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NEW! Action Literacy Classroom Resources for Upper Primary

Action Literacy takes a structured approach to teaching literacy in the upper primary classroom. It incorporates direct instruction, strategy instruction, and inquiry learning through action-based tasks. As such Action Literacy can be said to take a ‘balanced approach’ to the teaching of literacy, with students given the opportunity to build on the skills and strategies taught in direct instruction lessons through open-ended, student-centred activities.

While focusing on the basics, Action Literacy takes a broad, cross-curricular approach that brings together interrelated areas of the curriculum, helping to make learning purposeful and meaningful. Action Literacy is not intended to be a complete literacy program but rather provides a rich set of everyday classroom resources that model a balanced approach to teaching and learning. The scope and sequence charts in the Teacher Guide detail the content of each learning unit, allowing teachers to choose an individual unit or sequence of units that fits with their teaching and learning needs.

Action Literacy is made up of three complementary resources:

I Believe in...

WM Anderson

China

Denny Newburn

Human-made Disasters

Ann Harth

Elephants

WM Anderson

Media

Wendy Blaxland

Science Fiction, Science Fact

Peter Gribben
Wendy St Germain

Surf and Sand

Liz Flaherty

Survivors

WM Anderson

World War 1

Denny Newburn

Extreme Sports

WM Anderson

Action Literacy Stimulus Books

The Action Literacy Stimulus Books are rich, interesting and fun!

Students should be encouraged to read the books for enjoyment and interest and not just as a ‘learning task’. Sets of the books can be kept on the classroom reading shelves or in the library with other books and reading resources.

Apart from reading for enjoyment, the Action Literacy Stimulus Books can be used by teachers for many different kinds of activities, not just the teaching and learning units described in the Action Literacy Teacher Guide.

Action Literacy Teacher Guide

Action Literacy Teacher Guide
Alison McCallum

The comprehensive Teacher Guide provides a model for teaching literacy. It includes:

The comprehensive Teacher Guide provides a model for teaching literacy. It includes:
  • units of work based around each Action Literacy stimulus book
  • learning focus for each unit
  • cross-curricular links
  • activities that can be used to set the scene and unlock the students' prior knowledge
  • lessons which form the basis of the direct skill and strategy instruction
  • suggested assessment opportunities
  • reproducible worksheets.
Each learning unit includes an action-based task which:
  • has a clearly stated learning focus
  • motivates the students
  • revises skills already taught within the series
  • sets out milestones
  • suggests opportunities for assessment.
The Teacher Guide also directs teachers to appropriate exercises in the Action Literacy Upper Primary Student Workbook that provide students with the opportunity to practise the skills and strategies learned in units. The Student Workbook exercises also provide an opportunity for the teacher to assess the students' mastery of skills and strategies.
Action Literacy Student Workbook

Action Literacy Student Workbook

The Action Literacy Upper Primary Student Workbook focuses on the student's ability to practise and demonstrate the new skills or strategies that have been explicitly taught. Each lesson sets out for students 'what they need to know' in order to master that skill or strategy. The workbook provides teachers with opportunities to observe and assess performance as students demonstrate their growing skills.

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