Literacy

Summer learning loss suggests that that students’ learning achievement drops over the summer holidays when they are not at school, especially those from low socioeconomic backgrounds. The purpose of the studies reported was to investigate the effect summer learning loss has on student achievement in the New Zealand context and to determine whether encouraging Year 3 students from both low- and high-decile schools to read self-selected books over the summer helped stem the summer slide.

This article uses three excerpts of paired and group talk to explore English-language development in a Year 1 classroom. It suggests that structuring effective language-learning opportunities requires more than organising group work. It affirms the teacher’s essential roles as reflective organiser and close monitor of language output and participative opportunities. In such settings students can learn so much from one another. Interpreting and reflecting on these interactive episodes enriches teachers’ understanding of their practice.

The changing nature of literacy in the senior secondary school means that many common tools do not give subject teachers the detailed information they need to identify and address strengths and gaps in their students’ reading and writing. We illustrate some of the complexities of reading and writing in the senior secondary school and describe one way that teachers and leaders can use NCEA data to find out more about their students’ subject literacy.