Episode 9: Every Class is a Reading Class

SummaryIn this episode of Chalk Dust, Rebecca Birch and Nathaniel Swain are joined by Andrew McCrorey, an experienced educator and instructional leader at Monterey Secondary College in Victoria. Drawing on classroom footage from a secondary setting serving a highly disadvantaged community, Andrew demonstrates how explicit instruction, trauma-informed positive education and high expectations can work together rather than compete with one another.The discussion explores entry routines, co-regulation, secondary choral reading, gist statements, cold calling, participation as an equity issue, and the explicit teaching of behaviour expectations. Andrew explains how consistency across classrooms can function as an equity strategy, creating predictable environments in which students know what success looks like and teachers can focus on teaching rather than repeatedly resetting behaviour.Across the episode, Rebecca, Nathaniel and Andrew return to the idea that supporting students does not require lowering the bar. Instead, effective practice combines strong relationships, clear routines, deliberate participation structures and carefully sequenced academic support. The result is a classroom where students are both safe and challenged, and where literacy, behaviour and wellbeing are treated as interconnected parts of successful teaching.Mentioned resources and explainersAndrew McCroreyAndrew McCrorey is an educator with more than 20 years’ experience teaching in Australia and internationally. His work focuses on explicit instruction, behaviour support, trauma-informed positive education and improving classroom practice in complex educational settings.Monterey Secondary CollegeMonterey Secondary College is located in Frankston North, Victoria. Andrew describes the school’s approach as combining evidence-informed teaching, trauma-informed positive education and consistency across classrooms to improve student learning and engagement.Trauma-Informed Positive EducationA framework used at Monterey to support student regulation, relationships and readiness to learn. Andrew emphasises that trauma-informed practice is not about lowering expectations, but about raising expectations while providing the support students need to meet them.Four-to-One Positive to Corrective FeedbackAndrew describes using a high ratio of positive to corrective feedback during routines such as lesson entry. Positive narration, greeting students warmly and acknowledging successful behaviour help establish a calm, predictable start.Entry RoutinesA tightly rehearsed lesson-entry process in which students know what materials to collect, where to go and what task to begin. Andrew explains how predictable entry routines support regulation, reduce bottlenecks and maximise learning time.Choral ReadingStudents read a text aloud together, following the teacher’s pacing and expression. Andrew uses choral reading in secondary English to build fluency, confidence, prosody and participation while allowing the teacher to hear and correct reading in real time.Gist StatementsA summarising strategy in which students identify who or what a section is about, select key details and then condense the information into a single statement. Andrew uses this as part of a gradual release process to support comprehension and later writing.Cold CallingAndrew uses cold calling after students have had time to rehearse thinking through pair discussion. He frames participation as an equity issue, while also maintaining flexibility when a student is not ready to respond.Tracking the SpeakerA universal attention routine used across the school. Students are explicitly taught to orient towards the speaker so that teachers can secure attention efficiently and maintain lesson flow.Explicit Teaching of BehaviourRather than relying on broad classroom rules, Andrew teaches specific routines for situations such as arriving late. Students are shown what to do, what to expect, and how consequences will work, reducing uncertainty and preserving learning time.Listen or view, and support our work🍏🎧 Apple Podcasts — like, review and follow🎵💚 Spotify — follow and rate📺🔔 YouTube — subscribe and like✍️ Rebecca’s Substack — read more✍️ <a target="_blank" href="https://nathanielswai