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When should each concept be taught in Primary English?

Contents

1. How to teach Primary English
2. Why is this the way to teach Primary English?
3. When should each concept be taught?
4. What does this actually look like in the classroom?
5. Primary English Resources
What’s on this page
  • Contents
  • Phonological awareness development
  • Moving towards fluency
  • The progression

Phonological awareness development

At the Foundation/Kindergarten/Preparatory/Reception stage the following guides give a general idea on the progression that can occur:
EAB – The Science of Reading Implementation Guide
Typical development of phonological awareness skills
Teaching and Learning Primary English (pg 55): Damon Thomas  
Phonemic awareness: Complexity of manipulation (NSW Department of Education)

Moving towards fluency

From here, there needs to be a focus on both Phonemic Awareness (sounds of the word) and Phonics (relationship between letters/graphemes and sounds/phonemes) so that readers have the Orthographic Mapping required to be fluent readers. This frees up their working memory to take in the content of what they are reading. This is where they can go from learning to read to reading to learn. 

From Bentleigh West PS as shared by Principal, Steven Capp in a Think Forward Educators Webinar.

Rich texts are still being used throughout this learning process as it helps them continue to build their vocabulary and background knowledge. Through modelling and guiding, the teacher should be demonstrating the things that the reader should be thinking about as they read. Once readers are fluent (>120 words per minute from an age appropriate text), they can begin reading independently. 

The progression

In Australia, ACARA have provided the National Literacy Learning Progression as a guide for teachers to understand whether students are working above, at or below year level expectations. PLD have put together this Synthetic Phonics and High Frequency Word Teaching Sequence. Christopher Such has put together a combined spelling and vocabulary timetable for KS2. In The Art & Science of Teaching Primary Reading he also provides a number of examples of timetables, Latin and Greek root words and a list of tier two words.

The Dyslexia SPELD Foundation Spelling Wheel provides a sliding scale to show what skills should be used at different ages.

The Core Knowledge Sequence from the Core Knowledge Foundation provides “content-specific, cumulative, and coherent curriculum guidelines.” 

Remember, regardless of what is taught and when, the more structured, systematic and explicit it is taught the better.

Curriculum links

NSW English K-2 (NEW)

NSW English K-12

Australian Curriculum English F-10

Where to next?

1. How to teach Primary English
2. Why is this the way to teach Primary English?
3. When should each concept be taught?
4. What does this actually look like in the classroom?
5. Primary English Resources

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