Thinking Deeply about Primary Education Beyond Sentence Stems: Deep Scaffolding for Inclusive Literacy
May 24, 2025
Alex Fairlamb and Rachel Ball, co-authors of 'The Scaffolding Effect: Supporting All Students to Succeed', dive into effective scaffolding strategies for enhancing literacy and oracy. They discuss the importance of structured talk as a pathway to better writing and practical routines that help teachers provide support without fostering dependency. Listeners will learn how to align scaffolding with cognitive load theory and transform assessment data into actionable teaching strategies. This insightful conversation empowers educators to elevate student voices in both writing and discussions.
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Interconnection of Literacy and Oracy
- Literacy and oracy are deeply intertwined and cannot be separated in teaching.
- High-quality writing depends on rich reading and structured talk with peers to incubate ideas.
Use Diagnostic Data Effectively
- Share reading assessment data clearly with all staff to avoid it being ignored.
- Provide quality CPD so teachers understand reading barriers and plan scaffolds accordingly.
Primary vs Secondary Literacy Scaffolding
- Primary teachers teach multiple subjects and observe literacy skills broadly, enabling holistic scaffolding.
- Secondary teachers focus on discipline-specific literacy but must adapt scaffolds for varying student levels.
