reading habits, and could boost their desire to read for pleasure .

3. Introduce a variety of text styles

We know that children draw on their experience of certain styles of text when it comes to reading and writing. Children who read more often gain better results in a range of subjects , so introducing them to texts that they find interesting as early as possible can benefit them way down the line.

When students have been exposed to a range of texts across different genres, they develop an understanding of how language works and the best way to use it when writing or trying to comprehend text.

Do your best to introduce your students to a variety of writing styles, including poetry, news articles, rhyming books and more. Time spent connecting with a range of text styles gives children the breadth to explore and experiment with the rhythms and patterns of the English language, so as to use it more effectively.

4. Read aloud with students

Primary school students who hear text and language read aloud can process it in more varied ways. Reading texts aloud helps children hear the patterns and forms of language used for different purposes. This teaches them about the right language and grammar structures appropriate for different circumstances.

Your classroom should be a language-rich environment with a focus on expanding vocabulary, understanding what words mean and how and why they are used. Reading aloud lets children hear how each word is used, understand its context and learn how to apply these words in their everyday language.

A shared reading or storytelling session that is rich in rhyme, song and poetry is a fantastic way to improve a child’s phonological development and encourage them to speak with their fellow pupils.

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