GOALS

The English Australian Curriculum aims to ensure that students:

• learn to listen to, read, view, speak, write, create and reflect on increasingly complex and sophisticated spoken, written and multimodal texts across a growing range of contexts with accuracy, fluency and purpose
• appreciate, enjoy and use the English language in all its variations and develop a sense of its richness and power to evoke feelings, convey information, form ideas, facilitate interaction with others, entertain, persuade and argue
• understand how Standard Australian English works in its spoken and written forms and in combination with non-linguistic forms of communication to create meaning
• develop interest and skills in inquiring into the aesthetic aspects of texts, and develop an informed appreciation of literature

CONTENT STRUCTURE

Three interrelated strands which together the three strands focus on developing students’ knowledge, understanding and skills in listening, reading, viewing, speaking and writing. The three strands are:

1. Language: knowing about the English language
2. Literature: understanding, appreciating, responding to, analysing and creating literature
3. Literacy: expanding the repertoire of English usage.

STRANDS AND SUB-STRANDS
Content descriptions in each strand are grouped into sub-strands:

CROSS-CURRICULUM PRIORITIES
There are three cross curriculum priorities in the Australian Curriculum:
1. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures
2. Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia
3. Sustainability.
The cross curriculum priorities are embedded in the curriculum and will have a strong but varying presence depending on their relevance to each of the learning areas.

HANDWRITING IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
Cursive script from Prep to Year 4
PREP

• Teach starting points and letter formations (leave off entry points for m, n, r)
• Focus on pencil grip
• Use 2B jumbo pencils
• Use dotted third 24mm paper

YEAR 1-2

• continue mastery of starting points and letter formation
• develop fluency ie. writing several letters or whole words from memory when transcribing
• use 2B pencils
• use 24mm paper with dotted thirds for Year 1
• use 18mm paper with dotted thirds for Year 2

YEAR 3-4

• Continue mastery of starting points and letter formation
• Teach five joining techniques i.e. diagonal, horizontal, no joins, touch joins and pen lifts and joins to ascenders
• use 2B pencils
• introduce ball point pens when joining techniques have been mastered
• use 14mm paper with dotted thirds
• use 9mm paper with dotted thirds in Year 4 during the latter part of the year

YEAR 5-6

• continue mastery of above skills
• allow for personalisation of styles
• experiment with variations and embellishments
• use ball point pens for most work
• use 9mm dotted thirds line paper in Year 5 & 6

SPEAKING & LISTENING

CONTENT

The dimension of ‘Speaking and Listening’ refers to the various formal and informal ways oral language is used to convey and receive meaning. It involves the development and demonstration of knowledge about the appropriate oral language for particular audiences and occasions, including body language and voice. It also involves the development of active-listening strategies and an understanding of the conventions of different spoken texts including everyday communication, group discussion, formal presentations and speeches, storytelling and negotiating.

Oral language is fundamental. Problems with oral language at an early age affect reading and writing later on because oral language plays a key role in learning to read and write.
The components of oral language can be represented by ICPALER:
Ideas being communicated (semantics)
Conventions, rules being used (grammar)
Purpose for communicating
AL ability to learn and use language
Expressive Language
Receptive Language

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