How much time do elementary school teachers actually spend on Language Arts?
There is a huge variation among schools and within schools. Within any one school some teachers spend twice as much time as others. According to Allington (1996), the teachers who spend the most time on literacy are generally those who: • Rank literacy as one of the most important subjects • Believe that all children can learn to read and write Baumann, Hoffman, Moon, and Hester (1998) also reported that teachers surveyed indicated that they spent on average 2 hours and 23 minutes each day on reading and literacy instruction. In an American Federation of Teachers Poll, 80% of elementary teachers said their schools recommend a language arts block of two or more hours each day (E.D. Hirsch Jr. 2003). However, simply because it is recommended does not necessarily mean that it is happening. PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study), April 2003, informs that teachers of 4th Grade students communicate that they spend much time daily (more than 6 hours a week) on reading instru
