Disciplinary literacy means helping students learn how to read, write, talk, and think in the ways that are used in each school subject. For example, reading in science involves understanding diagrams and evidence, while reading in history means analysing sources and viewpoints, and maths focuses on symbols and problem-solving steps. By helping to support these subject-specific skills, you can help your child understand content more deeply, resulting in greater retention and academic performance. 

Command words are the instruction words used in exam questions and classwork that tell students exactly what they need to do to answer a question correctly. Words like describe, explain, compare, and evaluate each require a different type of response, and understanding them helps students know how much detail to give and how to structure their answers. Learning command words helps students feel more confident and perform better in lessons, homework, and exams.

Decoding text is the skill of breaking down written words and sentences to understand their meaning. It’s not just reading the words aloud – it also means figuring out unfamiliar words, recognising patterns, and making sense of what the text is saying. Supporting decoding helps children read more accurately and understand what they read, which is important for learning in all subjects.

Latin prefixes and suffixes are small word parts added to the beginning or end of a word that change its meaning. A prefix goes at the start of a word, like pre- in preview (meaning “before”), and a suffix goes at the end, like -able in readable (meaning “able to be read”). Understanding these helps students figure out the meaning of new words, improve their vocabulary, and do better in reading and writing across all subjects.