View Learning Outcomes | Learning Outcomes and Indicators

Curriculum Focus

Communication

Teachers introduce students to a wide variety of reading texts created for their interest level, that are suitable to their English language level. These include imaginative texts, simple informational texts about classroom topics or topics that interest them, and texts that deal with personal relationships. Teachers prepare students for texts using strategies, such as concept mapping, bundling information and setting the context using pictures and realia, to relate new information to their background experiences. Students are encouraged to talk or write about these texts. Students respond to texts through art, drama, movement and music. By working with a wide range of texts in class and group activities, students enjoy and appreciate aspects of text, such as alliteration and rhyme, simile and metaphor, humor and pathos.

Aspects of language

Contextual understanding

Teachers introduce students to a wide variety of texts both factual and fictional, written for a variety of clear purposes and audiences. Students work with accessible, culturally appropriate texts at their language and interest level. Students are explicitly introduced to different types of texts and discuss how they differ according to purpose and audience, for example, the difference between a story and a recipe. Comparisons are made between simple fictional and factual texts. Students begin to understand the role of layout and presentation in different texts, such as the differences between factual texts and picture-story books. They are encouraged to share ideas and impressions about characters, illustrations, or the story line.

Linguistic structures and features

Students begin to use their knowledge of English sentence structure to read new words, and to confirm the predictions they make about meanings. Their developing knowledge of letter–sound relationships also assists them to read new words. Students add to their repertoire of sight words and phrases, as they both learn more English and read more texts. Their understanding of letter–sound relationships in English is enhanced through activities that develop phonemic awareness, such as listening games, speech rhymes, making word family lists, alphabet activities and simple dictionary work, based around words in students’ oral repertoires. Students start to develop a metalanguage for talking about the texts they are reading.

Strategies

Through reading a wide variety of informative and enjoyable texts at school, students are introduced to effective reading strategies. As they take part in activities, such as choral reading, reading aloud and silent reading, students are exposed to good reading models. They are given the opportunity to read for their own purposes, or to determine specific information. Teachers model strategies for reading different texts for different purposes. They guide students in their choice of reading material by modelling strategies for monitoring text difficulty and interest level. Students are encouraged to integrate their developing understanding of syntactic and semantic cues with letter–sound knowledge of English to read more challenging texts.