Abstract

The Welsh Government's commitment to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and pupil voice has implications for curriculum practices. This paper reports on the impact on children's literacy development of the Storytelling Curriculum that privileges children's voices (ages six to seven) and encourages them to become authors by dictating their stories to adults. In contrast to recommended practice, no formal teaching of literacy was carried out. After two terms children in Year 2 had moved to independent narrative writing, achieving high levels at the end of Key Stage 1 in writing and oracy. In addition, results on standardized reading tests showed gains of between one year and three years six months for the majority of the class. This case study analyzed children's writing and transcribed interviews with staff and children. We argue that the Storytelling Curriculum is a counter-discourse to current thinking on how to teach literacy with the potential to impact positively on pupil outcomes and support the development of pupil voice.

How to Cite:

Lyle, S. & Bolt, A., (2013) “The Impact of the Storytelling Curriculum on Literacy Development for Children Aged Six to Seven and their Teachers”, Wales Journal of Education 16(1), 4-20.