Literacy shapes how people understand the world through language, communicate with others through speaking and writing, and estimate 6-8 million adults in the UK have weak literacy skills. Weak literacy is demonstrated through struggling to make meaning from words, follow instructions, use vocabulary and punctuation clearly in writing, and articulate ideas clearly in speaking. Without improving literacy skills, students may fail exams and have difficulty finding jobs. Literacy skills are important for all subjects in school and should be taught to some degree by all teachers to help students develop skills faster.

2. What is Literacy?
It shapes our understanding of the world
through reading and listening to language
It shapes the way we communicate with the
world through speaking and writing

3. The number of UK adults who are
functionally illiterate is estimated at 6 to 8
million (World literacy organisation 2012)

4. What weak literacy skills look
and sound like…
• Reading: students struggle to make meaning from
words and to identify the key ideas. They find it hard to
skim and scan.
• Listening: Students find it hard to follow instructions as
they can’t understand the words used by others.
• Writing: Students have limited use of vocabulary,
spelling and punctuation so that their expression is
unclear
• Speaking: Students struggle to articulate their ideas
clearly.
• The end result if no improvement…no exam success…
harder to find jobs

5. • Students may think focusing on reading
and writing skills is restricted to English
lessons.

6. If we all teach literacy to some degree,
students skills will develop at a faster rate

7. The Importance of Literacy in
Schools

8. Once upon a time there was a girl
whose Dad couldn’t read and
whose Mum wouldn’t read.
• Her Mum taught her how to
whistle.
• Her Dad taught her how to punch
properly.

9. Like this...
‘Keep yer
thumb on
the
outside so
it won’t
get
broke.’

10. She whistled a lot at school and
sometimes practised her
punching.
(She knew she was good at that)

11. By the age of sixteen, her career
prospects were as follows:
• Dog whisperer
• Being Roger Whittaker’s understudy
• Becoming a sub-standard sparrow-weight boxer

12. None of these appealed because...
• She liked cats
• She was a vegetarian
• She couldn’t even squash an ant without
bursting into tears.
She had to find a PLAN B

13. Soooo...

14. When her Geography teacher
told her alot was
“TWO WORDS!!!!!AAAARGH!!!”,
she never got it wrong again.

15. She paid close attention
when her kind Maths
teacher told her what
QED stood for.

16. And when her History
teacher told her that she
had used a ‘good word’
that made her idea sound
‘very intelligent,’ she
tried again...

17. and again...

18. Until...

19. She sounded like all the other students
whose parents had taken them to:
• Shakespeare’s latest book-signing
• Elocution lessons with Brian Sewell
• Pre-natal poetry awareness
• Baby Spelling Combat Classes
...and who had played them Mozart whilst they
floated, oblivious, in the womb...

20. She’s all grown up now and she
has a message for her patient and
inspirational teachers:

21. Thank you x

22. Never underestimate the
power your words have to
transform a life.