The potential impact of the 'Literacy Hour' on the teaching of science from text material

The National Literacy Strategy and the Literacy Hour currently being implem ented in UK primary schools have raised the profile of literacy teaching am ong teachers, teacher educators, student teachers, and parents. Official po licy is that skills of reading and writing non-fiction texts should be link ed and applied in every subject, and inservice programmes have been develop ed to teach teachers how to use information books effectively. I examine pr oblems associated with children's use of science text, the implied literacy demands of learning science from currently available science books and sch emes, and the extent to which the current interpretation of literacy advoca ted by the National Literacy Strategy encompasses those skills needed to le arn science from a book. Finally, I consider the implications for initial t eacher education in relation to the effective use of science text.