oa Alternation - Redefining the Teaching of Literature in the Primary School as Meaning Construction1

Abstract

This article argues that the majority of South African children are alienated from both the culture involved in the curriculum and the nature of teaching in their classrooms. Various facets of the formal and hidden curricula often function to silence students. This is especially apparent in the area of literature teaching, which seems to be increasingly unconnected to the real lives of students. I therefore address the urgent need to make literature teaching at the primary school level more personally meaningful to students. I examine two issues relevant to curriculum development: firstly, the selection of texts for pupils in the primary school and secondly, the reconceptualization of methodologies used in literature teaching and learning.