Use: formative snapshot after Days 1–10. It shows which steps need more teaching; it is not a standardised test, diagnosis, report-card grade or claim that the whole Foundation English achievement standard has been reached. Proposed ACARA v9 links: AC9EFLE02, AC9EFLY02, AC9EFLY09, AC9EFLY10, AC9EFLY11, AC9EFLY12, AC9EFLY13, AC9EFLA05. Human educator review is pending.
Practical administration
Collect story and group work in the Day 10 25-minute lesson. Across Days 8–10, hear each learner individually for about 3–4 minutes during normal independent-work rotations; then complete the record. The teacher reads all instructions. Show one word or letter at a time. Give a neutral direction such as “Have a go”; do not correct during a scored attempt. After recording, give feedback and another practice attempt, which is marked as after teaching, not independent evidence.
Offer the same response goal through speech, AAC, pointing to letter choices, movable/tactile letters or writing. Note exactly which route and prompts were used. A correct meaning choice after adult reading is comprehension evidence, not decoding evidence. If a sound task is inaccessible through hearing or speech, seek an appropriate interpretation with the learner, family and relevant specialist; do not score missing access as a learning deficit. Keep identifiable records in the school's approved system.
Script and items
A. Oral story meaning and interaction
Read The Missing Seed aloud twice, without showing the written text. Give wait time. Ask exactly:
- “Who looked for the seed?” Expected: Leah and Arun (either name plus a clear reference to the other person is acceptable).
- “What was the problem?” Expected: a seed rolled away / one seed was missing.
- “Where did Arun see it, and what did Leah do next?” Expected: beside the watering can; Leah picked it up and planted it.
If needed, offer three blank event boxes or props: packet, tray, watering can. Record whether a response was open, chosen from options or prompted. Also observe whether the learner waited for a turn or used an agreed communication signal; do not require eye contact or speech volume that is inaccessible.
B. Spoken sound awareness (no print)
Use normal Australian English pronunciation and keep the letters hidden.
- Rhyme: “Which rhymes with cat: hat or sun?” Expected: hat.
- Syllables: “How many beats in paper?” Expected: two. Accept two taps or two counters.
- Sentence words: Say “Bo holds a map.” Ask for one counter per spoken word. Expected: four.
- Segment: Say “sat.” Ask for its sounds in order. Expected: /s/ /æ/ /t/.
- Blend: Say /m/ /æ/ /p/, with a short pause between sounds. Ask for the word. Expected: map.
If accent or communication route makes an item unclear, annotate and repeat with a locally clear equivalent; do not silently change the scored item.
C. Letter–sound links (print shown)
Shuffle and show lower-case m, a, s, t, p, i, n, one at a time. Ask: “What is the common sound we have practised for this letter?” Expected /m/, /æ/, /s/, /t/, /p/, /ɪ/, /n/. Record each answer, including a selected sound on AAC if used. You may ask letter names as an extra observation, but keep name recall separate from sound recall. Capital S, T, P may be checked as an unscored extension.
D. Independent blending (print shown)
Show these previously unseen printed CVC words, one at a time: tin, man, pit, sap. Every grapheme has been taught in this pack. Say: “Point to each part, say or select each sound, then put them together.” Record the word read, any guessing from a picture or teacher cue, and whether the child self-corrected. Explain the meaning of sap after the attempt if asked; word meaning is not scored in this decoding item.
For a learner still working at the two-sound stage, record a supported am attempt separately. Do not treat a supported two-sound blend as an independent CVC result.
E. Encoding from speech (no printed word shown)
Dictate mat, sit, pan, one at a time, in this wording: “The word is mat. Say its sounds. Put down or write a letter for each sound. Read the word you made.” Repeat the word once on request without separating its sounds. Accept tiles, accessible typing or handwriting; the score is the sound–letter sequence, not pen control. Record each letter sequence and any prompt.
F. Print concept (not a decoding score)
Show Tim sat. Ask “Point to the first word” and “Point to the mark that tells us to stop.” Expected: Tim and the full stop. Read the sentence aloud for the learner if needed; this item asks about print organisation, not word recognition.
Analytic rubric
Mark each domain separately; do not add the numbers into one score. “Independent” means the item was answered after the standard direction and permitted access route, without a content hint. Record a prompt-assisted answer in the notes and use the lower descriptor for independent evidence.
| Domain | 0 · Not yet observed | 1 · Emerging | 2 · Developing | 3 · Secure in this small sample |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. Story meaning | No usable response to the three questions through the available route. | Identifies a person or event after options or a content prompt. | Independently identifies a person and either the problem or solution; another element needs a prompt. | Independently identifies people, problem and the place/action of the solution in a coherent retell or equivalent selection. |
| B. Spoken sound awareness | 0–1 of five items independent. | 2 of five independent. | 3–4 of five independent. | All five independent. |
| C. Letter–sound links | 0–2 of seven sound links independent. | 3–4 of seven independent. | 5–6 of seven independent. | All seven independent on this check. |
| D. Blend unseen CVC words | 0 of four words independently blended. | 1 of four independently blended. | 2–3 of four independently blended. | All four independently blended, including a self-correction if it occurred. |
| E. Encode CVC words | 0 of three correct sequences independent. | 1 of three correct independent. | 2 of three correct independent. | All three correct independent. |
| F. Print concept | Neither item shown through the available route. | One item shown after a content prompt. | Both items shown, with a prompt for one. | First word and full stop located independently. |
Individual record to copy locally
Learner code: __ Date: _ Response route / access supports: __
Teacher / observer: ___ Source: ACARA v9 Foundation English snapshot, 29 Sep 2026
Adult-read story used: The Missing Seed (original)
| Item | Response exactly observed | Independent, repeated direction, or content prompt? |
|---|---|---|
| A1 people; A2 problem; A3 solution | ||
| B1 rhyme; B2 syllables; B3 words; B4 segment; B5 blend | ||
| C m / a / s / t / p / i / n | ||
| D tin / man / pit / sap | ||
| E mat / sit / pan | ||
| F first word / full stop |
Rubric domains A–F: __ / _ / / / /
One strength shown: ________
Next teaching move, when and with whom: _____
Question to review with family or specialist if access affected evidence: _______
Act on the evidence
| Pattern in the record | Next two or three lessons |
|---|---|
| Story meaning is hard to show, but sound/print work is accessible | Re-read short original oral stories; model first/then/last with props and rich talk, then reduce prompts. Confirm the response route works. |
| Spoken blending or segmentation is hard | Use counters with two sounds, then three. Model, practise together, and recheck orally before adding more printed words. |
| Several letter sounds are uncertain | Re-teach only the uncertain links with clear mouth/letter models and short cumulative review. Keep reading cards within the secure set. |
| Sound links are secure but unseen words are guessed | Model left-to-right touch–say–sweep on new CVC words, then check another unseen word without a picture cue. |
| Decoding works but encoding is uncertain | Dictate a word, move one counter per phoneme, replace counters with letters, then reread the result. Compare a/i if that is the specific error. |
| All sampled items are secure | Extend to new regular CVC combinations and more authentic teacher-read stories. Do not assume the whole Foundation standard or a later phonics phase is complete. |
The framework source is the ACARA v9 workbook; instructional use of a check–respond cycle is informed by AERO Monitor progress. Both source and assessment design remain pending educator review for local use.