1. Why bother – is this not the English Department’s job?
Literacy
Toolkit
The Literacy Hub
Using Success Criteria
Highland Literacy Strategy
All teachers should:
Promote the fundamental importance of literacy to learners at all stages of their lives.
Ensure that quality time is given to the teaching and learning of core skills in literacy.
Ensure that staff provide learners over time with a balance of literacy activities in reading, writing, talking and listening.
Ensure that staff agree at least one literacy success criterion with learners for each learning activity and that feedback concentrates on that criterion/those criteria.
Why bother – is this not the English Department’s job?
The notes section in each presentation is primarily for the facilitator, indicating additional requirements or information.
The Highland Literacy Strategy provides guidance for the development of literacy in all schools. This extract highlights the main actions most relevant to our task as teachers from across the curriculum in Secondary. The big question is why, as subject teachers, should we bother about this at all?
The facilitator should pose this question and encourage all present to contribute opinions and feelings. ‘Answers’ might include:
Improved achievement in each subject area will depend on learners understanding different concepts (through reading and listening)
Improved achievement in each subject area will depend on learners being able to use specialist language effectively
Improved literacy will lead to improved attainment in each subject right across the curriculum
Improving our own literacy (as teachers and citizens) is the responsibility of all teachers as it underpins everything that we do – in school and out.
The facilitator may wish to prompt participants about the need to address the issue of the types of assessment instruments used in their departments to provide evidence of attainment. Are all departments exploiting opportunities to develop learner literacy skills by using extended writing and/or presentation as instruments of assessment? If a Literacy Hub is established in the school, is it clear to learners that their work may be seen and/or read by an outside audience?
In this first session our main aim is to reach an agreement about what good talking and writing look like. When we ask learners to talk in groups or present to a class or write a report/essay, what success criteria can we agree and share with them?

2. Using Success Criteria
Literacy
Toolkit
The Literacy Hub
Using Success Criteria
Agenda
Introduction - Why bother? (10-15 mins)
Activity 1 - Voice on the table (10-15 mins)
Activity 2 - Evaluating success criteria (25-40 mins)
Activity 3 - Personal Action Planning (10 mins)
Activity 4 - Summary of Learning (5 mins)
This agenda is similar throughout the Toolkit. It may be amended as appropriate.

3. Using Success Criteria
Literacy
Toolkit
The Literacy Hub
Using Success Criteria
Activity 1: Voice on the table
In a maximum of 30 seconds, describe something that happened in your class where a learner of any age talked or wrote really effectively.
To start the session choose an activity which is non-judgemental and everyone can contribute.
“Describe something that happened in school where a learner of any age talked or wrote really effectively. You have 30 seconds per teacher to tell the group what happened and why the communication was effective . No teacher can ‘pass”
The role of the teachers when it is not their turn is active listening – they should by voice and gesture support the speaker and promote discussion of important points.
The facilitator should draw the activity to a conclusion by asking in plenary for participants to identify any common points in relation to what makes effective talking or writing. The criteria for effective talking and writing will be discussed more fully in activity 2.

4. Using Success Criteria
Literacy
Toolkit
The Literacy Hub
Using Success Criteria
Activity 2: What makes a good group discussion – some criteria
Everyone agrees at the start why the group is meeting, how much time is available, what their roles are, what the outcome(s) will be
Everyone contributes at least once - offering an idea or view, or responding to an idea or view
Everyone listens to speakers and responds with respect
Everyone respects group discipline - no talking to a neighbour while discussion is underway
Everyone agrees at the end what has been decided, what needs to be done next and who is going to do it.
This is one of three sets of success criteria – group discussion, solo talk and non-fiction writing. The group’s task is to evaluate the criteria and judge whether they are fit for purpose:
- do they describe success in a way that teachers and pupils understand and will find helpful when it comes to demonstrating learning?
- how will we go about making all learners familiar with the criteria and helping them to understand what they mean?
The facilitator may choose to offer participants a choice as to which criteria (group, presentation, non-fiction writing) they evaluate and agree sub-groups as appropriate.

5. Using Success Criteria
Literacy
Toolkit
The Literacy Hub
Using Success Criteria
Activity 2: What makes a good presentation – some criteria
 The speaker makes sure that everyone can hear him/her
The speaker understands what the presentation is for, what audience needs are, has an effective structure with links, presents information clearly and uses well-chosen evidence where appropriate to support main points
 The speaker makes sure he/she varies tone and pitch to emphasise what is important
 The speaker uses power-point and/or other visual aids sensibly – doesn’t just read what’s on the screen
 The speaker uses ‘body language’ well, establishes eye contact with the audience and doesn’t just read out notes
This is one of three sets of success criteria – group discussion, solo talk and non-fiction writing. The group’s task is to evaluate the criteria and judge whether they are fit for purpose:
- do they describe success in a way that teachers and pupils understand and will find helpful when it comes to demonstrating learning?
- how will we go about making all learners familiar with the criteria and helping them to understand what they mean?
The facilitator may choose to offer participants a choice as to which criteria (group, presentation, non-fiction writing) they evaluate and agree sub-groups as appropriate.

6. Using Success Criteria
Literacy
Toolkit
The Literacy Hub
Using Success Criteria
Activity 2: What makes a good piece of non-fiction writing – some criteria
The writer understands what the piece is for, what audience needs are, has an effective structure with links and conveys information clearly
The writer uses well-chosen evidence and/or illustration to support main points
 The writer makes sure that he/she sticks to the correct format for the piece – letter, report, recipe, instructions . . .
The writer makes sure that spelling and sentences are correct
The writer uses his/her own words (unless there is a good reason for using someone else’s)  
This is one of three sets of success criteria – group discussion, solo talk and non-fiction writing. The group’s task is to evaluate the criteria and judge whether they are fit for purpose:
- do they describe success in a way that teachers and pupils understand and will find helpful when it comes to demonstrating learning?
- how will we go about making all learners familiar with the criteria and helping them to understand what they mean?
The facilitator may choose to offer participants a choice as to which criteria (group, presentation, non-fiction writing) they evaluate and agree sub-groups as appropriate.

7. Using Success Criteria
Literacy
Toolkit
The Literacy Hub
Using Success Criteria
Activity 3: Personal Action Planning
Before the next meeting, look for opportunities to refine your thinking about Literacy across Learning and using success criteria.
Choose one or two elements that you are going to explore further.
Bring back your findings to the next session
Activity 3: Personal Action Planning
Using a Personal Action plan sheet, each teacher chooses one or two elements s/he is going to explore further.
The facilitator may wish to prompt participants about the need to address the issue of the types of assessment instruments used in their departments to provide evidence of attainment. Are all departments exploiting opportunities to develop learner literacy skills by using extended writing and/or presentation as instruments of assessment? If a Literacy Hub is established in the school, is it clear to learners that their work may be seen and/or read by an outside audience?
Pair-share: two minutes sharing your plan with your partner then swap.
Randomly choose two or three teachers to share with the group what their partner is planning

8. Using Success Criteria
The Literacy Hub
Using Success Criteria
Literacy
Toolkit
Activity 4: Summary of Learning
Write your name on the card or post-it and how you now feel about ‘Literacy across Learning’ and using success criteria.
Leave your card or post-it on your way out.
EXIT CARDS
Distribute exit cards( pieces of card or post its) and ask each member to write their name on the card and one thing that they learned in the workshop on the card.
Collect in the exit cards.
Read through the cards so that you can feedback to the group at the start of the next workshop.