Ten /Prep English lessons | Foundation English · T1 W1–2 · Lessons

Each lesson takes 25 minutes. Read the teacher-only passages and directions in MATERIALS.md. The codes are proposed links to ACARA v9 Foundation Year English, checked against the 29 September 2026 workbook snapshot; they do not mean the whole outcome has been taught in one lesson. During a two- or three-minute exit check, let the class try the prompt while you closely observe a few planned focus learners. Rotate names across days and use a short quiet check when independent evidence is needed. Keep a roster grid: independent / after model / not yet observed / access route used. Mark a learner not yet observed rather than treating an unseen group answer as independent evidence. A learner may answer privately.

Week 1 · Day 1 — A story has people and events

Proposed codes: AC9EFLE02, AC9EFLY02, AC9EFLY05, AC9EFLY10.
Goal: Name a character, tell one event, and count the words in a spoken sentence.
Prepare: Oral text A, three blank event cards, five counters per learner. No student reading is expected.

Welcome and goal · 2 min. Say: “I will read a story. Your job is to listen for who is in it and what changes. The words on my page are my job today.” Offer a quiet listening place or a seat near the reader.
Read aloud · 5 min. Read The Kite at the Door once, with natural expression. Pause before “Bo brought a ruler” and ask: “What might help them reach the kite?” Accept a gesture, spoken thought or AAC choice; then finish the story.
Model a retell · 5 min. Place three blank cards left to right. Say: “First, the kite moved toward the puddle. Then Asha and Bo reached it with a ruler. Last, they dried it and drew a sun.” Draw one simple mark on each card. Clarify that a guess and something the story actually said are different.
Guided and partner retell · 6 min. Reread the story. Ask: “Who helped? What was the problem? How did they solve it?” Learners order three sketched cards, point, act, speak or use a communication board. Invite a partner to listen without correcting the speaker mid-sentence.
Spoken-word model · 4 min. Say, without showing print, “Bo brought a long ruler.” Move one counter for each word; model five counters. Repeat slowly without stretching syllables. Learners move their counters as you say the sentence again.
Exit check · 3 min. Let everyone identify one character and move one counter per word for “Asha drew a sun” (four words) at their own place. Closely observe two or three planned focus learners; record their story response and word count separately, with any prompt or access route. Rotate the focus roster on later days, or use a quiet station check for a learner whose independent response was not visible. If the word count is uncertain, repeat the whole sentence once; do not mark a prompted or copied response as independent.

Access routes: Read aloud live or play a teacher-made recording while showing the original text to an adult/support person; use three simple tactile objects for the event cards, a large-print sequence strip, picture pointing or AAC for retelling. These routes assess story meaning. Physical counters, taps or an accessible on-screen counter can represent spoken-word boundaries.

Week 1 · Day 2 — Rhyme and syllable play

Proposed codes: AC9EFLE04, AC9EFLY09, AC9EFLY02.
Goal: Hear or produce a rhyming pair and show the syllables in a spoken word.
Prepare: Oral rhyme B, picture or object cues for door/floor and sock/rock, two counters per learner. Keep the poem out of student decoding work.

Recall · 3 min. Ask: “What happened to the kite?” Take two different valid retell routes, such as speech and pointing.
Read and echo · 4 min. Read Boots by the Door twice. Say: “Listen to the ends: door, floor. They sound alike at the end.” Learners may echo, tap the beat, listen or watch the written pair being highlighted by an adult.
Model the rhyme test · 5 min. Say “sock, rock” and “sock, mat”. Think aloud: “Sock and rock end alike. Sock and mat do not.” Cover pictures while doing the listening test; then use pictures to confirm meanings.
Guided practice · 6 min. Offer three oral pairs: door/floor, sock/rock, door/sock. After each pair, invite a thumbs-up, two-choice card, AAC yes/no or a spoken answer. Invite learners to propose another rhyming word; a playful invented word is acceptable if it has the matching ending sound.
Syllables · 5 min. Say: “A syllable is one beat in a word.” Model sun (one), puddle (two), rainbow (two). Learners place counters or tap for puddle and sun. Do not treat two letters as two beats.
Exit check · 2 min. Privately ask: “Which rhymes with sock: rock or sun?” and “How many beats in rainbow?” Record each result separately; do not turn pronunciation differences into a fault.

Access routes: Use quiet oral presentation with clear mouth visibility, optional replay, tactile beat tokens, large picture cards or AAC selection. If a learner cannot access an English sound contrast through hearing, record the limitation of this particular check and co-plan a suitable sound/print route with a relevant specialist. Do not infer ability from the visual choice alone.

Week 1 · Day 3 — First sound /m/ and letter m

Proposed codes: AC9EFLY09, AC9EFLY10, AC9EFLY11, AC9EFLY08.
Goal: Identify /m/ at the start of a spoken word and connect it to lower-case m.
Prepare: m card, mirror if welcome, tactile or movable m, images/objects for moon, map and sun. No word decoding yet.

Goal and listen · 2 min. Say: “Today we will listen for /m/ and learn the letter that can show that sound.”
Sound model · 5 min. Make a continuous /m/ with lips together, without adding “uh”. Say moon, map, sun. Think aloud: “Moon starts /m/. Sun does not.” Learners can feel the vibration at their own lips or watch a clear mouth model, by choice.
Link sound to print · 5 min. Show m. Say: “The name is em. Its common sound here is /m/.” Trace m with a finger and use the school's approved formation cue. Show three m cards among blank cards; invite learners to find m. This is letter recognition, not reading the object words.
Guided sort · 6 min. Name moon, map, sun, mug. Learners place an m token by an object if its spoken name begins /m/. Model one item first. Re-say a word if the object label is unfamiliar.
Make and say · 5 min. Learners form m with a tile, finger trace, pencil or accessible writing tool. Say: “Point to the letter; give its name and its sound.” Accept a communication-device sound selection if speech is not available.
Exit check · 2 min. Show m with two distractor shapes; ask the learner to choose m and identify whether map starts /m/. Record letter recognition and sound identification separately.

Access routes: Large-print and tactile m, high-contrast card, mouth view, object handling, pointing/AAC and standing or seated formation. Avoid making pencil control the only evidence of sound knowledge.

Week 1 · Day 4 — Short /æ/, letter a, and the first blend

Proposed codes: AC9EFLY09, AC9EFLY10, AC9EFLY11.
Goal: Link a to /æ/ as in apple and blend a–m to read am.
Prepare: m, a cards; two sound boxes; apple or apple picture. The printed cue apple is teacher-only.

Review · 3 min. Show m and ask for its sound. Model again if needed; say that a prompt is practice, not a test failure.
Sound model · 4 min. Say apple, ant. Explain: “At the start, I hear /æ/. This is the short sound in apple in our classroom English.” Contrast moon and apple by first sound, without showing their spellings.
Letter link · 5 min. Show lower-case a. Say: “The letter name is ay. In these words its sound is /æ/.” Point to a and m in mixed order; invite the learner to say or select each sound. Use school formation guidance for a.
Model then blend · 7 min. Put a and m in two boxes left to right. Say /æ/ while touching a, /m/ while touching m, then slide under both and say am. Learners copy with tiles, tactile symbols or an on-screen left-to-right strip. Do not ask learners to read apple or ant.
Independent practice · 4 min. Mix m, a, then restore a m. Ask: “Touch each sound; slide and say the word.” Repeat once with a new arrangement of cards.
Exit check · 2 min. Show a m without modelling. Record whether the learner links a to /æ/ and blends am independently, with a prompt, or not yet.

Access routes: Object cue, clear mouth view, enlarged/tactile a, movable sound boxes, speech or AAC sound selection. A child may point along the strip rather than produce speech; record whether the final word was selected or spoken.

Week 1 · Day 5 — /s/, letter s, and a name

Proposed codes: AC9EFLY09, AC9EFLY11, AC9EFLY12, AC9EFLY10.
Goal: Link s to /s/ and blend S–a–m to read the name Sam.
Prepare: s, S, a, m cards and three sound boxes. S is introduced as the same sound at the start of a name.

Review · 3 min. Flash m, a, then am. Give immediate feedback and one more go.
Sound model · 4 min. Say a clean, continuous /s/. Name sun, sock, moon aloud. Ask which start alike; the object words are not for student reading.
Letter link · 5 min. Show s and say: “Its name is ess. Its common sound is /s/.” Show S: “This is the capital shape of the same letter. A name can begin with it.” Model the school's letter formation once.
Blend a name · 7 min. Place S a m in three sound boxes. Touch each card /s/ /æ/ /m/, then sweep and say Sam. Learners build and blend the name. Explain that Sam is a fictional person in this pack.
Use the name · 4 min. Show a simple drawing of a person labelled Sam. Ask children to point to the name, then independently touch and blend S a m. A drawing may support meaning after decoding, but do not guess the word from the drawing.
Exit check · 2 min. Ask for the sound of s and a blend of Sam with letters in view. Record both. No learner is expected to read a sentence today.

Access routes: A person token can stand for Sam; give large-print/tactile letters, quiet practice before public participation, AAC phoneme selection or a finger sweep. Keep the decoding evidence separate from identifying the drawing.

Week 2 · Day 6 — /t/ and the first sentence

Proposed codes: AC9EFLY11, AC9EFLY12, AC9EFLA05, AC9EFLA09, AC9EFLY08.
Goal: Link t/T to /t/, read at, mat, sat, and understand Sam sat. as a sentence.
Prepare: t/T, a, m, s/S cards, three sound boxes, sentence strip Sam sat.

Review · 3 min. Ask for the sounds of m, a, s and blend Sam. Respond to errors by modelling then asking for a new try.
Sound and letter · 4 min. Say /t/ cleanly, without “tuh”. Name tap, tin, sun aloud. Show t and T and say: “The letter name is tee; both shapes can show /t/.”
Model two blends · 4 min. Build a t and m a t; touch each sound, slide, say at, then mat. Point out that adding m changes the word.
Guided and independent reading · 8 min. Learners build and read at, mat, sat in mixed order; then track Sam sat. left to right. Say: “A sentence tells an idea. The capital S starts Sam's name. The dot tells us to stop.” Do not decode the punctuation as a sound.
Meaning and formation · 4 min. Ask: “What did Sam do?” Learners act, say or select “sat”. Form t using the school's formation model.
Exit check · 2 min. Present mat out of the teaching order and ask for a sound-by-sound blend. Then ask the learner to show where Sam sat. ends. Record decoding and print concept separately.

Access routes: Use large/tactile cards or an accessible left-to-right strip, a seated or standing action for “sat”, pointing/AAC for meaning, and a wide pencil or digital letter move for formation. Do not score motor access as decoding.

Week 2 · Day 7 — /p/, word building and a new name

Proposed codes: AC9EFLY10, AC9EFLY11, AC9EFLY12, AC9EFLY13, AC9EFLY08.
Goal: Link p/P to /p/, read pat, tap, map, and encode tap from spoken sounds.
Prepare: p/P, a, t, m, s cards, three sound boxes, word cards and writing/letter-tile route.

Review · 3 min. Read or build sat and mat with the group. Ask which sound changed.
Sound and letter · 4 min. Say /p/ cleanly without “puh”. Name pan, pin, moon aloud. Show p and P, naming the letter and the /p/ sound.
Model blending · 4 min. Build p a t. Touch /p/ /æ/ /t/, slide to pat. Show Pat and explain the capital begins a person's name. Children read the sounds before seeing a person drawing.
Guided practice · 8 min. Build, shuffle and read pat, tap, map. Then read Pat sat. together. Ask “Who sat?” Point to the name, not a picture clue.
Encoding · 4 min. Say tap without showing print. Model three counters for /t/ /æ/ /p/. Learners choose or write the three letters in order; then reread what they made.
Exit check · 2 min. Show map and ask for a blend. Dictate tap with tiles or writing; record read and spell evidence separately, including any prompt.

Access routes: Touch or drag letters, use high-contrast cards, write with an adapted grip, or select the three graphemes through AAC. A pointing response to the meaning of map is useful vocabulary evidence but does not replace the sound-by-sound reading check.

Week 2 · Day 8 — Short /ɪ/ and new word families

Proposed codes: AC9EFLY09, AC9EFLY11, AC9EFLY12, AC9EFLY13.
Goal: Link lower-case i to /ɪ/ as in in, read sit, sip, tip, and spell sit.
Prepare: i, s, t, p, a, m cards and three sound boxes. Printed insect is teacher-only today.

Review · 3 min. Flash m, a, s, t, p sounds; blend tap once.
Sound model · 4 min. Say in, insect aloud. “The first sound is the short /ɪ/. Listen to the difference between /æ/ in a and /ɪ/ in i.” Use natural Australian English; do not ask children to read insect.
Letter link · 4 min. Show i. Say: “Its letter name is eye. In these words its sound is /ɪ/.” Model its lower-case shape with the school's formation cue. Do not introduce capital I as if the pronoun I were pronounced /ɪ/.
Blend and compare · 8 min. Build s i t, s i p, t i p. Model sit, guide sip, then ask learners to try tip. Compare sat/sit by changing only the vowel card. If a learner is not yet blending, continue with two-sound oral blending and model the printed word.
Spell and use · 4 min. Dictate sit; learners segment and select or write s i t. Show Tim sat.: T was taught on Day 6, i today, m on Day 3. Ask for the meaning after the blend.
Exit check · 2 min. Show sip in a different order from practice. Ask for the blend and the sound of i. Record each separately.

Access routes: Use a clear mouth model, two colour-distinct vowel cards plus text labels, large-print or tactile letters, drag-and-drop tiles, and private rehearsal. Colour is an extra cue; it is never the only way to distinguish a and i.

Week 2 · Day 9 — /n/ and a tiny decodable text

Proposed codes: AC9EFLY11, AC9EFLY12, AC9EFLY04, AC9EFLY05, AC9EFLY10.
Goal: Link n to /n/, read short words with taught correspondences, and explain one sentence's meaning.
Prepare: n plus prior cards, three- and four-sound boxes, Mini-text C. The four-sound words are an extension, not a baseline requirement.

Review · 3 min. Ask for a and i sounds, then read mat/sit. Give feedback immediately.
Sound and letter · 4 min. Say nap, net, sun aloud. Model a continuous /n/ without “nuh”. Show n, give its name en and sound /n/; form it with the school's model.
Blend CVC words · 6 min. Model n a p → nap. Guide p i n → pin. Ask learners to try p a n → pan, and i n → in. Give a brief meaning example after decoding, such as a cooking pan or a pin on a map; no picture guessing.
Read Mini-text C · 7 min. First model Sam sat. Then show Sam sat. Tim naps. Pat taps. Point out that naps and taps each have four sounds, all represented by letters already taught. Model the extra final /s/ with a fourth box. Learners ready for four sounds may decode them; others independently read a CVC word while the teacher reads the longer words. Ask: “Who is resting? Who is making a tapping sound?”
Response · 3 min. Learners point to the matching name, act one sentence, draw three simple figures or use AAC. Keep meaning evidence separate from word-reading evidence.
Exit check · 2 min. Show pin and ask for independent blending. Ask what Tim did, with the text or teacher read-aloud available. Record each domain separately.

Access routes: Large print with generous spacing, one sentence per strip, tactile sound boxes, text-only print, teacher read-aloud for meaning, and pointing/AAC. A learner who hears the teacher read a sentence can show comprehension, but that is not independent decoding evidence.

Week 2 · Day 10 — Evidence check and next step

Proposed codes: AC9EFLE02, AC9EFLY02, AC9EFLY09, AC9EFLY10, AC9EFLY11, AC9EFLY12, AC9EFLY13.
Goal: Show current understanding through story response, sound–letter links and CVC blending/encoding, then receive a specific next step.
Prepare: Assessment prompts and record, Oral text D, letter cards, sound boxes. This check samples the first fortnight; it does not certify Foundation achievement.

Set the purpose · 2 min. Say: “Show me what you can do today. You can ask me to repeat a direction. I will use what I see to choose what to teach next.”
New oral text · 5 min. Read The Missing Seed twice. Learners can point to, tell or arrange the problem and solution. Do not show the printed story to make this a reading assessment.
Story response · 5 min. Give the three assessment questions and three blank sequence boxes. Children respond privately or to a partner while the teacher samples each learner's response route.
Sound and word work · 6 min. Present the seven taught letter cards and the four unseen CVC words from the assessment, one at a time. Learners say/select sounds and read; keep the paper hidden from peers waiting their turn.
Encoding and feedback · 5 min. Dictate the three CVC words and offer pencil or movable letters. Give one immediate, precise response: “You put the first and last sounds in place. Tomorrow we will listen carefully for the middle sound.”
Close · 2 min. Let the learner name a favourite way to show learning. Complete the rubric and next-teaching note after the lesson.

Feasible administration: Day 10 is a whole-class 25-minute collection period. Use 3–4 minute private individual checks during ordinary independent-work rotations on Days 8–10, or immediately after a lesson, to hear each learner blend and segment without copying peers. Do not claim to have heard every child individually in one 25-minute whole-class block. Record access route and prompt level on the assessment sheet.

Access routes: Offer oral/AAC/pointing for story meaning, tactile or digital grapheme selection, large-print cards, a quiet check space and pauses. Use the specialist planning note in the assessment for learners whose communication or sensory access changes what an English-sound task can validly show.