Curriculum Alignment

Language variation and change

Content Description:

Related Ziptales Activities:

Understand that English is one of many languages spoken in Australia and that different languages may be spoken by family, classmates and community

Specialised English Lessons Oral Language Module: Speaking & Listening (Foundation) What Language Do You Speak?
In Wendy and the Genie, the genie says ‘Hello’ to Wendy. Brainstorm words from other languages that mean ‘hello’ (Developing Literacy - Storytime).

Language for interaction

Content Description:

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Explore how language is used differently at home and school depending on the relationships between people

Specialised English Lessons Oral Language Module: Asking Questions (Foundation) Asking Nicely.
Study the dialogue used by the characters in The Three Little Blackbirds and The Amazing Ape to springboard discussion about how language varies according to the relationships between people (Developing Literacy - Easy Readers).

Understand that language can be used to explore ways of expressing needs, likes and dislikes

Specialised English Lessons Oral Language Module: Expressing Opinions (Foundation) Likes and Dislikes.
Explore how characters’ emotions are conveyed via visual representations in the Easy Readers stories e.g. Is it Fun? (Developing Literacy).

Text structure and organisation

Content Description:

Related Ziptales Activities:

Understand that texts can take many forms, can be very short (for example an exit sign) or quite long (for example an information book or a film) and that stories and informative texts have different purposes

Specialised English Lessons Writing Module: Text Types (Foundation) Words Are Everywhere
Identify Wendy and the Pirate as a text that ‘tells a story’ and the map in the story as a text that ‘gives information’ (Storytime – Developing Literacy).

Understand that some language in written texts is unlike everyday oral language

Specialised English Lessons Writing Module: Organising Texts (Foundation) What’s on a Page?
View the Storytime stories identifying the words in the speech bubbles as the written form of what the characters are saying (Developing Literacy).

Understand that punctuation is a feature of written text different from letters; recognise how capital letters are used for names, and that capital letters and full stops signal the beginning and end of sentences

Specialised English Lessons Writing Module: Punctuation (Foundation) How to Write Sentences.
Examine the use of capital letters and full stops in the Easy Readers and Storytime stories (Developing Literacy).

Understand concepts about print and screen, including how books, film and simple digital texts work, and know some features of print, for example directionality

Specialised English Lessons Reading Module: Multimodal Texts (Foundation) Different Kinds of Books.
Use the Easy Readers to observe how simple digital texts work and discuss the similarities and differences to print texts (Developing Literacy).

Expressing and developing ideas

Content Description:

Related Ziptales Activities:

Recognise that sentences are key units for expressing ideas

Specialised English Lessons Writing Module: Grammar (Foundation) What is a Sentence?
Demonstrate that word order adds meaning to a sentence by exchanging key words in a Storytime story e.g. The Billy Goats Gruff – ‘They lived on the grass and ate the mountain’ (Developing Literacy).

Recognise that texts are made up of words and groups of words that make meaning

Specialised English Lessons Writing Module: Organising Texts (Foundation) What’s on a Page?
Use the Easy Readers to identify the difference between the words and the images in the text (Developing Literacy).

Explore the different contribution of words and images to meaning in stories and informative texts

Specialised English Lessons Reading Module: Visual Literacy (Foundation) Using Pictures in Stories.
View the Storytime stories to study how print and images combine to tell the story (Developing Literacy).

Understand the use of vocabulary in familiar contexts related to everyday experiences, personal interests and topics taught at school

Specialised English Lessons Reading Module: Vocabulary Expansion (Foundation) Word Brainstorm.
Build on familiar vocabulary using the Easy Readers e.g. At the Playground – Brainstorm equipment that can be found at a playground; Discuss meanings of new vocabulary e.g. The Awful Animal Zoo – awful, gnaw & fawn (Developing Literacy).

Know that spoken sounds and words can be written down using letters of the alphabet and how to write some high-frequency sight words and known words

Use the Learn the ABC modules to refine knowledge of the most common sound each letter of the alphabet makes (Developing Literacy). Practise writing high-frequency sight words using the Easy Readers e.g. Bad Cat – ‘Dad was mad at the cat.’ (Developing Literacy).

Know how to use onset and rime to spell words

Specialised English Lessons Writing Module: Spelling/Etymology (Foundation) Word Families.
Use the Easy Readers to practise building word families using onset and rime e.g. Bad Cat: cat, sat, hat, mat, fat & rat (Developing Literacy).

Sound and letter knowledge

Content Description:

Related Ziptales Activities:

Recognise rhymes, syllables and sounds (phonemes) in spoken words

Verbally identify rhyming words in the Easy Readers e.g. Is it Fun? pin/bin; lip/rip; sand/band; race/place; head/bed (Developing Literacy).

Recognise the letters of the alphabet and know there are lower and upper case letters

View the Learn the ABC modules to assist recognition of lower and upper case letters and most common letter sounds (Developing Literacy).

Literature and Context

Content Description:

Related Ziptales Activities:

Recognise that texts are created by authors who tell stories and share experiences that may be similar or different to students’ own experiences

Use the Easy Readers to compare own experiences to those expressed in the story e.g. At the Playground – Have you ever felt too scared to try something? The Three Little Blackbirds – Have you ever felt left out? (Developing Literacy).

Responding to Literature

Content Description:

Related Ziptales Activities:

Respond to texts, identifying favourite stories, authors and illustrators

Specialised English Lessons Reading Modules Responding to Texts My Favourite Stories & Author’s Use of Language Making Reading Fun (both Foundation).
Select a favourite Easy Readers or Storytime story explaining reasons for choice (Developing Literacy).

Share feelings and thoughts about the events and characters in texts

Share thoughts and feelings about the Easy Readers, Storytime stories and Puppet Plays e.g. The Octopus. What do you think about the captain’s behaviour in the story? (Developing Literacy).

Examining Literature

Content Description:

Related Ziptales Activities:

Identify some features of texts including events and characters and retell events from a text

Specialised English Lessons Writing Module: Language Features (Foundation) Characters in Stories
Retell events from relevant Easy Readers e.g. Bad Cat: What bad things did Max the cat do?; Let’s Get Wet – How did Ned and Ted like to get wet?; Bob the Frog: What happened to Bob the Frog to make him feel odd? (Developing Literacy).

Recognise some different types of literary texts and identify some characteristic features of literary texts, for example beginnings and endings of traditional texts and rhyme in poetry

Identify the characteristic beginning (Once upon a time) and ending (They lived happily ever after) of the traditional Storytime stories e.g. The Three Billy Goats Gruff and The Three Little Pigs (Developing Literacy).

Replicate the rhythms and sound patterns in stories, rhymes, songs and poems from a range of cultures

Specialised English Lessons Reading Module: Studying Poetry (Foundation) Nursery Rhymes.
Perform actions to the Easy Readers Is It Fun? and Play All Day while reciting them as a class (Developing Literacy).

Creating Literature

Content Description:

Related Ziptales Activities:

Retell familiar literary texts through performance, use of illustrations and images

Design story-maps and/or role-play the traditional stories from Storytime (Developing Literacy).

Texts in Context

Content Description:

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Identify some familiar texts and the contexts in which they are used

Specialised English Lessons Writing Module: Text Types (Foundation) Words Are Everywhere
Discuss how symbols can be used in texts e.g. X marks the spot on the map in Wendy and the Pirate (Developing Literacy - Storytime).

Interacting with others

Content Description:

Related Ziptales Activities:

Listen to and respond orally to texts and to the communication of others in informal and structured classroom situations

Specialised English Lessons Oral Language Module: Working in a Group (Foundation) How to Work in a Group
Retell the story of The Sea Monster using picture cues (see Activity 1; Worksheets F-2; Puppet Plays).

Use interaction skills including listening while others speak, using appropriate voice levels, articulation and body language, gestures and eye contact

Specialised English Lessons Oral Language Module: Asking Questions (Foundation) Asking Nicely
Engage in class discussion using Activity 1 for The Octopus & Activities 1 & 2 for The Pirate’s Treasure (Worksheets F-2; Puppet Plays).

Deliver short oral presentations to peers

Specialised English Lessons Oral Language Module: Oral Reports (Foundation) Speaking in Front of a Group
View Wendy and the Genie. Share with others what you would wish for if you had three wishes explaining the reason for each (Developing Literacy - Storytime).

Interpreting, Analysing, Evaluating

Content Description:

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Identify some differences between imaginative and informative texts

Specialised English Lessons Reading Module: Research Skills (Foundation) How Books can Help Us.
Identify the story Bob the Frog as an imaginative text. Brainstorm five facts about frogs and compare texts that are ‘real’ and texts that are ‘imagined’ (Developing Literacy - Easy Readers).

Read predictable texts, practising phrasing and fluency, and monitor meaning using concepts about print and emerging contextual, semantic, grammatical and phonic knowledge

Specialised English Lessons Reading Module: Reading Strategies (Foundation) Learning to Read
Use predictable phrases from a Storytime story (e.g. The Three Little Pigs: ‘Let me come in…’ etc) and the Easy Readers (e.g. Bad Cat, Let’s get wet: "Ned and Ted said.") to practise reading aloud with fluency and intonation (Developing Literacy).

Use comprehension strategies to understand and discuss texts listened to, viewed or read independently

Specialised English Lessons Reading Module: Comprehension Skills (Foundation) Understanding Stories.
Formulate literal questions about the Easy Readers and Storytime stories that are answerable with a key word from the text e.g. On what day did Bob the Frog get lost in a fog? (Developing Literacy).

Creating Texts

Content Description:

Related Ziptales Activities:

Create short texts to explore, record and report ideas and events using familiar words and beginning writing knowledge

Use the Easy Readers to springboard ideas for short text creation e.g.

Yum, Yum, Yum – Write about what you think is yummy and yucky
I Wish – What would you wish for?
At the Playground – What is your favourite thing to do at the playground?
Shower Fun – Which one do you like better – a shower or a bath?
When I Was One – What did you like to do when you were little?
Would You Like… – Think of five more fun things you like to do.
Follow the Rules – Where else do you need to follow the rules?

Participate in shared editing of students’ own texts for meaning, spelling, capital letters and full stops

Specialised English Lessons Writing Module: Editing Skills (Foundation) How to Fix up Stories.
View The Pirates’ Treasure and write a recount about a time when you had fun with your family or friends. Join together with a partner and collaboratively edit each other’s texts (Puppet Plays - Developing Literacy).

Produce some lower case and upper case letters using learned letter formations

View the Learn the ABC modules to reinforce knowledge of the correct formation of letters (Developing Literacy).
Complete the worksheets for practising learned letter formations (Worksheets – ABC).

Construct texts using software including word processing programs

Specialised English Lessons Writing Module: Create a Digital Text (Foundation) and Using a Keyboard.
Write a short description of a favourite part of an Easy Reader or Storytime story using a word processor. Print and illustrate. (Developing Literacy).

Curriculum Alignment

Australian Curriculum - Foundation

Language variation and change

Content Description:

Related Ziptales Activities:

Language for interaction

Content Description:

Related Ziptales Activities:

Text structure and organisation

Content Description:

Related Ziptales Activities:

Expressing and developing ideas

Content Description:

Related Ziptales Activities:

Sound and letter knowledge

Content Description:

Related Ziptales Activities:

Literature and Context

Content Description:

Related Ziptales Activities:

Responding to Literature

Content Description:

Related Ziptales Activities:

Examining Literature

Content Description:

Related Ziptales Activities:

Creating Literature

Content Description:

Related Ziptales Activities:

Texts in Context

Content Description:

Related Ziptales Activities:

Interacting with others

Content Description:

Related Ziptales Activities:

Interpreting, Analysing, Evaluating

Content Description:

Related Ziptales Activities:

Creating Texts

Content Description:

Related Ziptales Activities:

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