This document discusses strategies for developing language skills across all abilities, including gifted students. It recommends having clear success criteria for language, embedding literacy focus in lessons, and using consistent literacy tools. Success criteria are provided for reading, speaking, listening and writing at different levels. Examples are given of literacy mats and considering different cognitive levels when planning lessons. The overall message is the importance of a uniform approach to language and literacy using shared success criteria and literacy tools.

1. Sharing success
criteria for
language skills
Speaking, listening, reading and writing across the range
of abilities including enrichment for Gifted and Talented

2. Clear goals
 Essential awareness of success criteria
 Transparency of expectations enables good progress
 Effective communication of expectations
 Providing the opportunities for gifted and talented to
excel
 Language is the key!

3. To know how…
…to embed literacy focus in your lesson
 Multiple objectives
e.g. To understand/describe the effects of the Gunpowder Plot
To explain the aims of the plotters.
To evaluate/analyse the historical interpretation of the Gunpowder
Plot.
 Pitching at the right level
 Emphasising and explaining the meaning of the vocabulary in a lesson
objective
 Checking understanding of expectations
 Challenging students and encouraging independence/extension tasks
for Gifted and Talented

4. Success criteria for
language:
Reading
Skimming and
scanning
Fact and opinion, Fact and
fiction
Inference, deduction
Synthesize information
Evaluate
Decoding, reading comprehension
(identifying what is important in the text; process of organizing, recalling, and recreating the
information and fitting it in with what is already known, determining what is useful for an
individual purpose)
(judging against given criteria)
(guessing, making judgments based on given information)
(identifying relevant information)
(knowing the difference between fact, opinion, fiction and belief)
(accessing written information, understanding information)

5. Success criteria for
language:
Speaking and listening
Ask questions for information
(what, who, where, when)
Listen for specific purpose
Built on response of others
Justify and defend opinions
(make predictions, propose solutions, create, solve lifelike
problems, speculate, construct, devise, synthesize, develop/judge
ideas, problems solutions, express opinions, and make choices and
Ask different sorts of questions to extend
thinking, discuss ideas
(Why, how and in what ways)

6. Success criteria for
language:
writing
Vocabulary choices
Sentence types
Punctuation for effect
Paragraphing and
cohesion
Engaging and interesting; Constructing Analysis
and arguments/different audiences/purposes
Spelling, basic punctuation

7. Example of basic writing skills hierarchy (primary writing mat)

8. Literacy Tools in every day
teaching/learning practice
 Literacy Mats
 Topic related writing mats consisting of the success
criteria, level indicators, literacy tips
(PEE, punctuation, connectives, sentence
openers, etc.), subject related
vocabulary, definitions, images, diagrams, etc…
 Green pen linked to whatever the literacy objective is
(make the literacy focus explicit to students, e.g.
punctuation for effect, paragraphing, etc.)
 Self-editing/peer-editing
 Focus on vocabulary
 e.g. Topic related glossaries
 skill/word of the week in the bulletin, etc.

9. Summary: Uniform
approach to language and
literacy
 Effective lesson planning; trying to incorporate literacy
objectives into the lesson objectives
 Following universal success criteria for language
 Consistent use of literacy tools

10. …when planning consider:
 Basic Order Learning: KNOWLEDGE
If your lesson is pitched at NC Level 2/3 then lower order-thinking
tasks are required. Trigger words/activities:
identify, label, list, retell.
 Basic Order Learning:
UNDERSTANDING/COMPREHENSION
If your lesson is pitched at NC Level 4 then lower order-thinking
tasks are required. Trigger words/activities:
compare, contrast, estimate, explain.
 Middle Order Learning: APPLICATION
If your lesson is pitched at NC Level 5 then middle order-thinking
tasks are required. Trigger words/activities:
solve, predict, demonstrate, relate.

11.  Middle Order Learning: ANALYSIS
If your lesson is pitched at NC Level 5/6 then middle
order-thinking tasks are required. Trigger words/activities:
differentiate, categorise, speculate, outline.
 Higher Order Learning: SYNTHESIS
If your lesson is pitched at NC Level 6/7 then higher
order-thinking tasks are required. Trigger words/activities:
construct, build, create, summarise, design.
 Higher Order Learning: EVALUATION
If your lesson is pitched at NC Level 7+ then higher order-
thinking tasks are required. Trigger words/activities:
judge, justify, conclude, criticise, assess.