Disciplinary Literacy

• Students regularly engage in online resources including written text and videos.
• Sufficient time is provided for students to read and critically compare multiple sources of information.
• Students are frequently encouraged to comprehend, analyse, and summarise key information.
• Teachers model subject-specific literacy practices during lessons when applicable.
• Key vocabulary is introduced early in students’ learning journeys to ensure frequent exposure and contextual understanding.
• Students interact with diverse text types, such as case studies, graphs, tables, academic journals, and polls.
• A range of sources is incorporated into writing activities and discussions to enrich understanding.
• Scaffolds are used to support students in articulating their thoughts and structuring their writing effectively.

Targeted Vocabulary Instruction

• Lessons incorporate frequent recall activities to reinforce vocabulary retention.
• Key vocabulary is discussed throughout the lesson.
• Each lesson begins with an introduction to its specific key terms.
• New words are introduced using clear, concise definitions that maintain their academic rigor, avoiding oversimplification that might hinder future learning.
• Key vocabulary is pre-taught by linking it to "What I will be learning about" and "What I should already know."

Reading Comprehension

• Teachers employ various strategies, such as expert reading and pre-teaching vocabulary, to support students’ comprehension.
• Tasks are structured to encourage students to read and summarise information.
• For longer problem-solving questions, students are guided to read carefully, underlining key words that provide important context.
• Students are encouraged to break down complex, wordy questions into smaller, manageable parts.
• Texts are broken into manageable chunks and include diagrams to help students process information more easily.

Academic Talk

• Lessons include structured discussion tasks to encourage academic talk, supported by discussion slides.
• Group activities during promote collaborative academic dialogue.
• Regular opportunities are provided for students to revise and improve their spoken responses.
• Teachers consistently repeat and model the use of key vocabulary and technical terms during lessons.
• Students are encouraged to use precise and sophisticated vocabulary in their discussions and responses.
• Teachers highlight examples of academic language and key vocabulary in texts to build students’ understanding.
• Students are prompted to refine their responses using more academic language, with phrases like "say it again better" or "speak like a scholar."
• Responses from students must be conceptually sound, with scaffolding or prompts provided when needed to ensure clarity.

Scaffolded Writing Activities 

• Extended writing tasks are supported with sentence starters, writing frames, and other scaffolds, which are gradually removed as students gain confidence and independence.
• Exemplars of high-quality student work are shared to model effective writing.