Connecting Whole-School Literacy

Building Capacity from Leadership to Classroom Practice

Connecting Whole-School Literacy tackles the reality that many secondary students arrive with literacy skills years below grade level, yet every subject demands specific reading, writing, speaking and listening abilities. Author Hayley Harrison, drawing from twenty years of classroom experience, promotes the understanding that literacy development cannot fall solely to English teachers – it must become every educator's responsibility. This practical guide not only explains the research around how students learn to read and write, but also demonstrates how teachers across all subjects can effectively support struggling readers and writers while extending advanced learners.

Harrison bridges research -into practice with immediately usable strategies, activities and frameworks designed for busy secondary teachers. The book provides explicit explanation of current understanding in the process of literacy acquisition alongside concrete tools for vocabulary instruction, reading comprehension, writing development and oral communication that respect subject expertise while building teacher confidence. Whether you're seeking to better understanding and support individual students in your class or lead and implement whole-school literacy reform, this resource offers the roadmap for transforming student outcomes through collective, cross-curricular literacy instruction that recognises every teacher as a teacher of literacy.