(Wing Jan & Taylor, 2020) Write Ways

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Jan, Lesley Wing, and Susan Taylor. Write Ways 5e eBook, Oxford University Press Australia and New Zealand, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ecu/detail.action?docID=6335937.
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CONTENTS
List of Figures
List of Tables
Sample Units
Preface
Acknowledgments
PART 1: PREPARATION
CHAPTER 1: PROGRAM PLANNING
Introduction
Speaking and listening program
Reading and viewing program
Writing program
Reading–writing connections
Planning for teaching text types
Levels of planning
Text types across the curriculum
Text types in stand-alone English units
Planning for literacy teaching sessions—Primary and Secondary Contexts
Teaching literacy in a content subject lesson
CHAPTER 2: ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES AND RECORD KEEPING

Assessment
Assessment, teaching and learning
Identifying what to teach and assess
Teaching for student improvement
Collect, record and analyse evidence of learning
PART 2: LITERACY
CHAPTER 3: LITERACY, LANGUAGE AND LEARNING
Defining literacy and multiliteracies
Literacy practices
Language and learning
Conditions for literacy learning
Supporting learners
Literacy development
Differentiating instruction
CHAPTER 4: TEXTS
Purposes, text types and formats
Classifying texts
Blended or multigenre texts
Multigenre products
Essays
Multimodal texts
Using texts to learn about language and processes
Text structures: Top-level structures
CHAPTER 5: USING TEXTS IN MEANINGFUL CONTEXTS

Teaching grammar in context
Teaching punctuation
Teaching contextual understanding
Teaching vocabulary and spelling knowledge
Teaching processes and strategies
CHAPTER 6: READING AND WRITING: PROCESSES AND CONNECTIONS

Supporting students in reading and writing
Reading
Writing
Planning a modelled reading or writing session
Conferencing with students
Promoting personal choice
PART 3: TEXT TYPES

CHAPTER 7: INFORMATIVE TEXTS
Why teach about informative texts
The program and the learner
Ways of promoting informative texts in the classroom
Teaching focuses for informative texts
General activities for informative texts
CHAPTER 8: INFORMATION REPORTS

Purpose, structure and features

Teaching focuses for information reports
General activities for exploring information reports
CHAPTER 9: PROCEDURAL TEXTS

Teaching focuses for procedural texts
General activities for exploring procedural texts
CHAPTER 10: EXPLANATIONS
Teaching focuses for explanations
General activities for exploring explanations
CHAPTER 11: RECOUNTS

Teaching focuses for recounts
Reflections
Teaching focuses for reflections
Using literature as inspiration
Biographical recounts
Teaching focuses for biographical recounts
Media reports
Teaching focuses for media reports
General activities for exploring recounts
CHAPTER 12: TRANSACTIONAL TEXTS

Digital and social media texts
Teaching focuses for letters
Invitations
Teaching focuses for invitations
Surveys, questionnaires and interviews
General activities for exploring transactional texts
CHAPTER 13: PERSUASIVE TEXTS

Expositions
Discussions
Teaching focuses for expositions and discussions
Teaching focuses for persuasive advertisements
General activities for exploring persuasive texts
CHAPTER 14: IMAGINATIVE TEXTS

Types of imaginative texts
Why focus on imaginative texts?
Ways of promoting imaginative texts
Traditional tales
Teaching focuses for folk and fairy tales
Teaching focuses for fables
Teaching focuses for myths and legends
Contemporary realistic fiction and modern fantasy
Teaching focuses for contemporary realistic fiction
Teaching focuses for modern fantasy
Teaching focuses for science fiction
CHAPTER 15: NARRATIVES

Teaching focuses for narratives
General activities for narratives
CHAPTER 16: INFORMATION NARRATIVES

Teaching focuses for information narratives
General activities for information narratives
CHAPTER 17: POETRY

Teaching focuses for poetry
General activities for poetry
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
LIST OF FIGURES
1.1 Plan for teaching text types from across the curriculum
1.2 Plan for teaching text types in Subject English or stand-alone English units
1.3 Example structure of a literacy session
2.1 The assessment cycle
2.2 Generic text type checklist
2.3 Writing self-assessment pro forma
2.4 Self-assessment pro forma—thinking about my writing
4.1 Question web
4.2 Question table
4.3 Effects wheel
4.4 Cause and effect graphic organiser
4.5 Multiple actions and effects
4.6 Problem and solution chart
4.7 Venn diagram
4.8 T chart
4.9 Ladder diagram
4.10 Flow diagram
4.11 Cycle diagram

4.12 Simple timelines
4.13 Multiple information timeline
4.14 Y chart
4.15 Cluster diagram
4.16 Fish bone diagram
5.1 What we know about recounts
5.2 What we know about verbs
5.3 Adverbs and adverbial phrases
5.4 Adjectives and adjectival phrases: part of noun group
5.5 A simple sentence: an independent clause with a happening and a subject
5.6 A simple sentence: an independent clause with a happening, a subject and a
circumstance
5.7 A simple sentence: an extended independent clause with a happening, a
subject and several circumstances
5.8 A simple sentence focusing on word groups for subject, happening and
circumstances
5.9 A simple sentence focusing on noun groups
6.1 Example of prompts and reminders for the students
6.2 Spelling prompt chart
6.3 Example of an editing symbols chart
6.4 Examples of questions to ask when publishing
6.5 Examples of conference questions
6.6 Examples of writer’s notebook pages
7.1 Text map showing the subject of the text plus the number of paragraphs
7.2 Text map showing the subject of each paragraph (subheadings)
7.3 Text map showing the key information for some of the paragraphs
7.4 Example of a structured overview
8.1 Annotated information report
8.2 A ‘What I want to write about …’ chart
8.3 A student’s current knowledge of the topic
8.4 A ‘What I need to know’ chart

8.5 A research guide chart
8.6 A ‘fact tree’
8.7 Sample questions to guide planning for writing an information report about a
bird or animal
9.1 Example of visual text
9.2 Annotated procedural text
9.3 Sample questions to guide planning for writing a procedural text
9.4 Examples of symbols
9.4a Examples of symbols to represent objects (specific to cooking)
9.4b Examples of symbols to suggest actions
9.4c Examples of symbols to inform and control behaviour
10.1 An annotated explanation
10.2 Sample questions to guide planning for writing an explanation about how or
why something happens
10.3 Explanation—causes and effects
11.1 An annotated recount
11.2 Sample questions to guide planning for writing a recount
11.3 An annotated reflection
11.4 An annotated example of a biographical recount
11.5 Cloze prompt for student use
11.6 A flowchart
11.7 The structure of a media report (specifically a recount)—an inverted pyramid
11.8 An annotated example of a media report
12.1 An annotated informal letter
12.2 An annotated email
12.3 An annotated invitation
12.4 Example of a multiple-choice question
12.5 Samples of questionnaires and surveys
12.5a Sample pro forma A
12.5b Sample pro forma B
12.5c Sample pro forma C

13.1 An annotated example of an exposition
13.2 Example of a discussion
13.3 Planning for expositions or discussions using a T chart
13.4 Sample questions to guide planning for writing expositions
13.5 Sample questions to guide planning for writing discussions
13.6 Example of an advertisement that promotes a product
15.1 Charts
15.2 Sample questions to guide planning for writing a narrative
15.3 Story starter cards
15.4 Building the story—a concept map
16.1 An example of a prompt chart for writing an information narrative
16.2 Sample questions to guide planning for writing information narratives
17.1 A diamante
17.2 A poem tree
17.3 An example of a poem tree displaying poems about nature
LIST OF TABLES
1.1 Some contexts in which the links with reading and writing can be made
explicit
1.2 Teacher questions to help students identify the links with reading and writing
and readers and writers
1.3 Extract of a review of purposes and text types for a single year level
1.4 Extract of a review of visual texts for a single year level
1.5 Extract of a school’s belief statement
1.6 An overview of possible teaching focuses for one text type
1.7 The major text types covered across a primary school for one semester
1.8 The major text types covered in subjects in a secondary school for one
semester
1.9 Terms commonly used in subjects within a secondary school
1.10 Primary and secondary teacher actions and teacher self-questions during the
planning for teaching about texts within content subjects or across the
curriculum
1.11 Extract from an example document showing only major focuses
1.12 Planning for literacy teaching within content subjects
2.1 Focuses and actions for giving feedback
2.2 Assessment of writing

2.3 A skills- and knowledge-specific checklist
2.4 A recount checklist
2.5 An anecdotal record
2.6 An anecdotal record book
2.7 A list form rubric
2.8 An analytical rubric in table format
2.9 A holistic rubric
2.10 A procedural text self-assessment pro forma
2.11 A writing self-assessment pro forma
2.12 A student’s writing record
2.13 A portfolio self-assessment
3.1 Examples of practices and questions text encoders/decoders might use
3.2 Examples of practices and questions text participants might use
3.3 Examples of practices and questions text users might use
3.4 Examples of practices and questions text analysts might use
3.5 Writing development phases
3.6 Reading development phases
4.1 Language purposes, processes, text types and formats
4.2 Possible effect of intended audience on the writer’s choice of text structure
and language features
4.3 Example of whole text level focuses for some text types
6.1 Supportive teacher actions and activities for before, during and after a
reading experience
6.2 The writing process and what it involves
6.3 Teacher actions and activities that can support students during the writing
process
7.1 Examples of design elements of informative texts
8.1 Information reports
8.2 At a glance—general grammar focuses for information reports
8.3 Data chart
8.4 Assessment criteria for information reports
9.1 At a glance—general grammar focuses for procedural texts

9.2 Assessment criteria for procedural texts
10.1 Assessment criteria for explanations
11.1 At a glance—possible grammar focuses for recounts
11.2 Comparing recounts and reflections
11.3 Assessment criteria for recounts
12.1 Assessment criteria for transactional texts
13.1 At a glance—general grammar focuses for expositions and discussions
13.2 Assessment criteria for persuasive texts
14.1 Traditional tales—origin, purpose, structure and features
14.2 Planning for writing science fiction about robots
15.1 At a glance—possible grammar focuses for narratives
15.2 Data chart for characters in George’s Marvellous Medicine by Roald Dahl
15.3 Assessment criteria for narratives
16.1 A summary and spot the facts in the plot pro forma
16.2 A spot the facts pro forma
16.3 Assessment criteria for information narratives
17.1 Assessment criteria for poetry
SAMPLE UNITS
Sample Units appear at the end of the chapters that deal with specific text
types. These are divided into five teaching sequences. The tables below show
how the Australian Curriculum: English (AC:E) sub-strands are represented in
these sequences. Teachers can further develop these by looking at the Content
Descriptions within the specific sub-strand thread and identify the appropriate
ones for their year level and their students’ needs. Teachers can then plan to
increase teaching focuses, resources and activities within the sequence to
cater for their students’ needs.
Please note that the Language strand is central to each text type unit and
to a greater or lesser extent each sub-strand could be addressed, depending
on the shift of teaching focus in each sequence. Only the most obvious threads
of sub-strands are identified and included in the following tables.
Information reports 170
Sequence 1 2 3 4 5
Language
Text structure and organisation
Purposes, audience and structures of different types of texts ✓ ✓
Text cohesion ✓ ✓ ✓
Expressing and developing ideas
Sentence and clause level grammar ✓

Word level grammar ✓
Literacy
Creating texts
Creating texts ✓
Editing ✓
Use of software ✓
Procedural texts 190
Sequence 1 2 3 4 5
Language
Purposes, audience and structures of different types of texts ✓ ✓
Concepts of screen and print ✓
Literature
Responding to literature
Personal responses to the ideas, characters and viewpoints in texts ✓
Creating literature
Creating literary texts ✓
Literacy
Interpreting, analysing, evaluating
Purpose and audience ✓
Analysing and evaluating texts ✓
Creating texts
Creating texts ✓ ✓
Editing ✓ ✓
Use of software ✓
Explanations 208
Sequence 1 2 3 4 5
Language
Purposes, audience and structures of different types of texts ✓ ✓ ✓

Text cohesion ✓
Vocabulary ✓ ✓
Literacy
Creating texts
Creating texts ✓ ✓ ✓
Editing ✓
Use of software ✓
Recounts 223
Sequence 1 2 3 4 5
Language
Purposes, audience and structures of different types of texts ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Text cohesion ✓
Concepts of screen and print ✓ ✓
Sentence and clause level grammar ✓ ✓ ✓
Purpose and audience ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Literacy
Creating texts
Creating texts ✓
Editing ✓
Use of software ✓
Transactional texts 246
Sequence 1 2 3 4 5
Language

Text cohesion ✓
Concepts of screen and print ✓ ✓ ✓
Visual language ✓ ✓
Vocabulary ✓
Literacy
Texts in context
Texts and contexts in which they’re used ✓
Analysing and evaluating texts ✓ ✓
Creating texts
Creating texts ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Editing ✓ ✓
Use of software ✓ ✓ ✓
Persuasive texts 267
Sequence 1 2 3 4 5
Language
Text cohesion ✓ ✓ ✓
Visual language ✓ ✓
Vocabulary ✓
Literacy
Analysing and evaluating texts ✓ ✓
Creating texts
Editing ✓ ✓
Narratives 303
Sequence 1 2 3 4 5
Language
Text cohesion ✓ ✓
Sentence and clause level grammar ✓ ✓
Word level grammar ✓ ✓
Vocabulary ✓ ✓ ✓
Literature
Expressing preferences and evaluating texts ✓
Examining literature
Features of literary texts ✓ ✓ ✓
Language devices in literary texts including figurative language ✓ ✓ ✓
Creating literature
Creating literary texts ✓
Experimentation and adaptation ✓ ✓
Literacy
Creating texts
Creating texts ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Editing ✓
Use of software ✓ ✓
Information narratives 323
Literature

Expressing preferences and evaluating texts ✓
Creating literature
Creating literary texts ✓ ✓ ✓
Literacy
Creating texts
Editing ✓ ✓ ✓
Poetry 335
Sequence 1 2 3 4 5
Language
Language interaction
Evaluative language ✓ ✓ ✓
Purposes, audience and structures of different types of texts
Word level grammar ✓ ✓
Vocabulary ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Literature
Responding to literatures
Personal responses to the ideas, characters and viewpoints in texts ✓ ✓ ✓
Expressing preferences and evaluating texts ✓ ✓ ✓
Creating literature
Creating literary texts ✓ ✓ ✓
Experimentation and adaptation ✓ ✓ ✓
Literacy
Interacting with others
Oral presentations ✓ ✓ ✓
Purpose and audience ✓ ✓
Analysing and evaluating texts ✓ ✓ ✓

Creating texts
Editing ✓ ✓ ✓
PREFACE
This book is intended as a teacher resource for the teaching of and about
writing and written texts for specific purposes. It provides information that
teachers can draw on when observing their students and their writing;
assessing their progress; providing timely and explicit feedback, and planning
focused teaching and learning sequences so that students develop as
thoughtful, competent and engaged writers.
Throughout the book, we refer to texts in terms of their language purpose
and specific text structures and organisation, thus implying that a specific text
type will follow a formulaic and rigid structure and include mandatory
language features. However, experienced, proficient writers know this is not
necessarily the case. Effective writers use their knowledge of writing purposes,
text structures and language features and adjust and manipulate these to
create innovative and powerful texts that engage the reader and meet the
writer’s purpose. The intent is that teachers draw on the content and use it in
creative, timely and differentiated ways in whole class, small group or
individual teaching contexts.
Students need to know the purposes for writing and the text types they will
use as readers and writers. Chapters 1 to 5 describe the theory, the writing
process, program planning and teaching practices that underpin a
comprehensive approach to teaching and learning about these purposes and
text types. This edition also includes links with the AC:E as well as an
increased focus on grammar multiliteracies, literacy practices and teaching
focuses at whole text, paragraph, clause, sentence, word group and word
level.
Chapters 7 to 17 describe in more detail some of the text types for
specific purposes. Each chapter includes:
a description of the purpose, text structures and language features of
specific texts
examples of teaching focuses that can be transferred to many different
contexts using oral, written, reading and viewing activities
assessment checklists to assist in planning of the program and for the
monitoring of each student’s progress
resource lists.
Most chapters also include teaching sequences that demonstrate ways of
making explicit the links between reading and writing.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Lesley Wing Jan: Heartfelt thanks to the teachers and children who help me
continue my learning about the teaching and learning of writing.
Thank you to everyone who provided resources, professional insights,
advice and feedback during the writing process. I appreciate the specific
advice provided by Geoff Little, Deb Sukarna, Sue Stevenson, Rhonda
Stimpson, Stacey Richards, Ruth Drew, Lynne Ord-Oraniuk and Richard Davis.
Thank you to my family and friends for their support and encouragement.
Susan Taylor: I would like to thank the incredibly supportive staff at Oxford
University Press, particularly Geraldine Corridon. To the students I teach, both
in schools and university; your original ideas and enthusiasm for learning are
a constant source of inspiration. To my teaching colleagues; your dedication
and creativity give me fresh insight into the practice of teaching writing.
To my husband, daughter and son; thanks for walking beside me.
The publisher and authors would also like to thank Amy Sneddon for reading
through the manuscript and contributing new activities for this fifth edition.
The author and the publisher wish to thank the following copyright holders for
reproduction of their material.
Extracts from ACARA © Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting
Authority (ACARA) 2009 to present, unless otherwise indicated. This material
was downloaded from the ACARA website (www.acara.edu.au) The material
is licensed under CC BY 4.0

(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). ACARA does not endorse
any product that uses ACARA material or make any representations as to the
quality of such products. Any product that uses material published on this
website should not be taken to be affiliated with ACARA or have the
sponsorship or approval of ACARA. It is up to each person to make their own
assessment of the product; Shutterstock for the jigsaw on p. 214.
Every effort has been made to trace the original source of copyright
material contained in this book. The publisher will be pleased to hear from
copyright holders to rectify any errors or omissions.
PART 1
PREPARATION
1 PROGRAM PLANNING
2 ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES AND RECORD KEEPING
1
PROGRAM PLANNING
THIS CHAPTER WILL ASSIST YOU TO:

understand the importance of a balanced, comprehensive literacy program
that includes all modes
identify the teaching procedures that facilitate student learning within the
literacy program
explain the planning process at whole school and classroom level within
primary and secondary settings
plan long- and short-term teaching programs that focus on developing
students’ knowledge of text types and enhancing their literacy skills
understand the structure and purpose of each stage of a literacy session.
KEY TERMS
classroom planning
long-term planning
medium-term planning
multistrand programs
scope and sequence chart

short-term planning
teaching procedures
units of work
whole school planning
INTRODUCTION
It seems appropriate to begin with a description of the beliefs and understandings that
we have drawn upon, and that underpin the content of this book. Our thinking is
shaped by the work of the following literacy researchers and educators: Fellowes and
Oakley (2019), Knapp and Watkins (2005), Winch et al. (2020), Zammit and
Downes (2002), Cope and Kalantzis eds (2000), Alloway and Gilbert (2002),
Freebody and Luke (1990, 2003) and Goodman and Watson (1998).
A comprehensive literacy program includes content about all aspects of the
following modes: speaking and listening, reading and viewing, and writing. It includes
teaching and learning experiences that provide opportunities for students to learn
English language, to learn about English language and to learn through English
language.
The Australian Curriculum: English (AC:E), provides information about
expected content and standards for literacy programs from Foundation to Year 10.
The three interrelated strands within this—English Language, Literature and Literacy
—each have sub-strands that include content descriptions that focus on aspects of
speaking and listening, reading and viewing, or writing for each year level. The content
descriptions can be used to guide planning for teaching and for monitoring student
progress.
SPEAKING AND LISTENING PROGRAM

The speaking and listening part of the literacy program needs to include formal,
planned, informal and incidental opportunities for students to use oral language in a
range of contexts. Although students naturally use oral language in everyday contexts,
their speaking and listening skills can be enhanced through purposeful teacher
planning and intervention. Discussion in whole class and small group contexts is
integral to all learning. Its effectiveness is dependent on each student’s ability to

respectfully and gainfully contribute to discussion. They need to be taught how to
actively listen to others; to process, interpret and build on (elaborate on) what others
have said.
Teachers can facilitate rich discussion by refraining from using classroom
conversation that consists of: a teacher question, student response and teacher
evaluation of the response (Banks, 2015). Students’ understanding of texts (the
creation of, intended purpose and audience, structure and linguistic features, as well as
the work of readers and writers) can be developed through purposeful discussion that
is guided by effective teacher prompts and a high expectation that all students
participate in building group knowledge. Banks (2015) suggests the following to
ensure that all students participate in focused discussion. Examples of how this might
look when discussing aspects of text type have been added.
Use written text to anchor or focus talk. For example, create class charts that
record discussion questions, summaries of the discussion or key information from and
about the discussion topic.
Make explicit the expectations of the students’ conduct during, and outcomes
from, the discussion. For example, provide a model of a text type and demonstrate
what students could comment on, ask or answer questions about, respond to or
connect with.
Provide small group contexts for students to practise their discussion skills. For
example, provide each group of students with a model of a different text type,
discussion prompts and a means for each group to record their findings. After
discussion, each group reports their findings to the whole class, opening up discussion
in a broader context.
Ensure all students participate in discussion. For example, in modelled, shared
and guided teaching contexts, using a specific text, encourage students to contribute to
the discussion by inviting individuals to:
interpret what is read or written or what the speaker has said
add extra information to someone else’s comments or ideas
provide another perspective or point of view
take a stance and provide reasons for the argument
share their response to aspects of the text or comments
form questions for the group to consider.
Speaking and listening is at the heart of and facilitator for meaningful teaching
and learning. Through speaking and listening, students develop an awareness of the
contexts, purposes, text structures and patterns of language. They extend their
vocabulary and knowledge of how language works for different purposes and
audiences. The students build the language to discuss text types as well as develop and
extend their understanding of subjects about which texts can be written.
Through teacher modelling, effective feedback and purposeful teaching focuses,
students can use oral language to learn language, to learn about the world and to learn
how to learn. Speaking and listening is integral for learning in all contexts and of
particular importance to the literacy development of English as an additional language
or dialect (EAL/D) students.
Teachers can explicitly demonstrate to students, or draw their attention to,
aspects of text types and the reading and writing of these through purposeful, guided
discussions with the students. Teachers can encourage students to talk about what
they know about texts and the reading and writing of these, and to pose and seek
answers to questions they may have about texts, reading and writing.
READING AND VIEWING PROGRAM

The reading program provides opportunities for the students to listen to, read, view
and discuss a range of text types for a variety of purposes, and learn about the reading
process and themselves as readers. The reading and viewing resources should include a
range of informative, imaginative and persuasive texts in printed, visual and
multimodal formats. Multiple interactions with a range of text types help students to
become familiar with different purposes, audiences, text structures, content
organisation and language features. These interactions help them to develop language
to talk about reading and viewing, understand the work of and influences on writers,
and explore ways of examining, interpreting, evaluating and responding to texts.
The program should provide opportunities for explicit teaching about reading
strategies (Harvey & Goudvis, 2007; Keene & Zimmerman, 2007; Templeton &
Geshmann, 2014) and how these are employed for different reading purposes and
texts.
Teaching procedures that support students as they develop towards
independent readers need to be included, as discussed below.
teaching procedures:
Classroom, small group or individual activities that teachers use to specifically guide student learning.
READING TO STUDENTS
Through a read aloud program, teachers can introduce students to a range of texts that
they may not be able to read for themselves. It is also important for students to hear
great writing read well. Incorporating picture books into a rich literacy program can
provide a powerful link between reading, writing and visuals (Booker, 2012).
MODELLED READING
Teachers can read to students to help them simply enjoy and share a text, but when
wanting to emphasise or explicitly teach a specific aspect of reading, they can conduct
modelled reading: the planned and explicit demonstration of effective reading
strategies and what experienced readers know about and do with texts.
READING WITH STUDENTS

Through reading with students, teachers can model how to read and support students
as they read alongside them, setting the pace, volume and expression for the text.
Students have the opportunity to opt out, pause briefly and promptly resume when
they regain fluency and capacity to continue with the teacher.
SHARED READING
Shared reading is the joint reading of a text that is visible to both teacher and students,
and during which the teacher and students take turns to read, with the teacher
demonstrating specific strategies and knowledge within a supportive, interactive
learning experience.
READING BY STUDENTS
Through independent reading, students can draw on and practise their reading
knowledge and strategies as they read a range of texts.
GUIDED READING
Guided reading is a small group teaching procedure during which students work with a
teacher-selected text based on their reading needs, developmental stages and the
teacher’s purpose for the session. Through careful introduction to the text (that is,
activating and building on prior knowledge of the text structure and content), explicit
teaching of particular aspects and the provision of support as the students
independently read, the teacher is able to help students interact with a range of text
types.
INDEPENDENT READING
In independent reading contexts, individual students apply and practise the reading
knowledge and skills they have learnt as they read self-selected texts or texts from
within a teacher-selected range.
WRITING PROGRAM
A comprehensive writing program provides opportunities for students to develop the
knowledge, skills and strategies necessary to create informative, imaginative and
persuasive texts in paper-based and multimodal formats for a variety of purposes and
audiences. It aims to develop competent, engaged and motivated writers who can use
writing as a means of self-expression and communication for various audiences and
purposes.
Regular and sustained opportunities for writing and focused teaching enable
students to learn about the writing process and related strategies (planning, drafting,
revising, editing and publishing); the contexts, purposes, audiences, structures and
organisation of texts; language features and devices; conventions of writing (spelling,
grammar—at sentence, clause, word group and word level—punctuation, vocabulary,
handwriting and software use); and to gain knowledge of what writers know and do.
An effective writing program includes opportunities for writing for, writing with and
writing by students.
The Literacy Teaching Toolkit
(<https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/ discipline/english/
has been developed by the Victorian Department of Education and Training (DET) to
guide teachers in high impact teaching practices and contains a section focused on all
key aspects of literacy including writing instruction. The Literacy Tool provides
further information—examples outlining the role of the teacher and students—on the
core teaching practices including modelled writing, shared writing, interactive writing,
guided writing/writing conferences, independent writing and language experience
approach.
WRITING FOR STUDENTS

Through writing for students, the teacher can demonstrate what more experienced
writers do as they write. It enables the teacher to write texts that may otherwise be too
difficult for the students to write independently. Teachers can use mentor text to assist
their students in writing more complex and authentic pieces.
MODELLED WRITING
Modelled writing is the explicit demonstration by the teacher of what writers do
during the writing process (for further information please see page 81).
LANGUAGE EXPERIENCE
This teaching procedure can be used at a whole class or small group level to create a
shared written text about a common experience. It can also be used to create personal
texts for and with each student. The teacher helps students process an experience
through focused speaking and listening activities that build on and extend the
students’ oral language. Through teacher prompting, students list and use vocabulary,
specific expressions and experience-specific knowledge before creating their texts. The
teacher then negotiates the text with the students and scribes it for them—either for a
whole class, small group or individual student. The text can then be revised, edited and
published over several sessions with the students. The published text can be adapted
and used for various classroom-reading activities and for home reading.
WRITING WITH STUDENTS

Through writing with the students, the teacher assists students to write texts of greater
complexity than they would have created independently (see Chapter 3).
SHARED WRITING—JOINT CONSTRUCTION OF TEXT

Shared writing is a teaching procedure in which the teacher and students jointly
construct a text that incorporates ideas, language structures and features that result
from discussion and negotiation. The teacher keeps the teaching purpose in mind and
acts as the scribe (using handwriting or keyboarding) during the process. Through
careful questioning and guidance, the teacher ensures a well-structured text that
includes the contributions of both the teacher and students is written.
INTERACTIVE WRITING
This is a teaching procedure in which the students take greater responsibility for the
physical writing of most of the text. It is best suited for the teaching of the conventions
of print (spelling, punctuation, grammar, phonics, handwriting or vocabulary). The
teacher and students discuss what they want to write before and throughout the
construction of the text. As each part is negotiated, the teacher acts as a facilitator,
identifies opportunities for teaching print conventions, writes linking parts of the text
and hands over to the students the responsibility for writing and for correcting the
selected conventions.
WRITING BY STUDENTS
Students, regardless of their stage of writing development, need time to write
independently, so that they assume responsibility for their writing, make decisions as
writers and practise or experiment with all aspects of writing.
INDEPENDENT WRITING
Through independent writing, students use the knowledge and skills they have
developed about text types and the writing process to write for different purposes and
audiences. They practise their writing skills and apply what they have learnt to new
contexts. The teacher provides support through regular discussions or conferences
with individuals and needs-based teaching as required. The teacher is able to provide
specific feedback to each student and to focus their attention on particular aspects of
writing and the text.
GUIDED WRITING
Guided writing is a teaching procedure in which the teacher works with a small group
of students with similar needs. The teacher explicitly demonstrates a couple of aspects
of writing, after which the students write individually and independently while the
teacher observes and supports individual students as required.
READING–WRITING CONNECTIONS
Reading and writing are interrelated. Each mode provides information about the other
and each influences the way the user reads or writes. A good writing program needs to
be accompanied by a good reading program. When teachers make explicit the links
between reading and writing, they help students to read like writers—to read with the
writer in mind; and write like readers—to write with the reader in mind (Smith, 1983;
Booth Olsen, 2011; Hill, 2006).
During reading sessions, some texts can be deconstructed by analysing the
purpose, work, content, meaning, structure and features of each section. Texts can be
reconstructed by summarising, paraphrasing, retelling or physically piecing together
sections so that the writer’s intended purpose and message are maintained.
During writing sessions, teachers can construct texts with the students as
observers of the process or they can write texts with the students (jointly constructed)
during which the students and teacher negotiate the content and process. Finally,
individual students can independently create texts during which they draw upon their
growing understanding of writers, writing and text. Tables 1.1 and 1.2 provide further
ideas on making links between reading and writing explicit for students: Table 1.1
outlines classroom contexts in which links might be emphasised and Table 1.2 suggests
teacher questions.
Note that the terms ‘readers/reading’ and ‘writers/writing’ include viewers and
creators of print and visual texts, which can be paper-based, digital and/or multimodal.
TABLE 1.1 SOME CONTEXTS IN WHICH THE LINKS WITH READING AND WRITING CAN BE MADE EXPLICIT
Reading Through reading activities, build Through text deconstruction of Through text reconstruction, build up
up the students’ knowledge of: commercial or other texts, build up knowledge of the purpose of the texts,
knowledge of the purpose of the texts, and of their structure and language
What writers need to know
and of their structure, content features at sentence, clause, word group
and do in order to write
organisation and language features and word level
specific texts
The strategies readers
employ to read and
comprehend a text
Writers’ purposes for writing
Readers’ purposes for
reading
How writers select and use
specific text types, text
structures and language
features to construct texts for
specific purposes and
audiences
How the text choice, text

structure and features help
readers gain the intended
meaning from the text
Strategies writers might use
for specific texts
Strategies readers might use
to comprehend texts
Writing Through writing sessions, build Through joint construction of the text, Through group or individual construction
up the students’ knowledge provide opportunities for the students of the text, provide opportunities for the
about: to clarify and apply their knowledge students to apply, practise and extend
within a supportive scaffold their knowledge and skills about the text
An audience—how do
and writing strategies
authors keep in mind who
might read their writing?
The purpose of the text—
how does a reader gain
meaning from the text?
The writing process and
strategies involved in
constructing a text
What the reader might do
with the text when reading
the text
Which text (visual, print and
multimodal) and relevant
structures and features will
be included when writing
the text
Which text structures,
language features and
conventions will help the
reader gain the intended
meaning
Sharing Through conferences (peer and teacher–student) and share times provide opportunities for constructive feedback on
and the students’ reading and writing of specific text types
providing
feedback
TABLE 1.2 TEACHER QUESTIONS TO HELP STUDENTS IDENTIFY THE LINKS WITH READING AND WRITING AND READERS
AND WRITERS
Questions teachers might ask to help students make links Questions teachers might ask to help students make links with reading
with writing when they are reading when they are writing
Why do you think the author wrote this? What was the What is your purpose for writing this? Why are you writing it?
author’s purpose for writing it? For whom are you writing? Who might read this? Who do you want
For whom did the author write this? Why do you think so? to read it? Who is your target audience?
What might the author have done to prepare for writing What do you need to know and do before you start writing?
this? How will you organise your writing so that it flows smoothly?
What did the author need to do to write the piece? What do you want the reader to know/understand/think/feel/do
How did the author organise the information? Why do when they have read this?
you think so? What features can you use in your text to gain a greater meaning?
What has the author used in the text to make it easier for
you to read it?
What features has the author used in this text to add to the
meaning?
PLANNING FOR TEACHING TEXT TYPES

There are many approaches to teaching of and about reading and writing in general,
just as there are many ways to teach about text types. The common factors across all
effective approaches are that teaching:
is differentiated to cater for each student’s needs and interests
acknowledges and builds on the students’ prior knowledge
employs inquiry so that students seek answers and build their knowledge
involves authentic purposes for writing and reading for real audiences
provides for student choice in all or some of the following: topic, purpose, audience, text type,
formats, technology use, timelines and so on
supports the students as they increasingly assume responsibility for their own reading and
writing
integrates all the language modes
provides regular, sustained times for students to write and read for a variety of teacher negotiated
and personal purposes
focuses on the importance of the editing process so that the meaning is clear and the conventions
are correct in the final, published text
focuses on the importance of self-monitoring and self-correction when reading so that the reader
comprehends the text and the meaning of the text is not lost
focuses on an understanding of ‘metacognition’ (learning how to learn), as this empowers
students to determine whether they understand what they are reading and to understand
themselves as learners: as readers and writers. Reading comprehension relies on students being
able to assign meaning to words on a page and use their general knowledge to provide context to
these words. This requires cognitive abilities such as concentration and memory (RAND, 2002;
Pressley, 2002)
in various ways, uses the capabilities of rapidly expanding technologies to enhance the teaching
and learning of reading and writing
employs cumulative and summative assessment from a range of sources and contexts.
The following describes one way of linking reading and writing during a focused
text-type study.
It is important to plan the reading and viewing program first so that students are
exposed to exemplary models of the text type and have opportunities to respond to,
deconstruct and reconstruct the texts in modelled, shared and guided, and
independent reading situations. Specifically, teachers need to:
Determine the students’ prior learning and their current knowledge about writing, writers and
texts and use this information to plan further teaching and learning experiences. Identify the
writing contexts and purposes for writing that will arise from a specific subject, topic and
experience or from tasks that students will be required to complete. Use all the gathered
information to identify what needs to be taught with regard to text types.
Decide on the purpose for writing and the genre/text type to be taught. Identify what they want
to teach/want the students to know and be able to do. Use the AC:E to identify specific content
descriptions that will assist in the planning process. Think about the purpose of, audience for,
text structure and language use within the text. Think at whole text, paragraph, sentence, word
group and word level. Think about opportunities to teach grammar, punctuation, vocabulary,
spelling, critical and visual literacy and so on.
Plan for the monitoring of student progress through the use of cumulative and summative
assessment that involves, for example, peer assessment, student self-assessment and teacher
assessment.
Build criteria against which students will be able to assess their progress as they read and write—
this can be teacher determined or negotiated.
Provide examples of the text type for the students to read, comprehend, analyse, deconstruct and
reconstruct during modelled, shared, guided and independent reading. Provide opportunities for
students to make links between writing and reading and the writer and reader (themselves).
Seek and build on students’ prior knowledge and facilitate student inquiry around their
questions so that they construct their own learning.
Create charts with the students that record their prior and developing understandings.
Conduct modelled, shared and interactive writing sessions to explicitly demonstrate the specific
aspects of writing.
Provide timely feedback and support as students write in guided or independent contexts.
Conduct mini lessons, conferences and point of need teaching during the writing process,
making constant links between readers and writers, and reading and writing.
Provide an audience for students’ writing so that they write to ensure that the reader gains the
intended meaning.
Use assessment data to identify students’ reading and writing knowledge, skills and behaviours
and to plan for further learning.
CONSIDER AND CONNECT

1. Draw on your classroom experiences and identify the elements of a comprehensive literacy program that you
have observed being incorporated into the class program. Identify the frequency of the elements within the
program. Identify any elements that are missing or are less frequent within the program. Discuss possible
reasons for this and what might be the possible effects on the students’ learning.
2. Discuss the relationship between a comprehensive literacy program and helping students to become effective
text users, participants, analysts and decoders or encoders. How might this information impact on your
planning for literacy teaching and learning?
LEVELS OF PLANNING
Systematic and purposeful planning at both whole school and classroom level provide
coherent and cohesive programs that support all students as they learn about reading
and writing. Please note that the following examples focus only on text types and are
not indicative of a comprehensive literacy or writing program.
WHOLE SCHOOL PLANNING
Whole school planning could involve the following:
whole school planning:

Global planning, usually completed by executive and other key staff members, to create a whole school
approach to a particular type of learning.
1. finding out what is already being done within the school in this area and
identifying the strengths and gaps.
This will involve a review of which written and visual text types are taught across
the school. Most primary schools will have a scope and sequence chart detailing
the introduction and teaching of each text type—revising this fairly regularly is
recommended. If one does not exist, then it would be the responsibility of the
teachers on the English Committee, with the support of executive staff members,
to create one that suits the needs of the individual school. In secondary school
settings the review can be completed by individual teachers at all levels or be
compiled by faculties/subject areas.
In addition to identifying written and visual text types, a review of the purposes for
language and the text types taught across the school can be conducted so that any
under- or over-exposure of texts can be identified and addressed. This can be
completed in several ways, one of which requires the teachers to indicate on a pro
forma the text types (written, visual and/or multimodal) that they explicitly teach
for specific language purposes. (See Tables 1.3 and 1.4.) The completed lists from
each year level, faculty or subject teacher can be laid out in sequence so that a
school overview is created. The review can then be used as a starting point for
discussion and whole school planning.
As part of the review process, teachers from across the school work together to
identify the main structural and language features for each text type so that they
have a shared understanding of what competent, experienced language users know
about and do with texts. They share information about reading and writing
processes and strategies, as well as the social and cultural understandings that the
teaching of, and about, the text will provide.
It is reasonable that some text types will be revisited each year; however, the
complexity of the texts should increase as the students move through the school
and the teaching focuses should also become more detailed and complex.
2. developing shared understandings or beliefs about the teaching and learning of
writing in general. This could include, for example, reference to the developmental
nature of learning to write, the conditions required for learning to write, what
effective writing teachers do and so on.
Developing shared beliefs and consistent teacher judgment is a valuable process
because while teachers are discussing, clarifying and identifying what is important,
they often share teaching practices, resources, student work samples from their
classes, concerns and successes, which results in a stronger teaching culture. Table
1.5 shows an extract of a belief statement that links each belief to specific
classroom practices.
scope and sequence chart:

A chart that is created and shared with the whole school detailing the order of teaching particular concepts
to ensure sequential and cohesive learning.
TABLE 1.3 EXTRACT OF A REVIEW OF PURPOSES AND TEXT TYPES FOR A SINGLE YEAR LEVEL
Written texts Taught Context
Please note that this is used to indicate when something was an explicit teaching focus. It does not reflect the other contexts in
which the text may have been used.
Purpose: to persuade
Argument ✓ Integrated Inquiry Unit about government
Discussion/debate
Reviews ✓ Genre study
Advertisements ✓ School Fete, School Concert
OTHER
TABLE 1.4 EXTRACT OF A REVIEW OF VISUAL TEXTS FOR A SINGLE YEAR LEVEL
Visual texts Taught Context
Please note that this is used to indicate when something was an explicit teaching focus. It does not reflect the other contexts in
which the text may have been used.
Diagrams
Simple diagrams: picture and labels ✓ Science and Integrated Inquiry Unit on endangered animals
Scale diagram ✓ Maths

Geography—Australia’s geographical features
Cross-sections Natural processes—Earth’s structure
Cutaways ✓ Geography—Australia’s geographical features
TABLE 1.5 EXTRACT OF A SCHOOL’S BELIEF STATEMENT
This is what we believe about the teaching and learning of Therefore we:
writing
The teaching of writing needs to be differentiated to ensure that Use assessment to identify each student’s writing interests,
the writing needs of all students are addressed strengths and needs and plan accordingly
Run a multistrand writing program that includes individual,
small group and whole class teaching contexts
Help students to reflect on their writing and themselves as
writers and to develop individual learning goals
Make sure students know where they are at as well as
where they can go next and how
Develop independent routines to focus on specific writing
products, processes, strategies and conventions
3. developing a shared understanding of the teaching of text types. This could include
discussions about language purposes; the purpose, structure and features of written
and visual texts; a shared language about texts and writing; and teaching contexts,
approaches and procedures.
4. developing a broad overview of the text types to be explicitly taught at each stage of
schooling.
A scope and sequence chart can record general teaching focuses deemed
appropriate for each stage of schooling so that teachers are constantly building on the
students’ knowledge and experiences. The information in each column can be used as a
teacher prompt when planning, or as a check by the teacher to ensure the content has
been covered at the appropriate time.
See Table 1.6 for an example of an overview of teaching focuses for recounts. It
must be noted that this is a guide only and that teachers will plan teaching programs
that suit the needs and abilities of the students. The usefulness of an overview may just
be in the fact that it helps teachers identify where students have come from and where
they are heading, thus enabling teachers to teach at the point of need.
TABLE 1.6 AN OVERVIEW OF POSSIBLE TEACHING FOCUSES FOR ONE TEXT TYPE
Recounts
Purpose of recount: to tell what happened
Recounts: personal, historical, factual, imaginative
Note that this table is neither prescriptive nor complete. Its purpose is to provide examples only of the scope of knowledge that can
be developed about the purpose, structure and language features of a text type. It is assumed that each focus will be revisited and
built on as required throughout the students’ time at school. The content is what might be expected at the end of each of these
phases of schooling.
Lower primary Middle primary Upper primary Secondary
Text structure and Text structure and Text structure and organisation Text structure and organisation
organisation organisation Purposes, audiences and How recount structures and
Purpose of recounts: tell Purpose and audiences for different types of recounts language features can be
what happened recounts changed for a variety of
formal and informal
Description of what has How intended audience and purposes and intended effects
first and third person
happened—includes topic can affect language The structure and work of
personal
information about who, choices paragraphs
historical
what, when, where and Structure of recount imaginative Ways of extending and
why factual enhancing paragraph content
orientation
Organisation of information biographical The arrangement and
series of events
in chronological order anecdotal organisation of paragraphs for
personal comment
Punctuation of different memoir different purposes, audiences,
reorientation
types of sentences; use of perspectives and effects
commas for lists Punctuation of complex
Purpose of each stage/part of Difference between recount and
Visual text types often used sentences
a recount reflection
with recounts Use of all punctuation
Paragraphs—purpose and Text cohesion through:
Sentence and clause level conventions to create clear
grammar structure linking devices (pronouns, meaning
Parts of a simple sentence Visual text—how decisions re text connectives) Sentence and clause level
Compound sentences and images and their composition starting points of sentences grammar
coordinating conjunctions work to enhance the written Complex sentences—main and
Word level grammar text subordinate clauses
How the text structure and
Work of the types of nouns Sentence and clause level Work and structure of a variety
language features work together
in recounts grammar of clause structures
Ways of adapting the language
Work of different types of How sentences can be Use of embedded clauses
structures and features of
verbs in recounts enhanced through the use of
recounts to create texts for
noun groups, verb groups
different purposes and effects
and prepositional phrases
Punctuation—use of quotation
Work of adverb groups and
marks, apostrophe of possession
prepositional phrases in
providing extra information
Noun–verb agreement in
clauses
Past tense Word level grammar Sentence and clause level Word level grammar
Adverbs telling when, Verbs representing different grammar Work of modal verbs, adverbs,
where and how processes Structure and work of complex adjectives and nouns to
Adjectives to describe Formation of verbs/verb sentences enhance meaning in sentences
nouns groups in past tense The difference between main Vocabulary
Vocabulary Work of pronouns—how and subordinate clauses How appropriate vocabulary
Signal words/groups of pronouns link to/refer to Active and passive voice choices contribute to the
words that signal nouns Word level grammar effectiveness of the text
order/sequence, passing of Vocabulary Subordinating conjunctions in
time Modal verbs and adverbs to complex sentences
Words that refer to nouns enhance opinions or First and third person pronouns
(pronouns) descriptions Vocabulary
Topic specific terminology Shades of meaning of words in
sentences
Precise word choice
Please note that it is not expected that students can write or will have written all of the types of recounts listed. Rather it is intended
that, through purposeful reading and writing experiences, they are able to recognise the types and their purposes and may have
written some.
Decide what you want the students to learn, how they will demonstrate their learning
and then plan the teaching and learning experiences.
It is also useful to have a whole school overview of the major text types across the
school for a period of time (term, semester)—see Tables 1.7 and 1.8. Such an overview
can provide useful information for school administrators as well as specialist and
support teachers who might be able to contribute or link their programs to the class
programs.
TABLE 1.7 THE MAJOR TEXT TYPES COVERED ACROSS A PRIMARY SCHOOL FOR ONE SEMESTER
Semester overview
Please note that this is used to indicate the units of work that were a major teaching focus. It does not reflect the other contexts or
units in which other text types may have been used.
Foundation Topic: Happy, Healthy Me—an inquiry into the actions Topic: Families—an inquiry into the types, roles and
required for personal safety and well-being activities of families and their members
Major language purpose: to instruct Major language purpose: to recount
Text type: procedural—rules Text type: recount/description
Visual text: sign Visual text: flowchart
Years 1 Topic: Creature Features—an inquiry into the structure Topic: Our Community Then and Now—an inquiry into
and 2 and features of small creatures and their what makes a community and how the local community
interdependence within a habitat has changed over time
Major language purpose: to describe Major language purpose: to narrate
Text type: information report Text type: personal recount
Visual text: simple labelled diagram Visual text: map, simple timeline
Years 3 Topic: The Human Body—an inquiry into the structure Topic: Author Study—an inquiry into the life and work
and 4 and function of systems within the human body of __________ (selected contemporary Australian
Major language purpose: to explain children’s author/s)
Text type: explanation to describe a process (how Major language purpose: to narrate
and why) Text type: narrative, script
Visual text: cut-away Visual text: Venn diagram, data chart for comparison
Years 5 Topic: Endangered Species—an inquiry into why some Topic: Slices of Time—an inquiry into the eras, people
and 6 plants and animals become endangered and how and events of the past that have impacted on Australia
humans affect their survival as it is today
Major language purpose: to persuade Major language purpose: to describe
Text type: argument Text type: information report
Visual text: graphic organiser—fish diagram Visual text: timeline
Please note that the table above includes the major text types that teachers will
explicitly teach about within units of work. Students will use other texts in their
personal writing and in their work across the curriculum. These texts, however, are not
the focus of the planned whole class teaching program so may be taught in either small
group or individual situations.
units of work:
A series of sequential lesson plans (may also include learning intentions and assessment) based around a
topic or learning focus that aims to build student learning.
TABLE 1.8 THE MAJOR TEXT TYPES COVERED IN SUBJECTS IN A SECONDARY SCHOOL FOR ONE SEMESTER
English Science History Geography Health Economics
Year Literature Explanation Explanation Description Information Explanation Persuasive Data

7 response Design brief Information report Report text analysis
Graphic Investigation Comparison Data Investigation report Comparison
novel report analysis
Persuasive Video analysis
text
Poetry
Year Film Explanation Historical recount Explanation Explanation Explanation
8 response Information Explanation Data Recount Research
Literature report Comparison response Investigation report report
response Experiment Persuasive text Data
Persuasive procedure analysis
text
Short story
Year Discussion Cartoon Explanation Comparative Investigation report Source

9 Literature Analysis Source analysis Research Information Explanation analysis
response Investigation report Newspaper report Comparison Research
Film review report Explanation report
Poetry Explanation
Comparison Comparison
Memoir
It is useful to ask teachers to identify the key words/actions that they use when
setting tasks within their subjects. They can share these and agree on a definition along
with what they would expect the writing to include. Table 1.9 shows some terms
commonly used in subjects within a secondary school. The terms could be used for a
review of the writing set within subjects because the terms become the purpose for
writing and thus influence the choice of text type.
TABLE 1.9 TERMS COMMONLY USED IN SUBJECTS WITHIN A SECONDARY SCHOOL
Term Definition
Analyse Identify components and the relationship between them; draw out and relate implications
Appreciate Make a judgment about the value of
Assess Make a judgment of value, quality, outcome, results or size
Clarify Make clear or plain
Compare Show how things are similar or different
Contrast Show how things are different or opposite

Critically Add a degree or level of accuracy, depth, knowledge and understanding, logic, questioning, reflection and
(analyse) quality to
Define State meaning and identify essential qualities
Describe Provide characteristics and features
Discuss Identify issues and provide points for and/or against
Evaluate Make a judgment based on criteria to determine the value

1. Draw on your classroom experiences and identify the major subject topics, inquiry units or major school
events that are covered during a semester within a classroom. Identify a major text type for each context.
Check that there is a balance across the semester.
CLASSROOM PROGRAM PLANNING
Secondary and primary classroom planning involves long-, medium- and short-
term planning that provides for teacher selected, teacher and student negotiated
contexts as well as student selected and personal choice contexts. This constitutes a
multistrand program that includes:
classroom planning:
Planning that includes differentiation to cater for varying student needs, abilities and learning styles within
the one class.
long-term planning:
Planning that considers how learning outcomes could be achieved over a longer time period e.g. a calendar
year.
medium-term planning:
Planning that considers how learning outcomes can be achieved over a medium-term period e.g. one term.
short-term planning:
Planning that considers how learning outcomes can be achieved over a shorter period e.g. days and weeks.
multistrand program:
A three pronged approach to the program that balances teacher directed instruction and directed student
activities; teacher and student negotiated teaching and learning focuses; and opportunities for individual
students to make personal choices and decisions about aspects of their learning.
a teacher directed strand that uses texts for instructional purposes and student practice
teacher and student negotiated text-specific strand that focuses on texts related to specific
subjects, inquiries or other contexts. It also includes English-specific texts such as literary texts
(narratives, poetry, plays, stories etc.)
a personal-choice strand that ensures that individual students have regular, ongoing
opportunities to make personal reading and writing choices.
It is important that programs include both strands. If the students are exposed to
a range of texts and are taught about the purpose, structures and features of these
within text-type specific teaching contexts, their reading and writing repertoires
increase.
TEXT TYPES ACROSS THE CURRICULUM
The following suggestions may help with teaching about text types that are drawn
from topics within subjects or across the curriculum:
Plan the topic so that resources, including examples of particular text types, can be collected.
Draw from the topic as many language activities (oral, written, reading and viewing) as possible.
Decide how language will be used to gather, organise and present information and identify the
text types that will facilitate this.
Select activities that will help students to understand the context, purpose, audience, structure
and features of the focus text type.
Build students’ knowledge of the topic and the vocabulary unique to the field, as well as text type
knowledge.
Decide how to use the topic and the related resources to further the students’ knowledge of text
types. It could be done in one of the following ways:
Select examples of the chosen text type and use the similarities of purpose and form between
these as the focus for modelled reading and writing sessions.
Select many different texts on the topic and use the differences in form and purpose to
develop the students’ interest in both the topic and related text types.
Include writing activities that require extended writing rather than one-word or one-sentence
responses.
Ensure that the teaching of the particular text type also becomes an integral part of the English
program.
Build the students’ subject/topic knowledge as well as their knowledge of the text type to be
used within the topic.
Use published texts (paper-based, digital and multimodal) as mentor texts. Identify the teaching
points within each one.
Frequently read and discuss mentor texts with the students so that they enhance their text type
knowledge.
Use a range of teaching procedures and activities. Remember informative, persuasive and
imaginative texts cannot always be presented nor read in the same manner.
Model writing and jointly construct texts within the chosen text types drawing students’
attention to specific elements. These teaching procedures can be used during the introductory or
whole class focus time of language sessions, during mini lessons in a subject session or as an
integral part of the content area of the curriculum.
Provide time and support for students to explore and experiment with the text before expecting
it to be part of their writing repertoire.
When conferring with students, include questions that focus on aspects of text type. For
example:
What did you need to know or do to write this?
Who is the target audience? What have you done to help the readers?
What is the purpose of this writing? or Why was this written?
How have you organised or presented the information? Why?
Provide an audience for the students’ writing to give them an opportunity to reflect on and
discuss their efforts.
Be aware that one text might include aspects of several text types (i.e. it might be a blended
genre) according to the purpose of each part. Focus on the teaching points you wish to develop.
Figure 1.1 and Table 1.10 show examples of planning for teaching text types drawn from across
the curriculum.
Figure 1.1 Plan for teaching text types from across the curriculum
TABLE 1.10 PRIMARY AND SECONDARY TEACHER ACTIONS AND TEACHER SELF-QUESTIONS DURING THE PLANNING
FOR TEACHING ABOUT TEXTS WITHIN CONTENT SUBJECTS OR ACROSS THE CURRICULUM
Teacher actions Teacher questions
Plan the subject content or unit of study What do the students already know and can do?
Plan a sequence of teaching and learning experiences that will work towards (activate prior learning)
developing the students’ knowledge and skills of the subject or unit through What do they need to know and do next?
inquiry. (progression in learning)
Primary teachers What understandings, knowledge or concepts
The unit of work might be an integrated inquiry unit, the content of which is will the students develop as a result of this subject
drawn from across the curriculum. or unit of work?
Secondary teachers What do I want the students to know, be able to
The unit might comprise a sequence of teaching and learning experiences do and be as a result of studying this subject or
within a specific subject. unit? What are the learning intentions or goals?
How will they best achieve the above? What do I
need to do to ensure they achieve the above?
Have I planned teaching and learning
experiences that cater for all learners? Will they
have opportunities to use language in meaningful
contexts to enhance their learning within the
subject or unit?
Identify language use Which activities in the subject/unit require

Look at the sequence of activities planned within the subject or unit of work students to use language (oral, written, visual) for
and make sure that there is a balance of modes and purposes for language. specific purposes?
Primary teachers What are the purposes for which language will
Consider all classroom contexts when checking the balance of modes and be used in this subject/unit?
language purposes. Is there a balance of language purposes,
Secondary teachers contexts and audiences?
Consider the range of modes and language purposes within the subject over How will language be used to locate, evaluate,
the year. organise and present information?
What will I need to plan for and do to help all
students learn about and use language (oral,
written and visual) for a range of purposes and
audiences within this subject/unit?
Which purpose/s for language will be the main
one/s that will be major teaching focuses? What
will I need to explicitly teach?
How will I plan teaching and learning
experiences that will provide opportunities to
develop the students’ literacy skills and
knowledge?
Target the main language purposes and text types For which purposes will the students be using
Select the text type/s after checking that the choice will extend the students’ written language?
learning and contribute to their repertoire of text types. Which text types can be used for each language
Primary teachers purpose?
Focus on purpose and audience for the selected text type—relate to everyday Which is/are the main text type/s students will
use of the texts. use in this unit/subject? Which format (paper-
based, live, digital, multimodal) will be used?
Secondary teachers Will the study of this/these text type/s provide a

If the term ‘essay’ is used in any writing task, make sure the students know the balance across the year and enhance and extend
purpose/s for the essay and the expected structure or stages and language the students’ literacy learning and thinking?
features.
Select key aspects to focus on How will I use AC:E when planning for teaching?
Use AC:E to inform your planning—use the strands and sub-strands and What do the students already know and can do?
content descriptions to guide selection of teaching focuses that arise naturally What is the next step in their learning?
from the texts. Consider whole text, sentence, clause and word level teaching Which aspects of the written tasks/selected text
focuses, processes and strategies. type/s will need to be unpacked with the
Identify the text structures and language features that will be focused upon. students? Which aspects will need to be explicitly
Primary teachers taught?
Select speaking and listening, reading and writing teaching focuses that Which text structures and language features of
enhance the students’ understanding of all aspects of writing—especially text this text type will the students need to know?
types. Which resources will facilitate the students’
Secondary teachers knowledge of and use of the text structures and
Think about the demands of the writing task or text type/s required in the language features?
subject and identify the aspects that students might need to be taught.
Tease out the teaching focuses What do I want the students to know and do as
Identify the specific teaching focuses and the contexts in which these can be writers/text creators? What do I want them to
explored with the students. know about writing, writers and texts?
Primary teachers What are the major teaching focuses? How will I
Make explicit the reading and writing links. teach these?
Work out when aspects will be taught—either within the unit as required by How can I use examples of the selected text
the students or within specific English sessions. type/s and the content of the subject/unit to
Secondary teachers teach text breaker and encoder practices, text
Break the teaching about writing into small parts that can be focused upon participant practices, text user practices, and text
during short, sharp, focused teaching during the subject lesson. analyst practices?(See Chapter 3 for further
Decide how much subject teaching time will be allocated to teaching the key information.)
aspects about the specific text type/writing task.
Organise for assessment What do I want the students to know, be able to
Consider assessment criteria, purposes, contexts, tasks and record keeping do and be as a result of the teaching? What are
while the subject/unit are planned. Make criteria explicit to the students. the teaching intentions/goals?
Make sure they know what good work looks like and how good is good How will I use the AC:E when planning for
enough. assessment?
Primary and secondary teachers How will I find out what the students already
Ensure that subject assessment criteria include literacy (specifically writing) know and can do (student prior knowledge and
criteria. skills)?
Make it clear to students that writing matters/is important in the subject. How will I involve the students in both self and
peer assessment?
How will I organise for summative and
cumulative assessment?
How will I monitor and record the students’
progress?
How will I use the assessment information?
Plan the English program How will I use the AC:E to plan the English
Consider differentiation. How will EAL/D students be catered for? Can extra program?
scaffolding be included for Learning Support students? In what ways will gifted How will I plan for whole class, small group and
and talented students be challenged to extend their writing? There may be individual student needs and interests?
support teachers who specialise in the above areas. If so, ask them to help How will I provide a range of multimodal
with planning. experiences that will develop literacy skills and
Primary teachers knowledge?
Plan the literacy program to include stand-alone sessions and sequences of How will I contextualise literacy learning?
sessions to develop student knowledge and skills. Explicit teaching will occur Which resources will we need/use?
in literacy sessions and incidental teaching as the need arises. Students apply
the gained knowledge and skills across the curriculum.
Secondary teachers
Subject teachers need to assume responsibility for the literacy demands within
their subject. This means clearly identifying literacy teaching focuses and
planning short, sharp teaching sessions within the subject time allocation.
Informing English teachers of the language purposes and text types required
within each subject might help the English teachers make links for the students.
TEXT TYPES IN STAND-ALONE ENGLISH UNITS

Some texts don’t naturally arise from the study of topics drawn from content subjects
or across the curriculum. For example, some texts (literature responses, reviews, poetry,
narratives, imaginative, drama texts, scripts etc.) may need to be taught in English units
that run parallel with, but are not related to, the current topic drawn from the content
subjects (Science, Health, History, Geography etc.). They are taught within stand-
alone English sessions. Figure 1.2 describes one way of planning for the teaching of a
text in a stand-alone English unit.
Figure 1.2 Plan for teaching text types in Subject English or stand-alone English units
LONG-TERM PLANNING
A yearly planner that provides a brief overview of the major English teaching focuses
and contexts, the expected learning outcomes and overall year level standard, provides
the big picture of the teaching and learning intentions for the year for a specific year
level. This long-term planner provides guidance by keeping the end ‘in mind and up
front’ when teachers conduct medium- and short-term planning.
The AC:E provides information on what needs to be taught, at each year level,
about the English Language, Literature and Literacy (the three interrelated strands in
the AC:E). The sub-strands within each of these strands include focus threads, content
descriptions and elaborations. There are student work samples to help guide teacher
assessment.
In the initial stages of planning, teachers identify the topics or subjects to be
studied throughout the year. They decide which text types can be taught after
considering the language purposes within the subject or units of work. Primary
teachers also need to identify the text types that will be covered in stand-alone English
sessions or units of work because those texts don’t naturally arise in other subjects or
units of work (e.g. poetry). Secondary subject teachers identify the language purposes
and text types the students will be required to use within their subject. All teachers,
primary and secondary, use the AC:E to identify the content that can be taught
through the study of text types.
MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING
Prior to the beginning of a term, teachers use the yearly overview in planning a broad
overview of the literacy program for the term. This overview draws on opportunities
for literacy teaching arising from the topics and the specific English focuses. Table
1.11, which is neither all-inclusive nor comprehensive, shows one way of planning. It
contains major teaching focuses only. There will also be incidental teaching focuses.
TABLE 1.11 EXTRACT FROM AN EXAMPLE DOCUMENT SHOWING ONLY MAJOR FOCUSES
Literacy teaching focuses arising from the unit Other focuses for literacy teaching
Please note that this example document is neither inclusive nor comprehensive. It contains examples of major teaching focuses
only. There will be other teaching focuses as required.
Unit: How does the human body work? Literature study: poetry study—assorted
forms and subjects
Fiction: short stories
Purpose for To explain: explanation (oral and written) To describe and/or narrate: poetry—variety of
language Focus To describe: information report (oral and written) forms

text type/s To narrate: short stories
To describe: relate to characters settings,
actions within short stories
Text structure Structure of explanation Statement of process or thing to be Identifying structure and features of poems—
and explained or described, paragraphs of related information, variety of forms and structures
organisation: topic sentences Structure of narrative in short form: orientation,
major focuses Cause and effect complication and series of events, conclusion,
Structure of information report reorientation
Classification, description of components, conclusion Paragraphs: topic sentences
Reading and Texts: range of print, digital and multimodal factual texts Texts: variety of poetry forms and short stories
viewing Comprehension—all levels (realistic, science fiction, contemporary,
focuses Strategies: historical, fantasy etc.)
Determining importance Comprehension—all levels
Note taking Strategies:
Summarising Response—personal
Skimming Making connections
Scanning Comparing and contrasting
Texts to be WRITING: Explanation on how a body system (e.g. WRITING: Description—settings, characters,
produced digestive, skeletal, muscular, respiratory, circulatory, events, actions
reproductive, nervous etc.) is structured and how it works. Narrative of own choice
Cross-sections and labelling Free-form poetry
Information report—description of the structure of an organ Poetry writing—own choice of form and topic
from a body system (e.g. heart—cardiovascular system)
SPEAKING: Group presentation (oral report) on the SPEAKING: Poetry performance

structure of an organ that is a part of a body system
VISUAL TEXTS: Cross-sections, flow diagrams VISUAL TEXTS : Story maps, Venn
diagrams, concept maps
MULTIMODAL TEXTS: create simple website MULTIMODAL TEXTS: write short film script
that can be performed and filmed on iPads
Language use: Technical terms, specialised vocabulary, classification of Literary devices: hyperbole, alliteration, simile,
vocabulary terms metaphor, repetition, rhythm, personification
Vocabulary to talk about: texts (poetry,
narratives); the work of writers
Language use: Timeless present tense, pronouns, words linking cause and Clause and sentence level: happenings,
grammar effect subject, circumstances, noun groups, verb
groups, adverbials, extending, enhancing and
combining sentences
Word level: comparative and superlative
adjectives, synonyms (thesaurus use), adverbs,
verbs
Spelling Etymological: circum (Latin for around), bios (Greek for life), Morphemic: word building adverbs, adding
focuses extra, auto, micro ily.
Morphemic: word building—tense Etymological: incidental
Sound symbol: ways of representing or (as in for) sound Sound symbol: revise rimes
Visual: unusual letter combinations—biological terms Visual: unusual letter patterns in words, word
Strategies: ways of remembering how to spell words shapes
Resource skills: thesaurus, dictionary, shades
of meaning, word origins
Strategies: ways of attempting unknown
words, checking spelling and learning to spell
Punctuation Punctuation of sentences and organising into paragraphs Direct and reported speech
Book title: bibliographies
Processes and Use of flowcharts to plan for explanations Planning for narratives: story maps
strategies Use of cue cards for oral reports Planning for poetry: mind maps
Personal spelling routine
Contextual Create text for specific audience Ways authors use words to achieve their
understandings Compare texts: same topic purpose
Use of stereotypes
Identifying points of view
SHORT-TERM PLANNING
The teacher can use a medium-term planning/broad literacy focuses document to
guide their short-term planning. For example, the teacher might produce a week-by-
week overview or a weekly work program that records the sequential teaching and
learning experiences based on the focuses. The short-term planning, by definition, is
not completed too far ahead of the actual implementation, as this planning will change
because of the teacher’s regular reflection on and evaluation of the effectiveness of the
program, the students’ needs and student input.
Effective teaching involves long-, medium- and short-term planning with the
student outcomes always in mind.
PLANNING FOR LITERACY TEACHING SESSIONS—

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY CONTEXTS
Teachers plan for and implement specific literacy teaching sessions regardless of the
source of the literacy teaching focuses. The focuses can be drawn from a content
subject, an integrated or inquiry unit, from across the curriculum or from a stand-
alone English unit. Regardless of the source of the focus, aspects of each will be
explicitly taught within literacy sessions for student application in a range of contexts.
PLANNING FOR A LITERACY SESSION IN A PRIMARY SCHOOL

SETTING
As literacy is relevant to many different subjects or key learning areas also taught in
primary schools, some literacy focuses will be taught at the point of need within
contexts other than an English or literacy session. For example, the students might:
be required to use information reports as part of a content subject or unit. They may learn about
the purpose, structure and features of these within literacy sessions so that they can use these in
the unit.
learn about the work of parts of speech during literacy sessions so that they can better construct
texts in a variety of contexts.
learn about the organisation of bibliographies and the punctuation of publishing details of
resource materials (citing of resource materials) when they require this, during a context other
than an English session.
Literacy sessions can include whole text, paragraph, sentence, word group, word
or letter-level teaching focuses as well as focuses on processes, procedures and products.
They can include explicit teaching of and about literacy practices (Freebody & Luke,
1990).
A large block of time is required for literacy activities so that students have
opportunities to explore, experiment with, demonstrate, share and practise all literacy
skills within whole class, small group and independent learning contexts. The
following describes key stages in the structure of a literacy session.
Introduction—focused teaching time: this short, sharp, focused instructional time at the beginning
of a session involves the whole class. The teacher seeks and makes links to prior learning, and
introduces and elaborates on specific aspects of English through explicit modelling,
demonstration and explanation.
Small group teaching: this enables the teacher to work with students with similar needs and
provide specific instruction and support that further develops their skills and knowledge. Small
group instructional sessions enable students to use, transfer and/or consolidate what they have
learnt in the whole class focus time.
Independent activity time: this may include directed or free-choice activities that enable the
students to independently use and practise their literacy skills and knowledge. The activities
might relate to the content of the focus time and involve individual or small group experiences.
Whole class share time: this session might involve the sharing of individual, small group or whole
class knowledge, skills and activities that may be related to the whole class focus time. It provides
opportunities for:
teachable moments as the students reflect upon and share their work with each other
reviewing the teaching and learning focuses
checking students’ progress and facilitating student evaluations about their achievement of
success criteria
discussing with the students possibilities for further teaching and learning.
Figure 1.3 also shows these key stages.

Figure 1.3 Example structure of a literacy session
PLANNING FOR LITERACY TEACHING IN A SECONDARY
SCHOOL SETTING
Subject English teachers within secondary schools employ many of the steps outlined
above for primary teachers. The complexity of texts and tasks, the time constraints and
the nature of the students will affect the way English teaching sessions are structured
in secondary schools.
All teachers are responsible for facilitating students’ literacy learning—not just
teachers of subject English. Subject teachers need to plan for the teaching of the
subject content and skills as well as identify the literacy demands within their subject
and determine which aspects they need to explicitly focus on during their subject
sessions. The timetabling constraints within secondary school settings mean that
literacy teaching within subjects needs regular, briskly paced teaching episodes that
develop content knowledge along with literacy skills. Table 1.12 provides ideas for
planning for literacy teaching within content subjects.
TABLE 1.12 PLANNING FOR LITERACY TEACHING WITHIN CONTENT SUBJECTS
Teacher questions Teacher actions
Which literacy skills and Think about the literacy demands within the topic to be studied. Consider the discipline
knowledge will the students need area/the subject.
to complete the tasks within this Identify the aspects of reading, viewing, writing and speaking and listening skills and
topic/subject? knowledge that the students might find challenging within the topic/subject. Think about
literacy practices, processes and strategies within each mode, text structures and organisation,
conventions of written language (spelling, punctuation, grammar, vocabulary etc.).
Plan for explicit teaching of these aspects through regular short mini teaching times within the
subject period.
What is my purpose for the Identify the writing task—purpose, text type, criteria. Be clear about your purpose for the
writing task? writing task.
For which purpose/s will students
write?
Which text type/s will students
use?
How will I ensure that the
students know the purpose of,
and requirements for, the task?
What will be the assessment Make assessment criteria explicit—content knowledge and writing skills.
criteria? Assessment criteria can be teacher determined or negotiated with the students.
How will the writing task be Consider writing skills and knowledge as well as content.
assessed? Focus on meaning, content, conventions, strategies.
Am I making sure that I assess
content and writing knowledge?
What will students need to Build content knowledge along with writing skills and knowledge.
understand about the topic? Content knowledge
How will I help them identify their Build on what students already know.
information needs, locate Provide opportunities for students to read to learn.
resources and select, organise Provide many and varied experiences to enhance the students’ knowledge of the topic.
and present appropriate Introduce vocabulary—technical terms.
information?
Knowledge of writing and texts

Build on what students already know.
Provide multiple examples of the text type.
What will the students need to Deconstruct, reconstruct and construct texts with the students—work from shared to
know about the purpose, independent contexts.
structure and language features Use language to talk about texts and language, concepts, skills and knowledge.
of the text type (text knowledge)?
How will I help them understand

the work of writers, the writing
process and texts? When?
Which resources will I use?
Why?
What will I need to do to support Support students as they work towards completing the writing task.
the students before, during and Use short, focused teaching times that focus on writing.
after the writing process? Teach at whole class, group and individual student level.
What will I focus on during Use multiple experiences in which the students are supported as they work towards
planning, drafting, revising, independently completing the writing.
editing and publishing? Demonstrate the writing process.
Use a range of strategies to help students prepare for writing, to draft, to revise and to publish
their writing.
How will I record and use the Assess the writing task.
assessment information? Use teacher, student self-assessment and peer assessment.
How will feedback be provided? Use the assessment data to plan for further learning—to support and extend students.
By whom? When?
What are the students expected
to do?
TEACHING LITERACY IN A CONTENT SUBJECT LESSON
Subject teachers can use content of their subject to teach literacy in context. They can
teach aspects of literacy while the students are reading and writing about the content
of the subject. The subject teachers can structure their teaching sessions (often periods
of 50 minutes) to include a specific literacy focus while creating or using subject-
specific texts. The following is one way to structure a session.
DURING THE INTRODUCTION TO THE SESSION

Depending on the literacy demands of the session, upcoming task or activity, the
teacher might select an aspect that needs to be explicitly taught in a mini teaching time
(5–7 minutes) before addressing the subject content during the remainder of the
session. For example, during the session the students might have to read and
summarise a text on the topic. The teacher decides what the students need to know
and do in order to summarise, and plans one or more mini literacy teaching times
using a short model text on the subject.
DURING THE ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED IN THE SESSION

The teacher might choose to conduct ‘in time’ teaching of and about an aspect of
literacy as the lesson progresses. Once again, the literacy teaching will be a minor part
of the whole session. For example, the teacher notices that some students are not sure
how to spell some of the subject-specific vocabulary. The teacher takes the opportunity
to use some of the students’ attempts to demonstrate strategies for attempting,

checking and/or correcting spelling.
DURING THE CONCLUDING PART OF THE SESSION

As a result of observing the students at work, the teacher might decide to conduct a
literacy teaching focus that links with what they have done and what they are required
to know, do and be in subsequent sessions. The teacher might pose questions that
prompt students to reflect on their learning within the subject as well as what they
have learnt about literacy during the session. For example, the History teacher might
ask what the students have learnt about life in Ancient China from the multimodal
text they read and then might ask them what they learnt about ways of organising
written/visual/aural information in multimodal texts.

Many schools encourage team planning in which groups of teachers work together to plan the teaching
program. Think about and discuss the following. What might be the benefits and drawbacks of team
planning? Suggest ways of overcoming the drawbacks. How might planning sessions be structured? What
might common planning documents look like, and include? What could the teachers plan together? What
might be left to the individual classroom or subject teacher?
R ESOURCES
Booker, K. 2012, Using Picturebooks to Empower and Inspire Readers and Writers in the Upper Primary Classroom. Practical
Strategies- Literacy Learning: the Middle Years, 20:2, i-xiv
The author emphasises the importance of sharing picture books in the classroom even with older students. The use of picture
books enables students to critically evaluate texts and can be used as a ‘mentor text’ for their own writing.
Booth Olsen, C. 2011, The Reading/Writing Connection: Strategies for Teaching and Learning in the Secondary Classroom, Pearson
Allyn and Bacon, Boston.
The author provides practical, theory-based ideas and activities designed to help secondary teachers make explicit to their
students what accomplished readers and writers do during their interactions with texts.
Cecil, N.L. & Gipe, J.P. 2009, Literacy in Grades 4–8: Best Practices for a Comprehensive Program, Second Edition, Holcomb
Hathaway Publishers, Scottsdale.
The authors provide information about establishing a balanced and comprehensive literacy program that caters for student
diversity. The book includes practical classroom strategies, procedures, activities and resources that assist student learning.
Fellowes, J. & Oakley, G. 2019, Language, Literacy and Early Childhood Education, Third Edition, Oxford University Press, South
Melbourne.
The authors provide detailed information on language and literacy/literacies development, literacy teaching strategies and
activities and ideas for planning and programming using ICT, literature and other resources.
Fountas, I. & Pinnell, G. 2017, Literacy Continuum: a Tool for Assessment, Planning and Teaching, Heinemann, Portsmouth.
The authors provide comprehensive information about literacy development and how to observe and assess each student’s
literacy behaviours and plan for responsive teaching across all elements of literacy.
Killen, R. 2012, Effective Teaching Strategies: Lessons from Research and Practice, Sixth Edition, Cengage Learning, South Melbourne.
The book describes key principles of teaching and learning and effective teaching strategies. It includes lesson planning
guidelines and practical activities to use in a range of subject areas.
Westall, P. 2016, What Teachers Need to Know about Differentiated Instruction, ACER, Camberwell.
The author describes how to use data to guide differentiation through curriculum content, teaching methods, activities,
resources and adapting the physical, social and digital learning environments to cater for individual learning rates and levels of
ability.
Winch, G., Johnston, R., March, P., Ljungdahl, L. & Holliday, M. 2020, Literacy: Reading, Writing and Children’s Literature, Sixth
Edition, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne.
The authors provide a variety of practical approaches to teaching literacy that acknowledge the role of oral language, multiple
literacies and the effect of technologies in developing students’ literacy skills.
PART 2
LITERACY
3 LITERACY, LANGUAGE AND LEARNING
4 TEXTS
5 USING TEXTS IN MEANINGFUL CONTEXTS
6 READING AND WRITING: PROCESSES AND CONNECTIONS
2
ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES AND
RECORD KEEPING

explain the purposes for assessment: assessment for learning, assessment as
learning and assessment of learning
describe the purposes and range of tools, procedures and recording methods
used for assessment
understand how assessment data is used to inform teaching and ensure
improved learning and progress of each student
identify the characteristics of informed feedback and its importance in the
teaching and learning cycle.
KEY TERMS
cumulative or formative assessment
diagnostic assessment
feedback
summative assessment
ASSESSMENT
Assessment is integral to, intertwined with and an ongoing process in the teaching and
learning cycle (Wyatt-Smith, Klenowski & Colbert, 2014). It involves the continuous
collection and analysis of evidence of student learning; making judgments about their
performance and deciding on actions to improve their learning; and identifying where
students are at in their learning at the time of each assessment. Assessment practices,
tools and procedures can be used in different ways for three purposes (Black &
Wiliam, 1998; Department of Education and Training, 2018b; Earl, 2014):
to the desired goal, and possible courses of action for improving their learning.
cumulative or formative assessment:

Assessment that is integral to and not separate from the teaching program. Data from this assessment is
collected over time, from a variety of contexts and sources and involving a range of assessment tools,
techniques and procedures.
Sometimes assessment is conducted at the conclusion of a teaching unit or

experience: this is referred to as summative assessment. It may involve the assessment
of a product, process or performance. The data gathered provides information that
‘sums up’ or ‘summarises’ what the students know and can do at that point of time.
Summative assessment informs teachers about student learning and whether the
students have achieved the learning intentions, goals, standards or outcomes by
demonstrating success criteria. The data also provides an objective way of evaluating
the effectiveness of the teaching program and instructional practices. It can identify
common student achievements and weaknesses.
summative assessment:
An assessment conducted at the conclusion of a teaching experience or unit of work.
Assessment data is used to inform teaching and improve student learning.
Assessment data can be gained from teacher-designed and implemented

procedures, student self-assessment and peer assessment, as well as from parents,
caregivers, specialist teachers and other people who work with the students.
ASSESSMENT, TEACHING AND LEARNING

Assessment data is used to inform planning for teaching, to measure student learning
and to evaluate the teaching program—the effectiveness of instruction, content and
procedures. Effective teaching relies on assessment that provides rich information
about student progress over time within a range of contexts, using a variety of
procedures and tools. The information needs to be accurately and clearly recorded to
facilitate effective analysis of individual student data as well as trend data for the class
or groups of students. When planning any teaching and learning experiences, teachers
should start with the learning intentions or outcomes in mind so that each teaching
and learning experience works towards building student learning and thus
achievement of the desired learning outcomes (see Figure 2.1). All planning, whether
for an extended unit of work or for a single lesson, should start where the students are
at and with the learning intention in mind (Wiggins & McTighe, 1998; Stiggins,
2014; Goss & Hunter, 2015; Fisher, Frey & Hattie, 2016).
When planning for teaching, teachers need to ask the following questions:
What do I want the students to achieve? What do they already know and can do (prior
knowledge)? What do they need to know or do next? Identifying the intended learning
outcomes or intention.
What evidence will I need from the students? How will I know what they have achieved? How
will I know if my teaching has supported the students? What are the criteria? Determining
acceptable evidence.
How will I assess the students’ progress? Which assessment tools will I use? When will
assessment take place? How? Identifying assessment contexts, tools and other resources.
When analysing assessment data, teachers can ask:
What do I see in the data? Are there any patterns or trends? What is done well? What is of
concern?
Why? Which factors impacted results? What might have affected an individual student’s
results? What might have affected the group’s results? How might my teaching have affected
the results?
Was there any degree of bias in the assessment data? Was it culturally sensitive?
(e.g. if a cloze passage about Goldilocks and The Three Bears is to be used as an assessment tool,
it cannot be assumed that students from EAL/D or other cultural backgrounds have prior
knowledge about this traditional Anglo-centric fairy tale).
What might I need to do as a result of this? How will I use the data? What will I do next? What
will the students need now? How will feedback be provided?
Figure 2.1 The assessment cycle
USING FEEDBACK TO ENHANCE STUDENT LEARNING
Feedback as a response or reaction to work can come from the teacher, the students
themselves or their peers and is used to inform students about their learning as a basis
for improvement (Wiggins, 2012; Hattie, 2012; Hattie, Fisher & Frey, 2016).
Feedback should enable students to tell if they are ‘on track’ with their learning and
what they need to do next to improve it. Effective feedback reduces the gap between
the student’s current and future learning or desired outcome or goal (Hattie, 2009).
Thus feedback should be specifically linked to a learning intention or goal.
feedback:
Information a student receives about their work from a teacher, peer or themselves that is aimed to
constructively guide them in their learning.
Teacher feedback is acknowledged as one of the important influences on student
learning (Brookhart, 2008; Hattie & Timperley, 2007; Hattie, 2012). High quality
feedback provides a positive influence on student learning whereas poor quality
feedback has little influence or a negative effect.
It is thus important that teachers use assessment data to provide informed,
purposeful feedback that:
focuses on tasks, projects or work as well as on the processes or strategies used by the student
is suitable to the students’ thinking and stage of development
is delivered at appropriate times in the student’s learning
acknowledges progress
identifies strengths and areas for improvement
provides directions for further action
helps students self-assess and determine the next steps of their learning.
Feedback should provide answers to the following student questions:

Where am I going? What is the learning intention/goal? What am I meant to know and do?
How am I going? Am I achieving the success criteria? What am I good at? What do I need to
improve?
Where to next? Where am I going now? What do I need to know and do next? How?
(Hattie & Timperley, 2007; Hattie, 2012)
The teacher may well ask the following questions in order to provide focused,
insightful feedback:
Where is the student meant to be?

How is the student progressing?
How will I support the student to move beyond here?
When providing feedback:

Make sure students understand the meaning of and purpose for feedback. Ensure that they
understand it is to help them improve their learning.
Understand that effective feedback requires both teacher external input and student internal
input (prior knowledge, experiences and motivation) so that the student makes meaning of the
schoolwork and feedback—where they are at, what they do well and what they need to improve
and how. The combination of teacher and student input helps the student ‘realise they will get
the results they want if they expend effort and attention’ (Brookhart, 2008, p. 5).
Coach students to receive feedback—both positive (what is well done) and negative (what needs
further work)—to value it and to act on advice for improvement of learning (Hattie, Fisher &
Frey, 2016).
Link feedback to the goal or learning intention and the success criteria. Make sure the students
understand the requirements of the task and the assessment criteria. Provide or jointly construct
assessment criteria before students commence the task/work.
Provide frequent ‘just in time’ or timely feedback that is personalised to the students’ learning. It
should be ‘just-in-time, just-for-me information delivered when and where it can do the most
good’ (Brookhart, 2008, p. 1).
Make statements that are clearly understood by the students and are specific to the task and
action required.
Ensure there are adequate opportunities and time for students to use the feedback—to
implement the plans for improvement.
Use a variety of modes (verbal, written, digital) and procedures (peer, teacher, student self-
evaluation, group).
Keep short the time between the completion of the work or task and the feedback. The closer to
the completion of the task that feedback is provided, the more likely the students will be mindful
of the learning goal and to act to improve their learning.
Deliver feedback in a consistent format that is easily understood by the students.
Many teachers successfully use the ‘sandwich format’ where an idea to work on is
placed in between two positives about the student’s work (Bress, 2007).
A good lead into this idea that can be highly useful with students is ‘Two Stars
and A Wish’. This is an easy format for fellow students to follow when providing peer
feedback. The concept could also be introduced to parents if they wanted to give
feedback on some homework (e.g. practising a speech to give at school).
Two Stars (two aspects you handled well).

A Wish (a way for you to improve).
Students may also be introduced to ‘Glow and Grow’ to provide feedback; for
example, something that is already going well (glow) and an aspect that can be further
developed (grow).
TABLE 2.1 FOCUSES AND ACTIONS FOR GIVING FEEDBACK
Feedback Possible focuses and actions
Something positive What the student has done well.

What the student has achieved.
Refer to the goal/learning intention and criteria so students note their progress.
Something to work on The aspects that need attention.

The aspects that need improvement.
Refer to the goal/learning intention and criteria so students note their progress.
What to do What needs to be done and how.

Refer to the goal/learning intention and a developmental continuum to determine next step in the
learning progression.
Provide suggestions.
Positive conclusion— Where the student is at in relation to the learning goal and along the learning continuum.
action, student goal How the student is going.
Where the student is now heading and how to do this.
The teacher and student refer to the goal/learning intention and a developmental continuum to
determine next step in the learning progression.
The student identifies what went well and what would have made the task/work/their learning
better.
The student forms their personal learning goal and action plan.
Feedback is most effective when it is timely, perceived as relevant, meaningful and encouraging, and offers
suggestions for improvement that are within a student’s grasp (Brown, Bull & Pendlebury, 1997)
IDENTIFYING WHAT TO TEACH AND ASSESS

Planning and teaching needs to be guided by our students’ prior learning, abilities,
needs, interests and learning styles. Authentic, contextualised, ongoing assessment that
uses a range of information sources and tools provides valuable information about the
above and more. External, standardised, national testing should not control our
teaching. The data from these should be added as a contributing factor to be
considered when planning and teaching.
The remainder of this chapter, while relating directly to teaching and learning
about text types, can be adjusted for general literacy assessment.
When identifying what is to be taught about text types it is wise to start where
the students are at in their learning. This means monitoring and assessing their prior
learning. This could involve:
observing the students as they write, which will provide information about the strategies they
use, their effort and their attitudes
analysing samples of their writing, which will provide information about established strengths
and areas for further learning
gathering information from conferences, guided student self-assessment and reflections, and
teacher developed assessment tools.
Once there is a broad picture of common strengths and areas of need across the
class and specific information about each individual student, the intended learning
outcomes can be identified. The intended learning outcomes related to text types and
based on aspects of the AC:E would generally focus on the degree to which students
know and can use:
texts for different purposes, audiences and situations (written, spoken, visual or multimodal in live,
print or digital texts) and the relationship between context and text
subject knowledge to draw upon and use when writing imaginative, persuasive and informative
texts
text structure and organisation—the way information is organised in different text types
language features that define the text and shape and support meaning (ACARA, 2015b)
text cohesion—the use of devices to bind parts of the text together (ACARA, 2015b)
visual text types and their elements that enhance meaning
conventions of written language:
clause, sentence and word level grammar—the types, form and function of grammatical
elements
punctuation—the use of standard marks/symbols to clarify meaning in text
vocabulary—the bank of words known and used in specific contexts
spelling knowledge and strategies—phonic, visual, morphemic, etymological and spelling rules
knowledge and strategies for attempting, checking and learning spelling
creating texts—application of knowledge, skills, writer practices and the writing process to create
effective texts
software—use of a range of software applications to plan, construct, edit and publish print and
multimodal texts.
The students’ attitude towards writing would also be an assessment focus.

The AC:E can be used to identify what students should know and be able to do
at the end of each year level, and can inform long-term planning and summative
assessment. Usually there will be a spread of students across a couple of year level
achievement standards. It is important that teachers plan differentiated teaching to
cater for the range of abilities so that students progress through the achievement levels.
The achievement standards and content descriptions can be used to determine
learning outcomes. The standards describe the quality of learning (knowledge, skills
and understanding) students should typically demonstrate by the end of a specific year
level.
The teaching focuses and learning outcomes related to text types could be drawn
from many of the sub-strands within the three strands (English Language, Literature
and Literacy) of the AC:E, but when planning, teachers will select a few sub-strands,
focus threads from the strands, and use these for planning, teaching and assessment.
Teachers might examine the students’ work during and at the end of the unit and use
content descriptions to assess learning and guide further teaching.
The standard that the students are working to achieve at the end of a year level
will be located in the productive (speaking, writing and creative) and receptive
(listening, reading and viewing) modes. Teachers use their cumulative assessments to
provide evidence of students’ progress towards the overall standard.
A close analysis of each student’s writing (often a few samples written for
different purposes over time) provides information about strengths and areas for
improvement. While it is important that the teacher helps the students address the
errors on the samples, it is much more important that students learn to apply their new
learning to other writing. Focus on the writer and building transferrable skills and
knowledge about writing rather than just focusing on one piece of writing. In this
sense, as well as feedback, the teacher is able to provide feed-forward (information that
will also to help students with the learning they will engage in later).
There are numerous criteria against which writing and the writer’s performance
(practices, understanding, knowledge and skills) can be judged. For example:
The Four Resources Model (Luke & Freebody, 1999) can be used to focus on literacy teaching
and assessment. For example, teachers might assess the students’ writing by considering the sets
of practices outlined in Table 2.2.
The NAPLAN Writing Guides produced by ACARA (2013), currently only used for assessing
persuasive and narrative writing as these are the only two text types so far assessed by NAPLAN,
can be used to assess all writing because all but one of the ten criteria apply to writing in general.
The criteria are as follows: audience, structure, ideas, vocabulary, cohesion, paragraphing,
sentence structure, punctuation and spelling, with one more criterion that changes according to
the text type/genre. This criterion is ‘persuasive devices’ when assessing persuasive texts, with
‘character and setting’ being used when assessing narratives. The NAPLAN Writing Guides are
available at <http://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/writing>
Culham’s (2003) 6+1 Traits of Writing (Ideas, Organization, Voice, Word Choice, Sentence
Fluency, Conventions and Presentation) can be used to effectively assess writing and plan
teaching focuses as a result of the assessment information. There are rubrics for each trait
enabling precise diagnosis of strengths and areas for improvement.
Teachers can devise criteria that are based on teacher professional knowledge of what makes
effective writers and writing.
A selection of appropriate content descriptions from the sub-strands of all strands of the AC:E
could be used for criteria lists. The generic text type checklist (Figure 2.2), which is based on the
focus of threads within specific AC:E sub-strands, can be used as is, or text type specific
assessment criteria can be added under each of the broad headings.
There are example assessment checklists, based on the one in Figure 2.2, at the end of the
chapter. Please note that the checklists are not comprehensive. They provide a summary only
and you will add and delete according to your purposes. The selection of criteria will be
dependent on the specific teaching focuses and language development of your students.
TABLE 2.2 ASSESSMENT OF WRITING
Text encoder Text participant

Ability to encode written and visual text Ability to compose meaning into written and visual texts
Use of knowledge of print Use of knowledge about topic, text structure and
Use of conventions of writing grammar to create text
Use of knowledge of text structures and Understanding of purpose
language features Use of prior knowledge and experiences
Use of elements of visual text Use of text organisation
Understanding of the reader/writer relationship and roles
Use of visual text to enhance meaning
Text user Text analyst

Ability to use written and visual texts for Ability to construct texts that ‘position’ the reader to suit the writer’s purpose
social purposes Knowledge of how authors manipulate text for their own purposes
Use of knowledge of text, context, purpose Use of own and others’ values, beliefs, views and attitudes to shape own their
and audience writing
Use of knowledge of different text types Use of written and visual text elements for specific purposes
Selection and use of text to suit purpose Selection and manipulation of language or visual elements to elicit the desired
Use of visual text to meet purpose response from the reader
Figure 2.2 Generic text type checklist

Draw a concept map to represent what you believe about assessment. Share these beliefs, identify common
ones and select a few to explore further. For each one, describe and discuss how this belief would be
reflected in the classroom (e.g. program, classroom environment, teacher and student actions). How might
this information impact on your literacy teaching?
TEACHING FOR STUDENT IMPROVEMENT

Once decisions have been made about what the students need to demonstrate, the
criteria against which they will be assessed and what will constitute exemplary work, a
series of teaching and learning experiences need to be planned and implemented.
These experiences need to provide for a range of student abilities and enable them to
develop, consolidate, apply and extend their learning through engaging, relevant and
purposeful activities (Department of Education and Early Childhood Development,
2013a; Department of Education and Training, 2013). Each session within the series
should build on the previous one and link past, present and future learning so that
students see the connectedness and purpose for each session. The saying below, which
is used in some schools as a mantra and classroom chart, captures the essence of the
structure of sessions within a teaching and learning sequence.
Revise yesterday—make links
Outline today—tell the purpose
Teach today—keep the focus in mind
Outline tomorrow—make links
Source: Unknown
Generally, the sequence of sessions will provide opportunities for the

introduction of new learning (skills, knowledge etc.) through a range of interactive and
relevant contexts in which rich discussion around and about the new learning occurs.
It will also allow students to practise their new learning in shared, guided and
independent contexts that reflect learning and to appreciate the systematic, cumulative
and interrelated nature of the learning and its application in authentic contexts.
A series of teaching and learning experiences to teach the writing of a specific text
type might include a session that introduces the sequence focus, gauges student prior
learning, raises both teacher and student generated inquiry questions and sets the
expectations or outcomes for the sequence. Subsequent sessions might involve
reading/viewing and deconstructing model text and building student knowledge of
writing and texts. Further sessions might include modelled, shared and guided writing
of the specific text type leading to independent writing. Sessions will include explicit
teaching of aspects of text, writing and writers’ craft, such as the writing process,
writing strategies, text structure and organisation, conventions and so on. The
concluding sessions might include student reflection and self-assessment, celebration
of learning and products, and reviewing inquiry questions posed at the
commencement of the sequence.
COLLECT, RECORD AND ANALYSE EVIDENCE OF

LEARNING
Assessment information should be collected from a variety of contexts using a range of
sources and assessment tools and procedures, and be recorded in a manner that makes
it easy to use. Students as well as teachers can collect and record assessment material
and information. The analysis, which is to evaluate individual learning progress,
involves examining evidence to determine how effective the work is and the degree to
which it shows progress towards the standard. It should involve looking for strengths,
areas for improvement and aspects for intervention through further teaching.
While the following examples are in paper format, digital technology can be used
to provide more efficient procedures and recording formats. For example, students
might submit their work in a digital format to which they have already added their
annotations, self-assessment and reflections. The work can be stored in a digital
portfolio and the teacher can provide feedback and links to relevant digital resources so
that all is stored together and can be accessed by the teacher, student and other
authorised stakeholders. The work might be uploaded for peer feedback or for public
sharing and celebration of the work. Using digital resources can create a bridge
between school and home by providing opportunities to share work samples and
learning goals on a more regular basis. The following are suggestions for gathering
assessment information.
Use the capabilities of digital technology to facilitate the collection and organisation of assessment
information.
OBSERVATION OF STUDENTS’ WRITING AND READING

BEHAVIOURS
Teacher observations of students’ writing and reading behaviours and products are
effective sources of information on student progress if the teacher makes informed and
focused observations. When planning for the assessment of writing or reading, decide
which aspect you wish to focus on during a period of time and use this to guide your
observations.
For example, teachers can observe the students’:
willingness to write/read
attitude towards writing/reading
use of writing/reading strategies
understanding of the power of written text
awareness of purpose and audience
understanding and use of appropriate text types
use of appropriate text structure and language features
use of visual text.
WRITING ANALYSIS
The students’ own writing will provide starting points for identifying their writing
knowledge and skills and areas for further improvement. Read and analyse drafts of the
students’ writing and look for:
awareness of purpose and audience
control of text structure and organisation
control of the text features
cohesiveness of text
sense of voice
sentence structure and variation
use of conventions—vocabulary, spelling, punctuation, handwriting and grammar (at sentence,
clause and word level).
The information can be recorded on specific writing analysis pro formas,

checklists or in anecdotal records.
ANNOTATED WORK SAMPLES
This involves reading and ‘marking up’ on the text the aspects that demonstrate the
student’s progress towards, or achievement of, a specific learning outcome or standard.
Teachers will need to annotate several work samples to make an on-balance judgment
about a student’s performance, as one sample will not provide sufficient evidence.
PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT
A portfolio (digital or paper-based) is an authentic collection of a student’s writing
(teacher and/or student selected) that provides a picture of that student’s progress and
development over time. The writing may be in draft or published form and represent a
range of writing for different purposes and audiences. An on-balance judgment of the
student’s writing development can be made using the range of products in the
portfolio.
CONFERENCES
One-on-one student–teacher conferences about the student’s work provide valuable
information about the student’s learning and opportunities for individual ‘just-in-
time’ or ‘point of need’ teaching. It is important for teachers to structure these
conferences in a way to encourage their students to feel comfortable and secure to talk
about their learning. It is best if conferences occur where classmates cannot hear the
conversation and active listening is used (Brady & Kennedy, 2016).
STUDENT SELF-ASSESSMENT INFORMATION
Student self-assessments provide teachers with a valuable source of information about
students’ perceptions of themselves as learners and of their progress. Further
information is provided later in this chapter.
TEACHER RECORDS
While there are many ways teachers can record assessment data (paper-based and
digital), it is important that the recording process is manageable and that the data is
easily accessed for analysis and to inform teaching. Many teachers carry a tablet or iPad
so that they can record assessment information ‘on the run’.
CHECKLISTS
Checklists are useful for noting specific information about students’ learning. They
can be used to identify strengths and weaknesses of both individuals and the whole
class. There are many different types of checklists such as a skills and knowledge-
specific checklist (Table 2.3); a text type or context-specific checklist (such as the one
shown in Table 2.4); and class observation checklists on which specific skills are listed;
then, as the students demonstrate each skill, a date is entered beside their name.
Annotated checklists provide space for comments as well as dates or ticks for
demonstrated behaviours. These checklists are useful because they provide a quick
overview of the students’ progress and a brief record of unexpected outcomes or
progress.
TABLE 2.3 A SKILLS- AND KNOWLEDGE-SPECIFIC CHECKLIST
Year 6 Focus: Exposition
Knows Plans Knows Uses Identifies/includes Identifies/uses Comments

purpose appropriately purpose for structure supporting formal
each part effectively evidence language
Rudra ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Knows difference

between exposition and
discussion
Flynn ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Correctly used term
position statement
Viet ✓ No supporting evidence

—opinions
Luna ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Needs assistance

noun/verb agreement
Emma ✓ Starts writing ✓ ✓ ✓

without prior
planning
TABLE 2.4 A RECOUNT CHECKLIST
Name FREYA Date November 15th
Clearly Partially Not Comments

demonstrated demonstrated evident
Knows and explains purpose of recount ✓
Begins with an orientation—who, what, ✓

when, where, why, how
Provides logical sequence of significant ✓

events
Organises writing into paragraphs ✓
Concludes with a reorientation, comment ✓

or summing up statement
Language features and use
Uses appropriate words or word groups to ✓

link events and time
Uses variety of sentence types—simple, ✓

compound and complex
Varies sentence beginnings ✓
Uses tense correctly ✓
Uses grammatically correct language ✓ could of for could have, bought for
brought
Uses a variety of verbs (types and ✓

synonyms)
Identifies and uses pronouns appropriately ✓
Identifies and uses adverbs and adverbials ✓

correctly
Writes with a clear voice ✓
Uses descriptive language well to create ✓

good descriptions
Processes and strategies for creating written texts
Uses writing process effectively ✓
Revised for meaning: writes with reader in ✓

mind (meaning clear)
Edited for spelling: errors have been ✓ Used advanced vocabulary that
corrected accounted for many of the errors
Edited for punctuation: is used correctly ✓
ANECDOTAL RECORDS
Anecdotal records allow teachers systematically to record information about observed
changes in an individual student’s learning over a period of time. They can be
organised in a range of paper-based and digital formats. Some teachers use booklets
with a single page for each student on which a dated entry is written as a result (see
Table 2.5). Alternatively, teachers might use a smaller anecdotal record book format in
which a double-page spread provides space for information about each student for a
specific time and then a new double page is commenced (see Table 2.6).
TABLE 2.5 AN ANECDOTAL RECORD
Name FLYNN Year 6
Date Stage Topic/text type Comments
27 1st School camp—recount Wrote events in sequence. Talked to him about use of pronouns. Identified features
March draft of orientation.
5 April 1st Beach cricket— Wrote clear instructions. Needs headings for each section. Ready to publish using
draft procedural computer.
TABLE 2.6 AN ANECDOTAL RECORD BOOK

Focus: Writing Week beginning: April 10th
Student Comments Comments Student
Alexander Using paragraphs and subheadings Yoshiki
Olivia Effective labels on diagram Emma
Jake Well-constructed report on lions Mini-lesson on paragraphing Rudra
Kikuko Good use of photos, headings, Flynn

diagrams and report in slide show
Identified adverbials and rearranged these to vary sentence Jodie

beginnings
Victoria Identifies and uses conjunctions
Sian Needs help with noun/verb agreement Liam

and tense
Shaun Trouble with punctuation of direct Christy
speech
Luna Able to set out bibliography Haruko
Miwa Riley
Mia Matt
Ali Alischa
Jack Georgia
Ruby Mei-lan
DEVELOPMENTAL CONTINUA OR PROGRESSION POINTS

Developmental continua, progression points or maps of development can be used to
plot each student’s development and progress within each mode (reading, writing,
speaking and listening). (See Chapter 3, pp. 83–5.)
Effective assessment is an ongoing process of gathering information from a variety of contexts and sources.
RUBRICS
Rubrics are criterion-based assessment and recording tools that focus on, and make
clear, the features of quality work, and describe demonstrable and measurable criteria.
They consist of explicit criteria that are stated in positive and clear terms and a rating
system that provides guidance and support for students as they progress towards
quality work. Rubrics can be analytical, with specific aspects being assessed, or they can
be holistic, with the whole product or process being described and assessed. Analytical
rubrics are often used for diagnostic purposes.

The joint development of assessment rubrics (teacher and students) helps make
explicit to students the criteria against which their work and progress can be assessed.
Once the students are clear about the criteria they are better able to think about their
work and their progress. The criteria help to guide their reflections and assessment.
Rubrics can also be a helpful guide to enable structured planning sessions between
peers prior to writing or to peer-assess once writing has been completed (Beaglehole,
2014).
The rubric can be set out in several ways. For example, it can be in list form under
specific headings, and numbers (scores) can be attributed to achievement in each area
(Table 2.7); this may be useful if teachers need to add up total or partial scores for
students. It can also be set out in table format (Tables 2.8 and 2.9). Regardless of the
format, it is useful to include space on the rubric for teacher and student comments
and reflections. The students can identify the areas they want to improve and set goals
related to their learning. The teachers can provide, for example, encouragement, praise
or suggestions for further learning.
TABLE 2.7 A LIST FORM RUBRIC
Name ________________ Text type Narrative Date __________
Mark Meaning—subject knowledge
3 Exceptionally clear and easy to understand
2 Generally clear and easy to understand
1 Some sentences contain clear meaning
3 All the parts of a narrative are included—orientation, complication, sequence of events and a resolution
2 Most parts of the narrative are included
1 Some parts of the narrative are included
Language features
3 Frequently used interesting words or word groups to enhance nouns and verbs
2 Generally used interesting words or word groups to enhance nouns and verbs
1 Some use of interesting words or word groups to enhance nouns and verbs
Spelling
3 All high frequency words spelt correctly and most unfamiliar words spelt correctly
2 Generally accurate spelling—most high frequency words spelt correctly and only a few unfamiliar words misspelt
1 Some high frequency words are spelt correctly and some correct letters/sounds have been used for unfamiliar words
Punctuation
3 Nearly all punctuation is correct
2 Generally accurate use of full stops, capital letters and quotation marks
1 Some attempts at using full stops and capital letters
Total:
What I would like to improve:
Teacher’s comment:
TABLE 2.8 AN ANALYTICAL RUBRIC IN TABLE FORMAT
Meaning— Structure and Language Spelling Punctuation Student Teacher

subject organisation features comments comments
knowledge
Excellent Exceptionally All the parts of a Frequently Accurate Accurate use of
clear and narrative included— used spelling of high full stops, capital
easy to orientation, interesting frequency and letters and
understand complication, words to less common quotation marks
sequence of events create images words
and a resolution
Good Generally Most of the parts of a Occasionally Generally Generally

clear. A few narrative included used accurate accurate use of
parts are interesting spelling—only full stops, capital
hard to words to a few letters and
understand create images unfamiliar quotation marks
words misspelt
Fair Some parts Some parts of the Some Some high Some correct
make sense narrative included interesting frequency use of full stops,
words to words spelt capital letters
create images correctly and quotation
marks

Select samples of writing from three or four students. Look at each piece and identify what each student can
do. Jot your findings on a separate piece of paper. Exchange your samples with a partner who will follow
the same process. Share and compare your findings and discuss what you would do to help each student
with their further learning.
TABLE 2.9 A HOLISTIC RUBRIC
Demonstrates Exceptionally clear and easy to understand. All the parts of a narrative included—orientation, complication,
well- sequence of events and a resolution. Frequently used interesting words to create images. Accurate spelling of
developed high frequency and less common words. Accurate use of full stops, capital letters and quotation marks.
understanding
Demonstrates Generally clear. A few parts are hard to understand. Most of the parts of a narrative included. Occasionally
competent used interesting words to create images. Generally accurate spelling—only a few unfamiliar words misspelt.
understanding Generally accurate use of full stops, capital letters and quotation marks.
Demonstrates Some parts make sense. Some, parts of the narrative included.
limited Some interesting words to create images. Contains spelling errors. Many high frequency words spelt
understanding incorrectly. Some correct use of full stops, capital letters and quotation marks.
Teacher comments:
Student comments:
Figure 2.3 Writing self-assessment pro forma
Figure 2.4 Self-assessment pro forma—thinking about my writing
STUDENT SELF-ASSESSMENT AND RECORDS
Student self-assessment that is used for assessment as learning is an important aspect of
the teaching and learning program. It requires each student to monitor and evaluate
their progress, consider the factors that affect their learning, and reflect on their
progress and set further learning goals. They identify:

their strengths
what they need to improve
factors that help and hinder their learning
how they are going in relation to the identified goals or achievement standards
their preferred learning conditions and styles
what they need to do next as learners to help their learning.
The use of student self-assessment provides teachers with valuable insights into
how their students perceive themselves as learners and what they identify as their
strengths and weaknesses. This can be very helpful for teachers when they consider the
next steps for teaching their students in the teaching-learning cycle (Brady & Kennedy,
2016).The students benefit from self-assessment as it enables them to reflect on their
progress and to set goals to improve or extend their learning.
The following are examples of assessment procedures and records describing
learning related to writing and text types, but each can be adapted for other aspects of
literacy assessment. They can also be adapted for paper-based or digital texts.
PROMPTS TO GUIDE SELF-ASSESSMENT

Students can complete self-assessment tasks, pro formas or question prompts
formulated by the teacher to guide their reflections about themselves as readers and
writers (see Figures 2.3 and 2.4). The teacher can use these to examine a particular
aspect of their understanding of a text type, as in Table 2.10.
The students may reflect on their writing and knowledge of text types and write a
descriptive passage on their progress and needs, as in Table 2.11.
When a piece of writing is no longer being worked on, whether it be a first draft
or a published piece, an entry is made on the student’s individual writing record or
writing log, as in Table 2.12.
TABLE 2.10 A PROCEDURAL TEXT SELF-ASSESSMENT PRO FORMA
Procedural writing self-assessment Name Christy
What I need to do How well I think I do My comments

this
Know the purpose of procedural texts Very good I know these tell people how to do something
Know different forms of procedural Good I know these are recipes and instructions
texts
Use headings for the different parts Excellent I used different fonts to make the headings stand out
Write the instructions in order Good I left out one part when I wrote instructions on how to make a
sock puppet
Write each step on a new line OK Sometimes I forgot to do this
Use diagrams and labels Good I drew all materials. My labels were a bit messy
Use action verbs to begin instructions Excellent I used good action verbs
Reread my writing to see that it makes OK I left out some words

sense
TABLE 2.11 A WRITING SELF-ASSESSMENT PRO FORMA
Writing self-assessment
Name Zara Date May 24th
Title of writing The Rescue Text type Narrative
What I think about my writing
I think my narrative is the best one I have written so far. I really tried to make it interesting and I spent a lot of time checking that
the story made sense.
What I would like you to notice about my writing

I am very good at writing descriptions of people and places. I wrote a very good description of the setting and I used lots of
adjectives to make it interesting. This is the first time that I have tried to start lots of sentences with different words. I would like you
to notice that I tried to include long and short sentences so that it would be interesting for the reader.
What I would do differently next time

If I were doing this again I would think of a better ending and include some direct speech. I would also remember to check my
spelling.
What I know about this type of writing

I know that there is an orientation that introduces the characters and the setting. Narratives usually have a problem or
complication that the characters are involved in and the story line is called a plot. There are lots of different sorts of narratives, like
fables, fairy tales and realistic stories.
TABLE 2.12 A STUDENT’S WRITING RECORD
MY WRITING RECORD Name Emma
Title Text type Draft Pub. Date
School Camp Written—recount • 27/2
Water Cycle Written—experiment Visual—flow diagram • • 12/3
The Space Monsters Written—narrative • 26/3
How the Heart Works Written—explanation Visual—cross-section diagram • • 29/4
The Bell Poem • • 12/5

1. Reflect on a recent classroom experience and think about the assessment contexts that you observed. What
did the teacher and/or students do before, during and after a lesson that contributed to assessment
information and towards improving teaching and learning?
2. Revisit the beliefs completed earlier in the chapter and modify, if relevant, to reflect your understandings of
literacy assessment.
PORTFOLIO SELF-ASSESSMENT
Regular reviews of the contents of the portfolio help the students develop an
appreciation of their abilities as writers and to identify what they have learnt and need
to improve, as in Table 2.13.
TABLE 2.13 A PORTFOLIO SELF-ASSESSMENT
Name NALIKA Term 3
Title of writing Text type What it demonstrates about my learning
Our trip to the Immigration Museum Recount I put who, what, when and where in my orientation
I used lots of words that told when things happened
I used a storyboard to plan my writing
I used photographs from the excursion and I added captions
The Storm Poem I can use rhyming words

I repeated some words to make it sound interesting
I tried lots of ways before I wrote this
I added pictures from clip art and some music to the slide show
The Lost Dog Narrative I wrote a good description of the dog and my main character
I used a story map to plan the story
Insects Information report I can use paragraphs

I used a labelled diagram to show the parts of an ant and a bee
I used a data chart to organise my information
REFLECTIVE JOURNALS OR LEARNING LOGS

The use of journals (digital or paper-based) provides a systematic and chronological
record of the individual student’s thoughts about their learning (metacognition).
Through reflection, students develop an awareness of their thinking and learning,
which will be essential to them as lifelong learners (Brady & Kennedy, 2016). The
entries in journals can be in oral, visual or written form, depending on the type of
journal (digital or paper-based) and each student’s age, needs or preference. Journal
recording can also become a dynamic process when teachers add comments that
prompt students to reflect on their learning further (Brady & Kennedy, 2016)
RESOURCES
Beaglehole, V. 2014, Assessing Writing Using Rubrics, Practically Primary, Vol. 19, No. 20, pp.13–15.
This author reflects on her experience as a marker of the NAPLAN writing component and considers practical ways that
teachers can use rubrics in their teaching and assessing of writing.
Brady, L. & Kennedy, K. 2016, Assessment and Reporting Celebrating Student Achievement, Fourth Edition, Pearson Australia,
Melbourne.
This book provides teachers and pre-service teachers with theoretical and practical understandings of both assessment and
reporting through a reflection of current classroom practice.
Brookhart, S. 2008, How to Give Effective Feedback to Your Students, ASCD, Alexandria.
The author draws on current theory to describe elements of effective feedback. The book includes practical examples and
suggestions for providing feedback in a range of contexts for a variety of students.
Clarke, S. 2011, Active Learning through Formative Assessment, Hodder Education.

The author draws on sound research findings and theory to provide practical advice on how to gain and use assessment
information to improve student learning from K–12. She emphasises the importance of clear goals and success criteria, effective
questioning, reflective thinking, rich feedback and discussions to guide productive teacher, peer and student self-assessment.
Earl, L. 2014, Assessment as Learning: Using Classroom Assessment to Maximize Student Learning, Second Edition, Hawker
Brownlow, Cheltenham.
This book illustrates how formative assessment can be used to inform classroom instruction and encourage student reflection.
Fehring, H. (ed.) 2016, Assessment into Practice: Understanding Assessment Practice to Improve Students’ Literacy Learning, PETA,
Newtown.
This book comprises chapters by leading literacy experts and includes content about assessment trends, constraints and
practices within classrooms, schools and systems within and beyond Australia. The content includes how to assess
understanding, reading and writing; the role of assessment in teaching and learning; the purposes, contexts and content of
assessment; and practical advice on how to use assessment data to improve student learning.
Hattie, J. & Clarke, S. 2018, Visible Learning: Feedback, Routledge, New York.
The authors argue that quality feedback, provided both during and after lessons, is vital for improved student learning. They
describe the characteristics of effective feedback and suggest classroom environments and cultures, different types of feedback
(teacher and peer) and lesson structures that enhance and promote active student learning.
Shaddock, A.J. 2014, Using Data to Improve Learning: a Practical Guide for Busy Teachers, ACER Press, Camberwell.
The author includes ways of effectively gathering, using and analysing qualitative and quantitative data to inform teaching and
improve student learning.
3
LITERACY, LANGUAGE AND LEARNING

define literacy and describe the multiple kinds of literacy
understand the practices or resources that literate people draw upon and use
define language and how students learn language, learn through language
and learn about language
describe the conditions for literacy learning and what these look like in a
classroom
describe the developmental nature of learning to read and write
explore ways of differentiating instruction to support all literacy learners.
KEY TERMS
critical literacy
formats
Four Resources Model
guided practice
guided reading
independent practice
interactive writing
joint construction or joint deconstruction
language
literacy
modelling or demonstration
multiliteracies
semiotics
shared reading
shared writing
texts
visual literacy
DEFINING LITERACY AND MULTILITERACIES

Literacy has to do with having the skills, strategies and knowledge to create, locate,
analyse, comprehend and use a variety of written, visual and aural texts for a range of
purposes, audiences and social contexts.
literacy:
The ability to draw on a set of flexible and ever changing capabilities to use and produce a range of texts
(spoken, print based and multimedia) that consider the context, purpose and audience.
texts:
Spoken, written and multimodal communication in either live, paper-based or online/digital forms.
Literacy requires an understanding that there are different types of texts and the
choice of text depends on the context, purpose and audience required for it. It includes
the integration of critical thinking, speaking and listening with reading, writing and
viewing. Fellowes and Oakley define literacy as ‘a flexible group of skills and strategies
that are closely linked to context and purpose’ (2019, p. 3). The Australian
Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) offers the following
definition:
[S]tudents become literate as they develop the knowledge, skills and dispositions to interpret and use
language confidently for learning and communicating in and out of school and for participating effectively in
society. Literacy involves students listening to, reading, viewing, speaking, writing and creating oral, print,
visual and digital texts, and using and modifying language for different purposes in a range of contexts.
Literacy encompasses the knowledge and skills students need to access, understand, analyse and evaluate
information, make meaning, express thoughts and emotions, present ideas and opinions, interact with others
and participate in activities at school and in their lives beyond school. Success in any learning area depends on
being able to use the significant, identifiable and distinctive literacy that is important for learning and
representative of the content of that learning area. Becoming literate is not simply about knowledge and
skills. Certain behaviours and dispositions assist students to become effective learners who are confident and
motivated to use their literacy skills broadly. (ACARA b)
In the above quote, the term ‘language’ refers to spoken and written codes for
communication—for making and sharing meaning. There are many systems for
communication; for example, drawing or producing visual text, aural text, drama
activities and sign language (using visual, spatial and gestural elements) are legitimate
non-verbal languages. ‘Language includes verbal and non-verbal systems, many of
which are developed through language learning in the classroom’ (Emmitt, Zbaracki,
Komesaroff & Pollock, 2015, p. 9). Language is learned and used in a sociocultural
context in which cultural and social factors influence how it is structured and shared
to make and gain meaning.
language:
A system of spoken, written and visual modes used to communicate meaning.
The rapid development of technology has impacted the way we communicate

and thus the definition of texts has broadened to include digital texts that may include
one or more of the following communication modes: written, visual and spoken
language; sound; movement; gesture; images and symbols. The Victorian Curriculum
and Assessment Authority (VCAA) states:
Texts include media texts, everyday texts and workplace texts from increasingly complex and unfamiliar
settings, ranging from the everyday language of personal experience to more abstract, specialised and
technical language, including the language of schooling and academic study. (VCAA, 2018)
Texts that combine two or more modes are referred to as multimodal texts.
Literacy is embedded in the context of our everyday lives and involves more than
acquiring literacy skills that apply to every situation and purpose (Winch et al., 2020,
p. xxxvi). It is not just about learning to read and write print. It is not the acquisition
and use of static skills and knowledge but rather is the employment of a range of
dynamic literacy practices, strategies and knowledge to effectively use texts within
socially and culturally defined situations for a variety of purposes (Alloway & Gilbert,
2002; Bull & Anstey, 2010; Kalantzis, Cope, Chan & Dalley-Trim, 2016). This broad
and diverse way of conceptualising literacy supports the vision that ‘successful learners
… are able to make sense of their world and think about how things have become the
way they are (Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth
Affairs, 2008).
Literacy involves a range of practices that are shaped by culture, society and
situation, the language mode, the roles and relationships of the participants, and the
sources of knowledge brought to, or gained from, the interaction with texts within a
given context. In this sense, it is best that teachers begin to think beyond the classroom
walls about the many social and cultural practices their twenty-first century students
engage in every day and consider how this can be brought into classroom activities
(Ward, 2013).
The term ‘multiliteracies’ refers to the multiple kinds of literacies used (written,
visual, emotional, financial, technological, digital, subject-specific, critical etc.) to
effectively communicate within diverse cultural and social settings and the modes of
delivery of the communication (Healy, 2008). Fellowes and Oakley define
multiliteracies as ‘the communicative practices of diverse cultures. The role of
technology is foregrounded’ (2019, p. 4).
multiliteracies:
Multiple kinds of literacies used to effectively communicate within diverse cultural and social settings and the
modes of delivery of the communication.
As teachers we need to help students to access and use the many forms of literacy
encountered in our society and support them to be literate in multiple ways. We need
to provide a range of authentic contexts and communication purposes in which the
students employ appropriate literacy practices, texts and communication modes to
effectively function in a range of sociocultural settings.
Students need to be able to construct, deconstruct and reconstruct text using the
new technologies that are increasingly part of everyday life.
To be multiliterate means understanding, using and critically evaluating
multimodal texts that are constantly developing and evolving because of cultural and
societal changes and the use of new information and communications technologies. In
order to gain meaning from multimodal texts, students need to understand the
elements of linguistic, visual, spatial, audio and gestural design that may be used in
these texts (Cope & Kalantzis, 2000; Walsh, 2011; Serafini 2014). They need to use
technology to create, alter/modify and use texts in a variety of ways in a range of
situations.
Each subject or discipline has its own specific vocabulary and way of using
language for specific purposes and audiences. Subject-specific literacy requires the user
to understand the content, language purposes, text types and linguistic features that
are commonly used within the subject.
We need to help students ‘navigate the specific literacy demands of the subjects
they are studying’ (Henderson, 2018, p. 21). As teachers we need to identify the
literacy challenges within each subject or task and plan appropriate literacy teaching
experiences that address the needs at whole class, small group or individual student
level.
VISUAL LITERACY
Visual literacy requires the user to understand the purposes, types and elements of
visual texts, both still and moving, and the ways they are constructed and used in order
to gain or convey varying levels of information. It is the process of using, reading,
interpreting, creating and understanding visual texts (Stafford, 2010). It is ‘the ability
to write (encode) and read (decode) visual communication’ (Serafini, 2014, p. 23).
Visually literate people draw upon their knowledge of the semiotic system (meaning-
making elements) when using visual text. The elements of the semiotic system
associated with visual text include image type (still or moving) and the use of space, as
well as framing, placement, shape, line, light, colour, scale, texture, angle, focus,
symbols and style. While there are common elements for both still and moving images,
there are elements that are specific to each.
visual literacy:
The ability to interpret and use design elements of visual texts (still and moving) and to understand how they
can be used for particular purposes in specific contexts.
Researchers and educators, such as Callow (1999, 2013), Moline (2008, 2012),
Anstey and Bull (2006, 2009), Bull and Anstey (2010) and Serafini (2012, 2014)
provide valuable insights into how multiliteracies and the multimodality of texts
impact teaching and learning, both theoretically and practically. Their work
emphasises the changing nature of technology and what teachers need to know and do
in order to help develop multiliterate students.

Teachers can help students understand and use the elements included in the
semiotic system for still and moving images. Through modelling, discussion and
questioning we can draw the students’ attention to visual texts, the elements within
them, and how they relate to written text. The use of picture books (particularly
postmodern books such as the works of Anthony Browne) can be instrumental in
engaging students in the complex interplay between words and pictures and can
provide powerful models for them when creating their own texts (Booker, 2012).
Students need to understand:
that visual texts represent an interpretation of information and there are many different
interpretations
the types, composition and design elements of visual texts, as discussed above
how visual texts are made—the work (process, knowledge and skills) of the text creator
how to gain information from visual text—what is seen, the main message, what is implied, what
is missing
how and why the text evokes specific feelings, reactions and responses.
CRITICAL LITERACY
Critical literacy requires the understanding that written and visual texts are neither
created nor used within a vacuum. The texts are products shaped by a range of
influences; for example:
critical literacy:
Understanding representation, reader positioning and ideological practice in texts.
the situational context in which the text is created and used (including intended purpose, subject
matter, text type and roles of and relationship between text creator and the audience)
the sociocultural context (including the text creator’s and user’s backgrounds and views of the
world, society and culture and the language choices made by the text creator when creating a text
that meets the intended purpose)
the multiple meanings embedded in or taken from the text.
Texts are not neutral; they are created as a result of the choices the creator makes
and these choices can be influenced by the situation in which it is created and the
broader sociocultural context that shapes and influences; for example, the text
creator’s values, beliefs, assumptions and biases.

Students need to explore, think about, respond to, analyse, question and
challenge written and visual texts and to understand that there are many factors that
impact on the choices the text creator makes. In particular, they need to know that text
creators:
present views of the world that may prioritise certain views over others
represent content (e.g. facts, people, places, events and characters) in ways that may privilege or
silence certain views, voices or perspectives, or that may contain falsehoods or misrepresent
information
use written or visual language (structures and devices) to manipulate the reader in specific ways.
Based on Department of Education and Training of Western Australia (2004, p. 59).
They need to understand:
Representation in texts—how people, places, events etc. are represented or depicted in written
and visual texts.
Reader/viewer positioning—how texts are constructed to position the user.
Ideological practices—how attitudes, values, beliefs, cultural and societal influences shape and
are embedded in texts.
They need to question, analyse and critique a range of visual and written texts to
detect; for example:
the content of the text and the author’s intent
cultural and societal influences
the use of data to support evidence, opinions and hypotheses
the possible differences in interpretation and construction of the text according to personal,
social and cultural backgrounds and contexts
the possible purposes or intent (e.g. social, political and cultural) of different text types and
formats
the perspectives, representations and biases in texts.
formats:
The way the content (written, visual, oral, digital and multimodal) for a specific text type, context, purpose
and audience is presented or published.
As they create or use visual, written and multimodal texts, students can be guided
to think critically about texts through teacher questioning. The goal is that the
students will independently and automatically question texts as they read, or question
themselves as they create texts. The following examples of questions to ask when
reading or viewing a written or visual text are based on the work of Bull and Anstey
(2007a):
Who produced this text?
What is the purpose of this text?
Who is the intended audience?
What is it about? Does it make sense? What are the main messages? Do you agree/disagree?
Why?
How does this text make you feel? Why? Would all people feel this way? Why?
Whose point of view is presented?
Who might have a different point of view?
What information or points of view have been left out? Why?
Have you read other texts like this? What connections can you make?
What have you learnt as a result of reading this? What questions do you have?
How are (the people or group of people) portrayed in this text? Are all (a particular group of
people) like this?
If you only knew about (groups of people/events/places etc.) from reading this text, what would
you know?
Examples of questions, also based on Anstey and Bull (2007a) and Janks (2017),
to ask when creating a written or visual text:
Why am I creating this text?
For what purpose am I creating this text?
Who is my audience?
What do I want to say/communicate?
What do I want my audience to know/feel/do? How will I do this?
What influences my point of view?
How will I present the information? Why?
How will I make it easy for the reader/viewer of my text?
What will I include/use to make this text effective?
What will I do to make sure my message is clear?
How am I representing people, places, events, characters etc.? Is this fair?
What will the reader/viewer learn about people/events/places/characters etc. from this text? Is
this fair/true?
Have I left out or over-emphasised important perspectives/information etc.?
LITERACY PRACTICES
Luke and Freebody’s work (Freebody & Luke, 1990; Luke & Freebody, 1999) has
influenced how we view literacy teaching and learning. They identified four
interrelated dimensions of language use that include the sets of resources or literacy
practices that literate people draw on and use. Their model, referred to as the Four
Resources Model of Literacy or the Four Roles of Literacy Learners, describes the sets
of resources and acknowledges the complexity of literacy learning. It is important to
note that all four sets of resources or literacy practices are interdependent. Further,
they are not hierarchical and they develop concurrently. All are necessary for students
to become literate and all need to be taught explicitly so that students integrate them
and can independently and effectively use them in a wide range of contexts. Tables 3.1
to 3.4 are based on the work of Harris, Turbill, Fitzsimmons and McKenzie (2001,
2003); Luke and Freebody (1999); Serafini (2012); and the Australian Government
Department of Education, Science and Training (2002).
Four Resources Model:

The sets of resources or literacy practices that literate people draw upon and use.
TEXT ENCODER AND TEXT DECODER PRACTICES

Text encoder and decoder practices involve using the conventions of written and
visual language to create or decipher written or visual text. Text encoders/decoders
consider the conventions of the written language system such as grammar, spelling,
punctuation, handwriting, text layout and directionality. They draw on the concepts
of print at letter, word, sentence and whole text level, and on their phonological,
alphabetic and visual knowledge. They consider the elements of the visual language
system (still and moving) such as image types, the use of space, framing, placement,
shape, line, light, colour, scale, texture, angle, focus, symbols, style and so on.
TABLE 3.1 EXAMPLES OF PRACTICES AND QUESTIONS TEXT ENCODERS/DECODERS MIGHT USE
What the text decoder asks when reading or viewing What the text decoder does when reading or
viewing
How do I crack this code? Decodes the codes and conventions of written and
How did I /do I work out the word/the group of words? visual text
How can I work out the words that I don’t know? Draws on the relationship between spoken sounds
Do I know another word that looks/sounds the same? and written symbols
Do I know a word that has a similar meaning? Uses knowledge of print

How is this word used in this context? Draws on knowledge of grammar (syntax)
How can I crack the code of this visual feature (e.g. street sign, diagram, Understands and applies elements of visual text
map)? Draws on knowledge of written and visual text
structures and conventions
Uses knowledge of elements of visual text
Draws on knowledge of visual design as well as
personal and cultural understanding
What the text encoder asks when creating written or visual text What the text encoder does when creating written
or visual text
How do I use the code to create my message? Encodes written and visual text
How do I put my thoughts into writing/visual text? Uses knowledge of print
How do I write this correctly? Uses knowledge of elements of visual text
How do I work out how to spell the words? Pays attention to conventions of writing and visual
Which convention (for writing or visual text) will I use? text
Do I know a better word/image/symbol to help convey my message? What Applies knowledge of visual or written text
would be the best way to present this information? structures and features
Teachers can assist students to understand the codes and conventions of written
and visual text by developing their knowledge of:
conventions of written text—for example, phonics, spelling, grammar, punctuation, vocabulary,
text structures and language features
elements of visual text—for example, salience (a strategy of providing emphasis to the important
aspect in a written or visual text), structure, framing, placement, line, colour, texture, shape,
space, distance, size, contrast, angle etc.
TEXT PARTICIPANT PRACTICES

Text participant practices involve gaining meaning from or composing meaning into
written and visual texts, both still and moving. Text participants apply their
knowledge about the topic and their understanding of how written, visual and aural
texts are structured and organised to effectively create or convey meaning. They
consider the purpose of each text and how the information in each is presented to
meet the purpose.
TABLE 3.2 EXAMPLES OF PRACTICES AND QUESTIONS TEXT PARTICIPANTS MIGHT USE
What the text participant asks when reading or viewing What the text participant does when reading or viewing
What does this mean to me? Gains meaning from written, visual and aural texts
Does the text remind me of something, someone or another Makes meaning by drawing on own experiences, prior
text? knowledge, and knowledge of the structure and features of text
Can I make connections between the text and my life, the text Knows there may be other possible meanings of the text
and other texts, or the text and the wider world? Expects the text to make sense and reads to gain meaning
What message is the author presenting? Knows that the purpose for using the text affects the
What are the main ideas? interpretation of the text
What might happen next? What visual or written conventions
used give me this idea?
What has the author used to help provide information? (Visual

text type and elements, written text type and features)
What did I feel as I read/viewed/listened?
What the text participant asks when creating written or visual What the text participant does when creating written or visual
text text
How will I compose this text so that my meaning is clear to the Composes meaning into written, visual and aural texts
reader or viewer/listener? Uses topic knowledge and knowledge of grammar to create text
What are the other possible meanings the reader or viewer Creates text to meet the intended purpose
might gain from this text? Draws on and links experiences
Is my meaning clear? Pays attention to written, visual or aural text organisation and
What am I trying to say? layout
What do I need to do to create this text? Creates visual, written or aural text with the reader in mind
Do I know enough about the topic/subject matter to make the (makes the meaning clear)
text clear? Uses visual text that clearly meets the purpose and conveys the
Which visual and/or written text can I use to suit my purpose? intended message
Teachers can help students to make meaning and gain meaning from written,
visual and aural texts through explicit teaching and questioning that focuses and
develops their knowledge of:
written texts—context, topic or subject, purpose and audience for reading and writing, text
structure and grammar at whole text, paragraph, sentence and word level (use and meaning of
words)
visual texts (can include aural-multimodal)—context, topic or subject, purpose and audience for
viewing and creating, structure and elements of still and moving images. If aural is included,
consider the role of sound effects and the inclusion of diegetic and non-diegetic sounds to the
overall meaning of the text.
TEXT USER PRACTICES

Text user practices involve selecting and using written and visual texts for specific
purposes, audiences, contexts and subject matter. Text users draw on their knowledge
of different written and/or visual/aural text types (structure, organisation and
language features) and the social purposes of each so that they select and use texts for
their intended purposes.
TABLE 3.3 EXAMPLES OF PRACTICES AND QUESTIONS TEXT USERS MIGHT USE
What the text user asks when reading or What the text user does when reading or viewing
viewing
How is this text useful to me? Uses written, visual and aural texts for a range of social purposes
What sort of text is this? How do I know? Understands the purposes of different written, visual and aural texts for different
What is the purpose of this text? cultural and social functions
How is the information organised? Knows that different types of texts have different purposes
How can I find the information in this text? Knows that the purpose shapes the way written and visual texts are structured
What sort of written or visual or aural devices Uses knowledge of text purpose, structure, features, and cultural and situational
are used in the text? Why? contexts to select, read/view and respond to appropriate texts
What the text user asks when creating written What the text user does when creating written or visual text
or visual text
For which purposes do I want to produce this Constructs written and visual texts for social purposes
text? Uses knowledge of the structure and features of different visual and written texts
Why do I want to produce this text? Selects appropriate written and/or visual text to suit the communication purpose
Who is the intended audience? Understands the relationship between written and visual and aural texts within a
Who will read/view/listen to this text, for multimodal text
which purposes and in which context? Selects appropriate visual text to enhance or elaborate meaning in written text
Which text will best suit my purpose? and vice versa
What do I need to include in this text so that Uses knowledge of context, purpose, audience and text to create a range of
my meaning and purpose are clear? written and visual texts
Teachers can assist students to use written and visual texts effectively by helping
them build knowledge of:
how texts are used in everyday life and for which purposes and audiences
text structure and features
the language used to talk about written and visual language.
TEXT ANALYST PRACTICES

Text analyst practices involve thinking critically about the way written and visual texts
are created and how written language features and visual text elements are used to put
forward points of view and to position the reader or viewer. Text analysts understand
the interrelatedness of reading and writing and that written and visual texts can be
used together to create and enhance meaning and to meet specific purposes in a range
of contexts.
Text analysts understand that texts are not neutral; they are culturally
constructed, thus they read or view texts critically, with the text creator in mind. They
read and/or view texts as if they were the text creators. They understand that text
creators use written or visual language to position the text user and, as the text users,
they evaluate the effectiveness of the text.
As text creators, text analysts produce texts with the user in mind. Drawing upon
their own reading and viewing experiences and knowledge about effective written or
visual texts, they create texts that position the user to believe and/or value the
information represented in the text.
TABLE 3.4 EXAMPLES OF PRACTICES AND QUESTIONS TEXT ANALYSTS MIGHT USE
What the text analyst asks when reading or viewing What the text analyst does when reading or viewing
What does this text do to me? Reads and views and listens to texts critically
Who does the text favour or represent? Understands how written and visual texts position readers
Who is not represented in the text? and viewers
Who might have a different point of view? Knows that texts are crafted to represent the views and
How would the text be different if told from another point of view interests of the text creator
or if created in another time or place? Identifies the devices used in the text to manipulate the user
What was the purpose for writing/creating this text? Questions what is read or viewed
Did the author have anything to gain through the creation of this
text?
How has the text creator used written and/or visual language in
this text? For which purposes?
How does this text claim authority (consider language, structure
and content)?
What the text analyst asks when creating written or visual text What the text analyst does when creating written or visual
text
What do I want the reader/viewer to do, feel, believe or value as Constructs texts that draw on underlying values, beliefs,
a result of using this text? views and that ‘position’ the text user
How can I best use written and/or visual language to manipulate Uses knowledge of how text creators manipulate text for
the user of the text? own purposes
How will I present my information? Creates texts to ‘position’ the reader
What do I want the text users to know about my viewpoints and Selects written and visual text elements to suit own purposes
values? Selects and manipulates written language devices or visual
Which words, images or sounds shall I select to best position the elements to create effective texts
text user?
Teachers can assist students to understand how texts are created with a specific
purpose in mind by building their knowledge of:
representation—how authors construct or represent things through both inclusion and omission
(people, places, events, things etc.)
reader positioning—how texts position the user to suit the author’s purpose
values and ideologies—how cultural, political, social and/or economic situations and identity,
roles and power affect the choices that the text creator makes.
Literate individuals can effectively participate in the culturally defined social

practices of society using the literacy practices that are appropriate to the situation.
They are able to select and use literacy practices that enable them to act effectively
within society and to enhance their own and others’ lives. The literacy practices are
shaped by the situational and cultural context, the roles and relationships of the
articipants, the language mode used, and the participants’ knowledge of the subject or
topic for which the literacy practice is required. Literate people draw upon four
interdependent roles or resources (text encoder/decoder, text participant, text user
and text analyst) to create, compose, interpret and respond to written and visual texts.
The Literacy Teaching Toolkit
(<https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/ discipline/english/
DET, Victoria) offers more information on the Four Resources Model for writing and
makes explicit links to skills, for the text encoder, text participant, text user and text
analyst, at specific levels of the curriculum.
Programs need to include a range of literacy purposes, practices, experiences, activities, contexts and
resources.

Reflect on your classroom experiences and discuss the sorts of texts you have seen students use and create.
Which literacy practices and knowledge did the teacher explicitly teach and the students exhibit?
LANGUAGE AND LEARNING
Language is a complex social practice that involves using visual, gestural, spatial, verbal
and non-verbal cues, signs or codes to produce, receive and respond to information;
that is, to make and share meaning. It is determined by the culture in which it is used,
is part of that culture and is used to pass on culture. ‘Language is used to fulfil all sorts
of purposes … the function or purpose of language determines the type or form of
language we use’ (Emmitt, Zbaracki, Komesaroff & Pollock, 2015, p. 10).
Language is used to express and connect ideas, interact with others and to create
texts (Derewianka & Jones, 2016, p. 24). It is used in the processes of, for example,
informing, entertaining, amusing, narrating, recounting, listing, describing, explaining,
persuading, instructing, comparing, contrasting, and building and maintaining
relationships. Language itself, and how we use it, is constantly changing but its
underlying purpose—to make and share meaning—remains constant. Language is
modified by the context (i.e. the situation and audience) in which it is used and by the
user’s specific purpose.
Language is processed and understood in the form of texts that are products of a
social process as well as ‘a process that is the outcome of a socially produced occasion’
(Knapp & Watkins, 2005, p. 13). For example, during a particular social context we
may participate in an event in which we are describing something (a process) and
produce a description (a product/text).
For each language purpose, there are culturally accepted text structures/types that
result from the processes within a social context. For example, the language purpose
might be to tell what happened (purpose) through the process of sequencing the
happenings (process) and using the text structure that provides an orientation to the
event, a sequence and description of the happenings and the outcome (text structure).
The text structure is that of a recount (the text type/genre). Genres or text types (oral,
written, visual and multimodal) make the purpose more precise and appropriate to the
context and audience. A variety of formats (written, visual, oral, digital and
multimodal) can be used to deliver/present the chosen text type for the specific
context, purpose and audience. There are several language purposes, genre/text types
and formats that are most commonly used in primary and secondary school settings.
Teachers need to plan programs and establish an environment and contexts in
which students simultaneously learn language, learn through language and learn about
language and develop effective literacy practices. It is essential that genre is taught with
a purpose that is meaningful for students. In times of pressure with standardised
testing, it can be a challenge for teachers to ensure that the language tasks they set their
students have real meaning, but it will always lead to deeper understanding if the
student has a genuine reason for completing the task (Duke, 2012).
LEARNING LANGUAGE
This involves students learning about the systems and codes of language—not just oral
and written, but also visual, gestural and spatial (Cope & Kalantzis, 2000; Bull &
Anstey, 2007a; Serafini, 2014)—and developing knowledge of the processes involved
so that they can use language for a range of socially and culturally determined purposes.
ACTION
Acknowledge, and build on, the wealth of language and language experiences
students bring to school. Provide opportunities for students to use language for a
variety of purposes. Help them learn about the systems of oral, written, visual
and spatial language. Help the students to understand and use the grammars of
language and the semiotic systems of visual texts (Bull & Anstey, 2007a).
semiotics:
The signs, symbols and design elements of visual texts that work together to produce meaning.
LEARNING THROUGH LANGUAGE

This involves using language to think about, gather, organise, remember and
disseminate information and ideas. It is central to the process of making and conveying
meaning. The students build subject knowledge and skills through the use of written,
oral, visual and multimodal texts.
ACTION
Provide opportunities for students to use language to learn across the curriculum
(subject-specific and integrated units of work). Help them to use language for
different purposes and audiences and to use the appropriate text types and
vocabulary for each subject or field. Provide activities that require students to
understand how written, visual and multimodal texts are part of everyday life
within and beyond school. Make the connections between a particular text type
and its possible use for them to ensure they are actively involved in the learning
process.

1. Think about a situation when you observed students being taught something new. How did the teacher
support the students’ learning? Which conditions of learning could you identify? What did they look like in
this context?
SUPPORTING LEARNERS
To ensure that students learn effectively, teachers need to structure the teaching and
learning experiences to match the needs of the students within specific contexts
(Hertzberg, 2012; Gibbons, 1991, 2015; Hammond, 2001). Classrooms have a
diversity of students for which teachers must plan and implement differentiated
literacy teaching and learning experiences so that each student is supported as they
move along the learning continuum. There might be students from a range of
sociocultural and linguistic backgrounds, students who are learning English as an
additional language (EAL), students who are learning English as an additional dialect
(EAD), and students who are at, beyond or below expected standards.
Vygotsky (1978) identified that the optimal space for learning is in that zone
between a child’s actual developmental level (what they know and do without
assistance) and their potential developmental level (what they could do with the adult
support). He called this the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). It is within this
zone that the most effective learning occurs. Teachers need to carefully observe and
monitor each student’s learning so that timely teaching, support and feedback can
occur within this zone. This ‘point of need’ or ‘just in time’ teaching ensures students
move beyond what they already know and can do and continue to progress along the
learning continuum. The use of developmentally appropriate teaching content, pace,
resources and experiences facilitates student learning. Teacher use of developmental
continua enables each student’s progress to be plotted and appropriate teaching and
learning experiences planned to ensure student progress.
Effective learning requires students to activate their prior knowledge, make
connections with this and new learning, and identify what helps and hinders them as
learners. They need to be supported during the learning process so that they move
from being novices or ‘apprentices’ in a particular skill, knowledge or context to being
able to independently apply the skills or knowledge in a variety of contexts (Chambers,
1991).
This support involves program structures, teacher actions and teaching practices
that gradually build up the students’ control over and responsibility for their own
learning (Pearson & Gallagher, 1983; Rhodes & Dudley-Marling, 1996). This might
involve:
the teacher doing what the learner cannot do independently. The teacher explicitly demonstrates
how to do something and verbalises the processes used so that the students see and understand
the thinking processes as well as the physical actions required to do the task (sometimes known
as the ‘think aloud’ process). This teaching practice is often referred to as modelling,
demonstration or instruction.
modelling or demonstration:
An explicit demonstration during which the teacher verbalises the processes involved so that the students see
and understand the thinking processes as well as the physical actions required to do the task.
The term ‘modelling’ refers to planned and incidental opportunities to explicitly

demonstrate to the students how written language is structured and used for different
purposes, audiences and contexts. It can be used to introduce, revise, consolidate or
extend the skills and knowledge students require as effective readers and writers, and
can be conducted in whole class, small group or individual situations.

Effective modelling enables students to, with teacher guidance, observe, discover,
classify and organise their knowledge about the processes and strategies used by readers
and writers as well as language purposes, functions, text structures, features and written
conventions (spelling, grammar, punctuation and vocabulary) and so on. For
modelling to be effective, students must be able to see the text clearly as it is written or
read, and teachers must verbalise what they are thinking as they read or write to make
explicit to the students what they do as a reader or writer. This initial phase can also be
referred to as an ‘inquiry’ phase, where teachers focus the attention of their students on
particular features of texts (Read, 2010).
Modelled writing involves the teacher writing in front of the students and
making explicit—through demonstration and articulation—the thinking,
considerations and processes associated with writing. Modelled reading involves the
teacher reading to or with the students, using an enlarged text that is visible to all or
using multiple copies of a text of which each student has a copy. The focus is on
demonstrating and explaining how to gain meaning from the text and making explicit
the reading process. This can be done in the following ways:
the teacher and learner doing the task together. The teacher determines the direction and focus
of the demonstration, but invites the students to contribute to the demonstration by sharing
ideas and information. Through discussion and demonstration, the students and teacher make
decisions about which actions need to be taken during the demonstration. They focus on the
task, the learning involved and themselves as learners. This teaching practice is called sharing,
joint construction or joint deconstruction.
joint construction or deconstruction:

Where the teacher and students have shared responsibility for doing the task; through discussion and
demonstration, the students and teacher make decisions about which actions need to be taken during the
demonstration.
the learner doing the task under the guidance of the teacher. The teacher provides an
opportunity for the students to practise the skills, knowledge and/or tasks that have been the
focus of modelling and sharing. The students do the work, with the teacher helping and
providing feedback at key points in the process. This teaching practice is called guiding or
guided practice.
guided practice:
The students do a task, with the teacher helping and providing feedback at key points in the process.
sometimes it can be useful to have a step in between joint construction with the teacher and
independent writing where students share the writing process together, known as collaborative
writing (Read, 2010). This way, students can use the ‘think aloud’ process with each other to
reinforce their writing skills.
the student doing the task independently. The students work independently, applying the skills
and knowledge they have learnt in the demonstrations and in the guided situations. They are
responsible for their own learning and seek assistance as they require it. The teacher monitors
each student’s progress and offers assistance and advice when appropriate. This teaching practice
is called applying or independent practice.
independent practice:
Where students work independently, applying the skills and knowledge they have learnt during
demonstrations and guided practice situations.
The above teaching practices support students as they work towards increasing
their responsibility for, and control over, their learning. They also help teachers to
provide optimal learning experiences that are integral to the ‘to/for, with, by’ approach
to literacy teaching in which:
Teachers use teaching procedures that take students from where they cannot do something for themselves, to
doing it with teacher support and finally to being able to do it independently.
teachers read to or write for students and provide maximum support for the students as they
observe what it means to be literate. Literacy teaching sessions may include opportunities for
modelled reading and writing of written, visual and multimodal texts.
teachers read or write with the students and provide opportunities for the students to assume
increasing control over their learning as they jointly participate in a literacy demonstration.
Literacy sessions may include shared reading and writing, interactive writing, or guided
reading and writing.
shared reading:
The joint reading, exploration, discussion and enjoyment of a text that is fully visible to both teacher and
students.
shared writing:
The joint writing of a text.
interactive writing:
A teaching practice in which the teacher and students jointly compose and share the actual writing (scribing)
of a text. They discuss and negotiate decisions about the writing.
guided reading:
A teaching procedure in which the teacher works closely with a small group of students with similar needs
as they read a text of which each student has a copy.
students work by themselves as they assume major responsibility for reading and writing
independently. Literacy sessions may include independent reading and writing.
Students can assist their own and others’ literacy learning by demonstrating their
developing literacy skills to less experienced literacy learners. This involves role reversal
during which they assume the role of an experienced language learner and work with a
less experienced literacy learner (apprentice) to help develop and enhance an aspect of
literacy. This can be conducted through cross-age tutoring, peer tutoring or
cooperative learning activities.
Effective literacy teaching procedures include modelled, shared, guided, interactive and independent
reading and writing.
LITERACY DEVELOPMENT
Learning to read or write is a developmental process that occurs over time with each
stage or phase of the process being part of a continuum from beginning/role play
through to becoming independent/conventional/proficient readers and writers.
As children develop as readers and writers, they demonstrate specific skills and
knowledge that indicate the particular stage or phase of their reading and writing
development.
A formal map of these developmental phases or stages, often referred to as a
‘continuum of writing or reading development’, has indictors or descriptors that
describe the behaviours and understandings the writer/reader and their
writing/reading will demonstrate at a specific phase. Students demonstrate the
indictors and reach each phase at different times.
There are many different versions of a developmental map of writing acquisition
that use various labels to describe each stage, but the common element is there are
developmental stages that all children pass through at varying rates. The AC:E has a
scope and sequence for writing from Foundation to Year 10 that reflects the
developmental nature of writing acquisition as well as other aspects of literacy. The
Department of Education and Training of Western Australia (DET, WA, 2013) has a
First Steps Writing Map of Development and Reading Map of Development that
describe the phases, list the key indicators and explain the major teaching emphases
that will facilitate students’ progress.
WRITING DEVELOPMENT
For the purposes of this book, Table 3.5 (drawn from DET, WA, 2004; Templeton &
Gehsmann, 2014; Fountas & Pinnell, 2017) shows some developmental phases or
stages and a few examples of the behaviours (indicators) for each stage or phase.
TABLE 3.5 WRITING DEVELOPMENT PHASES
Phase Example indicators
Beginning/ The writer:

Role play Makes marks to represent a written text.
Assigns a message to the marks. The message changes with each ‘reading’.
Produces text that is unreadable by others.
Emergent The writer:

/Experimental Is aware that speech can be written down.
Represents most spoken words in the written text—one to one correspondence.
Often has the correct initial letter of each word.
Represents many words with 1–3 letters.
Is developing an understanding of sound–symbol relationships.
Early The writer:

Uses some conventions of writing.
Spells correctly a small bank of frequently used words.
Uses knowledge of sound–symbol relationships to spell unknown words.
Transitional The writer:

Has increasing control over punctuation, spelling and text organisation.
Has a bank of correctly spelt words.
Is starting to draw on visual and meaning based strategies as well as an increasing sound–symbol knowledge
when attempting to spell new words.
Conventional The writer:

/Independent Has control over punctuation, spelling, grammar, text structure and most aspects of the writing process.
Is aware of the purpose, audience and context for their writing.
Integrates and draws on a range of spelling knowledge and strategies (visual, morphemic, meaning based and
sound–symbol) to spell unknown words.
Beyond the above phases, writers continue to refine all aspects of writing and the writing process. They produce increasingly
complex, coherent and detailed texts on a range of topics for various purposes, audiences and contexts using a range of media.
They critically reflect on and evaluate their writing and revise it to ensure it meets the specific demands of purpose and audience.
READING DEVELOPMENT
TABLE 3.6 READING DEVELOPMENT PHASES
Phase Example indicators
Beginning/ The reader:

Role play Shows and interest in books and text around them.
Imitates behaviours of experienced readers (holds book correctly, turns pages, and swipes screen or buttons to
see new window on computer).
Talks about favourite parts of texts that have been read to them.
Emergent The reader:

/Experimental Memorises some familiar and favourite stories.
Reads some words.
Knows that print always stays the same.
Knows direction of text.
Uses visual text to help gain meaning.
Early The reader:
Confidently reads familiar texts.
Reads new, unfamiliar texts slowly—often finger pointing each word.
Expresses and justifies their own reactions to texts they have read.
Talks about the important aspects (characters, events, information) in a text they have read.
Transitional The reader:

Reads with fluency and expression texts with familiar content.
Uses a variety of methods such as sounding out, substituting another word, reading on and slowing down to
work out unknown words.
Uses a range of different ways to monitor and maintain comprehension; for example, rereads, self-corrects,
reads on and slows down.
Changes their reading style to suit different texts; for example skimming and scanning text.
Conventional The reader:

/Independent/ Uses a wide range of strategies to comprehend many different types of texts; for example, draws on background
Proficient knowledge, visualises, self-questions, self-corrects, rereads, reads on, slows down and sub-vocalises.
Automatically reads an extensive list of words.
Uses a range of ways to work out unknown words; for example, syllables, knowledge of base words, the rest of
the sentence/paragraph, glossary.
Makes decisions about how to deal with difficult texts so that meaning is not lost.
Critically reads texts and recognises how the author has constructed the text and uses variety of devices for
specific purposes.
Beyond the above phases, readers continue to refine all aspects of reading and the reading process. They read with full
comprehension increasingly complex, coherent and detailed texts on a range of topics for various purposes, audiences and
contexts using a range of media. They critically reflect on and evaluate their reading and select reading strategies to ensure it
meets the specific demands of purpose and audience.
The use of a continuum of development helps teachers and parents understand

what the child knows and understands at a particular time. It plots the journey
children take towards becoming accomplished readers and writers. The use of a
continuum helps teachers identify where each child is in their development and what
sort of teaching and learning experiences need to be provided to ensure the child
continues to progress: ‘[A]dopting a developmental view of learning does not mean
that we lock children into rigid stages of development. Their cognitive development is
either enhanced or inhibited by the context we create for them’ (Fisher, Frey & Hattie,
2016, p. 12).
DIFFERENTIATING INSTRUCTION
Each student’s experiences, interests, abilities, learning styles and prior knowledge
affect their learning. Teachers need to seek, acknowledge, value and build on what
students bring to school and provide differentiated teaching that caters for each
learner. The social context of students’ lives outside of school can be an instrumental
factor in their willingness to participate in writing activities. ‘Reluctant writers’ can be
a challenge for teachers to motivate and having ethnographic information about their
students can be instrumental (Gardner, 2013). Knowledge about the backgrounds of
all students is imperative for effective planning and teaching.
Small group teaching enables the teacher to provide explicit teaching that targets
the specific needs of each group member. Students can be grouped in many ways
depending on the teaching purpose. For example:
homogenous groups, in which students with similar literacy needs (support or extension) or
characteristics work together
mixed ability groups, in which students with diverse abilities learn with and from each other.
Some students will require further individualised, ongoing and intensive teaching
and support as they develop as literacy learners. This will require the teacher to plan
specific teaching and learning sequences that meet the unique needs of the student and
that will provide multiple opportunities to revisit, learn about and use literacy
practices. Tasks might be broken into smaller achievable parts; model texts might be
modified; task time might be extended; teacher explanations and demonstrations
might be more explicit and precise; and so on. Supporting students by providing
scaffolding so they can achieve at expected grade-level may be preferable to teachers
automatically giving them lower-level writing tasks that will only serve to widen the
literacy gap (Harrison & Sellwood, 2016).
EAL/D and other students may also require differentiation by providing them
with writing tasks that are meaningful and cognitively challenging to them and can
draw on their oral literacy skills, which are often stronger than their writing skills
(Miller, Keary & Windle, 2012).
Some students might require extension, so tasks might be amended or replaced
with more complex, challenging and multifaceted tasks, and ongoing projects might be
negotiated along with time limits, expectations etc.
As teachers, we are the most important factor in determining:

the quality of the students’ literacy learning experiences
the effective development of their literacy skills and knowledge
the formulation of positive attitudes towards literacy.
We need to be careful observers of students and have a deep knowledge of

language, texts, and literacy teaching and learning as well as an understanding of the
developmental stages of the students in order to intervene in the learning process and
act when ‘teachable moments’ occur.
1. How might the information in this chapter affect your planning for and teaching of literacy?
2. How is literacy learnt and what are the needs of literacy learners? What does this mean for you as a
teacher?
RESOURCES
Booker, K. 2012, ‘Using Picturebooks to Empower and Inspire Readers and Writers in the Upper Primary Classroom.’ Practical
Strategies- Literacy Learning: the Middle Years. Vol. 20: No. 2, pp. i–x.
This article highlights the importance of using picture books as powerful models for student’s own writing. It also details a
useful ten-stage writing process plan for teachers to use with their students.
Duke, N., Caughlan, S., Juzwik, M. & Martin, N. 2012, Reading and Writing Genre with a Purpose in K-8 Classrooms. Heinemann,
Portsmouth.
This book enables teachers to move away from decontextualised reading and writing lessons that have little meaning for
students to providing rich tasks as part of purpose driven units of work that empower students to read and write better.
Gardner, P. 2013, ‘Writing in context: Reluctant Writers and Their Writing at Home and at School’, English in Australia, Vol. 48,
No 1.
This study investigates the engagement of reluctant writers in the contexts of home and school.
Gibbons, P. 2015, Scaffolding Language, Scaffolding Learning: Teaching English Language Learners in the Mainstream Classroom,
Second Edition, Heinemann, Portsmouth.
The author describes the challenges English language learners face. Practical suggestions are provided for teacher support,
classroom organisation, program planning, teaching procedures and activities that will enable the English language learners:
learn language, learn through language and learn about English.
Harrison, N. & Sellwood, J. 2016, Learning and Teaching in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education, Third Edition, Oxford
University Press. South Melbourne.
This book guides teachers to consider the role of a student’s cultural identity and the impact it has on their learning. Chapter 7
provides specific strategies for the teaching of reading and writing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Howell, J. 2014, Teaching and Learning: Building Effective Pedagogies, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne.
The book, for teachers from early years to secondary school, includes information on the phases of learning and development;
the principles and practices of teaching, assessment and reporting; and ways of catering for student diversity.
Janks, H. (ed.), 2017, Doing Critical Literacy Texts and Activities for Students and Teachers, Routledge, New York.
Several researchers and practitioners wrote chapters in this book—all of which focus on combining theory and practical
applications across all year levels. The book includes examples of classroom teaching contexts, activities, instructional focuses
and classroom dialogue that builds an awareness of the power of language in diverse contexts.
Kalantzis, M., Cope, B., Chan, E. & Dalley-Trim, L. 2016. Literacies, Second Edition. Cambridge University Press, Port Melbourne.
The book focuses not only on reading and writing, but also on other modes of communication, including oral, visual, audio,
gestural and spatial. It explains ways of developing learning experiences that explore the range of literacies and assist students to
effectively communicate in diverse sociocultural settings.
Miller, J., Keary, A. & Windle, J. 2012, ‘Assessing the reading and writing of EAL/D students: Issues and implications’, TESOL in
Context, Special Edition S3, TESOL as a Global Trade: Ethics, Equity and Ecology, Sydney, Australia.
This paper reports on the findings of a study of literacy strategies for EAL/D learners in Victorian Secondary Schools.
Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs. 2008, Melbourne Declaration on Education Goals for
Young Australians, retrieved 8/8/18 from
<http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/National_Declaration_on_the_Educational_Goals_for_Young_Australians.pdf
This declaration, made by all Australian Education ministers, outlines clear Educational Goals for Young Australians to equip
them for the twenty-first century including the ability to compete in the global economy on knowledge and innovation.
Read, S. 2010, ‘A Model for Scaffolding Writing Instruction: IMSCI’, The Reading Teacher, Vol. 64, No. 1, pp. 47–52.
This article discusses the IMSCI model of writing containing the following steps: Inquiry, Modelling, Shared Writing,
Collaborative Writing and Independent Writing.
Serafini, F. 2014, Reading the Visual: an Introduction to Teaching Multimodal Literacy, Teachers College Press, New York.
The author explains what teachers need to know to be able to effectively teach for multimodal and visual literacy. The book
links theory, research, curriculum content and teaching strategies for teaching these literacies using a wide range of visual and
multimodal texts. There are several units of work that can be adapted for specific year levels and contexts.
Templeton, S. & Gehsmann, K. 2014, Teaching Reading and Writing: The Developmental Approach, Pearson, New Jersey.
The authors describe the nature of development of language, thought and literacy and how to teach in a developmentally
responsive and integrated way that meets the literacy needs of students.
Walsh, M. 2011, Multimodal Literacy: Researching Classroom Practice, PETAA, Newtown.

This book, which is based on research in actual classrooms, describes the new literacy practices within print and digital
resources. It also provides examples of students’ work and ideas for teaching with and for new literacies.
Ward, L. 2013, ‘Literacy within, across and beyond the curriculum’, Primary English Teaching Association, Australia. PETAA Paper
190.
This paper discusses the changing needs of learners in the twenty-first century and explores the concept of teachers valuing the
social and cultural learning that occurs outside of school.
read, view and write to learn using a range of written, oral and multimodal texts.
LEARNING ABOUT LANGUAGE

This involves learning about the conventions of English and how to use these to
express and interpret meaning. Students learn a metalanguage to describe how
language works, its components and the processes involved. They learn about written
language at whole text, paragraph, sentence, word group, word and letter level and the
systems of visual language.
ACTION
Plan for explicit teaching and demonstrations of language conventions. Focus on
the work of the components of text and provide vocabulary that will help students
to talk about these aspects. Cater for individual student needs and provide point
of need teaching as well as planned teaching focuses. Foster a love of language
by providing a wide range of oral, written and multimodal texts that include
diverse purposes, language uses, structures and features.
CONDITIONS FOR LITERACY LEARNING

The approach to teaching literacy, as described in this book, is based on the conditions
for literacy learning as identified by Cambourne (1988). These optimal conditions for
learning resemble those in which early language learning takes place. Teachers need to
plan for, organise and deliver classroom programs and establish an environment that
fosters these conditions and facilitates literacy learning. As Lent (2006) explains,
Cambourne’s conditions for learning also apply in secondary school settings.
IMMERSION
Students’ literacy learning can be supported when they are surrounded by literacy
practices and products that enable them to see how literacy works and what literate
people do and use.
ACTION
Provide a range of good quality texts (oral, written, visual and multimodal) that
are read to, with and by the students. Provide opportunities for students to create
texts in shared, guided and independent situations across all areas of the
curriculum. Provide time for the students to be immersed in the purposes,
structures and features of texts.
DEMONSTRATION
Students’ learning is facilitated when they actively observe and participate in
demonstrations by literate people in which the literate person verbalises and explicitly
shows what they are doing and why.
ACTION
Provide opportunities for students to observe how texts are created and used in
daily life. Include planned, incidental, explicit and implicit demonstrations of
literacy and multiliteracy practices (skills, knowledge) to help students to
understand what literate people do and what literacy involves.
EXPECTATION
Students need to know that we trust that they can learn and expect that they will
become effective literacy learners. By conveying our expectations, we are showing our
confidence in them as learners and in their ability to learn.
ACTION
Ensure that the students understand that you will teach at their point of need and
that you expect that they will learn. Structure learning experiences in which the
students know the learning intentions and criteria for success (Fisher, Frey &
Hattie, 2016). Ensure the students are challenged but are able to note and
celebrate their progress through effective assessment and feedback. Plan
purposeful teaching and learning experiences in which it is expected that the
students will develop the literacy practices and knowledge to effectively use
(create, read or view) a range of oral, visual, written and multimodal texts for a
range of purposes, audiences and contexts.
RESPONSIBILITY
Students need to understand their role as learners and how they can help or hinder
their own learning. They need to actively participate in the learning process and
gradually assume greater control over and responsibility for their learning.
ACTION
Create a classroom environment in which students can make decisions about
their learning. Help them to identify their strengths and areas for further learning
and to set achievable learning goals/intentions. Plan teaching and learning
experiences that enable the students to negotiate aspects of their learning and to
experience developmentally appropriate activities and resources. Help the
students to become independent and responsible text users: critical readers,
viewers and creators of effective written and visual texts.
USE
Students’ literacy learning is enhanced when the learning is related to their experiences
and links with their needs and purposes. They learn best when they can see ‘what’s in it
for them’—when they can use the learning within and beyond the classroom.
ACTION
Ensure that texts are introduced in meaningful contexts that enable the students to
practise and develop their skills for specific purposes, situations and audiences.
Make links with the use of written, visual and multimodal texts in their everyday
life. Provide time for the students to use their developing skills and knowledge in
purposeful and relevant contexts.
APPROXIMATION
Students’ literacy learning is assisted when they understand that they are on a learning
journey that involves attempting literacy practices (‘having a go’), drawing on their
current knowledge and skills, and modifying their attempts as their learning develops.
ACTION
Establish a classroom climate in which students are confident to attempt or ‘have
a go’ at new learning and to make approximations as they develop competency.
Regard their approximations and attempts as indicators of their learning and as
part of the learning process.
RESPONSE
Students need to know that they will get help when they need it and that they will get
positive responses to their attempts at literacy practices. The responses should focus on
what the student has done well and provide encouragement and guidance for further
action so that they continue to confidently demonstrate their learning.
ACTION
Make appropriate, relevant, timely and constructive comments as students learn.
Provide purposeful, informed and point of need feedback that helps students to
identify their progress, provide ideas for further learning and know that they are
valued as learners. Provide opportunities for the students to share and
demonstrate their skills and knowledge and receive feedback from peers and/or
the teacher within a supportive classroom environment.
ENGAGEMENT
Students need to be fully ‘tuned in to’ or engaged in the teaching and learning
experiences if they are to actively participate in their literacy learning. Building on
their prior knowledge and experiences and helping them make links between these and
the new learning helps to engage them.
Use each student’s prior learning—the cultural, social and intellectual resources they bring to school—to
inform and enhance literacy teaching.
ACTION
Make links between school learning and the students’ lives. Help them to
4
TEXTS

define genre, literary texts, blended texts, multigenre and multimodal texts and
the place and purpose of each
identify various purposes for language, the processes involved and possible
text types for each purpose
understand the importance of teaching literacy across the curriculum
explain the importance of enabling students to make independent writing and
reading choices.
KEY TERMS
blended genre text
genre
literary texts
multigenre products
multimodal texts
text types
top-level structure
PURPOSES, TEXT TYPES AND FORMATS

Language is used for many purposes, and texts result from or are used for each language
purpose.
While this book is about teaching written text, information about visual and
multimodal texts is interwoven into the content. The interrelatedness and relevance of
different communication modes, the rapid growth of technologies and the multiple
ways in which information can be represented and interpreted have enhanced our
understanding of what it means to be literate in today’s society and thus influenced
how writing is taught and learnt. As teachers, we need to provide authentic experiences
that help students create and use a variety of written, visual and multimodal texts for a
range of purposes. Students need to be taught how to create, critique, locate,
comprehend, respond to and use texts for a range of purposes, in a variety of ways and
formats (Zammit & Downes, 2002). While genre can apply to many forms of
expression (e.g. music, art, drama and written texts), the following explanation, for the
purpose of this book, focuses on written texts (paper-based, digital and multimodal).
The term genre is often used when classifying written texts into certain categories,
sorts, kinds or styles. Some people use the word genre to refer to the ways ideas are
expressed, that is, how the content, style and form reflect characteristics of a specific
category. Usually the term is used to classify texts into major groups and their sub-
groups. For example: the ‘literary’ genre (major category) includes fictional texts that
might be classified (sub-grouped) into mysteries, fantasy, fairy tales etc. The ‘non-
literary’ genre (major category) includes non-fiction or factual texts that might be
classified into (sub-grouped) biographies, everyday texts, travelogues etc.
genre:
The social practices that are reflected in texts created to achieve specific purposes.
multimodal texts:
Texts that combine two or more language modes.
These authors draw on the purposes for language and processes involved; for
example, when describing, recounting, explaining, persuading, narrating etc. The
authors use the term ‘genre’ to encompass the process and purposes and the text types
that suit these. The terms ‘genre’ and ‘text types’ are used interchangeably when
referring to a text’s purpose, text structures and language features.
Table 4.1 includes the common purposes of written language used within
schools, some of the processes involved, examples of the text types to meet each
purpose and ways the texts can be presented (formats). When reading this table, keep
in mind that each language purpose could also be used for imaginative (fiction) and
informative (factual) text types, while persuasive texts could be based on real or
imagined situations.
text types:
Texts with specific structures and features for specific purposes.
With the advent of NAPLAN (National Assessment Program Literacy and

Numeracy), some language purposes are privileged over others and, sadly, for some
students in some classrooms, too great an emphasis is placed on students writing a
specific text type rather than on developing motivated, innovative, independent and
capable writers who are able to select topics, text structures and language features to
suit their own writing purposes and intended audiences.
TABLE 4.1 LANGUAGE PURPOSES, PROCESSES, TEXT TYPES AND FORMATS
Purpose for language Processes involved Examples of texts (can

be oral, written, visual
or multimodal)
To describe: Describing: identifying, ordering, classifying, listing, defining, Information reports

classify and describe generalising information —various types
compare and contrast Investigation reports
record feelings and observations Scientific/technical
reports
Personal
descriptions
Imaginative
descriptions
Definitions
Poetry*
To persuade: Persuading: identifying and stating issue/point of view, Expositions

put forward a point of view expanding ideas, considering perspectives, justifying and (arguments)
present a case supporting opinions, analysing and evaluating information, Debates/discussions
promote something determining importance Advertisements and
justify an evaluation or response commercials that
promote a product
Social comments
and cartoons
Reviews
Responses
To instruct: Instructing: determining importance of actions so that a Recipes

command or direct behaviour particular goal (product, process) is achieved, sequencing Instructions
inform or advise actions or behaviours, considering actions and consequences Directions
Procedures
Experiments/design
briefs
Manuals
Rules
To explain: Explaining: identifying and defining phenomena, sequencing Explanations telling

how or why things happen actions or processes, identifying cause and effect, linking time how
a process and actions, describing and clarifying parts that contribute to Explanations telling
the event/phenomena why
Explanations
describing a
process
Accounts explaining
the reasons for an
action/outcome
To narrate: Narrating: describing characters, settings and events, Narratives (factual

sequence and describe events and determining sequence of events (not always linear) and and imaginary)
participants in time and place actions, identifying complications/situations or problems that Stories
develop characters, happenings characters encounter, creating an appropriate resolution Ballads
and the circumstances of the Epics
happenings using language Fables
choices that engage and evoke Fairy tales
reader response Information
narratives
Legends
Myths
Narrative poetry
Song lyrics*
To recount: Recounting: identifying subject/topic of retelling, determining Factual recounts

tell what happened sequence and importance of events, describing participants Imaginative recounts
sequence participants and events and happenings, elaborating on the who, what, when, where, Personal recounts
in time and place why, with whom included in the recount Historical recounts
Literary recounts
Biographical
recounts
Autobiographical
recounts
Memoirs
Reflections
Anecdotes
News recounts
To transact: Negotiating and transacting: making connections with, and Surveys

establish and maintain finding out about, key people, places, actions, things or events Questionnaires
relationships and relationships between the participants Invitations
negotiate Greetings
inquire and clarify thinking
Formats: Texts can be published or presented in a variety of formats (live, paper-based, digital and multimodal). These can
include web pages (intranet and internet), slide shows, essays, emails, faxes, blogs, text messages, brochures, pamphlets, flyers,
newsletters, letters, comics, posters, charts, scripts, plays, interviews, newspapers, cards, magazines, books (picture books,
reference books, novels, graphic novels, eBooks), booklets, messages, notes, stickers, banners, signs and ‘tweets’.
*These can be used for various purposes.

Based on information from Education Department of South Australia (1979),
Watkins and Knapp (1994,1998), Knapp and Watkins (2005),
Walsh (2011) and Derewianka and Jones (2016).
There are many more purposes for writing than those listed in Table 4.1. For
example, teachers might require students to analyse, evaluate, compare, interpret,
contrast, discuss, respond to, paraphrase, summarise, define, examine, outline or
justify. Students need to know the meaning of each term and what this means for their
writing.
Because teachers often determine the writing purpose, it is important that
students have regular and extended times for personal writing in which they choose
their own topics, purposes and text types for their chosen audiences. Teacher
domination of choice of writing tasks (topics, text type, purpose etc.) is best applied to
purposeful writing across the curriculum and instructional contexts in which specific
aspects of writing are taught through modelled, shared, interactive and guided reading
and writing teaching procedures. Then, depending on the needs of the students,
teachers might require the students to independently demonstrate their mastery of the
focuses of the writing task.
Students are more likely to actively engage in writing if they are supported, their
interests are respected and they have control over and are actively involved in topic
choice, writing purpose, text type, format, intended audience and learning pace.
Effective writing programs have a balance of teacher instructional choices, teacher
directed tasks, student personal choices and independent writing time. Given time and
the right conditions, students’ writing will reflect aspects that have been explicitly
taught through reading and writing experiences.
It is important that students have regular and extended times for personal writing in which students choose
their own topics, writing purposes and text types for their intended audiences.
Even when the purpose and text type have been selected, the intended audience
needs to be considered because aspects of the text may need to be modified. Table 4.2
demonstrates how a text written to instruct—a recipe—can differ according to the
intended audience.
TABLE 4.2 POSSIBLE EFFECT OF INTENDED AUDIENCE ON THE WRITER’S CHOICE OF TEXT STRUCTURE AND LANGUAGE
FEATURES
Purpose: to instruct, command or direct
Text type: recipe
Audience Apprentice chef Experienced chef
Context Preparing a simple dessert Preparing a dessert for a formal dinner
Possible features to The text might include: The text might include:
assist the reader simple language more complex terms—subject-specific
one action per each step of the process vocabulary
a sequence of illustrations to demonstrate a combination of actions within each step of
each of the steps in the process the process
labelled diagrams of the utensils, ingredients visual text to enhance some of the instructions
and process may or may not be included
an explanation of subject-specific terms an assumption of prior knowledge for some
numbered instructions procedures
large, clear font smaller font
CLASSIFYING TEXTS
Until recently, two main categories were used to classify students’ texts. These were
factual and fiction, with each category comprising various text types. The terms
‘factual’, ‘informative’, ‘information’, ‘non-fiction’ and ‘expository’ are widely used to
refer to functional texts that represent factual information, ideas or issues for the
purposes of, for example, describing, recounting, narrating, explaining, instructing,
persuading or transacting. They are commonly used to organise, record, communicate
or gain factual information or enhance user knowledge.
The terms ‘imaginative’, ‘creative’ and ‘fiction’ are commonly used for texts that
present information in ways that incorporate products of the imagination, the use of
literary devices or creative licence for the primary purposes of amusing, engaging or
entertaining. They are used to explore and evoke the users’ knowledge and feelings and
to record, impart or gain information, whether imaginary or realistic in origin.
The AC:E, classifies texts as informative, imaginative and persuasive, with
language purposes embedded in these categories. Texts in the senior secondary school
subjects are likely to be classified as imaginative, interpretive, analytical or persuasive
(ACARA d).
These classifications acknowledge that writers often use their knowledge of text
purposes and structures to create imaginative, informative or persuasive texts that
might reflect the commonly accepted text stages of a specific text type but challenge
the text classifications. Text types and text categories are neither static nor separate.
For example:
An information report, usually a factual/informative text type used to classify and describe, can
be written about an imaginary thing, event or place.
A recipe for a witch’s brew (imaginative text) included in a fictional narrative is the product of
imaginary thinking and writing but demonstrates the culturally accepted way of recording
recipes (text structure) for the purpose and process of instructing.
An exposition, the purpose of which is to persuade, might well be about an imaginative issue or
action.
Poetry can be imaginative, informative and/or persuasive and so on.
It is important that we don’t limit students’ development as writers, their
engagement in writing and their writing choices by keeping rigidly to text
classifications, text structures, organisation and language features.
BLENDED OR MULTIGENRE TEXTS

Experienced readers and writers are aware that often a single, cohesive text might
include aspects of several text types depending on the purpose of each section of the
text. For example, a letter (format) may be written for the purpose of persuading the
audience (e.g. the local council) to take suggested action (mend a pavement). Even
though the purpose is to persuade, the traditional text structure of an exposition isn’t
necessarily the structure required. The writer might start the letter with a recount of
what happened when they were walking, an explanation about how or why the
pavement caused the writer to trip and fall and an argument supporting the view that
the council should regularly check and maintain local pavements. The written text
might also include a visual text in the form of a map showing the location and a
photograph of the offending pavement might also be included. This letter is now a
multimodal text (visual—still image and written text) and is also a blended genre text
(multigenre) because it comprises a blend of genres (aspects of recounts, explanations
and arguments to retell, explain and persuade). In addition to blended genre, ‘hybrid’
or ‘macro genre texts’ are terms used to refer to single texts that comprise aspects of
more than one genre or text type.
blended genre text:

A single cohesive, complete text that comprises aspects of more than one genre or text type.
MULTIGENRE PRODUCTS
Teachers of upper primary or secondary students can set rich and multi-layered
writing tasks that provide opportunities for students to explore a topic or issue of their
choice, then present the information in various written text types (genres) that
together represent the overall content, findings, perspectives, ideas, responses and/or
reflections on that topic. The text types within the overall multigenre product can
include imaginative, persuasive and informative texts that address a range of purposes
and that work to enhance and elaborate on the topic. For example, many students
engage with computer games outside of school that may centre on a narrative based
such as a table of contents page listing the artefacts included in the product; an
introduction that sets the context of the topic and might comprise background
information and an explanation of the text types included; the collection of texts; and
a reference list that includes resources used when researching the topic.
Multigenre products can be used for:
exploration of personal topics. For example, a multigenre autobiography might include an
annotated timeline, a free verse poem, a memoir, a newspaper report and an interview.
research within specific subjects. For example, in History an investigation into the defining
characteristics of an ancient civilisation might result in a multigenre product that includes an
information report on the specific ancient civilisation, a personal recount of the everyday life of a
citizen, a list poem detailing the key achievements of the society and perhaps an advertisement
for a valued commodity of the time.
an across-curriculum/integrated inquiry. For example, the findings of an inquiry into a big
question might include a written discussion, song lyrics, an explanation, an interview and a diary
entry.
Multigenre products are complex and require the student to think deeply and
diversely, to identify the aspects of the topic to be presented and for which purposes,
and to select and effectively use appropriate text types.
ESSAYS
Often secondary students are required to write an ‘essay’ within a particular subject.
Essays are often used to assess each student’s content knowledge and ability to present
their thoughts, ideas and information in an organised way. But what is an essay?
The Oxford Dictionary defines ‘essay’ as a short piece of writing on a particular

subject. We are of the opinion that in the school context the term is generic and that
an essay in one subject may well have a different purpose, structure and language
features than an essay in another subject. We also believe that each essay set within the
same subject may well have a different purpose, structure and language features from
the next one. An essay is not a specific text type (genre) that has a socially determined
purpose. Its structure, which usually comprises an introduction, a large middle or body
and a conclusion, is broad enough for writers to use for various purposes. The elements
within this structure vary according to the writing purpose, context, subject or topic.
In Science students may be required to write essays to explain and describe events
and phenomena, recount experiments, present and evaluate data or to present
opinions and claims. In History they may be required to write essays to recount a
sequence of events, present past events as narrative, discuss concepts and ideas or argue
a point of view. English may require them to write essays to respond, compare and
contrast, analyse, discuss, persuade and so on.
Students are frequently required to write an essay that includes more than one
writing purpose (blended genre text). It is interesting to note that within the AC:E,
the term ‘essay’ is rarely used, with ‘text’ being common.
Often as subject teachers, we assume that students know what is required when
we ask them to write an essay. We assume that they know and can effectively use the
structure, language features and conventions of essays. A structure that is commonly
used to scaffold student writing of paragraphs in essays is PEEL. Students are
encouraged to begin their paragraph with a point (P), to elaborate (E) on this point in
the next sentence, provide a related piece of evidence (E) in the next sentence and
conclude with a sentence that links (L) back to the original point. This can be very
helpful for struggling writers who find it difficult to structure their ideas. To use this
PEEL structure to enhance the essay writing skills of all students, it is essential that
teachers strengthen their own functional metalanguage so they can explain the
language patterns required to create a text response (Humphrey, Sharpe & Cullen,
2015). We assume that the students know the purpose of the written text (essay) even
though it may not be clearly articulated. Imagine how daunting it must be for students
who have to write essays within a range of subjects but have not been taught what
constitutes an effective essay for a specific purpose in each subject. When teachers set
an essay, they need to explicitly identify its purpose or purposes, as writing purpose and
audience influence the choice of text structure and other text features.
Regardless of the text they wish their students to write, teachers need to articulate
and demonstrate what constitutes an effective text within their subject. As all teachers
are teachers of literacy, each one needs to identify which elements of the set essay may
be challenging for students and explicitly teach these. Students need to know that all
teachers value and expect effective writing and this means that:
content, ideas and meaning are clearly expressed for the reader
language structures and features are used effectively at whole text, paragraph, clause and sentence
level
the conventions of written language are used correctly
the presentation is appropriate for the purpose, audience and content.
Teachers need to identify specific literacy teaching focuses within their subject.
Some of these teaching focuses may be:
the writing process—preparation and planning, drafting, reviewing, editing and publishing
text structure and organisation—consideration of context, purpose, audience and content
organisation and text structure at whole text, paragraph and sentence level
subject and topic specific vocabulary—high frequency words, theme or topic words, signal
words, technical terms and phrases etc.
conventions—punctuation, spelling, grammar and vocabulary.
All teachers (all subject teachers and student support teachers across all levels of
the school) need to develop a shared and clear understanding of the term ‘essay’ and
develop agreed criteria for effective writing. Students can further be supported if all
writing tasks set by teachers clearly state the writing purpose/purposes and the
expected text (essay) structure and when teachers plan to teach any aspects that may be
challenging for students.
MULTIMODAL TEXTS
Students live in a world in which multiple communication modes (written language,
oral language, visual, audio, gestural, spatial and tactile) are used to share ideas and
information. Most communication involves more than one communication mode. As
discussed in Chapter 3, these are multimodal texts.
The work of Anstey and Bull (2006, 2009), Healy (2008), Walsh (2011) and
Cloonan (2012) contributes to the rapidly growing teacher understanding of the
structures, features and use of multimodal texts and the literacies (multiliteracies)
required by students to effectively use, analyse and create multimodal texts.
Students need to be taught how to create and use a range of multimodal texts. We
need to teach them about the elements/conventions of each communication mode
and how these are used for specific purposes. They need to understand that each text
type, the mode/s in which it is presented and the elements/conventions used are
carefully chosen so that the intended purpose of the text is achieved and the main
message is clearly communicated. For example, in visual texts, the use of colour, space,
placement, image type, representation, line and so on can affect the salience of the
message in the text. In written text, the choice of language devices, print and writing
conventions, and sentence structures, for example, can privilege, ignore or
misrepresent information.
Multimodal texts can be used in many ways in many teaching and learning
contexts. It is essential for teachers to aim for their students to become creators not
consumers as they interact with multimodal texts. This relies on careful monitoring of
the quality of multimodal texts (e.g. open-format apps) that students are directed to in
classrooms. Ideally, teachers should allow students to be actively creative and to
represent their understandings in a variety of ways, not just be passive recipients of
knowledge. The use of partners when working with iPads can be preferable so that a
rich metalanguage can be utilised as students collaborate and provide timely feedback
to each other. This has been shown to strengthen students’ oral and written literacy
skills (Falloon, 2013).
For example:
Students might use multimodal texts during the writing process. They can use them for research
about a topic. They might plan for writing using oral language and visual text in the form of
concept maps or images. As they draft their texts, they might use visual, written and/or oral text.
They might consider which visual text could be included to make the meaning clear, and how
they will publish their writing. Will it be paper-based, live, digital or multimodal? Their
published/completed writing might incorporate print conventions (font type, colour, size,
format etc.), images (e.g. still, moving, real or animated) and accompanying oral or audio text
(e.g. voice, music and sound effects).
Students might be required to develop a design for a multimodal text that will effectively and
clearly meet the identified communication purposes. They will think about the purpose and
intended audience. They will identify the content/ meaning they wish to include and which
communication modes they will use. As they create the text they will draw on their knowledge of
the conventions and elements of the different modes to create a well-structured, organised and
engaging multimodal text.

1. List what you have written within the last week. For each piece of writing, identify the purpose for which it
was written, the situation in which it was written and the intended audience.
2. Categorise your writing into informative, persuasive and imaginary. Identify any blended genre you may
have created.
3. What do your findings tell you about yourself as a writer? What might be the reasons for this? How might
this inform your teaching?
USING TEXTS TO LEARN ABOUT LANGUAGE AND
PROCESSES
All learning contexts require students to create, ‘do something with’ or use texts.
While they are using texts (paper-based, digital and multimodal) in a range of teaching
and learning contexts there are many opportunities for planned and incidental
teaching about contextual understanding, text types, formats, processes and strategies,
and conventions.
The teaching about text types can occur in a range of classroom contexts. For
example:
In History, during a study of Ancient China, students might read and/or create print, visual and
multimodal texts such as historical recounts, explanations, annotated timelines, explanations and
recounts.
Within a topic on endangered animals, students might read or create paper-based, digital or
multimodal texts that:
describe endangered animals and their habitats
explain why some animals are endangered
put forward a particular point of view about aspects of the topic
instruct the reader on how to help protect endangered animals and habits.
Within a stand-alone English unit, students might read or create texts directly related to English
as a subject that are not drawn from other subject areas or across the curriculum. These could be
literary texts (narratives, plays and poetry), responses, critiques and reviews as well as language
conventions and so on.
literary texts:
Texts (written and spoken) that use language in creative and expressive ways to represent, recreate, shape
and explore human experience.
The use of texts arising from content subjects helps to develop an integrated,
holistic approach to language learning. It helps students understand the relationship
between context and text, and the importance of identifying the purpose and audience
before selecting the appropriate text type, as well as developing their understanding of
conventions and literacy practices.
See Chapter 3, pp. 69–74 for further information on the Four Resources Model.
TEXT STRUCTURES: TOP-LEVEL STRUCTURES
Each text type has a specific structure or text stages to meet its purpose. The structure
or stages are organised according to the broad relationships between the pieces of
information included.
The term ‘top-level structure’ is used to describe ‘the relationship among the
ideas in a written or spoken text’ (Emmitt et al., 2015, p. 147). It refers to the
overarching structure of the text. Some examples of top-level structure are cause/effect,
problem/ solution, list/ describe, compare/contrast, sequence and question/answer.
top-level structure:
The standard organisational structure of information according to the purpose of the text.
Each top-level structure has common signal words that help the text user to think
about, gain and organise information. Knowledge of top-level structure helps writers
to write cohesive and clear texts, and readers to more easily understand and recall the
meaning in text (Turner, 1992). Students need to be helped to identify and use top-
level structures and common signal words (Harvey, 1998, p. 211) to help them create
and comprehend specific texts.
QUESTION AND ANSWER

Words and word groups that signal a query or a subject for enquiry and responses to or
results of a query: how, when, what, where, why, who, how many, which, does, do, is,
are, should, could, may, can, wonder, the best estimate, it could be that, one may
conclude that, it is thought that, it might be, the answer, in response to etc.
Following are some examples of graphic organisers and visual texts that help
readers and writers.
Rather than teachers insisting that a particular graphic organiser is used by
students to prepare to write a particular text, it may be less restricting to allow them to
make their own choices. Providing multiple paper copies or electronic access to a
variety of types of graphic organisers in the classroom can be helpful.
Figure 4.1 Question web
Figure 4.2 Question table
CAUSE/EFFECT
Words and word groups that signal action and consequence relationships between two
or more subjects: since, because, this caused, this led to, on account of, due to, may be
due to, consequently, then, so, therefore, thus, resulted in, caused, effect etc. Following
are example of graphic organisers and visual texts that help readers and writers.
Figure 4.3 Effects wheel
Figure 4.4 Cause and effect graphic organiser
Figure 4.5 Multiple actions and effects
PROBLEM/SOLUTION
Words and word groups that signal a difficulty and ways of overcoming it: the problem
is, the solution could be, one reason for that, a solution, a problem, this led to, one
reason could be, solve, query, question, inquire, answer, therefore etc. Examples of
graphic organisers and visual texts that help readers and writers include a problem and
solution chart (Figure 4.6), plus some of the cause and effect graphic organisers can
also be adapted for use with this top-level structure or information organisation
pattern.
Figure 4.6 Problem and solution chart
COMPARISON/CONTRAST
Words and word groups that signal similar or contrast relationships between two or
more subjects: in like manner, likewise, similarly, similar to, different from, the
difference between, as opposed to, after all, however, and yet, but nevertheless,
compared with, instead, resemble, we noticed some parallels, in contrast, on the other
hand, although, use of comparative and superlative adjectives (e.g. fast, faster, fastest)
and use of opposites (e.g. old, young). Following are examples of graphic organisers and
visual texts that help readers and writers.
Figure 4.7 Venn diagram
Figure 4.8 T chart
Figure 4.9 Ladder diagram

SEQUENCE
Words and word groups that signal, for example, a chronological sequence of some
information or an ordered grouping of related information: that until, before, after,
next, finally, last, then, first, on (date), at (time), meanwhile, during, concurrently etc.
Following are examples of graphic organisers and visual texts that help readers and
writers.
Figure 4.10 Flow diagram
Figure 4.11 Cycle diagram
Figure 4.12 Simple timelines

Figure 4.13 Multiple information timeline
LIST/DESCRIPTION
Words and word groups that signal description of features of things (events, places,
living and non-living things), physical features, movements, feelings, sounds, tastes,
characteristics. For example, first, for instance. Examples of graphic organisers and
visual texts that help readers and writers are given below.
While top-level structure is described here as part of a whole text focus, it can also
be used to organise information at paragraph level. In fact, one text may include
paragraphs or sections, each of which may use a different top-level structure depending
on the purpose of that passage.
Figure 4.14 Y chart
Figure 4.15 Cluster diagram
Figure 4.16 Fish bone diagram
Table 4.3 outlines possible whole text level focuses for some text types, as well as
useful graphic organisers for planning and ideas for how visual texts can be included.
TABLE 4.3 EXAMPLE OF WHOLE TEXT LEVEL FOCUSES FOR SOME TEXT TYPES
Text and purpose Top-level structure and text stages or structure—possible focuses
Narrative Top-level structure—sequence

To narrate Orientation, complication or problem, resolution, reorientation
Example graphic organisers for planning for writing: flow diagram or any sequence graphic organiser; cluster
diagram or any description graphic organiser
Example visual texts for published text: illustrations or photographs to elaborate on, emphasise key parts of, or
reflect the written text
Recipe Top-level structure—sequence

To instruct Ingredients, utensils, method
Headings and subheadings
Graphics
Captions
Example graphic organisers for planning for writing: flow diagram or any sequence graphic organiser
Example visual texts for published text: diagrams in sequence to match the steps in the recipe, labelled
pictures of utensils, illustration of finished product
Recount Top-level structure—sequence

To recount Orientation telling who, what, when, why and series of events
Example graphic organisers for planning for writing: flow diagram or any sequence graphic organiser
Example visual texts for published text: photographs or illustrations of key parts of the recount, timelines to
clarify the sequence
Information Top-level structure—list and describe

report General classification and statement, description
To describe Heading and subheadings
Bibliography
Graphics
Captions
Example graphic organisers for planning for writing: Venn diagram or any comparison/contrast graphic
organiser; cluster diagram or any list/description graphic organiser
Example visual texts for published text: labelled diagrams, photographs, maps, tables
Explanation Top-level structure—cause and effect

To explain General statement or question about phenomenon or process to be explained, sequential description of
process
Heading and subheadings

Graphics
Captions
Example graphic organisers for planning for writing: effects wheel or any cause and effect graphic organiser;
cycle diagram or any sequence graphic organiser
Example visual texts for published text: flow chart, circle diagram, labelled diagrams—cross sections etc.,
photographs
Exposition Top-level structure—cause and effect, problem and solution

To persuade Thesis or statement of opinion, series of arguments and supporting reasons and evidence, summary of
argument, call for action or recommendation
Example graphic organisers for planning for writing: T chart or any problem/ solution graphic organiser
Example visual texts for published text: tables, graphs, photographs, pull out text boxes
Survey or Top-level structure—question and answer

questionnaire Heading, introduction that identifies the context and purpose, series of questions or prompts, courtesy and
To transact action prompt
Example graphic organisers for planning for writing: question table or any question/answer graphic
organiser
Example visual texts for published text: tables, graphs, captions
RESOURCES
Bull, G. & Anstey, M. 2010, Evolving Pedagogies: Reading and Writing in a Multimodal World, Education Services, Carlton South.
The authors provide an explicit knowledge base about the codes and conventions of five semiotic systems (linguistic, visual,
audio, gestural and spatial) to enable teachers to talk about and examine multimodal texts with their students.
Charles, M. & Boyle, B. 2014, Multiliteracies and Multimodalities to Support Young Children’s Learning, SAGE, Thousand Oaks.
The authors emphasise the importance of multimodality and multiliteracies in developing young children’s communication
skills. They describe teaching procedures, resources, text types and activities that support literacy learning.
Falloon, G. 2013, ‘Creating content: Building literacy skills in year 1 students using open apps’. Computers in New Zealand Schools:
Learning, teaching, technology, Vol. 25, No. 1–3, pp. 77–95.
This article examines the use of open-format apps in literacy units. The study indicates that apps that allow students to be
creators not consumers of multimodal texts are preferable, as is allowing students to work in pairs to strengthen their literacy
skills.
Henderson, R. (ed.), 2018, Teaching Literacies in the Middle Years: Pedagogies and Diversity, Oxford University Press, South
Melbourne.
The book, which connects theory with practice, examines the teaching of literacies associated with print, digital and
multimodal texts within literacy sessions and across the content areas. It provides information on catering for the diversity of
learners.
Humphrey, S., Sharpe, T. & Cullen, T. 2015, ‘Peeling the PEEL: Integrating language and literacy in the middle years.’ Literacy
Learning: the Middle Years. Vol. 23, No. 2, pp. 53–59.
This paper reports on the use of teaching the PEEL paragraph structure to teach essay writing and concludes that teachers need
a ‘toolkit of metalanguage’ to adequately explain how students can improve their essays.
McGregor, T. 2013, Genre Connections: Lessons to Launch Literary and Non-Fiction Texts, Heinemann, Portsmouth.
The author provides teaching sequences, models of genres and lists of text features, sensory experiences, speaking and listening
activities, games and suggestions for concrete objects to promote student exploration, discovery and discussion around several
commonly used genres.
Romano, T. 2000, Blending Genre, Altering Style: Writing Multigenre Papers, Boynton/Cook, Portsmouth.
Romano describes how to help students compose multigenre papers. He includes information about non-fiction, fiction and
poetry as well as writing strategies, examples of multigenre texts and ideas for teaching about writing.
Woolley, G. 2014. Developing Literacy in the Primary Classroom, SAGE, London.

Chapter 8 of this book explores Information Reports, Inquiry and ICT and advises teachers about ways that multimodal texts
can be incorporated into their classrooms.
PART 3
TEXT TYPES
7 INFORMATIVE TEXTS
8 INFORMATION REPORTS
9 PROCEDURAL TEXTS
10 EXPLANATIONS
11 RECOUNTS
12 TRANSACTIONAL TEXTS
13 PERSUASIVE TEXTS
14 IMAGINATIVE TEXTS
15 NARRATIVES
16 INFORMATION NARRATIVES
17 POETRY
5
USING TEXTS IN MEANINGFUL CONTEXTS

use texts to teach the conventions of written and oral language
extend your knowledge of grammar and how to teach it in meaningful oral,
reading and writing contexts
teach to extend students’ vocabulary by using incidental and planned
instructional contexts using real texts for different purposes
know what is involved in spelling—spelling knowledge, skills and strategies.
KEY TERMS
etymological knowledge
grammar
metalanguage
morphemic knowledge
orthographic memory and knowledge
phonic knowledge
punctuation
visual knowledge
TEACHING GRAMMAR IN CONTEXT

The work of Collerson (1997), Derewianka (1998, 2011), Derewianka and Jones
(2016), Halliday and Matthiessen (2004) and Weaver (1996) provides valuable
information about grammar as it is defined today. Derewianka defines grammar as ‘a
way of describing how language works to make meaning in a particular culture’ (1998,
p. 1). It is the description of the function and form of the elements of the language
system and how these work at whole text, clause, sentence and word level to achieve
different purposes.
grammar:
The function and form of the language system elements and how they work at whole text, clause, sentence
and word level.
In the past, grammar was taught within isolated grammar lessons in which the
students learnt about grammar through activities that rarely provided links with
authentic written or oral texts, purposes and contexts for language. The teaching of
grammar can be a challenging process for some teachers who have strong memories of
long, boring grammar lessons from their own student days and even experiencing
anxiety about making ‘public’ grammatical mistakes in front of parents and school
executives. Some may even question the need for knowledge about the rules of
grammar and spelling in an era where communication takes on a vast array of forms
(e.g. text messages) and meaning is privileged over correctness. However, ‘writing as a
key element of literacy is [still] regarded as a gateway for employment and higher
education in adult life. In Australia, clear and effective writing [is] judged by graduates,
employers and university teaching course teams as one of the key indicators for
employment success’ (Daffern, Mackenzie & Hemmings, 2017, p. 77). Correct
spelling, grammar and punctuation skills are important contributors to students’
ability to successfully create written compositions (Daffern et al., 2017, p. 81).
There has, however, been a positive shift in many contemporary classrooms,
where grammar is taught within meaningful reading, writing, speaking and listening
contexts (Burrows, 2014; Dean, 2014). The teaching and learning experiences are
planned to help students to understand how language works and to use grammatical
structures and features (at whole text, sentence, clause and word level) to create and
comprehend meaning in oral, written and multimodal texts for specific cultural
purposes. Dean states ‘the best and most worthwhile learning will be the likeliest when
these issues of linguistic identification and familiarisation take place in real textual
situations’ (2014, p. 74).
The AC:E includes content descriptions for each year level for grammar teaching
and learning at sentence, clause and word level. While learning requirements are
detailed in the document, teachers need to keep in mind that the best teaching is at the
point of need of each student. Some students’ grammar knowledge and skills will be
above, below or at the level of requirement described in the AC:E. It is important that
we consider the needs of our students, plan for teaching to meet those needs and
extend learning beyond what they already know and can do so that they progress
towards, achieve or work beyond AC:E requirements. Below are some ways that the
teaching and learning of grammar can be contextualised within speaking, listening,
reading and writing contexts:
During everyday interactions with the students, model good oral language structures and, when
appropriate, provide feedback and support to help students use language effectively in a variety
of contexts. Provide authentic and varied purposes for students to use oral language.
During reading, help students to enhance their comprehension and understanding of the
purpose and work of grammatical structures by asking questions or making comments that focus
on meaning and content as well as text structure and language features. For example: What is the
text about? How do you know? What did the writer do/use to make the message clear? What is
the purpose of this part of the text? What is its function? What do you notice about the way this
is set out/structured?
During writing sessions, use explicit demonstrations to teach students about how grammatical
structures and elements are used in texts for specific purposes. Demonstrate and discuss the work
of grammatical features and the choice of words to best suit the context. Consider how word
choice affects the tone of the text and the aspects to be considered at whole text, paragraph,
sentence, clause, word group and word level.
Expose students to a range of text types and explicitly teach them while they are deconstructing,
reconstructing and constructing texts. Teaching within shared, modelled and guided contexts
enables students to learn about grammar while interacting meaningfully with texts. ‘Texts … are
about someone, something or some idea being or having or functioning in some manner, usually
in sentences—otherwise the text would not exist’ (Dean, 2014, p. 76). By focusing on the form
and function of grammatical elements at whole text, clause, sentence, word group and word level,
students learn how specific grammatical elements work to make texts meaningful and cohesive.
Focusing on how words are at work in a variety of circumstances helps students understand the
purpose and structures of units of meaning and this knowledge enhances their reading
comprehension and writing skills.
Grammar is best taught within meaningful oral language, reading and writing contexts using real texts for
authentic purposes.
Through the study of grammar within the context of texts, students can learn
about, for example:
how grammatical structures are used to make meaning for a range of purposes
the types, structure and work of sentences (commands, questions, exclamations and statements)
and how these are used to make meaning
the structure and work of clauses that are the building blocks of sentences, and from and around
which simple, compound and complex sentences are created
text organisation (the overall structure of the text)
text cohesion (the use of words and word groups to connect aspects of the text)
how words and word groups are used to enhance nouns and verbs and make meaning clear
the language used to talk about language (metalanguage). It can be helpful to encourage
students to create their own personal glossary where they use their own language to explain the
grammatical terms in a way that makes sense to them.
metalanguage:
Language (which can include technical terms and concepts) used to describe and discuss a language.
Information about the grammatical focuses for each text type is provided in the
relevant chapters in this book.
The following section provides basic information about a few key grammatical
elements and some suggestions for teaching and learning focuses and experiences. For
comprehensive information about the English grammatical system, read Derewianka
(2011) and Humphrey, Droga and Feez (2012). For extensive ideas for the teaching of
specific aspects of grammar using texts, consult Rossbridge and Rushton (2011),
Derewianka and Jones (2016), Burrows (2014) and Dean (2014).
WAYS OF FOCUSING ON GRAMMAR

The following are ways of focusing on grammar:
Remind students that learning about grammar can be fun. For example: ‘The Grammar Rap’
featured below can be an enjoyable way to introduce students to some basics of grammar that
will be easy for them to remember.
THE GRAMMAR RAP
A noun is the name of a person, place or thing
Like Sam in Sydney with a piece of string.
An adjective describes a noun,
Like a big wide smile on a painted clown.
Verbs, verbs are doing words,
They like to fly and move like birds.
Running and jumping you can often add an ‘ING’.
Like hop and skip and laugh and sing.
An adverb adds meaning to a verb and tells you more about a word.
They often have ‘LY’ on the end.
Like slowly walk and quickly bend.
Source: <https://www.teachingideas.co.uk/nouns-adjectives-verbs-and-adverbs/noun-rap>
Focus on the work of grammatical/linguistic features common to a specific text type.
Limit the focus. For example, one mini instructional session may focus on how different parts of
a text are connected (pronoun reference and signal words). Another session might focus on the
noun–verb agreement.
Use an inquiry approach in which you identify and build on the students’ prior knowledge and
help them explore and identify the purpose or work of a particular grammatical aspect.
Help them make the links between reading and writing and identify how they can use specific
grammatical aspects to improve their own writing and reading comprehension.
Focus on the construction of well-structured texts and the role of aspects of grammar to create
meaning rather than on just teaching grammar rules. Picture books can provide useful models
here as the visual images included help to reinforce the overall meaning of the language being
deconstructed.
Write for and with students and talk about the grammatical decisions that need to be made
while the text is constructed.
Provide plenty of speaking and listening activities that help students to create well-structured,
clearly understood oral texts for a range of purposes.
Make class charts that record students’ developing knowledge (see Figures 5.1–5.4). Note any
misinformation and intervene as appropriate, in whole class, small group or individual student
teaching contexts.
GRAMMAR AT CLAUSE AND SENTENCE LEVEL

Students need knowledge of how language works, is structured and functions at clause
and sentence level if they are to confidently and competently identify sentences and
the intended meaning and create, combine, extend, reduce and rearrange sentences so
that their writing is effective in purpose and engaging for the reader.
Figure 5.1 What we know about recounts
Figure 5.2 What we know about verbs
Figure 5.3 Adverbs and adverbial phrases

Figure 5.4 Adjectives and adjectival phrases: part of noun group
Sentences are key units of meaning that begin with a capital letter and end with
punctuation according to the function of the sentence. Students need to know the
main purposes for sentences and the sentence types; for example:
To ask or inquire—question or interrogative sentence; ends with a question mark.
To state or declare—declarative sentence or statement; ends with a full stop.
To exclaim or emphasise—exclamation or exclamatory sentence; ends with an exclamation
mark.
To command or instruct—command or imperative sentence; usually ends with a full stop or
might end with an exclamation mark depending on the context.
Sentences comprise one or more clauses that are the building blocks of making
meaning. Some of the key information about clauses is included below.
A clause is built around a verb or verb group—a happening or a state. It is a group
of words that conveys what has happened/is happening/will happen (through the use
of a verb or a verb group that reflects a particular tense) and who or what it is about
(the subject, which will be a noun or noun group). A clause that can ‘stand alone’ and
make sense by itself is an ‘independent clause’ or ‘main clause’. A clause that does not
make sense by itself and depends on or functions within the structure of another clause
or larger group of words is a ‘subordinate clause’ (ACARA, 2015a).
A simple sentence is an independent clause because it comprises only one
happening (verb or verb group) and a subject comprising a noun or noun group. For
example: Snakes hiss. She yelled. It will explode. The children are running.
A clause can also be built around a verb that refers to a state (usually forms of
being or having). For example:

Elephants are mammals. In this simple sentence (an independent clause), the
subject is ‘elephants’. The verb are conveys the state or being of the elephants and links
them to more information about them. It is a relating verb linking one bit of
information with another.
Elephants have trunks. In this simple sentence (an independent clause), the verb
have conveys the state of possession of the elephants and links them to more
information about them.
Teach students about the forms of the verbs ‘to have’ and ‘to be’ (tense and
noun/verb agreement) and their work as relating verbs (state) and as auxiliary verbs
(e.g. have been, are seeing, were running and so on).
Figure 5.5 A simple sentence: an independent clause with a happening and a subject
Clauses can be extended with words or groups of words that indicate the
circumstances of the happening. These words (adverbs) or groups of words
(adverbials) can indicate, for example:
The location—where the happening took place. Where?
The time—when the happening occurred. When?
The manner—how the happening took place. How?
The reason—why the happening occurred. Why?
The other participants—with what or with whom the happening took place. With what? With
whom?
The duration—how long the happening took place. How long?
The frequency—how often the happening took place. How often?
The degree or intensity—how intense the happening was. How great?
Figure 5.6 A simple sentence: an independent clause with a happening, a subject and a circumstance
Figure 5.7 A simple sentence: an extended independent clause with a happening, a subject and several
circumstances
It is important that students learn how clauses can be combined to create
compound sentences or expanded to create complex sentences.
A simple sentence comprises one independent clause that makes sense by itself and each simple
sentence (independent clause) can vary in length. The key point is that it includes only one
happening in the form of a verb or verb group. For example: Students read a variety of texts.
Kangaroos are marsupials. They have pouches. Many years ago, in most classrooms across the
country, unfortunate students learnt grammar from boring text books.
A compound sentence comprises two or more independent clauses, each of which makes meaning
by itself. It is usually joined by a coordinating conjunction to make one sentence. For example: A
balanced writing program includes a range of purposes for writing (independent clause) and the
teacher provides authentic writing projects and audiences (independent clause). Kangaroos are
marsupials (independent clause) but echidnas are monotremes (independent clause).
A complex sentence comprises at least one clause that makes meaning by itself (independent or
main clause) and at least one clause that does not make meaning by itself. This clause is referred
to as a ‘subordinate or dependent clause’ because it relies on the main or independent clause to
give it meaning and often includes a subordinating conjunction. For example: A writing program
will include a range of purposes for writing (independent/main clause) that (coordinating
conjunction) will provide authentic writing projects and audiences (subordinate or dependent
clause). Kangaroos are pests (independent/main clause) when (subordinating conjunction) they
eat crops (dependent clause). The teachers, who demonstrate writing, (subordinate
clause/embedded clause/adjectival clause) are helping their students (independent/main clause).
Student comprehension of sentences can be assisted by helping them to identify

the work of the sentence, the subject of the sentence (including the words or word
groups that work to describe the noun telling who or what), the happening, which may
comprise one or more words (verb or verb groups), and all the other information that
relates to the verb or verb group (adverb or adverbial).

Clauses and sentences can include groups of words that have specific functions.
The main word groups are noun groups (that describe and add extra information
about a noun), verb groups (that tell what the who or what are doing) and adverbial
groups (that add information about the verb; for example, the time, location, the
manner, the reason or with whom). Knowledge of purposes, features and uses of word
groups helps students to create and comprehend more lexically dense sentences. When
writing, they can draw on this knowledge to add or manipulate groups to extend or
rearrange sentences. When reading, they can draw on this knowledge to identify all the
information related to who or what the sentence is about and what happened and the
circumstances, for example.
Help students enhance their writing by extending, contracting, combining and changing (e.g. word and
word group order, substituting synonyms etc.) sentences.
Figure 5.8 A simple sentence focusing on word groups for subject, happening and circumstances
Figure 5.9 A simple sentence focusing on noun groups
GRAMMAR AT WORD LEVEL

Individual words can be classified according to their language function. The
classifications or parts of speech are nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs, articles,
prepositions, pronouns and conjunctions. Within these classes there are subclasses that
distinguish different types of the part of speech. The type is determined by the specific
function of the word. For example, nouns are a part of speech but these can be grouped
into other subcategories depending on their specific noun function; for example,
common, abstract, proper, collective, countable and so on. Each individual word can
be examined in relation to its function within the context of a sentence or word group.
Students need to know that generally a word is labelled according to the work it does
within a sentence and that a word can perform different functions and thus be a
different part of speech depending on its function in a sentence. For example, the word
‘water’ can function as a noun—I had a glass of water. It can be a verb—I water the
garden. Furthermore, it can function as an adjective—I filled the water jug and put it
on the bench.
It is useful to investigate the ways in which individual words can be rearranged
within the sentence and still maintain the intended meaning. Talk about the location
of adverbs and adjectives in relation to verbs and nouns within sentences.
TEACHING AND LEARNING THAT FOCUSES ON CLAUSE,

SENTENCE AND WORD LEVEL GRAMMAR
Use models of effective sentences from published texts, students’ work or mentor texts
and use modelled, shared, guided and individual teaching procedures to focus on,
demonstrate and discuss specific grammatical features that the writers used and for
which effects and purposes. For example, focus on:
sentences—meaning, subject, happenings and circumstances, function/purpose/types
(statements, commands, questions, exclamations), punctuation, structure (simple, compound
and complex), beginnings, word choice etc.
clauses—work and type (main and subordinate clauses), subject and happening at basic level and
then elaborated upon by including circumstances, embedded clauses, combining clauses
noun groups—the words and word groups before and/or after the noun that add information
about the noun. These words can answer some of the following questions about the noun:
Which? Whose? How many? What like? (answered with opinion and factual adjectives) What
type? (answered with a classification) How does [noun] compare? (Derewianka, 1988, 2011)
verb groups—the group of words used to describe the happening
adverbials—the groups of words that contribute additional information about the happening.
These groups of words might begin with a preposition or include a modifier
adjectivals—the group of words that describe a noun and can be adjectival phrases or adjectival
clauses
parts of speech—nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, articles, conjunctions, pronouns

and their work in sentences.
Some concrete ways you can engage students in these grammatical features are:
Provide a simple sentence (an independent clause) that includes a one-word subject and a
happening (verb or verb group). Ask the students to take turns to add one extra piece of
information to make the sentence interesting. For example, Dogs barked. The dogs barked. The
two dogs barked. The two fierce dogs barked. The two fierce dogs barked menacingly. The two
fierce dogs barked menacingly at the prowler who was entering the yard.
Select an image that includes plenty of aspects to talk and write about. Students write a sentence
about it individually or in small groups. They share these and discuss the characteristics and
elements of effective sentences.
During reading, students’ comprehension of written text can be enhanced by asking questions at
a sentence level such as:
Who or what is this sentence about? How do you know? Show the word or group of words
that tell who or what the sentence is about. Who or what else is in the sentence? Focus on the
subject of the sentence.
What happened/will happen/is happening in the sentence? (Frame the questions to reflect
the tense of the sentence.) How do you know? Show the word or group of words that helped
you know this. Who or what did/will do/is doing [the happening]? (Insert the verb or verb
group when asking this question and frame the question to reflect the tense of the sentence.)
Focus on the happening or happenings in the sentence.
Which word or group of words tells the circumstances (the when, where, how, why, with
whom etc.) of the happening? When/where/how/why did it happen/ with whom? (Frame
each question to reflect the circumstance or circumstances in the sentence. Note that several
questions may need to be framed according to the number of circumstances.) Focus on the
circumstances in the sentence.
How many happenings are there in this sentence? How do you know? Which part/s of the
sentence makes sense/meaning by itself? (Frame the question according to the number of
independent clauses in the sentence.) Can you show the group of words that has a happening
but does not make sense by itself? What did the writer use to join these? (Indicate the
clauses.) Who or what is the subject of the sentence? Who or what else is part of the
happening? What is the work of this sentence? How do you know? What did the writer
use/do to make this sentence interesting? Show me the word/group of words that tell who or
what it is about. Which word or group of words tell the circumstances (the when, where,
how, why, with whom etc.) of the happening? Which word or group of words provides
information about [a specific noun]? What is the work of this word/group of words in this
sentence? What is the main idea/message? Focus on the purposes, types and structure of clauses
and sentences.
The students’ quality of writing and understanding of the work of writers can be enhanced by
asking questions and making comments that help them to create rich, coherent sentences. For
example: What will be/is your sentence about? Who or what is/will be the subject of your
sentence? What is/will be the happening? What will you add/have you added to tell …?
(nominate a circumstance). Have you thought of adding/using/doing/changing …? (insert a
specific convention or feature that will promote student thinking about writing choices). What
do you think you could do to improve this? What can you do to add more information about …?
(insert the subject of the sentence or the happening). How can you make this sentence shorter?
How can you combine these sentences? Can you rearrange this sentence so that it has a different
beginning? What can you do to make the sentence clearer?
Construct cloze activities in which students are required to suggest/add particular words for the
grammar focus. For example, construct a cloze in which adverbs/verbs, pronouns, adjectives are
deleted. Alternatively, the cloze might require them to add adverbials/prepositional phrases to
add further information about the happening/verb or verb group.
Examine an extract from a text and discuss how the nouns are referred to within it (pronouns,
synonyms). The students can circle a specific noun and use lines to connect it and the referring
words.
Play games that involve the students in engaging, interactive purposeful activity that draws their
attention to, teaches, revises or extends their understanding of a specific aspect of grammar. See
Cochrane et al. (2013) and Exley and Kervin (2013) for examples of grammar games.

1. Think about the teachers and classes that you have recently seen in action. How is grammar taught? What
do the teachers and students do, use and say?
2. Select an example text and identify specific grammar teaching focuses at whole text, paragraph, sentence,
clause, word group and word level.
TEACHING PUNCTUATION
The use of correct punctuation is important to ensure that the intended meaning of a
text is conveyed to the reader; it helps the reader to comprehend text and the writer to
clearly impart meaning. Teachers need to help students understand the function of
punctuation in texts. They need to introduce and teach aspects of punctuation when
developmentally appropriate through helping students to notice a specific aspect of
punctuation, understand the work of the aspect of punctuation, search for examples in
texts and use the aspect in their writing. The AC:E provides content descriptions for
punctuation for each year level from Foundation to Year 10.
punctuation:
The use of standard symbols, spaces, capitalisation and indentation to help the reader understand written
text.
While published texts will provide examples of sentence punctuation, some texts
provide opportunities for students to develop an understanding of the purpose and use
of specific aspects of punctuation. For example:
Narratives may well include dialogue and provide opportunities to learn about the use of speech
marks. There will be opportunities to explore the use of punctuation of exclamations, questions
and statements.
Informative texts might provide opportunities to focus the students’ attention on the set out and
punctuation of a bibliography, and the use of inverted commas, quotation marks and brackets.
WAYS OF FOCUSING ON PUNCTUATION

Build on the students’ prior knowledge when introducing a new aspect of punctuation.
Provide examples of the focus aspect of punctuation and provide students with time to develop
their own generalisations about the use of the punctuation.
Teach at the point of need during the editing process. Asking students to read their work out
loud to their teacher or to a peer can be helpful as it enables them to hear where a reader needs to
pause naturally. ‘A full breath needs a full stop/question mark/exclamation mark and a half a
breath needs a comma/semi-colon’ is a phrase that may help emergent writers.
During reading, demonstrate how the reader’s regard for punctuation assists fluency, expression
and comprehension.
During writing, demonstrate how punctuation can change the meaning of a text—how correct
punctuation ensures that the writer’s intended meaning is clear.
Use texts that have multiple uses of the focus aspect of punctuation. Distribute these to small
groups who read, discuss and come up with reasons the punctuation was used. Share their
findings and negotiate a generalisation.
Select texts that can provide a stimulus or focus for teaching about punctuation. For example,
the following books by Truss & Timmons provide a humorous way to talking about
punctuation: Eats, Shoots and Leaves: Why, Commas Really Do Make a Difference! or The Girl’s
Like Spaghetti: Why You Can’t Manage without Apostrophes.
TEACHING CONTEXTUAL UNDERSTANDING

The study of imaginative, informative and persuasive texts provides opportunities to
teach students about how writers use language to suit their purposes, to convey a
particular view of the world, to manipulate the reader and to evoke particular
responses. It also provides opportunities to focus on how the subject matter, the
situation, the relationship between the users and the purpose for reading or writing
can affect the reading or writing of text.
WAYS OF FOCUSING ON CONTEXTUAL UNDERSTANDING

During reading, draw the students’ attention to the ways people, characters, events and places are
represented and how there might be alternative ways of representing these.
During writing, demonstrate, for example, how writing choices can affect the mood or register of
the text; how the relationship between the intended audience and the writer influences the text;
and/or how the writer can present a view of the world that may not be accepted by all readers.
Focus on purpose, audience and context, and what readers and writers bring to or from reading
and writing experiences. Help students understand that despite using the same topic, different
purposes and audiences affect the content, structure and linguistic features of a text. Model
writing a text on the same topic but for different audiences (e.g. the benefits of a school camp
targeted at: school leaders selecting a venue, a reluctant student fearful of going to camp, and
parents who might be anxious about sending their child on school camp). Alternatively, students
might like to produce multimedia text on a complex school topic for a younger audience. The
task will require them to have good subject knowledge and the ability to compress and simplify
the information.
TEACHING VOCABULARY AND SPELLING KNOWLEDGE

Teachers can encourage the development of a wide vocabulary in their students
through a variety of classroom activities as it is fundamental to their skill development
in all areas of English. A particular focus on classroom activities to equip students with
the skills to spell the words in their repertoire correctly will further enhance their
ability to communicate meaning.
VOCABULARY
The reading and writing of texts for many purposes and audiences provide
opportunities to enhance students’ vocabulary. Imaginative, informative and
persuasive texts can be used to develop their understanding of how words are used for
specific purposes and subjects, for creating mood, for description and for clear
communication. Effective teaching of and about vocabulary can occur in instructional
(planned) and natural contexts (incidental or as part of classroom routines) involving
authentic oral and written texts. These contexts can arise from, for example,
interactions with literature, poetry, factual and everyday texts, subject and content area
knowledge, performances and everyday communication. Graves (2000) states that an
effective vocabulary program requires a rich reading program during which students
are exposed to extensive vocabulary through shared, guided and independent reading
contexts; instruction in specific words to enhance comprehension of texts containing
those words; and instruction in independent word-learning strategies as well as word-
play activities to motivate and enhance learning.
Dale (1965), Beck, McKeown and Kucan (2008, 2013) and Beck, McKeown and
Omanson (1987) suggest that creating a rich verbal environment abundant with a
variety of words helps students enlarge their vocabulary and get involved in noticing,
understanding and using new words. These writers put forward a progression that
demonstrates the journey towards a sophisticated level of vocabulary knowledge.
No knowledge of the word. I’ve never heard or seen the word.
A general sense of the word. I’ve seen or heard the word before.
Narrow context—bound knowledge of the word. Although the word has several meanings, I only know one
meaning in one situation.
A rich contextualised knowledge of a word’s meaning, its relationship to other words and its extension to
metaphorical uses. I know multiple meanings of the word and I can use the word appropriately in different
situations.
(Beck, McKeown & Kucan 2013, p. 11)
The dilemma for teachers is to know which words to teach in an instructional

context (as opposed to incidental contexts) considering that words have different
levels of utility within language. Beck, McKeown and Kucan (2013) put forward a
notion of ‘tiers’ of words through which to consider words for instructional attention.
These are:
Tier One words are the basic, high frequency words that rarely require instruction in school; for
example, clock, baby, happy.
Tier Two words are likely to appear in a wide variety of texts and are frequently used in the
written and oral language of mature language users and thus instruction in these words can add
productively to an individual's language ability; for example, coincidence, absurd, industrious.
Tier Three includes words whose frequency of use is quite low, often being limited to specific
domains and topics and are probably best learned when needed in a content area; for example,
isotope, lathe, peninsula.
Teachers can assist students’ vocabulary development by considering the tiers of

words, the contexts in which words can be explored or arise and the needs of
individual students. Reading and writing experiences provide opportunities to
contextualise deeper knowledge of and use of new words.
SPELLING
Reading and writing experiences can also be used to focus students’ attention on
specific spelling knowledge. For example:
During reading, draw students to a letter or strings of letters that represent the same sound in
different words; locate the same letter patterns that represent different sounds in words (phonic
knowledge).
phonic knowledge:
The relationship between sounds heard in words and the letter/s used to represent the sounds, syllables,
onsets and rimes.
During writing, when the student is attempting to spell a new word, encourage them to think
about the meaning of the word, say the word, listen to the sounds and think of the letter or
group of letters that might represent each sound they hear.
Some useful online resources to support this learning are:

<https://visuwords.com> a visual dictionary, visual thesaurus, interactive lexicon.
A contemporary form of dictionary that represents words and their meanings visually in the style
a movable mind-map. This resource supports the concept that twenty-first century learners need
to be creative thinkers.
<https://oxfordlearnersdictionariesblog.com> Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries – Spread the Word.
Some highly useful resources are included in this website such as ‘new word’ ‘word of the month’
etc. that draw students’ attention to the changing nature of language in our society. It has an
interactive function where students and teachers can contribute to a blog where they comment
on their own understandings/usage of the word.
During reading, talk about the meaning of specific words, explore multiple
meanings, deconstruct words and build words drawing on morphemic knowledge.
morphemic knowledge:
The units of meaning within words and how words are constructed, base words, affixes, morphemes.
During writing, when the students are attempting to spell unknown words, help
them think about the context for the word, its meaning and parts of the word related
to meaning (base words, affixes etc).
During reading, focus on the origins of selected words and compile charts of
related words drawing the students’ attention to the spelling features of the words.
During writing, when appropriate, help students to use the origin of words to
help them attempt, check and remember the spelling (etymological knowledge).
etymological knowledge:
The origin of words, root words, eponyms.
During reading, draw students’ attention to the way some words look and
identify the common visual features that are common in other words. Link letter
patterns to the sounds in words drawing on visual knowledge.
visual knowledge:
The visual appearance of words; for example, letter patterns and word shapes.
During writing, model how to look at and into words in order to aid memory of
the word. Model stretching out words to recall and record the sounds that are heard.
Rich, guided and independent reading and writing activities help students notice
and use words, expand vocabulary and build their orthographic memory/recall and
knowledge (i.e. knowledge of the correct spelling of words) by drawing on the above
specific spelling knowledge and understanding of spelling rules. Orthographic
knowledge contributes to fluent reading by enabling the reader to recognise familiar
words and quickly decode unfamiliar ones.
orthographic memory and knowledge:

Memory and knowledge of the alphabetical writing system that uses a set of letter symbols to make words
when combined.
Effective spelling programs teach students how to: use spelling knowledge and effective strategies when
attempting to spell an unknown word, checking for accuracy, correcting their spelling and remembering
how to spell the word.
WAYS OF FOCUSING ON VOCABULARY AND SPELLING

Provide experiences that seek and build on the students’ prior knowledge.
Make explicit how spellers attempt, check and learn new words.
Help students to develop and draw upon phonic, morphemic, etymological and spelling rules
knowledge, and their visual memory when attempting to spell, check and learn words.
Develop a word study culture within the classroom in which students seek the meaning of words,
explore and use new and related words, analyse patterns within and between words and make
spelling generalisations.
During reading, teach students how to work out the meaning of unknown words. Focus on
analysing words—meaning of words and parts of words, letter patterns and sounds in words, and
how words are built (base words, use of affixes, compound words, contractions etc.).
During writing, encourage students to attempt words that they may not be able to spell, to use
precise words, to use the thesaurus to select synonyms, and to use subject- or topic-specific
vocabulary and technical terms.
Encourage the students to record their growing vocabulary and/or spelling knowledge by
compiling personal word banks, mini-dictionaries or reflections on their progress as learners.
Read texts that provide spelling or vocabulary focuses—for example, How Much Can a Bare Bear
Bear? and What Are Homonyms and Homophones? by Brian Cleary provide a humorous way in
to teaching about word use and spelling.
TEACHING PROCESSES AND STRATEGIES

Reading and writing provide opportunities for students to learn about and use the
processes and strategies used by proficient readers and writers. Teachers need to
explicitly teach the processes and strategies related to reading and writing and help
students independently apply them as they read and write.
WAYS OF FOCUSING ON PROCESSES AND STRATEGIES

During writing, demonstrate the use of strategies to plan, draft, revise, edit and publish texts.
Make explicit the writing demands of specific text types.
During reading, help students develop and use strategies to comprehend and respond to texts,
and to locate and use information. Make explicit the strategies used to read particular text types.
Such strategies include the use of top-level structures in making meaning in texts and ways of
using text structure and language features to interpret text.

Select an example of a specific text type and plan a teaching sequence of several sessions that focuses on
specific aspects within the text for a particular year level or group of students, and that aligns with the AC:E.
Discuss the purpose for each stage of the teaching cycle and how you might know your teaching of specific
aspects has been successful.
RESOURCES
Beck, I., McKeown, M. & Kucan, L., 2013, Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction 2nd Edition, The Guildford Press,
New York.
The authors provide a theoretical basis and practical teaching strategies for expanding the vocabulary of K–Year 12 students in
instructional, incidental and natural contexts. The book includes lists of resources (literature, non-fiction and everyday texts) as
well as sample lessons and activities to help students notice, understand and use new words.
Bowers, J.S. & Bowers, P.N. 2017, ‘Beyond Phonics: The Case for Teaching Children the Logic of the English Spelling System’.
Educational Psychologist, APA, Routledge, New York, Vol. 52, No. 2, pp. 124–141.
The authors advocate teaching students that spelling knowledge and skills rely on the interrelation of morphology, etymology
and phonology. They suggest instructional contexts and procedures that enable students to understand why words are spelled
the way they are and thus improve their word recognition, spelling, vocabulary and reading comprehension.
Daffern, T., Mackenzie, N. & Hemmings, B. 2017, ‘Predictors of writing success: How important are spelling, grammar and
punctuation?’ Australian Journal of Education. Vol. 61, No. 1, pp. 75–87.
This paper examines the relevance of grammar spelling and punctuation in a fast-paced contemporary world of multimodal
texts. Results of this study indicate that knowledge and skills in all three areas remain a critical part of being a literate writer.
Dean, G. 2014, Grammar for Improving Writing and Reading in Secondary School, Routledge, Abingdon.
The author describes approaches to teaching grammar from 1945 to present day and then makes a case for integrating grammar
teaching into the study of texts. The author, through a functional, systemic approach to grammar, identifies what students and
teachers need to know.
Derewianka, B. 2011, A New Grammar Companion for Teachers, PETAA, Newtown.

The author explains the basics of the English grammatical system and makes links with the Australian Curriculum: English.
Humphrey, S., Droga, L. & Feez, S. 2012, Grammar and Meaning, PETAA, Newtown.
The book describes the grammatical resources of the English language system and provides activities, ideas and models that
demonstrate how to incorporate the three strands of the Australian Curriculum: English.
Oakely, G. & Fellowes, J. 2016, Spelling in the Primary Classroom, PETAA, Newtown.
The authors provide comprehensive information on the foundations of spelling, what needs to be taught (knowledge, skills and
strategies), organisation for instruction and differentiated teaching, assessment and useful spelling resources.
<https://oxfordlearnersdictionariesblog.com> Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries – Spread the Word.

Some highly useful resources are included in this website such as ‘new word’ ‘word of the month’ etc that draws students’
attention to the changing nature of language in our society. Has an interactive function where students and teachers can
contribute to a blog where they comment on their own understandings/usage of the word.
<https://www.teachingideas.co.uk/nouns-adjectives-verbs-and-adverbs/noun-rap>
This website contains useful teaching resources for spelling, punctuation and grammar.
<https://visuwords.com> a visual dictionary, visual thesaurus, interactive lexicon.

A modern form of dictionary that represents words and their meanings visually in the style of a movable mind-map. Fits well
with the idea of twenty-first century learners being creative thinkers.
6
READING AND WRITING: PROCESSES
AND CONNECTIONS

understand the nature of reading, what is involved, the process, cues and
strategies
explore ways of supporting readers before, during and after reading
understand the nature of writing, what is involved, the processes and
strategies
explore ways of supporting writers before, during and after writing
understand the importance of making explicit the reading/writing connections
plan a modelled reading or writing session.
KEY TERMS
contextual understanding
cue systems
graphophonic knowledge
semantic knowledge
syntactic knowledge
text knowledge
SUPPORTING STUDENTS IN READING AND WRITING

If teachers are to support students as they work towards becoming effective readers
and writers, they need to understand the nature of reading and writing, the processes
and strategies involved in each and the stages of development that each learner moves
through towards becoming proficient in each mode. A strong correlation exists
between reading ability and writing ability (Peha, 2016). Both require knowledge of
the written language system in order to encode (write) or decode (read). They require
the user to draw on their knowledge of context, purpose and audience as well as
language structures and features to gain or impart meaning in written text. This does
not mean that students, who read, will naturally develop into competent writers but
more likely good writers are effective readers. The correlation is stronger from writing
to reading. Reading requires specific skills and knowledge, and writing requires the
same set plus much more. Writing is a complex process that requires attention to many
aspects that readers don’t need to heed (e.g. converting an abstract idea into a
meaningful written text, revising and considering punctuation, spelling and grammar
etc.).
However, students’ understanding of writing (process, products and
conventions) and the writer’s craft can be developed with purposeful teacher guidance
and rich discussions about what the writer had to know and do to produce the text the
student is reading. Smith (1983) said: ‘To learn to write children must read in a special
kind of way’ (p. 558). They need to read paying attention to what the writer did to
create a clear meaning. Building on Smith’s findings, teachers make explicit the skills
and knowledge of readers and writers. They can teach what writers need to know and
do in order to create meaning and what readers do to gain meaning from text. They
also prompt students to, for example, ‘Read with the writer in mind’, ‘Write with the
reader in mind’, ‘Read like a writer’ or ‘Write like a reader’. Teachers can enhance
students’ independent writing by helping them read, discuss and evaluate ‘mentor’ or
‘model’ texts so that they process and apply some features of these texts into their own
writing (Corden, 2017).
READING
Reading involves the reader in an active and complex process of making meaning from
texts (written, visual, paper-based or digital) by simultaneously drawing on
information from, and prior knowledge of, their four sources of knowledge. These
comprise semantic, syntactic, graphophonic and visual or pictorial knowledge—often
referred to as cue systems or cues (Pearson, 1976; Goodman & Burke, 1972;
Goodman, 1976; Winch et al., 2020).
cue systems:
Systems used to create meaning including: semantic, syntactic, graphophonic and visual knowledge.
Cue systems include:
semantic knowledge—what words mean, vocabulary, knowledge of the world, general and
subject specific knowledge
syntactic knowledge—grammatical knowledge, how language is structured; ‘the way words,
phrases and clauses are structured in sentences’ (Winch, et al., 2020, p. 14)
graphophonic knowledge—the relationship between sounds and letters in words, how sounds
in words can be represented by letters or groups of letters, how letters or groups of letters
represent sounds
semantic knowledge:
Semantic information is a broad, generalised knowledge of the world, of words and their meanings and
word associations.
syntactic knowledge:
Knowledge that relates to the way that sentences and clauses are structured.
graphophonic knowledge:
The knowledge of how letters in the English alphabet relate to the sounds of the language.
Visual/pictorial knowledge—visual literacy, knowledge about how images (still and moving)
work in a text. Multimodal texts may contain hyperlinks with diagram and graphs and students
need to be explicitly taught how to navigate and interpret these (Woolley, 2014).
As the children develop as readers, they automatically draw on these interrelated

cues and increasingly develop and use their understanding of the context for reading
(situation, purpose, subject matter and the relationship between the reader and
writer); knowledge of texts (intended purpose and audience for text, structure and
language features); and efficient strategies for gaining meaning at literal, inferential or
applied levels of comprehension.
In contextual understanding, the following are considered:
contextual understanding:
An understanding based on the social, historical and cultural conditions in which a text is composed.
situation—when and where the reading is taking place and with whom, and understanding the
context in which the text was created
purpose—the reasons the text is being read, the reason why the text was created
audience—the intended audience for the text, for whom the text was produced
subject matter—the reader’s interest in the content; what the text is about; whether it’s known
or unfamiliar content; simple or complex concepts
the relationship between the reader and the writer—the roles of and relationships between
participants (e.g. formal relationship, expert and novice, the point of view portrayed etc.)
text knowledge, which includes drawing the understanding of the author’s purpose for the text,
top level structures, the structure at whole text, paragraph and sentence level and linguistic
features specific to the text (use of language, grammatical structures, vocabulary).
text knowledge:
Knowledge that relates to understanding the author’s purpose in creating and structuring a text in a
particular way to create meaning.
READING STRATEGIES
Experienced readers use a range of reading strategies that draw on their prior
knowledge before, during and after reading to help them predict, gain, confirm and
process meaning at word, sentence, paragraph and whole text level. There are strategies
to help with word identification and comprehension, fluency and expression, accuracy
and self-correction, reader reflection and response, as well as way of gaining and using
specific information from texts for a range of purposes. Some of the strategies are:
predicting: at whole text, paragraph, sentence, and word level
connecting: linking information throughout the text; making connections between self (the
reader’s experiences and knowledge ) and what has been read (the text and with other texts)
inferring: reading ‘between the lines’ and identifying information not directly stated in the text
visualising/creating images: developing deep understanding of the content by building an image

from the information presented and knowing what the writer did to help the reader create
images
paraphrasing/summarising: identifying the key points in the text and stating content in own
words or reducing the text to key information and stating in fewer words
synthesising: drawing together information throughout the text and accumulating deep
understanding
self-questioning: posing questions to help one to self-correct when meaning is lost, to reflect on
what has been read
skimming: looking at overall content and structure, looking for general ideas
scanning: looking for specific information or details
determining importance: identifying important information—the hierarchy of information
comparing and contrasting: identifying pre and post reading knowledge; evaluating similarities
and differences in content, writing style, format etc.
analysing: examining the writer’s craft, the text content and the reader’s responses to the text
critiquing: evaluating, forming and justifying opinions on the text and the writer’s craft.
Based on information from the Department of Education,
Government of Western Australia, 2013, pp. 112–23
Like all aspects of the reading process, efficient reading strategies need to be taught
using real texts for authentic purposes.
As students develop as readers, they demonstrate specific behaviours that indicate
their stage of development. Knowledge of the stages of reading development and the
typical behaviours exhibited at each stage helps teachers plan reading programs that are
appropriate to the needs of their students. Further information on the stages of
reading development can be obtained from Victorian Curriculum and Assessment
Authority (VCAA) Literacy Learning Progressions (2018) and the Department of
Education, Western Australia First Steps Literacy Resources (2013).
SUPPORTING READERS DURING READING

The goal of any reading program is to produce confident, proficient students who love
reading, read widely for multiple purposes and actively engage with and respond to
texts. During instructional contexts (e.g. modelled, shared, guided reading) teachers
often choose the texts students are to read. They do this to facilitate the teaching of,
for example, specific reading knowledge or strategies, the work of readers and writers,
and texts (purpose, structures and features).
However, most of the reading program should provide regular and extended
times for student independent reading in which they read texts of their own choosing.
Independent reading time and personal choice help children read for their own
purposes, practise what experienced readers do and develop a positive attitude towards
reading that hopefully becomes a life-long habit.
We need to make explicit to students what experienced readers know and do, and
support them through the reading process as they develop towards proficiency. Table
6.1 outlines possible teacher actions and activities that can support students before,
during and after a reading experience.
TABLE 6.1 SUPPORTIVE TEACHER ACTIONS AND ACTIVITIES FOR BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER A READING EXPERIENCE
Teacher actions Possible activities
Before
Set a context for reading through focused discussion about the Create concept maps or ‘before reading’
reading
subject, purpose and structure of the text charts based around the subject of the text
Activate prior knowledge through discussion of the topic and Record predictions and prior knowledge
text about the text purpose, structure and
Help the students predict the content, vocabulary, text structure language features
and features Focus on the subject/text-specific vocabulary
Stimulate interest in the text and set expectations in the reader’s using a variety of oral activities
mind Provide focus questions that students can
Explicitly teach and model a reading strategy using the text by consider as they read
reading and thinking aloud to make meaning Create a chart with students to support the
use of a selected reading strategy during the
reading process
During
Encourage the students to think about what they are reading Use reading response journals or books to
reading
and themselves as readers as they read help students record their responses, feelings
Encourage them to make predictions as they read, by making and questions as they read the text
links with what they have already read and know and the next Use sticky notes or labels or text annotations
part of the text, and by making connections with new and prior to help students make predictions and link
knowledge prior and new learning as they read
Encourage the students to reflect on what has been read, pose Provide guiding questions, thinking prompts
questions, make comments or discuss the content to assist them or statements that will focus the students’
to clarify and deepen their understanding reflections and levels of understanding
Help students understand the reading process and the strategies Talk about what good readers do—the
they use when reading knowledge, skills and strategies they use
After
Help the students comprehend the subject of the text at a literal, Conduct discussions and pose questions that
reading
inferential and applied level focus on the levels of comprehension
Ask students to articulate their use of reading strategies and how Provide activities to practise or consolidate
they helped in developing their understanding of the text the explicit teaching focus of the lesson
Help the students interpret and respond to their reading on a Use Bloom’s Taxonomy or multiple
variety of levels by making connections with: intelligences to provide activities that cater
the text and themselves (head, heart and actions) for different cognitive functions and learning
the text and other texts styles.
the text and the world Include multimodal activities to enable
Help students think about the writer’s craft: the purpose, students to respond to their reading in a
audience, structure and features of the text variety of ways
Pose questions that help students explore or research issues and Provide activities that require the students to
information arising from and beyond the actual text look more closely at the text for specific
information about the subject or text structure
and features
Use discussion groups, debates and
individual student research projects or
contracts that require students to explore
issues arising from the text
WRITING
Writing involves the writer in creating a text that effectively records and
communicates their intended meaning to the reader. Writers simultaneously draw on
their understanding of the context for writing (situation, purpose, subject, audience
and relationship of writer to intended reader), their knowledge of the conventions of
writing, and the strategies and processes that writers employ in order to create written
text. Experienced writers use a range of strategies to assist them plan, draft, revise, edit
and publish.
As students develop as writers, they demonstrate specific behaviours that indicate
their stage of development. Knowledge of the stages of writing development and the
typical behaviours exhibited at each stage help teachers plan programs that are
appropriate to the needs of their students. Further information on the stages of
writing development can be obtained from Graves (1989), Temple et al. (1992),
Gentry and Gillet (1993), Gentry (2007), Department of Education, Western
Australia (2013) and Fountas and Pinnell (2017).
Writing is a complex process that involves multiple and varied actions as writers
move from thinking about something to actually recording their ideas in written form.
The process usually involves writers preparing for writing, drafting, revising, editing
and publishing in a format suitable for the intended audience. Each phase or stage of
the writing process involves the writer in making decisions, solving problems and
drawing on specific knowledge and strategies. These are outlined in Table 6.2.
TABLE 6.2 THE WRITING PROCESS AND WHAT IT INVOLVES
Phase in the What this involves

writing
process
Planning Determining the topic

and Considering the purpose for the writing
preparing Considering the audience for the writing
for writing Selecting the appropriate text type and format to suit the purpose and audience
Determining the role of digital technology, if any, in the process
Deciding on a plan of action
Identifying information needs
Gathering and sorting information before writing

Using an appropriate planning process and/or format
Drafting Writing a draft (paper-based or digital)

Getting ideas down
Rereading work as parts are written and making decisions about the sequence and what to include, alter or delete
during writing
Seeking input from others—gaining critical feedback
Making decisions about which aspects of feedback to act upon
Effectively altering work to create a better text
Revising Relooking at the writing, rethinking parts of it and reworking it so that the writing is improved
Checking that the meaning is clear
Reorganising parts so that the whole text is cohesive and coherent
Checking that each sentence makes sense and is well-structured
Adding, deleting, manipulating, substituting, combining and extending parts of the text at paragraph, sentence,
word group and word level
Seeking, considering and acting on aspects of feedback from others
Editing Attending to the conventions of writing

Using the capabilities of a computer for some aspects, if it is a digitally generated text
Checking grammar—by reading aloud. Checking grammar at clause, sentence and word level
Checking punctuation—by reading aloud and listening for natural pauses and voice intonation. Checking that all
sentences begin with a capital letter and end with the appropriate punctuation mark
Checking spelling—by drawing on strategies to check and correct spelling. Considering meaning/context of word
(homophone errors); phonological knowledge (letters/groups of letters to represent sounds heard); morphemic
knowledge (base words, building words, meaning); visual knowledge (looking at each letter of each word)
Publishing Deciding whether work is to be published

Considering publishing/presentation formats (paper-based, digital or multimodal)
Using the capabilities of technology
Considering design aspects—layout, colour, font, use of graphics etc.
Ensuring the final product considers the reader’s needs and is visually appealing
Not all writing requires, and not all writers use, all phases of the writing process.
Writers work in many different ways and each may employ variations of the writing
process. Some commence with little or no planning; others might revise their text
many times, while others may find part of the process particularly challenging and
become ‘stuck’ on or held back by this.
The writing purpose and audience often determine which phases the writer
employs. For example, a journal entry written by the writer for their personal use
might only involve the act of writing without revision or editing, but text written for
public reading might involve all phases with increased time spent on revising and
editing.
Young, inexperienced writers usually don’t use all phases in the process. They are
often content to plan or prepare for writing (usually involving thinking time, oral
language and/or drawing), draft their text (usually expressing their oral language in
written form) and share their text or move on to something else (usually without
rereading and checking their text). It is important that teachers consider the balance
between authorial (text structure, sentence and grammatical structures, vocabulary)
and secretarial (spelling, punctuation, handwriting) when they model and assess
writing (Daffern & Mackenzie, 2015).
Primary and secondary students can have difficulty with certain aspects of the
writing process. Some students hold little regard for revising and editing their work.
The published text is effectively a draft rewritten to look neat or visually appealing. It
is the teacher’s role to help these students build a writer’s consciousness and
understand that while it is important to get their ideas down in writing, they also have
to increasingly assume responsibility for revising and editing writing so that it is the
best they can produce for the reader. Revision and editing are the key to effective
writing—whether by an apprentice or a proficient writer. Again, it is important for
teachers, and eventually students, when they write and edit to consider whether the
text as a whole makes sense (authorial) instead of only concentrating on correct
secretarial elements (spelling etc.) (Daffern & Mackenzie, 2015).
The writing process takes time and is influenced by the writer’s purpose and audience.
We need to make explicit the phases in the writing process and what experienced
writers might think and do in each phase.
Students can come to a writing task from different starting points. Some might
determine the purpose (e.g. describe, persuade), others may decide on the topic or
subject (e.g. Australia, endangered species), while others may decide on a specific
format (webpage, slide show). These starting points may mean that important aspects
of texts and the writing process are overlooked. Teacher comments and questioning
can help them consider the purpose, context, audience, text type or format for their
writing, as well as the phases and strategies they might employ in the writing process.
Table 6.3 describes possible teacher actions and activities that can support students
during the writing process.
TABLE 6.3 TEACHER ACTIONS AND ACTIVITIES THAT CAN SUPPORT STUDENTS DURING THE WRITING PROCESS
Teacher actions Possible activities
Planning Encourage students to effectively Provide writing prompts, rich classroom experiences and discussion
for prepare for their writing by helping activities to help students make appropriate writing choices
writing them to: Provide a rich reading program and good models of texts to help
students with text type choice
gather ideas for their writing
Include rich oral language activities to help students build and
select the actual purpose,
organise their knowledge
subject, text type and audience
Demonstrate ways of planning and provide guidelines for preparing

for their writing
and planning for writing
build and organise their
As a class, create a checklist with key content, text structural and
knowledge of the subject
language features to consider when planning
use different ways of planning
for writing
Share or develop with students clear
criteria to meet when writing
Drafting Encourage students to rehearse in Demonstrate the writing process

their head what they want to write Make available digital technologies and other resources that support
before they actually write students in the writing process; for example, images of experiences,
(sentences, words) voice recorders (helpful for students with auditory processing
Help them to write their thoughts disorders)
and ideas first and to attend to Conduct activities that extend the students’ vocabulary and help with
spelling later word choice
Encourage students to read the Conduct regular partner and small group sessions in which students
writing as it is being written to share their drafts and gain or provide feedback
check for meaning
Remember that one draft is often
enough for young students
Revising Provide adequate time for revising Use peer and teacher conferences to help students focus on the
Ensure the students understand that process
revising the work might involve: Use checklists and prompts to help students with the process
Demonstrate the use of strategies for revising and editing and note
rereading the text
the differences
rewording or reorganising
information
adding to or deleting from the
text
Ensure students use the text criteria
as a tool for improving their writing
Editing Help the students to proofread for

meaning, spelling and punctuation
Publishing Help students understand the many Provide a range of publishing options
ways texts can be published Make available many examples of published texts
Help them to understand the many Conduct activities that focus on text layout within a published work so
aspects to be considered with that students examine the relationship between, and the features of,
publishing (e.g. layout, written and visual text
presentation, format etc.)
SUPPORTING STUDENTS DURING THE WRITING PROCESS

Students can be helped as they write if teachers:
model phases of the writing process and make explicit, through demonstration and explanation,
what writers think and do as they write; this can be referred to as a ‘think aloud’.
ensure students can draw on a range of procedures and strategies for each phase of the writing
process
jointly construct charts or prompts that the students can refer to as they write (see Figure 6.1)
provide regular times for conferences and sharing of work (see p. 143 for details)
ensure that the students know how to revise their writing so that it is improved with each
reworking
model how to revise and edit at whole text, sentence, word group and word level, and how to
reorganise or rearrange, manipulate, extend, enhance or reduce their writing to improve their
text
teach them the language used to talk about their writing

1. Draw on your classroom experiences and discuss the types and range of reading or writing behaviours and
knowledge students demonstrate within one classroom. What does this mean for planning for teaching?
2. Collect samples of students’ writing and use information about writing development to identify the phase and
possible teaching focuses that would support the students at this phase.
‘Just in time’ and point of need teaching are powerful teaching contexts that support the learner.
Figure 6.1 Example of prompts and reminders for the students


1. What digital resources and online tools can you find that could assist in the teaching of writing? Why did
you choose these? How might they be used? What are the main features?
2. Draw on your classroom experiences and discuss how you would utilise the ICT resources available to the
students to enhance the teaching and learning of writing. Discuss how they could be used within each phase
of the writing process.
ensure students draw upon a range of strategies to edit their work. (See Table 6.2 and Figures 6.1,
6.2 and 6.3.) Show them how to use resources and procedures effectively to assist the
proofreading process (e.g. spelling and grammar checkers, print and human resources)
Figure 6.2 Spelling prompt chart
Figure 6.3 Example of an editing symbols chart
help students draw on a range of digital, multimodal and paper publishing options
focus on design elements (linguistic, audio, spatial, gestural and visual) that work to create an
appropriate, appealing and cohesive published product (see Figure 6.4).
Figure 6.4 Examples of questions to ask when publishing
PLANNING A MODELLED READING OR WRITING
SESSION
Decide on the purpose of the modelled reading or writing session.
Decide for whom the modelled reading or writing session would be most appropriate. For
example, would it be suitable for the whole class or small groups?
Restrict the number of focuses to be explicitly demonstrated and discussed during the session.
Focuses can be aspects of literate practices, reading and writing processes and strategies, language
purposes and text types, the effect of context, purpose and audience, text structures, language
features, conventions of print etc.
Plan a short, brisk and focused session.
Think about how to actively engage the students in the session.
Make explicit the purpose of the modelled reading/writing session and use clear explanatory
language to articulate the thinking, processes and/or aspects of the text.
Activate prior knowledge of the process or text. Use questions that prompt them to draw on
what they know and make connections with their own reading and writing.
Compile lists of text features and reading/writing strategies identified during discussions of text
types. Display these in the room for future reference.
Provide opportunities for the students to clarify their knowledge and develop shared
understandings and language to talk about text types and the reading and writing process.
Plan a logical follow up from the modelled session that will enable students to demonstrate what
they have learnt. Sometimes it can work well if students create a text that is similar but slightly
different from the modelled text.
During modelling, make explicit to the students the decisions, practices, processes, knowledge and thinking
involved.
CONFERENCING WITH STUDENTS

Conferences provide opportunities for students to share, discuss and reflect on their
writing, to seek and respond to feedback, to identify their progress and to plan ways to
improve their writing.
They provide opportunities for the teacher to gain information about how the
student is progressing (what the student and the writing demonstrates—strengths,
areas for improvement) and what actions need to be taken to further the student’s
learning (what support and interventions are required).
While there is no rigid format for conferences, some features ensure effective use
of the time and thus facilitate seeking and giving valuable, informed feedback, a
significant contributor to student learning (Hattie, 2012). The following are some tips
for making the most of conferences:
Make explicit the purpose of conferences, student responsibilities and your expectations.
Negotiate with the students what they need to do before, during and after a conference. This
could include what they need to bring to the conference, how to seek and act on feedback,
identify their learning needs and set goals. Also identify what you, as the teacher, need to know
and do before, during and after the conference.
Establish a predictable structure for conferring. Predictability of structure supports learners and
avoids time being wasted. This structure might involve the student sharing part of their work
and identifying what they want help with, you providing feedback and then you and the student
negotiating what needs to be done. Plan for a short, focused, purposeful discussion with the
student.
Encourage the student to contribute to the conference. They can tell you what they want you to
notice about their writing, what they do well, what they want help with and possible actions. Use
questions or prompts that will facilitate reflection on and discussion about writing. (See Figure
6.5.)
Limit the focuses to be dealt with in the conference. Concentrate on the writing and identify
what the student—the writer—needs to learn as a writer.
When providing feedback about a student’s writing, provide an overall positive comment that
acknowledges what the student knows and can do, specific information about how they are
going, practical guidance on what they need to work on and suggestions for action.
Work with the student to develop a plan of action as a result of the conference and help them to
identify what they have learnt from the conference.
Keep accurate and usable conference records. The record could include what the student could
do, what they needed help with and plans for follow up.
Conferencing is an opportunity to find out how a student sees themselves as a writer, writing
topic and text type preferences and their overall general feelings about
Figure 6.5 Examples of conference questions
7
INFORMATIVE TEXTS

understand the importance of, and difference between learning to read and
write, and reading and writing to learn
list some of the purposes for informative texts
describe ways of teaching about informative/factual/non-fiction texts within
meaningful contexts
identify some of the design elements that may be employed in print, visual and
multimodal texts
select appropriate teaching focuses and activities to suit the needs of students.
KEY TERMS
everyday texts
explicit meanings
implicit meanings
informative texts
project-based learning
STEM subjects
WHY TEACH ABOUT INFORMATIVE TEXTS

The term ‘informative texts’ refers to the many types of texts (oral, written, visual and
multimodal) that comprise and organise factual content for different purposes (e.g.
describing, recounting, explaining, persuading, instructing, inquiring and transacting).
Informative texts include information reports (Chapter 8), procedural texts (Chapter
9), explanations (Chapter 10), recounts (Chapter 11), transactional texts (Chapter
12) and persuasive texts (Chapter 13).
5. Who was it created for?
6. What argument/s does the author make?
7. Is it believable?
8. Why or why not?
When teaching about informative texts, teachers can help students understand
that, while texts may appear neutral or objective, the writers present the material or
content from a particular perspective, even if this is not readily identifiable. A study of
these texts enables students to develop as critical readers and writers, to learn how
writers manipulate language to influence and affect the reader, to learn how to look
beyond the surface meanings (explicit meanings) and search for the implicit
meanings in texts, to consider positions and points of view, and to know and reflect
on the reasons why they use particular texts. (For further information see Chapter 3.)
explicit meanings:
Meanings that are directly stated in the text and hence obvious to the reader.
implicit meanings:
Meanings that are implied and not directly stated in the text.
THE PROGRAM AND THE LEARNER

The teaching of and about informative texts commences in the early years of primary
school and develops extensively using more complex texts and understandings as the
student progresses through secondary school. The use of informative texts usually
arises naturally from or is introduced through learning in content areas or subjects—

regardless of the year level. Students use these texts to access, process, build, organise
and present knowledge of the topic or subject. They use the texts to build field, general
or subject knowledge. They read and write to learn about the subject. In the literacy
program, they learn the knowledge, skills and strategies to read and write the texts
being used in the content subject or topic. They learn about the purposes, text
structures and features of the informative texts. They learn to read and write
informative texts. (See Chapter 1 for suggestions for program planning in primary and
secondary school settings.)
The program should provide opportunities for the students to:
be exposed to informative texts through the reading program where the texts are read to, read
with and read by the students. Usually these texts are introduced in the reading program a little
before the students are expected to write them. For example, before the teacher focuses on the
writing of information reports, these texts can be included as part of shared, guided and
independent reading activities in which the students deconstruct and reconstruct the text, and
note the structures and features that help to make meaning.
construct informative texts for a real audience as part of a wider project that has authentic
meaning, known as project-based learning. Here students ‘work over an extended time period
for a purpose beyond satisfying a school requirement, to build something, to create something, to
respond to a question they have, to solve a real problem, or to address a real need. For example,
students might work to plan, plant, and cultivate a garden to help feed the hungry in their
community’ (Duke, 2016, p. 11). Students feel empowered and motivated by the knowledge that
in researching, crafting and polishing an informative text, it will have a direct impact on the
everyday world around them. Project-based learning lends itself very well to integrating with
other key learning areas, particularly STEM subjects.
project-based learning:
A teaching method in which students learn by actively engaging in real-world and personally meaningful
projects.
STEM subjects:
STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics and refers to any subjects that fall under
these four disciplines.
construct informative texts through the writing program where the texts are written for, with
and by the students. Once the students have deconstructed and reconstructed specific
informative texts they can construct their own texts with decreasing teacher support and
guidance as they develop their knowledge of and skills in writing.
The program needs to reflect the needs of the students and their developmental
stages. Therefore, the teachers will use their knowledge of their students to select and
plan appropriate teaching and learning experiences that will build upon each student’s
prior knowledge and skills. Young readers and writers need more explicit teaching
about the reading and writing process and related conventions than they do about the
structure and features of texts. However, it is important that they understand the
context, purpose and intended audience for their writing and that they start to build
up a shared knowledge about the purposes and text structures and organisation of a
range of text types—imaginative/fiction, persuasive and informative texts.
Newkirk (1987) identifies the following phases students pass through as they
develop as factual/informative text writers:
1. Labels—names and usually a picture and label
2. Lists—first a basic list of single words, then single category lists and then other
numbers of lists
3. Attribute series—often random information that is not grouped in related chunks,
then information organised into attribute series
4. Paragraphs—first clusters of related information that is in unordered paragraph
sequence, then ordered paragraphs.
It is important that teachers recognise and acknowledge these initial phases,
provide support as required, and consider the phases as indicators of each student’s
progress towards becoming effective informative text writers.
All writers, whether beginning or proficient, produce their best writing when
they write about topics they are familiar with, they are interested in or about which
they are passionate. Young writers will find it easier and more relevant if they are
encouraged to write informative texts about topics they already know a lot about; for
example, themselves, their family, pets, hobbies, interests, sports, important events,
experiences and people in their lives. Teachers can foster this by providing
opportunities for students to choose their own topics as much as possible.
All writers, whether beginning or proficient, need to build knowledge in the field,
topic or subject area before being able to write an informative text based on the topic.
Teachers therefore need to plan teaching and learning experiences that help students
learn to read and write informative texts and also to use these texts to read and write to
learn.
WAYS OF PROMOTING INFORMATIVE TEXTS IN THE

CLASSROOM
The following are ways to promote informative texts in the classroom:
Include informative texts (multimodal and paper-based) in the read aloud program.
Promote informative texts in the same way that you promote imaginative/fiction. Raise the
students’ awareness of the variety and purposes of informative texts and develop positive
attitudes towards reading these for recreational as well as functional purposes.
Recommend and create lists of ‘must-read’ informative texts. Read the blurbs, tables of contents
and extracts of the texts to the students and show and discuss the content, layout and features of
the texts.
Study the work of writers of informative texts or explore the features of an informative series in

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Copyright © 2020. Oxford University Press Australia and New Zealand. All rights reserved.

© Lesley Wing Jan and Susan Taylor 2020

The moral rights of the authors have been asserted

First edition, Lesley Wing Jan, published 1991

Reproduction and communication for educational purposes

Edited by Carly Tenille

CHAPTER 2: ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES AND RECORD KEEPING

CHAPTER 5: USING TEXTS IN MEANINGFUL CONTEXTS

CHAPTER 6: READING AND WRITING: PROCESSES AND CONNECTIONS

PART 3: TEXT TYPES

CHAPTER 8: INFORMATION REPORTS

Purpose, structure and features

CHAPTER 9: PROCEDURAL TEXTS

CHAPTER 10: EXPLANATIONS

CHAPTER 11: RECOUNTS

CHAPTER 12: TRANSACTIONAL TEXTS

CHAPTER 13: PERSUASIVE TEXTS

CHAPTER 14: IMAGINATIVE TEXTS

CHAPTER 15: NARRATIVES

CHAPTER 16: INFORMATION NARRATIVES

CHAPTER 17: POETRY

4.11 Cycle diagram

8.4 A ‘What I need to know’ chart

12.5c Sample pro forma C

2.2 Assessment of writing

9.1 At a glance—general grammar focuses for procedural texts

14.1 Traditional tales—origin, purpose, structure and features

Text structure and organisation

Purposes, audience and structures of different types of texts ✓ ✓

Expressing and developing ideas

Sentence and clause level grammar ✓

Word level grammar ✓

Text structure and organisation

Purposes, audience and structures of different types of texts ✓ ✓

Expressing and developing ideas

Sentence and clause level grammar ✓

Word level grammar ✓

Personal responses to the ideas, characters and viewpoints in texts ✓

Creating literary texts ✓

Interpreting, analysing, evaluating

Purpose and audience ✓

Analysing and evaluating texts ✓

Text structure and organisation

Purposes, audience and structures of different types of texts ✓ ✓ ✓

Concepts of screen and print ✓

Expressing and developing ideas

Sentence and clause level grammar ✓

Word level grammar ✓

Text structure and organisation

Purposes, audience and structures of different types of texts ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Concepts of screen and print ✓ ✓

Expressing and developing ideas

Sentence and clause level grammar ✓ ✓ ✓

Word level grammar ✓

Purpose and audience ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Analysing and evaluating texts ✓

Text structure and organisation

Purposes, audience and structures of different types of texts ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Concepts of screen and print ✓ ✓ ✓

Expressing and developing ideas

Texts and contexts in which they’re used ✓

Interpreting, analysing, evaluating

Purpose and audience ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Analysing and evaluating texts ✓ ✓

(Wing Jan & Taylor, 2020) Write Ways

(Wing Jan & Taylor, 2020) Write Ways