Manaiakalani -

Reading Strategies for High School Students


At last year’s wananga in Auckland, Dr Aaron Wilson and the Woolf Fisher research team presented their recent findings from the Manaiakalani online observations & questionnaires. One of the key themes generated from this data set was how important it is to raise students’ reading across all year levels.

Reading competency is of particular significance at high school, especially as reading in a specific subject area is a specialised skill and must be taught consistently.


At this Secondary Connect, we were fortunate to have Associate Professor Aaron Wilson, Dr Yannie Van Hees and two high school teachers present. Anne Sinclair followed on with a vibrant discussion that left educators feeling inspired and motivated for developing reading strategies within their classes.

Recordings and slides from our presenters are available below with the full unedited recording available here.

Reading strategies at High School: Secondary Connect:

Sandra Quick

Greymouth High School: Head of English

Using T-shaped literacy in a mixed level secondary classroom: exploring kawanatanga and rangatiratanga in New Zealand history and literature

Contact details:

  • quicks@greyhigh.school.nz

Sandra's professional blog link

Manaiakalani Innovative Teacher in 2019

Sandra Quick - Ngā Here Kahikatea
Sandra Quick .mp4

Jayne Abernethy

Hornby High School: Teacher of Science

Bringing it together: Using word mats to apply learning from texts.

Contact details:

  • ay@hornby.school.nz

Jayne's professional blog link


Jayne AbernethySecondary Connect presenter
Jayne Abernethy.mp4

Dr Janni van Hees

Hornby High School: Teacher of Science

Reading is meaning-making

Contact details:

  • j.vanhees@languagingminds.co.nz

Languaging Minds

Reference: Vocabulary Size And Collocational Knowledge Of Turkish Efl Learners


VAN HEES - Reading is meaning-making. MARCH 2021. SHARED
Jannie Van Hees.mp4
Reading secondary connect

Dr Aaron Wilson

Associate Director of the Woolf Fisher Research Centre

Aaron's presentation highlighted of some key strategies to consider when planning lessons to help build critical thinking and literacy skills.

Anne notes for Secondary Connect

Anne Sinclair

Manaiakalani Professional Supervisor, Mentor and Coach

Following the presentations at our Secondary Connect, Anne led a vibrant discussion on we can apply reading strategies in our classes and across the curriculum.

Review Anne's Good Morning Zoom presentation for provocations, reading and ideas to inform your inquiry or that of your team.

Full recording

The full unedited recorded version of this Secondary Connect series focused on Reading Strategies in High School is available on the right.

Chat Transcript

Click here to view the discussion running in the chat during our Secondary Connect.

Secondary Connect - Reading strategies at High School (2021-03-15 at 19:33 GMT-7)