There is a strong and consistent body of evidence demonstrating the impact of high-quality texts on students’ literacy outcomes. From our recent survey of Australian teachers, we know that teachers want to be more intentional and ambitious around text selection, and that this is an area in which they are looking for more support.
To help to address this need, we have been working with knowledgeable Australian teachers and leaders (including Emina McLean and Rebecca Birch) to develop a draft Reading Spine across years F-10. This Spine sets out suggested high-quality texts, arranged by academic year level, and is intended for inspiration for schools looking to develop or refine their own reading spine, or as a starting-point for schools and teachers.
The Spine includes all of the texts selected for our Years 3-6 English Curriculum (and already available on the site as part of our core resources).
The draft Reading Spine can be found here.
We look forward to receiving suggestions and feedback to help us to strengthen and further refine this living document. We would also love to hear from you if you have positive feedback about the Spine and how it might support you in your school.
Please fill out this one-minute feedback form, or email us at contact@ochre.org.au if you have suggestions or feedback.