Strengthening Reading in Year 9 History

At Yeronga SHS, we’re passionate about ensuring every student has the literacy tools they need to succeed, not just in English, but across all subjects. As part of the Department of Education’s Reading Through the Curriculum (RTTC) priority, we’ve been working closely with teachers to strengthen students' reading and thinking in subjects like Health and Physical Education, and now, Humanities.

This term, our focus turned to Year 9 History, where students are exploring the causes, experiences, and impacts of World War I. In partnership with Humanities teacher Michael Kowalczyk, we’ve co-planned and co-taught a series of lessons that help students read, analyse, and write like young historians.

A key part of this work involved helping students develop strong historical hypotheses — educated guesses or arguments based on their inquiry questions. To support this, students worked through hands-on activities where they:

• Examined real examples of weak and strong hypotheses
• Learned the importance of using historical vocabulary and specific evidence
• Practised building their own arguments with guidance and support

This explicit approach made a considerable difference. Many students were able to turn simple facts into powerful, well-argued historical statements. For example, one student transformed:

Gas was used in World War I.
into:
The use of gas was significant in WWI as it impacted soldiers and forever changed the way battles were fought.

These lessons aren’t just building reading and writing skills, they’re also boosting confidence. Students were proud to speak, write, and think more like historians.

This work highlights the power of teacher collaboration, explicit instruction, and a shared focus on reading strategies that support learning across the curriculum.

To our wonderful parents and carers supporting learning at home, or for those simply curious about what’s happening in our classrooms, know that Yeronga SHS teachers are committed to building strong and critical readers, thinkers, and communicators across every subject.

Karen Caslin, Petrina Zagami, Lauren Askin

RTTC Leaders