The focus of Band A

The English curriculum in this Band focuses on introducing students to formal schooling, to the rich world of texts and how language is used in making and responding to them. Particular emphasis is placed on:

• teaching students to use spoken language appropriately in many new formal and informal situations in the school and classroom
• expanding students’ vocabularies in both spoken and written language
• the teaching of reading and writing skills
• fostering critical perspectives on texts
• introducing students to literature and teaching them how to relate it to their own knowledge and experience
• the teaching of handwriting
  

Broad Outcomes of Band A

This Band A of schooling is usually a period of great growth in students’ learning of English. At its beginning, students are usually dependent on the support of the teacher and other competent language users such as parents and caregivers, older siblings and peers in doing assignments and activities. As they progress, students become increasingly independent learners who demonstrate growing proficiency in:

• using spoken language effectively as required by the formal learning environment of the school
• recounting events and describing and explaining their ideas and actions clearly to others
• reading and interpreting fiction and non-fiction texts produced for young readers and selecting reading material that suits their purposes
• writing imaginative and factual texts (poems, stories, reports, recounts and procedures) and showing a basic level of competence in two broad areas: in selecting information and expressing ideas, imagination and feelings that are appropriate for purpose and audience; and in handwriting, text organisation, grammar, spelling and punctuation
• recognising stereotypical treatment of characters and people in spoken, written and visual texts

(What the students are doing with what kinds of texts)

(The understandings about socio-cultural and situational contexts that students are developing in relation to their own and others’ texts)

• Learning (by discussing texts with their teacher and peers) to relate what they are reading and viewing to their own knowledge and experience.
• Learning to appreciate that people can have different interpretations of the same text.
• Learning that texts are written by real people and can be constructed to present a range of views.
• Considering the topics and themes of their own writing and the images of life they reflect, especially in relation to gender, race and violence.

(The knowledge of linguistic structures and features which students are learning to use when composing and comprehending texts)

• Learning (via ‘big books’ and videos) about such aspects of literature as plot structure, setting, characterisation.
• Learning about the characteristic or unique features of some kinds of literature texts, such as the use of rhyming lines in some poetry sound effects in film and television texts.
• Learning to distinguish between different types of literature in terms of their distinctive features and functions.
• Learning about the way language is used in literature by discussing such things as word choices, rhyme, rhythm, imagery.
• Extending their vocabularies through engaging in follow-up activities such as making word webs, banks and charts, and innovating on texts.

(The strategies students are learning for composing and comprehending texts)

• Learning how to use their own knowledge of the topic, contextual meaning, patterns of language and picture clues to predict and confirm or self correct their predictions as they read.
• Learning how to choose their own reading material, beginning with selections from a limited range of short books with large print, predictable structures and generous illustration.
• Frequently reading these texts aloud to the teacher or other competent readers who encourage the use of reading strategies and discuss the material with them.
• Gradually learning to read silently to themselves.
• Learning to rely less on pictures and more on the text for meaning, as they become more experienced, confident and fluent readers.
• Learning strategies (such as referring to the recommendations of friends, reading the cover information, skimming the book, selecting other titles by the same author) for selecting material they are likely to enjoy from a wide range of texts.
• Recording what they have read and writing brief opinions of it in a log or diary.
• Retelling, discussing with the teacher or sharing with peers in group or class discussions some of the texts they have chosen to read.
• Summarising for their classmates the key ideas or event in material they have read.Ÿ Justifying their recommendations of books to others.
• Reading aloud to their peers and the teacher favourite excerpts from personal reading, giving some reasons for their choice.
• Learning ways of planning and reviewing their texts as they write.
• Learning how to find out the spelling of unknown words.

• familiar radio programs
• children’s newspapers and magazines
• advertising posters, brochures, catalogues and leaflets
• children’s educational, variety, quiz and cartoon television programs
• television advertisements
• extracts from television and radio news broadcasts.
  

(The understandings about socio-cultural and situational contexts that students are developing in relation to their own and others’ texts)

• Learning that media texts are produced by numbers of people working together.
• Learning that the purpose of many media texts is to communicate with a large number of people in order to sell a product or service.
• Understanding, by reading and viewing a range of media texts, that some of them are mainly factual while others are mainly imaginary.

(The knowledge of linguistic structures and features which students are learning to use when composing and comprehending texts)

• Learning to recognise the structures and features of different kinds of media texts.
• Learning to recognise similarities and differences between different kinds of media texts.
• Learning that some media texts share features with other kinds of texts.
  

(The strategies students are learning for composing and comprehending texts)

• Dealing with media texts by drawing on many of the strategies used in reading and viewing literature and everyday texts, such as predicting or deducting on the basis of prior experience.
  

(The understandings about socio-cultural and situational contexts that students are developing in relation to their own and others’ texts)

• Learning about the nature of spoken, written and visual language and the many purposes for which all can be used.
• Learning that language has an important communicative function.
• Discussing the ways in which talk can affect people, depending on tone of voice, gesture and language.
• Understanding some of the power and advantages of written language, such as the way that writing conveys messages to people across time and space, influences people and helps them.
• Learning the essentials of using spoken language for school purposes
  (to communicate with peers, teachers, and parents and care givers).
• Comparing the ways in which spoken exchanges with people very depending on how familiar they are and on the purpose.
  

(The knowledge of linguistic structures and features which students are learning to use when composing and comprehending texts)

• Learning the basic linguistic structures and features for communication in written English, such as directionality of print, letter-sound relationships, punctuation.
• Learning some features of text organisation, such as the use of tables of contents and headings.
• Reading and writing everyday personal and transactional texts relating to their school lives.
• Learning how to form letter shapes and develop a legible handwriting.
• Learning how to speak audibly, pronounce clearly, and order ideas so that they can be readily understood.
• Learning how such features of spoken English as idioms and colloquialisms contribute to its variety and flexibility.
• Listening for the beginnings and ends of spoken texts.
• Noticing how wordplay is used for humorous effects in everyday texts.
  

(The strategies students are learning for composing and comprehending texts)

• Learning to question peers and others to gain information about school activities.
• Learning to rephrase their own spoken texts if they are not understood by others.
• Learning to plan written and spoken texts so that they achieve their purpose.
• Recognising the advantages of getting comment on their work and using it to improve their speech and writing.
• Learning to use a range of cues to predict meaning in texts.
• Using cues to maintain a flow of meaning when reading longer texts containing unfamiliar words.
• Learning some of the skills of gathering and sorting information, including learning to select texts that meet particular needs, gathering information from a range of sources, reporting information in an organised way.