This workshop will provide teachers with a shortlist of texts – films, novels and short story collections – to teach at years 7-10, from classics to contemporary ones. The workshop will discuss each of the texts, illustrate why it’s an effective choice at a particular year level and demonstrate how to design a unit around the text that will improve reading and writing outcomes. An essential part of unit design that the workshop will look at is explicit skill instruction – and teachers will be equipped with a range of reading and writing instruction procedures that can be applied to any text.