Literacy

The Simple View of Reading (Gough and Tunmer, 1986) states that reading comprehension equals word recognition multiplied by language comprehension. Both components must be strong for a learner to read well. A child with strong phonics but poor vocabulary will decode words accurately but not understand what they have read. A child with rich language knowledge but weak phonics will struggle to decode in the first place. This model explains why interventions must target the right component: phonics teaching addresses word recognition, while vocabulary instruction and reading aloud to children addresses language comprehension. The Rose Review (2006) adopted this model as the basis for the English phonics curriculum.

Beck, McKeown, and Kucan (2013) proposed three tiers. Tier 1 words are basic, high-frequency words that most children learn through speech: "house", "run", "happy". These rarely need explicit teaching. Tier 2 words are high-value academic words that appear frequently across texts and subjects but are less common in speech: "analyse", "consequence", "significant", "demonstrate". These are the most important words to teach explicitly because they unlock comprehension across all subjects. Tier 3 words are subject-specific technical terms: "photosynthesis", "quadratic", "sonnet". These are taught in context within subjects. Most vocabulary instruction time should focus on Tier 2 words.

Reciprocal reading (Palincsar and Brown, 1984) is a structured approach to text comprehension in which learners take turns leading discussion of a text using four roles: predictor (what will happen next and why?), clarifier (which words or phrases are unclear?), questioner (what questions does the text raise?), and summariser (what are the key points so far?). The teacher models each role explicitly before handing it over to learners. Research shows strong effects, particularly for struggling readers and learners with lower vocabulary. It works because the four strategies mirror what skilled readers do automatically, and the structured dialogue gives all learners a role in the comprehension process, not just the most confident.

No. Literacy is a cross-curricular responsibility. Every subject uses text, and every subject requires learners to read, write, and talk in disciplinary ways. A history learner who cannot read a primary source for inference, a science learner who cannot write a structured method, and a geography learner who cannot distinguish argument from evidence are all showing literacy gaps that subject teachers are best placed to address. Whole-school literacy does not mean every teacher becomes an English teacher: it means every teacher explicitly teaches the reading, writing, and vocabulary demands of their own subject. The EEF's "Improving Literacy in Secondary Schools" guidance sets out how to do this without adding to teacher workload.

The evidence points to a combination of approaches. The process writing approach (planning, drafting, revising, editing) teaches writing as a craft with distinct stages rather than a single act. Strategy instruction teaches specific planning and drafting strategies explicitly: SEEC (Statement, Evidence, Explanation, Comment), for example, gives secondary learners a concrete structure for analytical paragraphs. Modelled and shared writing, where the teacher writes aloud while narrating decisions, makes the implicit explicit. Sentence combining tasks, where learners merge simple sentences into more complex ones, improve syntactic fluency. WAGOLL (What a Good One Looks Like) helps learners understand quality criteria before they write, not after. The EEF's "Improving Literacy in Key Stages 2 and 3" guidance synthesises these into practical recommendations.

Oracy refers to the ability to articulate ideas, develop understanding, and engage with others through spoken language. It is not the same as talking: it is purposeful, structured communication. Mercer's (2000) research on exploratory talk showed that when learners are taught to reason together explicitly, using accountable talk moves such as "I agree because...", "I want to challenge that...", and "building on what you said...", both their thinking and their academic outcomes improve. Hattie (2009) rates oral feedback at 0.75 effect size. Schools that invest in oracy development, through structured debate, Socratic discussion, and deliberate talk routines, report improvements not just in communication but in reading comprehension, writing quality, and learner confidence.

Dyslexia is characterised by difficulties with accurate and fluent word recognition, poor spelling and decoding, which typically reflect a deficit in phonological awareness. It is not a vision problem or a sign of low intelligence. In any subject classroom, three adjustments have strong evidence: first, do not rely on written text alone to convey information, pair text with audio, diagrams, or verbal explanation. Second, reduce the writing demand for demonstrating knowledge where the writing itself is not the learning objective: allow typed or verbal responses. Third, pre-teach key vocabulary before a reading task: knowing what words mean before encountering them in text reduces the decoding burden significantly. Specialist literacy interventions (structured phonics programmes such as Reading Recovery or Sounds-Write) should run alongside, not instead of, good subject teaching.