common support techniques
Middle School
Language
Support students to become independent listeners, speakers, and viewers by
regularly asking open-ended questions that spark curiosity and encourage
deeper thinking. For example, asking students, “Do you think they made the right
choice?” or “What would you do if you were in that situation?” These types of
questions allow students to share their ideas and opinions, make inferences from
what they see or hear, and build confidence in expressing themselves.
Encourage and prompt students to participate in a variety of oral activities
across all subject areas to practise and strengthen their communication skills.
This can include informal class discussions where students share a similar
experience they have had, formal oral presentations such as presenting
information about a country they have researched, or creative activities like role-
plays to demonstrate positive behaviours. EAs can support learning by modelling
both formal and informal language and guide students in understanding when
and how to use each appropriately.
Expand students' vocabulary by using subject-specific or specialist words
within everyday interactions and encouraging them to apply these words in real-
world settings to reinforce their understanding. For example, in a science lesson,
students might be introduced to the term “habitat” and asked to describe different
habitats where animals live, such as forests, deserts or oceans, helping them
connect the concept to real-life settings they are familiar with.
Literacy
Encourage and prompt students to develop independence as readers by
applying a range of reading strategies and discussing textual features and
conventions for different text types and purposes. For example, after reading a
short story, prompt students to predict what happens next, summarise the main
events in their own words, and ask questions about any parts they found
confusing or interesting, helping them build confidence with new or unfamiliar
texts.
Assist students in understanding writing conventions for different text types,
including their purpose and intended audience. For example, when writing a
persuasive text, offer students guidance throughout the drafting, editing and
proofreading process, helping them consider who will read their writing, what tone
and language is most effective, and how to structure their arguments clearly. This
supports students in making informed choices about language, structure, and
style when creating their own texts.
Encourage and prompt students to reflect on their own values, opinions and
perspectives as part of their writing process. For example, when analysing an
advertisement, ask students open-ended questions to evaluate whether they
think the ad is convincing and why. Encourage them to consider which
persuasive techniques (such as catchy slogans, bright colours, or choice of
language) were used, and how these influenced their opinion. This helps
students become more critical of media and supports them in applying similar
strategies when creating their own persuasive texts.
Numeracy
Encourage numeracy development by making connections to real-life
situations through class discussions. Present problems in a real-world context
that has personal meaning for students and reinforces mathematical
understanding. For example, when learning about measurement, students
might calculate the perimeter or area of their classroom, the school
playground and their play space at home for comparison, helping them see
how mathematics can be applied in everyday life.
Discuss different strategies students have learnt and encourage them to use
their “bank” of knowledge to select the most appropriate strategy or resource
for solving a specific problem. For instance, when solving an addition
problem, students might choose to use a mental strategy like counting on or
number bonds to ten, or physical resources such as number lines or counters
to support them. Support students by guiding them to explain what the
strategy is, how it works and why they chose it, asking questions, offering
prompts or examples as needed to help them consolidate their understanding
and build confidence.
Provide and model the use of resources to support problem solving, such as
protractors to measure angles or counters to model arrays and division
problems. This helps make abstract concepts more concrete, allowing
students to visualise and better understand mathematical ideas.
Early Adolescence (Years 7-8)
Language
Support students to expand their vocabulary by modelling new subject-
specific or specialist words and engaging them in discussions. For
example, introduce scientific terms such as evaporation and
condensation when they are learning about the Water Cycle, and
encourage students to use these words when explaining experiments
or observations.
Model thinking aloud when supporting students by speaking aloud and
explaining what needs to be done while physically completing a task,
including the reasoning behind each step, rather than just giving
instructions. For example, thinking aloud can be used when assisting a
student to work backwards to find an error when solving an algebraic
equation. Encourage students to think aloud when completing their
own work, such as using it like a verbal checklist when trying to write a
well-structured paragraph, helping them work through their thought
process while developing their language skills.
Provide resources to reinforce key vocabulary and support students in
developing and understanding new terms. This can include checklists,
visual aids, word banks or glossaries for reference during lessons. For
example, students could be provided with a word bank or glossary of
key English terms and their meanings to use as a reference and help
memorise the new vocabulary.
, the EA might say, “Ok, so we know that x or something minus 8
equals 12” while pointing at the parts in the equation. “Now, to find out
what x is, we need to move the 8 to the other side of the equal sign,
and when we move it, we need to remember to change it from -8 to
+8.”, etc.
Literacy
Assist students in completing literacy tasks by providing scaffolding
and breaking the task into smaller, manageable steps. When
completing an essay writing task, students can be guided with clear,
step-by-step instructions for writing a well-structured paragraph. This
could include using the TEEL framework, which divides a paragraph
into four parts: a Topic to introduce the idea, an
Elaboration/Explanation to expand on it, Evidence/Example to support
it, and a Link to connect back to the main argument. This approach
assists students in understanding the purpose of each part of the
paragraph, reduces feelings of overwhelm, and builds their confidence
and autonomy, enabling them to gradually remove the scaffolding and
become independent writers.
Support students in applying and correctly editing punctuation in their
writing. This can include modelling the use of commas, full stops,
exclamation marks or other punctuation, providing examples, and
prompting students to review and edit their own work or that of another
student. Students can also have an excerpt of their writing read aloud
without punctuation or with intentional errors to demonstrate how
meaning and clarity can be affected. Guiding students to notice these
differences, assists them in developing a stronger understanding of the
importance of punctuation in their writing.
Provide students with constructive feedback and encourage them to
seek it throughout the learning process. The feedback given should
highlight strengths as well as areas for improvement to guide learning,
rather than only reviewing work after completion. For example, when
writing an essay, point out the strong points the student has covered,
such as clear topic sentences or well-supported evidence, while also
suggesting areas they may need to elaborate on for clarity or ways to
reorganise their paragraphs to improve flow and structure.
Numeracy
Encourage students to work collaboratively to solve problems using
learnt concepts. Assistance and support can be provided by praising
their individual strengths and encouraging them to contribute their
ideas to the group. Students can be prompted with guiding questions
such as, “How would you approach this problem?” or “Are there other
strategies we have learnt that might also work here?” For example,
when working as a group to calculate the area of a composite shape,
one student may break the composite shape into smaller, simple
shapes and their areas together, while another may form a larger,
overall shape and subtract the areas of any “cut-outs” to calculate the
actual area.
Prompt and encourage students to refer to fully solved problems
(worked examples) to observe how each step is completed, rather than
simply giving them the correct answer. By examining at these worked
examples, students can understand the step-by-step process, identify
the strategies used, and learn how to apply them to solve similar
problems independently. For example, when solving algebraic
equations, a worked example can be provided to students, showing
each step with explanations to help them understand why each action
is carried out. Students can then compare their own work with the
example to help identify any mistakes and reinforce their
understanding. For students requiring additional support, a guided
“walk-through” of the worked example can be completed with them
first.
Offer students constructive and positive feedback on strategies used to
work out answers. Praise students for showing their working while also
suggesting areas they may need to review to obtain the correct answer.
For students who finish quickly, acknowledge their correct use of the
strategy being taught, then encourage them to try alternative
approaches to achieve the same answer and reflect on which method
is most efficient for them.
Middle Adolescence (Years 9-10)
Language
Encourage and support students to engage meaningfully in group discussions by
guiding them to contribute their ideas and respond to their peers. Support can
include providing sentence starters or prompts to enable students to express their
opinions clearly and encouraging them to actively listen to their peers and build
on their ideas. For example, during a discussion about a current issue, a student
who is unsure how to start could be given a prompt such as, “You could start by
saying, ‘I think…’ What do you think? ‘Because…’ Why do you think that?” to help
them gain confidence in participating.
Assist students in recognising that spoken and written language have different
purposes and conventions. Encourage them to practise their ideas orally to
check for clarity and flow, allowing them to hear how it sounds first and then
guide them in adapting their spoken words into the appropriate written form. For
example, if a student says “I liked the main character because she was brave
and stuff” they could be prompted with questions or possible suggestions to help
reshape it into written language, such as, “In key scenes, the main character is
portrayed as brave, which highlights the theme of resilience.”
Support students in analysing multimodal texts, such as videos, infographics, or
social media content, by asking open-ended questions that prompt them to
connect prior knowledge to new learning, make observations, and participate in
meaningful discussions. This encourages them to become critical thinkers and
evaluators of different texts. For example, while analysing a social media
advertising campaign, students can be supported to activate their critical thinking
by responding to questions such as, “Why do you think they used that
technique?”, “What evidence can you see that supports that?”, or “Do you think
this is effective for the target audience?”
Literacy
Encourage and prompt students to use sentence starters to assist them with
getting their writing started. These sentence starters assist students with
organising their ideas and converting them into clear, coherent sentences. For
instance, when analysing a persuasive text, a student could be prompted to
begin with, “The writer uses language to persuade the audience by…” and
then be encouraged to expand with details, explanations or examples.
Assist students to move beyond surface level observations when analysing
visual images by using guided questions and prompts. This assists them in
recognising how meaning is created in visual texts. For example, analysing a
film, they might be asked, “How does the use of lighting shape the mood of
this scene?” or, when analysing an image, “Are there any symbols used to
convey a message to the audience? What is the message?”
Provide students with worked examples to demonstrate how they should be
approaching the activity. This can be done using the I do, We do, You do
strategy by first modelling the steps required to complete the activity, then
completing the activity as a whole class or small group so the students are
able to see how to apply those steps themselves and then have go at
completing the activity independently.
Numeracy
Remind students of the steps involved in a numeracy concept and connect it
to what they are currently learning. This assists them in gaining a deeper
understanding of why following a logical sequence is important and helps
them apply the concept effectively to new problems. For example, when
solving an algebraic equation students can be reminded to follow the order of
operations: first expand the brackets, then evaluate indices, next complete
multiplication and division from left to right and finally perform addition and
subtraction from left to right. If students do not follow the steps in the correct
order, the answer will be incorrect.
Encourage students to regularly practise numerical concepts to assist them in
consolidating their numeracy skills, building confidence and applying these
skills in real-life contexts. For example, after learning about percentages,
students could practise by completing tasks based on real-life scenarios, such
as comparing sale prices of a product to determine which store offers the
cheapest purchase price.
Provide one-on-one assistance to help a student develop their understanding
of a numeracy concept, complete a mathematics activity, select the
appropriate resources and build their confidence, rather than leaving them to
work alone. This individual support can be provided in various forms, such as
using verbal prompts to offer hints or ask guiding questions, visual prompts
like worked examples or checklists to clarify steps, and creating opportunities
for discussions where the student can talk through the concept to check for
understanding. For example, when learning to solve trigonometry problems,
such as finding a missing side, work one-on-one with the student walking
step-by-step through a worked example, ensuring they understand how to
determine the correct ratio to use (sine, cosine, tangent) based on which
sides of the triangle are known, how to substitute the known values into the
equation, and finally solve the equation to find the unknown side. The student
may also require assistance with inputting the values correctly into their
calculator to complete the calculation.