Purpose: choose next instruction after Days 21–30. This is a formative sample, not a standardised test, diagnosis, ranking or claim that the Foundation English achievement standard is complete. Proposed ACARA v9 Foundation links: AC9EFLE02, AC9EFLY05, AC9EFLY09, AC9EFLY10, AC9EFLY11, AC9EFLY12, AC9EFLY13, AC9EFLY06, AC9EFLA09. Human educator review remains pending.
Set-up and fair interpretation
Collect adult-read story understanding and created-sentence evidence during Day 30's 25-minute class lesson. Schedule a short private sound/letter/word check for about five learners per day during ordinary independent-work periods on Days 26–30. Allow about 5–6 minutes per learner; this time is outside the 25-minute mini-lesson. If that rotation is unavailable, extend the checking window and mark unobserved items honestly. A whole class cannot be individually heard reading five words in one 25-minute block.
Read directions aloud. Repeat the same direction once on request and note the repeat. Record the first independent attempt before teaching or prompting; give feedback and a retry after the record. Offer speech, AAC, pointing to sounds, tactile/movable letters, accessible typing or handwriting as appropriate, and note the route. A correct picture choice after adult reading is listening comprehension evidence, not independent decoding. If hearing or speech access changes what a sound task can validly show, plan interpretation with the learner, family and relevant specialist.
Exact prompts and answer notes
A · Fresh adult-read story
Read The Loose Wheel twice, with print hidden. Ask:
- “Who spotted the wheel after it rolled beneath the shelf?” Dev. Nari pushed the cart and both children stopped it; the text names Dev as the one who spotted the wheel.
- “What went wrong?” A wheel came loose and rolled under the shelf.
- “What did they do before testing the cart again?” Stopped the cart and asked an adult to put the wheel back. A response naming the safe adult repair is key; the adult-read text then says they tested it slowly.
Offer three blank event boxes or safe toy-cart props without giving the answers. Record open responses separately from adult-supplied choices or hints.
B · Spoken sound awareness, with all print hidden
- “Which rhymes with hen: pen or dog?” Expected pen.
- “How many beats in basket?” Expected two; accept two taps or counters.
- “Say the sounds in sun, in order.” Expected /s/ /ʌ/ /n/.
- “Put these sounds together: /v/ /ɛ/ /t/.” Expected vet.
- “Say sip. Change the first sound /s/ to /z/. What new word?” Expected zip.
Use a locally clear pronunciation. If a communication route or accent makes an item ambiguous, annotate the equivalent used; do not silently alter the scored task or treat an access barrier as a skill error.
C · Letter–sound links
Shuffle and show the eight new lower-case letters b, u, h, k, v, w, j, z, one at a time. Ask for the common sound practised here: /b/, /ʌ/, /h/, /k/, /v/, /w/, /dʒ/, /z/. Separately sample the 15 prior lower-case links m, a, s, t, p, i, n, c, e, r, d, o, g, l, f and record a count out of 15; this is continuity information, not part of the new-eight rubric. If a learner names a letter instead of giving its sound, ask once for the sound and record both responses separately. Capitals B, K, V, J, Z may be observed as an extension, not folded into the lower-case score.
D · Transfer to five unseen printed CVC words
Show bud, hut, kip, jot, wed one at a time, without a picture. These exact printed words do not occur on the child-reading lesson cards. Their graphemes and sound values have all been taught. Ask: “Touch each letter, give its sound, then slide the sounds together.” Note sounding through, a guess, self-correction or a content hint. Explain a word's meaning after the attempted blend if unfamiliar: a bud is a small new plant part; a hut a small shelter; a kip a short sleep; jot means write a quick note; wed means marry. Meaning is not this decoding score.
For a learner still building a two-sound blend, record a supported up separately. It informs teaching but is not counted as independent CVC decoding.
E · Encoding from speech, with printed word hidden
Dictate jug, vet, zip one at a time: “The word is ____. Say its sounds. Put down or write one letter for each sound. Read what you made.” Repeat the whole word once on request without separating its sounds. Accept movable/tactile letters, accessible typing or pencil. Record the exact sequence, prompt level and whether the learner reread. The words use only taught correspondences.
F · A short sentence for an audience
Give taught word tiles Bob / Val / Jem / Zak / Kit / hid / ran / got / wet / had / fun / . and a blank strip. Ask: “Make a sentence that tells an idea. Read or explain it to me. Show where it begins and ends.” Valid examples include Bob ran., Kit got wet., and Val had fun. Do not offer an example until after the independent attempt. Record whether the learner selected a meaningful order, used a capital name and full stop, and decoded what they made. Adult-scribed unrestricted language is welcome as a separate creative-language record.
Analytic rubric
Mark each domain independently. Do not add a total score or set a pass line. “Independent” means after the standard instruction and permitted non-content access route, without an answer hint. Retain the item record for the useful detail a level cannot show. Mark an inaccessible or missed check not observed and arrange another route or time; zero is reserved for a completed check with no independent evidence.
| Domain | 0 · No independent evidence in completed check | 1 · Emerging | 2 · Developing | 3 · Secure in this small sample |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. Story meaning | Completed check through an accessible route, but no story element communicated independently. | One story element with answer options or content prompt. | Two elements independent; another needs a prompt. | Person/role, wheel problem and safe adult-help action communicated independently in a coherent retell or equivalent sequence. |
| B. Spoken sound awareness | 0 of five items independent. | 1–2 of five independent. | 3–4 of five independent. | All five independent. |
| C. Eight new letter–sound links | 0–2 of eight independent. | 3–4 of eight independent. | 5–7 of eight independent. | All eight independent in this sample. Record prior-set count separately. |
| D. Unseen CVC decoding | 0 of five independently sounded and blended. | 1–2 of five independent. | 3–4 of five independent. | All five independent; note self-correction if it occurred. |
| E. CVC encoding | 0 of three correct sound–letter sequences independent. | 1 of three correct independent. | 2 of three correct independent. | All three correct independent; rereads at least one made word. |
| F. Created sentence | Completed check through an accessible route, but no meaningful sentence made independently. | Meaningful sentence only after adult model or answer hint. | Meaningful sentence made independently, with prompt for word order, capital or stop mark. | Meaningful sentence made and explained independently with capital name/start and full stop. |
Local individual record
Learner code: __ Date(s): _ Teacher:
Response route / access supports: _____
Adult-read story: The Loose Wheel (original; print hidden)
| Evidence | Exact response or marked items | Independent, repeated direction, or content prompt? |
|---|---|---|
| A1 role; A2 problem; A3 safe action | ||
| B1 rhyme; B2 syllables; B3 segment; B4 blend; B5 change first sound | ||
| C new b u h k v w j z / prior-set count ___ of 15 | ||
| D bud / hut / kip / jot / wed | ||
| E jug / vet / zip | ||
| F learner-made sentence; capital; full stop |
Domain levels A–F: __ / _ / / / /
Exact strength shown: ______
Next teaching move and recheck date: ______
Access or source question for human review: ________
Choose a next teaching move
| Pattern in the evidence | Next instruction |
|---|---|
| Listening meaning is difficult to show | Check the response route. Re-read an original oral story; model people → problem → safe solution with three props, then fade prompts. |
| Prior 15 links are uncertain | Revisit the actual missed links before adding more child-reading words. Keep the learner in the richer oral story and meaning work. |
| New u is confused with a/e/i/o | Contrast two spoken CVC words differing in the vowel, change one letter tile, blend again, and recheck an unseen regular word. |
| b/k/v/w/j/z links are uncertain | Model only the uncertain links with a clear sound and letter, practise a small set, then test a fresh CVC word. Do not treat a global count as the teaching diagnosis. |
| Sound links are known but unseen words are guessed | Cover pictures, model left-to-right touch–say–sweep, and give an unseen word from the same taught set. |
| Decoding is stronger than spelling | Segment a spoken CVC with three counters, replace with letters, and reread the constructed word. |
| Words are read but a sentence is hard to make | Model a person/action sentence with tiles, discuss the idea, then have the learner make a different one with a capital name and stop mark. |
| All sampled items are secure | Add new regular combinations and teacher-read texts with richer ideas. Explicitly teach any new vowel value, digraph, consonant cluster or irregular high-frequency word before asking the child to decode it. This does not complete Foundation English. |
Framework mapping uses the ACARA v9 workbook. The check–respond cycle is informed by AERO Monitor progress. Both local alignment and assessment design remain pending human educator review.