This presentation looks at how persuasive and entertaining language techniques can be used to deepen engagement and develop pupils’ literacy across subjects. It focuses on how teachers can help pupils understand, analyse, and produce texts that aim to influence or captivate an audience.

For example, in Drama or English, students might explore how rhetorical devices create emotional impact in speeches or scripts. In subjects like business studies or media, learners could practise crafting persuasive pitches or adverts using tone, structure, and audience awareness.

This presentation explores how purposeful discussion and structured information-sharing can enhance pupils’ understanding and communication across subjects. It focuses on practical ways staff can use talk as a tool for learning, and support pupils in expressing ideas clearly, confidently, and with subject-specific precision.

For example, in English, pupils might engage in exploratory talk to unpack a poem before writing an analytical response. In Geography, a teacher might use structured discussion prompts to help pupils explain processes like erosion, followed by a written summary using key terminology. These approaches help pupils deepen their thinking and improve their ability to communicate effectively in each discipline.

This presentation provides practical approaches for integrating disciplinary literacy into everyday classroom practice. It focuses on how subject teachers can explicitly teach the reading, writing, and thinking skills that pupils need to succeed in their specific disciplines.

For example, a science teacher might model how to write a hypothesis using precise language and structured reasoning, while a history teacher could guide students in analysing sources by teaching them how to interpret bias and context through subject-specific vocabulary. These approaches help students not only access the content but also communicate their understanding in ways that reflect the conventions of the discipline.