Where students were asked to use talk to clarify and present ideas:

• Did their response suggest that the teacher needed to model the kind of presentation required?

• Was an appropriate context created for the activity? For example, was there sufficient thinking time? Did less-confident students have the chance to talk with a partner before presenting to a wider audience?

• Did the teacher give clear feedback to students, not only on the content of their presentation but also on the effectiveness of the communication? Did the feedback include clear advice on how to improve?

• Did the teacher promote the use of standard English as the form of language appropriate for presentations in class?

Where students were required to listen for a sustained period:

• Was the subject matter and style of presentation well matched to the pupils?

• Was sufficient consideration given to the range of ability in each of the groups?

• Was the talk/program contextualised for pupils in such a way as to activate their prior knowledge?

• Were they clear in advance about what they were listening for and how they might have to respond to what they had heard?

• Was the listening scaffolded in any way, for instance, with a structured note sheet or some prompt questions?

Where students were required to talk together in pairs or groups:

• Was the grouping of the pupils appropriate for the task and its purpose?

• Were they clear about the expectations for their behaviour during the activity or did they need the support of some ‘ground-rules’?

• Were they clear about the type of speaking and listening required of them during the activity, e.g. speculating, evaluating, sharing ideas to solve a problem? Did this need clarifying or demonstrating by the teacher?

• Were they clear about the particular roles they needed to fulfil in the pair/group, e.g. chairing, reporting, recording? Was there evidence that this needed clarifying or demonstrating by the teacher?

• Were any reporting back activities organised to maximise participation while avoiding tedious repetition?

• Were the groups supported by the teacher to ensure that most, if not all, reached a satisfactory outcome in the time allowed?

Learning from text

• Did the lesson exploit opportunities for students to learn from text, or was there evidence of the ‘retreat from the written word’?

• Did the teacher always read for the class or was there an expectation that students could and should engage with text for themselves?

• Were texts well chosen, both in terms of content and reading difficulty? Did the teacher take account of the fact that more-challenging texts can be used in the context of shared reading than when students are asked to read independently?

• Where a textbook was used, were students familiar with its conventions (e.g. page layout, symbols, structure), or did this need to be clarified for them?

Where students  were required to undertake research:

• Did they demonstrate a range of appropriate reading strategies for the task (e.g. skimming, scanning), or did they need reminding of these?

• Did they have effective ways of recording information to fulfil the purpose of the task, or did they need guidance/support with making notes?

Where pupils were required to read closely for meaning:

• Were they given a way into the text that would encourage close reading and help them overcome initial difficulties?

• Was the activity set up to encourage active reading and inference and deduction, e.g. through the use of techniques such as sequencing, annotation, cloze?

• When questions were set on the text, were they likely to promote understanding or just the simple retrieval of information?

• Were less-able or less-willing readers supported in the task?

• Were they encouraged to question the text and consider it in relation to its degree of objectivity and the writer’s intentions?

Where students were reading a text as an example for their own writing:

• Did the teacher help them to identify the features of the text that allowed it to fulfil its purpose, e.g. its structure and use of language?

• Did the teacher encourage the use of the correct terms when referring to these features, e.g. topic sentence?

• Did the teacher exploit effective strategies such as annotation during shared reading in order to show pupils how a particular type of text works?

Learning through writing

• Did the teacher clearly establish both the purpose and intended readership of the writing?

• Was enough done to ensure that the students had something to say in their writing?

• Were students clear about what writing strategies were appropriate for the task, e.g. collaboration with a partner, drafting, proofreading?

• Did students have access to reference materials to support their writing?

• Did the teacher use MODELLED, SHARED, GUIDED writing as appropriate?

• Was there evidence that students receive clear feedback on their strengths and on ways to improve, both during and after writing?

Where pupils were using writing to capture and develop thoughts and ideas:

■ Did they use an approach to writing that suited this purpose, allowing for adaptation, reflection and evaluation?

■ Did they have a repertoire of formats for this kind of writing, or did they need more support from the teacher through demonstration?

■ Were they able to use the outcomes of this kind of writing to support a further task, e.g. a spoken presentation or a more-formal piece of writing?

Where students were required to write a longer piece:

■ Did they know how to organise that particular type of writing or did this need to be taught explicitly, e.g. using the teaching sequence for writing?

■ Did the teacher make explicit reference to paragraphs and how they can be linked?

■ Were they supported with the process of selecting, prioritising and ordering material when they needed to incorporate information from a range of sources?

■ Were there strategies for supporting weaker writers with the task, e.g. a writing frame?

When helping students to develop clear and appropriate expression:

■ Did the teacher use strategies to encourage pupils to reflect on the clarity of their writing and alter it as necessary?

■ Were they encouraged to rehearse sentences orally before writing?

■ Were they encouraged to think about and engage in the choices which a writer must make in terms of vocabulary and sentence structure, e.g. through shared writing?

■ Were the constraints for making choices as a writer made explicit, e.g. the appropriate degree of formality?