Literacy Resource Hub

Literacy is fundamental to academic success and future achievements, influencing all areas of secondary education. Disciplinary Literacy enhances literacy by focusing on the unique demands of each subject. Creating a language-rich culture is also critical, fostering an environment where literacy skills are valued across the curriculum.

Teachers in every subject should provide explicit vocabulary instruction to help students access and use academic language. Effective approaches, including those related to etymology and morphology, will help students remember new words and make connections between them. Prioritising Tier 2 and 3 vocabulary, which students are unlikely to encounter in everyday speech, is essential.

Students should be reading in every subject; this ranges from academic articles in Science to archaic texts in History to complex exam questions in Maths. This means that for effective teaching and learning, every teacher must feel confident being a literacy teacher, and you should focus teacher training on teaching reading.

Writing is challenging, it places significant demands on working memory, requiring a delicate balance of transcription, composition, and executive function skills. Students can be supported by the deconstruction of these tasks and from targeted, explicit instruction in every lesson.

It is of critical importance that students practice writing alongside reading. Reading and writing are often viewed as separate skills, but their interconnection can significantly enhance educational outcomes. Both reading and writing are complex processes that require a deep understanding of various elements such as grammar, vocabulary, and phonological awareness. These elements should be explicitly taught to strengthen both reading comprehension and writing proficiency.

High-quality classroom talk is essential for improving literacy and overall educational outcomes. This concept, coined by Andrew Wilkinson in the 1960s, emphasises the ability to express oneself fluently and effectively. It involves more than just grammatical correctness; it encompasses vocabulary knowledge, grammatical knowledge, and the ability to communicate ideas clearly.

This is the last of the EEF’s recommendations. High-quality interventions are essential for addressing the needs of struggling pupils. Effective interventions are structured, sustainable, and impactful, ensuring that students meet their literacy demands.