THORNHILL SCHOOL
BUSINESS AND ENTERPRISE COLLEGE
LITERACY ACROSS THE CURRICULUM
Language and Learning
Why Literacy is important to all Departments:
Literacy is the key to achievement in all subjects. Every pupil is entitled to our highest
expectations and the opportunity of a challenging curriculum. Thornhill School is
committed to challenging every child to achieve the best possible progress and
Literacy is a crucial factor in this achievement.
Each time a pupil is given a task to discuss, read or write then literacy underpins that
activity, regardless of the curriculum area. Language is the prime medium through
which pupils learn and express themselves and all teachers are teachers of literacy. It
is every teacher’s responsibility to develop the functional English and appropriate
literacy skills of the pupils they teach.
Aims – Whole School Literacy
Our aim is to raise the achievement of all pupils by seeking to develop their speaking,
listening, reading and writing skills across all areas of the curriculum and to recognise
and share with pupils that skills are transferable between subjects.
Subject teachers will contribute to the raising of Literacy standards by:
 Identifying subject specific reading, writing, speaking and listening demands
 Providing planned opportunities for pupils to practise the skills relevant to
their specific subject
 Identifying appropriate subject specific vocabulary
 Provide materials to enhance and support individual research
 Provide structures to support planning and writing
 Developing strategies to enhance technical accuracy in pupils’ work
 Enhancing and developing the use of the Learning Resource Centre
 Encouraging the use of dictionaries and thesauruses
 Using agreed marking symbols for teacher, peer and self assessment when
appropriate
Literacy Objectives
Every lesson will have a literacy objective underpinning the key learning. In all
lessons, pupils will be using at least one of the four main skills: listening, talking,
reading or writing.