Every teacher is a teacher of literacy: Boosting reading skills

In this five-part series on literacy across the curriculum I’m making the case for literacy as a whole-school concern, arguing – as George Sampson did – that: “Every teacher is a teacher of English because every teacher is a teacher in English.”

This is part four and in the first three parts I’ve argued that literacy across the curriculum should:

I have also said that literacy learning should: be enjoyable, motivating and challenging; be actively engaging; activate prior learning, secure understanding and provide opportunities to apply skills; and develop learners’ functional and critical thinking skills.

What’s more, I have said, literacy learning – if it is to be done properly – should move beyond merely displaying key words or marking written work for spelling, punctuation and grammar, and focus on these three strands: