Substance

Definition : "The lesson/task leads to substantial literacy engagement, not busy-work."

Effective teaching is related to the quality and depth of what is learnt in the process of learning literacy. The study indicated that the more effective and effective teachers created tasks that allowed for substantial learning to take place as teacher and children engaged in dialogue that led to deep understanding of concepts and skills

This teaching practice is closely related to 'substantive conversation' which involves sustained conversational dialogue between students, and between teacher and students to create or negotiate understanding of subject matter.