Learning about grammar is learning about how language works in a range of contexts and this informs the choices we make when speaking and writing. For many of us, language itself is not often the focus of the many events and encounters that make up our daily lives, as most often our exchanges, even our text messages, which are written versions of oral language, are exchanged in a familiar context with others whom we know well. Anyone speaking any language, dialect, creole or pidgin has learnt how to use the grammar of that language… and that includes you! However, for teachers it is not enough to just use the building blocks of language, the grammar, we need to be able to reflect on and talk about how language works and to help learners to do the same.

This chapter explores some of the possibilities and complexities of recognising the important communicative repertoires and resources that learners bring to the classroom, while supporting them to develop expertise in the literate practices that are embedded within schooling and other contexts. It provides an understanding of some of the perspectives, ideas and factors that may impact upon literacies learning, and that allow teachers to engage meaningfully with different options for literacies instruction and make informed decisions about their own teaching approaches. It is important to remember that there is no one way to think about literacies education and that different contexts may foreground different approaches (Freebody, 2007; Luke, 2000). In considering some of the possibilities and complexities of literacies learning, this chapter also refers to some of the related theories and approaches. This discussion is also intended to be read in connection with the other chapters of the book, which provide ideas about potential ways to implement different approaches to classroom instruction.

This chapter provides an introduction to some of the fundamental concepts of literacies, commencing with a brief exploration of changing understandings of text and what it means to be literate within the increasingly dynamic and complex communicative environments of the twenty-first century. The chapter will explore the importance of the early years in the development of literate practices, and the impact of literacies on lifelong patterns of educational inclusion and attainment, employment, and health and wellbeing. The significance of literate practices to identities and community connections will be considered, together with the need for responsive, carefully scaffolded learning experiences that value diverse literate repertoires while offering inclusion in the textual practices embedded within schooling. Overall, the chapter seeks to provide a context for the key strategies and instructional approaches presented in the remainder of the book.

This chapter will increase your knowledge and awareness of literacy as one of the seven general capabilities in the Australian Curriculum to support your understanding of the function of literacy across the curriculum areas, such as in Science and Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS). The chapter explores the literacy general capability and looks at how it is designed to be incorporated into planning and teaching. It then looks at the use of strategies for writing genres, including the teaching and learning cycle, tiered vocabulary for word knowledge and vocabulary development, as well as some reading strategies for use with technical non-fiction texts. A further consideration for planning and implementation at the school and classroom level is also presented.

Many of us may take the ability to spell for granted; however, it is important to remember that spelling is a valuable but not easily attained skill. The English writing system can be particularly challenging to learn. It is generally agreed across languages that learning to read is easier than learning to spell (Bosman & Van Orden, 1997, in Treiman, 2017a).

This chapter seeks to unpack the complexities of learning to spell, including the foundations of knowledge and brain development that must be acquired to support the learning of this skill.

This chapter initially defines the terms ‘reading’ and ‘viewing’ as social practices with meaning-making at their core and makes the point that viewing is defined in curriculum documents as an integral and important part of reading rather than separately. It includes a brief snapshot of the history of reading and the so-called ‘reading wars’. Building on the importance of the development of oral language as a precursor to literacy, as discussed in previous chapters, this chapter then focuses on how children learn to read before moving on to explore how teachers can help children with this learning. The centrality of explicit teacher modelling and scaffolding of the reading process are discussed. Early childhood and primary teachers need to develop a rich repertoire of reading strategies and provide a rich selection of texts and resources, coupled with explicit guidance and support, to enable them to meet children’s individual needs at different stages of their reading journey. A range of assessment strategies are also briefly introduced. Finally, a number of common myths about the reading process are considered in light of the ongoing debate about reading. Throughout the chapter the discussion will focus on the need for a balanced approach to learning to read with meaning-making at the centre of the process.

In this chapter we ask: What is children’s literature? We aim to challenge the traditional idea that children’s literature is simply print-based stories for learners. To do this, we look at what Australia’s English curriculum says about literature and literary texts. Then, we reflect deeply on practical ways we can aid learners to find joy in literature and use different literary texts to: read silently, read aloud and read with friends; talk about plot, characters and settings; examine word choices; reflect on visual elements in images; see different perspectives; perform readers theatre; and sing. But this is no easy feat. Therefore, to help teachers, the bulk of the chapter offers practical ways to do what evidence-based research tells us, which is to put our trust in literature, and submerge and soak learners in quality literature to best support their efforts to lead literate lives.

Children begin to make meaning from the moment they are born. Their emerging abilities to communicate are central to the development of their thinking and imaginations; expression of their feelings and emotions; access to their cultural heritage(s); and, growth of their own unique identities. Learning how to mean and becoming literate continues to be critically important in shaping children and young people’s life chances. Yet it does not follow the same pattern for all children and cannot be reduced to a simple, linear hierarchy of skills (Ewing, 2020) or a one-size-fits-all approach to teaching those skills. Perhaps, because of its centrality to our lives and learning, becoming literate remains a complex and challenging area in education, broadly, but particularly in the primary classroom, where it is riddled with controversy. This book is underpinned by research and practice and reflects our serious commitment to every child’s entitlement to a rich and creative English and literacies education in the primary classroom.

Throughout this chapter you will gain knowledge and understanding of literacies education in the Australian context. This includes insight into Australian education policy and research contexts via the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration and the Melbourne Declaration. With a lens on the context of curriculum in Australia and the Australian Curriculum, this chapter guides your knowledge around the policy drivers, including the basis of the Australian economic and international benchmarking test National Assessment Plan – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN).

This chapter presents insights about literacies education in the Australian context and includes an historical perspective on education policy and the Australian Curriculum. The evolution of the national Declarations are discussed together with how the goals of education in Australia are defined. The education of young Australians in 21st century learning and the structure of the Australian Curriculum: English and the Australian Curriculum Literacy as a general capability are explored. The learning progressions designed to engage all Australians in lifelong learning through the developmental continuum of literacy from emergent to adult are also presented.

This chapter provides a brief history of handwriting development from ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics through to the role of technology and the relevance of handwriting in education in the twenty-first century. An introduction is given to the typical development of handwriting in the preschool and primary years, as well as the critical interrelationships that exist between oral language, reading and handwriting and keyboarding development. The cognitive and physical components involved to support the teaching of handwriting are also discussed. This is followed by key approaches and teaching strategies to support handwriting development. Finally, the chapter examines curriculum and assessment approaches and how the diverse needs of any classroom can be supported through differentiation.

Throughout the chapter, we engage with content that considers the benefits of fostering literacy engagement in the home and how effective parent and caregiver engagement will occur when a school culture is based on trust and open communication. The chapter discusses how school settings can go about developing a positive learning culture that supports all cohorts of parents and caregivers specific to a school context.

The chapter then explores the wider education department organisation of literacy support networks, including working with professionals such as speech pathologists and school-based literacy specialists. It considers the more recent English/literacy specialisation for graduate teachers. The content also considers the role of school-based libraries and other external community networks such as homework clubs.

Australia’s classrooms are a rich tapestry of cultures, experiences and backgrounds. This chapter explores the diversity of learners and provides opportunities for reflection as a teacher in building positive and inclusive learning environments. A range of diverse needs and approaches are explored, including learners with disability, gifted/talented and English as additional language/dialect (EAL/D) learners in alignment with the Australian Curriculum (ACARA, 2018).

As teachers we are always accountable to learners, parents and caregivers, the education system we are employed by and our community more broadly for the learning we plan and implement in the classroom. Our goal is to facilitate the learning process for all the individuals in our classrooms and our effectiveness is most often judged by learners’ achievements. While the content in this chapter provides rich examples of assessment in primary English and literacy, the principles and terms discussed apply across all stages of education and key learning areas. This chapter underlines the complexity of authentic or educative English and literacy assessment. It begins by considering definitions for many of the key assessment terms in use in education contexts, including ‘evaluation’, ‘assessment’ and ‘measurement’. The importance of implementing inclusive and authentic assessment practices is discussed along with formative assessment processes (assessment for learning) and summative (assessment of learning) and assessment as learning strategies. A range of examples and case studies follow. Each demonstrate the relationship between curriculum and assessment in English and literacy.

Many children seem to learn to talk effortlessly, perhaps because they are treated as meaning-makers from the moment they are born. As Alexander writes, talk plays a powerful role in a child’s learning and yet, sometimes once a child can talk, we pay little attention to the ongoing development of speaking and active listening. This chapter begins by focusing on how children become competent oral communicators in the home, in early childhood contexts and at school. The central role of storying and storytelling in learning both language and culture, including the role of oral narrative in Australia’s First Nations cultures, is also considered in helping us understand why oracy underpins learning to read and write. This chapter documents how speaking and listening are represented in both the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) and the Australian Curriculum: English. Finally, a range of teaching and learning instructional strategies that foster the ongoing development of children’s speaking and listening are explored.

In this chapter the focus is on literacy and oral language development for bilingual learners, but all semiotic systems, including Auslan, the language of the deaf community, should be recognised and respected as a first language, the language which is the basis for developing literacy in any language.

This chapter builds on Chapters 6 and 7 by exploring in more detail a range of concrete strategies and activities that teachers can introduce in the classroom to facilitate the deepening of learners’ understanding of different kinds of spoken, written, digital, multimodal and visual texts. In this chapter, we again refer to all kinds of texts (oral, written, digital and multimodal), so text is used here in its broadest sense. This chapter begins with a case study that illustrates how learners can respond to texts in creative ways facilitated by the class teacher. It moves to briefly examine reader response theory before exploring the importance of building learners’ understandings through talk and teacher modelling to ensure learners have both context and field knowledge. A range of classroom strategies and approaches are then considered that can facilitate different ways learners can respond to texts. Through such responses, learners can build critical understandings of texts that go beyond literal or surface comprehension. A particular emphasis is placed on metacognitive and creative arts-rich strategies that can be adapted for imaginative, instructional and information texts.

This chapter stresses the importance of both teachers and learners as writers (Graves, 1983) as they create, either together or individually, a range of different texts for different purposes and become a community of writers. After considering a parent’s account of her daughter’s experience in learning to write, we look at how substantial dialogue always needs to underpin the development of writing. The interrelationship between speaking and writing is then considered using the mode continuum. We then explore the different aspects of learning to write within the teaching and learning framework, including the importance of building learners’ field knowledge, teacher modelling to break down the features of different kinds of texts, joint construction and independent writing. We use a range of examples of children’s writing to illustrate different kinds of texts and emphasise that creating texts can and should be enjoyable.

This chapter explores how European colonists in North America struggled to understand, translate, and interpret Native American languages by relying on indigenous interlocutors. European missionaries and indigenous people co-authored an extensive archive of texts in Wampanoag, Mi’kmaq, Mohawk, Abenaki, Illinois, Mahican, Cherokee, and Choctaw, to name just of few of the languages transliterated from the early seventeenth to the late nineteenth centuries. This chapter argues that within this archive language proves resilient, as native interlocutors established forms of rhetorical preservation despite this historical engine of cultural erasure. Moreover, this chapter demonstrates that indigenous and colonial linguistic knowledge exchange impacted the structure of European and Euro-American intellectual history as well as the rise of a national literary culture in the 1810s and 1820s. American letters emerged through a complex engagement with the legacies and aesthetic possibilities of indigenous words.