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English / Foundation / Language / Phonics and word knowledge

Curriculum content descriptions

Recognise and name all upper and lower case letters (graphemes) and know the most common sound that each letter represents (ACELA1440)

Elaborations
  • using familiar and common letters in handwritten and digital communications
  • identifying familiar and recurring letters and the use of upper and lower case in written texts in the classroom and the community, for example Tom went to the park.
General capabilities
  • Literacy Literacy
ScOT terms

Writing systems,  Capitalisation

Interactive

Words and pictures: final letters

Meet Di, an artist who paints phrases. Help Di paint three pictures by matching words that end with the same two letters. Choose two words that end with the same letter pattern such as lamb and comb. Select a third word to make a phrase, for example a lamb under a comb. Watch as Di paints a picture of the phrase.

Interactive

Letter planet: s, c, b

Help a stranded space traveller return home by filling three fuel tanks with words that have the same letter. Select words that begin with 's', 'c' or 'b'. Read and listen to model words. Select similar words with the same starting letter and place them in the fuel tank. Then construct sentences by putting words in the ...

Interactive

Words and pictures: beginning letters

Meet Di, an artist who paints phrases. Help Di paint three pictures by matching words that begin with the same two consonants. Choose two words that begin with the same letter pattern such as sheep and shoe. Select a third word to make a phrase, for example a sheep under a shoe. Watch as Di paints a picture of the phrase.

Interactive

Letter planet: a, e, o

Help a stranded space traveller return home by filling three fuel tanks with words that have the same letter. Select words with 'a', 'e' or 'o' in them. Read and listen to model words. Select similar words with the same vowel and place them in the fuel tank. Then construct sentences by putting words in the appropriate order. ...

Interactive

Words and pictures: last letter

Meet Di, an artist who paints phrases. Help Di paint three pictures by matching words that end with the same letter. Choose two words that have the same ending letter such as puppy and key. Select a third word to make a phrase, for example a puppy under a key. Watch as Di paints a picture of the phrase. This learning object ...

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Getting started with a phonics progression

This professional learning module explains how to use a phonics progression for reading and spelling, and outlines the skills required for phonological and phonemic awareness development. It contains a recording of a webinar, free downloadable resources and further professional reading. It is the first of seven modules ...

Video

Introduction to SSP - Module 3: key understandings

This 13-minute professional learning video, presented by literacy expert Jocelyn Seamer, discusses key understandings of a systematic, synthetic approach to teaching phonics. It includes information on alphabetic code, sight words, blending and how to meet the needs of all children in the classroom. The other videos in ...

Video

Introduction to SSP - Module 4: features of a systematic synthetic phonics approach

This 23-minute professional learning video, presented by literacy expert Jocelyn Seamer, discusses the features of a systematic, synthetic approach to teaching phonics. It includes information on decodable texts, alphabetic code, and how to teach new sounds. The other videos in the series are; The research base of structured ...

Video

Following an evidence-based phonics progression

Literacy specialist Elaine Stanley presents this webinar extract. She provides an overview of the key elements of a quality, evidence-based phonics progression and explains how to follow a phonics progression in your classroom.

Video

Introduction to SSP - Module 2: framework for evidence-informed reading instruction

This 14-minute professional learning video, presented by literacy expert Jocelyn Seamer, discusses the framework for evidence-informed reading instruction. It includes information on the Simple View of Reading, Scarborough’s Reading Rope model and the Big Six of reading instruction (oral language, phonological awareness, ...

Downloadable

Using decodable texts in the classroom

This infographic guides teachers on using decodable texts with students as part of your systematic synthetic phonics instruction.

Video

Explicit instruction for phonics overview

This video provides an overview of a phonics instructional model for reading and spelling. It is presented by literacy specialists Elaine Stanley and Rebecca McEwan.

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Decodable words and sentences

This resource provides a bank of decodable words and sentences aligned to each phase of the Literacy Hub phonics progression to use as part of instruction or for independent student practice.

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Overview of assessment for phonics knowledge and skills

This document helps teachers create an assessment schedule that includes all the early phonics-related skills necessary for reading and spelling development from Foundation to Year 2.

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Explicit instruction of phonics - an instructional model Q&A

This Q&A webinar extract answers questions from teachers and school leaders about explicit instruction for phonics instruction.

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Phonics instructional model for reading and spelling

This documents includes information about a phonics instructional model for reading and spelling, it outlines the attributes of instruction, provides a lesson and review model, and a sample systematic synthetic phonics lesson that includes examples of skill application tasks.

Downloadable

Sample phonics worksheet (beginner)

This worksheet can be used as part of a phonics lesson for students at the beginning of their phonics learning. It is aligned with an explicit instruction model.

Downloadable

Word and code complexity continuum

This diagram shows the gradual progression of skills that students need to develop so they can read and spell words with increasing complexity.

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Assessment and intervention for an SSP approach

This self-paced learning module outlines the specific areas of knowledge and skills that are assessed for a systematic synthetic phonics approach to teaching reading and spelling. It explains how this approach to assessment is helpful to identify student needs across the Response to Intervention framework. It contains a ...

Video

Explicit instruction for phonics - an instructional model: coaching webinar questions

Literacy specialists Rebecca McEwan and Elaine Stanley present this question and answer session about using explicit instruction principles within your phonics lesson.

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The Big Six of Literacy: a guide for families

This suite of information is ideal for educating families about the six key components that contribute to successful beginning reading (known as the Big Six). It outlines how each of the six elements (oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension) contribute to reading success and ...

Video

Demonstration of a daily review

This video provides a demonstration of a phonics daily review using explicit instruction principles. It is presented by literacy specialists Elaine Stanley and Rebecca McEwan.

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What is the Year 1 Phonics Check?

This information is ideal for educating families about the Year 1 Phonics Check (a free assessment that assesses students' decoding skills). It provides links to a list of words similar to the ones used in the Phonics Check, and a guide that explains how the words should be pronounced.

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Phonics: a guide for families

This information is ideal for educating families about phonics including why and how it is taught in schools, and how families can help at home. The information can also be downloaded as a PDF in English and 11 other languages.

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Phonics lesson planner example and template

This Word document can be used to plan for the specific words and sentences teachers will use when teaching new phonics content. It includes a worked example of a completed lesson and a blank template.

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Explicit instruction for phonics - an instructional model

This self-paced learning module explains the principles of explicit instruction, and outlines an instructional model for reading and spelling, with practical guidance for implementation. It contains a webinar, free downloadable resources and further professional reading. It is the second of seven professional learning modules ...

Audio

Phonemes and graphemes daily review

This slide pack provides recorded pure sounds for each letter–sound correspondence in line with the Literacy Hub phonics progression. It is ideal for use within phonics instruction using a systematic synthetic phonics approach.

Online

Daily review example

This slide pack provides a sample daily review lesson which is a key component of teaching phonics using a systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) model that follows evidence-based research. It can be adapted to follow any phonics progression or lesson.

Video

Q&A session: Making a start with a phonics progression and phonological awareness instruction

This recording of a 30-minute Q&A session supports schools in choosing and following a systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) progression, including phonological and phonemic awareness instruction.

Downloadable

Phonics pair-game template

The pair games and activities in this document can be used as part of your systematic synthetic phonics program to encourage students to develop their phonics skills with peers during independent practice.

Video

Introduction to SSP - Module 1: the research base of structured literacy

This 13-minute professional learning video, presented by literacy expert Jocelyn Seamer, introduces the Science of Reading and explains the implications this body of research has for teaching reading. You will learn about the evidence base that supports the Science of Reading, Sweller's cognitive load theory and Dehaene's ...

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Phonics progression

This evidence-aligned phonics progression includes a sequence of letter-sound correspondences and phonics skills for development across Foundation to year 2.

Video

Demonstration of a phonics lesson

This video provides a demonstration of a phonics lesson using explicit instruction principles. It is presented by literacy specialists Elaine Stanley and Rebecca McEwan.

Downloadable

Sample phonics lesson slides - standard

This slide pack is a sample of a phonics lesson for students who have progressed past the initial stages of their phonics learning.

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Fluency development slides

These example slides show a range of tasks for building fluency. The activities can be used for whole-class or small-group instruction, as well as for independent or paired practice.

Downloadable

Sample phonics lesson slides - beginner

This slide pack is a sample of a phonics lesson for students at the beginning of their phonics learning. It is aligned with an explicit instruction model.

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Progress monitoring tools Phases1-5

These tools support teachers to monitor individual and whole-class student progress in Phases 1-5 of the Literacy hub phonics progression, and instructional notes for the teacher are provided. Each phase has a student reference page and a teacher marking sheet.

Assessment

Progress monitoring tool tracker Phases 1-5

This spreadsheet assists teachers to analyse the data collected in progress monitoring tools, to plan next steps for student learning. This file aligns with Phases 1–5 of the Literacy Hub phonics progression.

Assessment

Progress monitoring tool tracker Phases 6-10

This spreadsheet assists teachers to analyse the data collected in progress monitoring tools, to plan next steps for student learning. This file aligns with Phases 6-10 of the Literacy Hub phonics progression.

Video

Year 1 Phonics Check overview video

This short video (2 minutes and 2 seconds) outlines what the Year 1 Phonics Check is and includes clips of teachers administering this assessment to test students' decoding abilities. It also includes a clip of two teachers discussing the students' results.

Interactive

Jumbled Sentences 4 - iTunes app

Learn to construct sentences by dragging jumbled words into place. You can turn on sound to hear each word spoken and hear your completed sentences read to you. With each successful sentence, you earn virtual coins to buy virtual stickers for your collection. This is one of a series of nine apps. Free when reviewed 6/6/15.

Interactive

Jumbled Sentences 7 - iTunes app

Learn to construct sentences by dragging jumbled words into place. You can turn on sound to hear each word spoken and hear your completed sentences read to you. With each successful sentence, you earn virtual coins to buy virtual stickers for your collection. This is one of a series of nine apps. Free when reviewed 6/6/15.

Interactive

Jumbled Sentences 9 - iTunes app

Learn to construct sentences by dragging jumbled words into place. You can turn on sound to hear each word spoken and hear your completed sentences read to you. With each successful sentence, you earn virtual coins to buy virtual stickers for your collection. This is one of a series of nine apps. Free when reviewed 6/6/15.

Interactive

Jumbled Sentences 6 - iTunes app

Learn to construct sentences by dragging jumbled words into place. You can turn on sound to hear each word spoken and hear your completed sentences read to you. With each successful sentence, you earn virtual coins to buy virtual stickers for your collection. This is one of a series of nine apps. Free when reviewed 6/6/15.

Interactive

Jumbled Sentences 5 - iTunes app

Learn to construct sentences by dragging jumbled words into place. You can turn on sound to hear each word spoken and hear your completed sentences read to you. With each successful sentence, you earn virtual coins to buy virtual stickers for your collection. This is one of a series of nine apps. Free when reviewed 6/6/15.

Interactive

Phonics Fun 4 - iTunes app

Learn letter sounds and rime as you tap pictures and hear letter sounds. Match the letters and sounds to the pictures. Covers 9 letter sounds (a, e, i, o, u, qu, sh, z, v), 5 rimes (ip, ot, x, at, un) in 75 words. Free when reviewed 6/6/15.

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My day: Li: level 1

Help Li by selecting the best texts for different parts of his day. Choose the correct text in a range of activities such as helping Li make up his mind about which bus to take to school, and what to choose for a healthy lunch from the menu. This learning object is one in a series of six objects.

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Talking dino - app for iPad

This is an iPad app. Design a talking dinosaur to present at show and tell. Create your dinosaur by selecting from a range of elements such as mood, size and colour. Choose a voice and background picture for your dinosaur. Decide on a name that suits your talking dinosaur. Select a note about your dinosaur. Watch the animation. ...

Online

TrackSAFE Education Primary School Resources: Foundation, Year 1 and Year 2 English

This unit of work focuses on developing student understanding of the importance of being track safe and the key message 'Stop, Look, Listen, Think'. It builds students' familiarity with the vocabulary and key concepts related to rail safety and provides differentiated activities for writers at different stages of development ...

Interactive

Words and pictures: first letter

Meet Di, an artist who paints phrases. Help Di paint three pictures by matching words that start with the same letter. Choose two words that have the same beginning letter such as zebra and zip. Select a third word to make a phrase, for example a zebra under a zip. Watch as Di paints a picture of the phrase. This learning ...

Interactive

Storyboard: Flutter-by friends!

Explore the title and picture on the cover of 'Flutter-by friends!' Then make a prediction about the storyline. Listen to the story and follow as each word is underlined. Find out if your prediction matches the storyline. Put the jumbled events of the story in the right order.

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Sentence builder: prehistoric: tool

Help a caveman use a sentence builder machine to create past-tense sentences. Spin each rock to see a new word for your sentence. Choose words from five groups: when, who, what, where and setting.

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Procedural texts: let's make a banana split

Explore the three steps in a procedure; aim, materials and steps by looking at four examples. Discover the steps in making a banana split. Find the materials and ingredients you'll need for the banana split hidden in a classroom. Investigate the steps in making the banana split by taking photos. Put the jumbled steps of ...

Online

Focused Improvement in Early Literacy Development (FIELD)

This teacher resource describes an evidence-based strategy in which eight disadvantaged metropolitan schools and 12 remote schools in Western Australia assessed the oral English language and emergent literacy development of their pre-primary (Foundation) students, and used that data to inform explicit teaching of English ...

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Sentence builder: ocean: tool

Help a mermaid use a sentence builder machine to create past-tense sentences. Spin each coin to see a new word for your sentence. Choose words from four groups: when, who, what and where.

Online

Smarter Schools approach to teaching beginning reading and spelling

This is a teacher resource about the Smarter Schools strategy successful implemented by 30 Catholic and independent schools in Tasmania to improve the progress of students in reading and spelling. The strategy uses mainly an oral language approach to teaching phonics and phonemic awareness in an integrated and systematic ...

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Syllabus bites: types of sentences

A web page resource with information, teacher guides and activities on types of sentences to support the Australian Curriculum in English K–10. It has detailed activities, links to resources and quizzes.

Online

Patterns

This is a unit of inquiry made up of 12 learning sequences for year F in the English for the Australian Curriculum resource. Each learning sequence contains a series of resources, suggested activities to carry out with students and a post-activity reflection. This unit examines patterns in literature and language, with ...

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Work Sample Foundation Year: Big write

This work sample demonstrates evidence of student learning in relation to aspects of the achievement standards for Foundation Year English. The primary purpose for the work sample is to demonstrate the standard, so the focus is on what is evident in the sample not how it was created. The sample is an authentic representation ...