Literacy and numeracy

Explicit teaching practices involve teachers clearly showing students what to do and how to do it, rather than having students discover that information themselves. Students who experience explicit teaching practices make greater learning gains than students who do not experience these practices.

Explicit reading instruction will support Years 7–12 students to become skilled readers, so that they can access, understand, analyse and evaluate information in order to make meaning across all key learning areas.

Explicit teaching strategies are available for teaching reading in Stages 2–5. They target specific areas in reading and suggest a learning sequence for skill development.

HSC minimum standard resources for reading are available for schools. These classroom ready teaching and learning activities can be used in Stages 5–6 to support students in developing reading skills and achieving the HSC minimum standard.

The Components of reading Years 3–8 professional learning is available and can enhance teacher capacity to deliver explicit reading instruction within their key learning area.

The NSW syllabuses (K–10 and Years 11–12) and the National Literacy Learning Progression provide support in the creation of learning intentions and success criteria for students. Teachers can use these intentions and criteria to provide students with an explicit understanding of what they need to achieve and the steps they must take to get there.

PLAN2 is an online tool designed by the department to support the use of literacy and numeracy learning progressions in all NSW schools. This tool can be used by teachers to collate and organise evidence gathered about student skill progression in the area of reading. This information can be used to identify teaching priorities and the explicit practices required for student learning.

The Learning progressions and PLAN2 in secondary schools web page provides models and examples of how secondary schools might use the learning progressions and PLAN2 to support and monitor students’ literacy development in the context of NSW K–10 syllabuses.

The Universal Resources Hub (staff only) contains a suite of evidence-based reading resources for Stage 1–Stage 5 teachers across all key learning areas. The comprehensive reading strategies are easily adapted and contextualised to classroom needs and include suggestions for tailored and differentiated learning to build and extend reading skills.