Oxford Literacy Web

by Mal Peet

Published 4 February 1999
Introducing the final stage of Duck Green School stories to complete the KS1 guided reading series. The Great Stew Disaster: Everyone is starving in the fishing village. There is nothing to eat. Then a boy finds an old frying pan with magical powers. This could be the answer to their prayers.

The extracts in this anthology cover the full range of text requirements for Year 2/P3, as described in the National Literacy Strategy: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, stories by significant children's writers, traditional stories, recounts and institutional texts. The texts are also linked by theme to enable a comparison across the ranges. The Teacher's Guide suggests how to introduce extracts, their range and their themes, gives ideas for Shared, Guided and Independent work, clearly lists the NLS objectives met in each extract, and provides cross-reference between each component.

"The Oxford Literacy Web" is an exciting new literacy programme designed to guide schools successfully through the primary years. Fitting the requirements of the National Literacy Strategy, National Curriculum in England and Wales, English Language 5-14 in Scotland, and Common Curriculum in Northern Ireland, the "Oxford Literacy Web" guides pupils through the core skills associated with learning to read and write with a diverse range of literary styles within the genres of fiction, non-fiction, rhymes, language, and poetry. In Stage 7 of the "Duck Green School" stories, we revisit some of the key events of the past year at Duck Green in "A Year at Duck Green". In "The Corker", Mike and Spike help raise money for more school books with a Great Comic Sale, and Leela discovers a rare bird in the wildlife area in "A Bird in the Bush". In the fantasy tales, the moonpeople run out of cheese in "Moon Cheese", brave Aleel faces great dangers on a very adventurous journey in "The Wolf Whistle", and an old man and old woman's dream comes true in "The Magic Puppet". "Duck Green School" stories introduce key word vocabulary in the context of a familiar setting and familiar characters.