LITERACY IN NINE-YEARS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: STUDENTS' PERFORMANCES AND ITS IMPLICATIONS TO PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICES

This paper focuses data from discussions done with teachers who work with the three early years of nine-years elementary chool, in two Municipal schools of Sao Paulo inland, in order to investigate the students' literacy degree. Considering a test applied to students of three early years of those schools, this study deals with the literacy performance results of 153 children of third school year. It also relates data of this test with some aspects that have characterized the literacy teachers' practices. Initially, it presents considerations about the literacy process in extent of nine-years elementary school and some implications for the teachers' practices. Then, it emphasizes the test results of third year students, pointing out what skills were already developed by them in literacy process and what skills must be improved. Results show that those children are not literated. They demonstrate difficulties in the appropriation of reading and writing skills, even in the third school year. It suggests the teachers' need to reorganize their practices in classroom and to revise students' literacy process, allowing to every student the full appropriation of reading and writing.