This is the second publication in the Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TLRI) Project Plus series. Project Plus aims to inform questions of policy and practice by synthesising findings of educational interest from projects funded by the TLRI. This Project Plus focuses on literacy in the early childhood education (ECE) and school sectors.The TLRI provides government-funded support for research that builds knowledge about teaching and learning in Aotearoa New Zealand. Partnerships between researchers and practitioners are central to the TLRI. The fund is open to proposals from all education and training agencies, including the early childhood, school, and post-school sectors. The TLRI was established by the government in 2003. This publication focuses particularly on the extent to which the literacy-related projects build a cumulative body of knowledge linking teaching and learning, address themes of strategic importance to education in New Zealand, build upon New Zealand-based research evidence, draw on related international research, and are forward looking. [To view the first report, "Doing Research That Matters: A Success Story from Statistics Education," see ED560968.]