Signs and storiesFoundation · T1 · Week 02 Signs And Stories

Foundation / Prep · five school days · development draft
Question: How can a picture, a word or a shape help someone know what to do?
Status: teacher, accessibility and local-syllabus review pending. This is a second integrated week, paired with the daily English and mathematics lessons in english/term-1/weeks-01-02/ and mathematics/term-1/weeks-01-02/. It does not replace them.

National curriculum links, partial practice: English AC9EFLA03/04/07, AC9EFLY01/03; HASS AC9HSFK03, AC9HSFS01/02/03/04; Design and Technologies AC9TDEFK01, AC9TDEFP01; Visual Arts AC9AVAFD01/FC01/FP01; HPE AC9HPFP02/04. The exact ACARA v9 source and rights are at the end. A locally adopted state or territory syllabus may differ.

Teacher preparation and daily rhythm

Keep the same welcoming, predictable daily shape from Week 1: arrival choice, brief preview, daily English, movement/break, daily mathematics, one 30–45 minute integrated inquiry, lunch/free play, story or making, closing reflection. Put the day's schedule in speech, pictures and plain text. Keep a quiet workspace and a route that does not require talking to the whole group.

Create three original signs, drawn with thick dark lines on card:

• a book with an arrow pointing to a shelf: “Books back here”;
• a cup with a droplet over a tray: “Water cups here”;
• a leaf beside a small pot: “Plant tools here.”

The words are for adult/learner shared reading. Do not test untaught decoding from these signs. Provide the object itself beside each sign so a child can understand it without colour, hearing or fluent reading. Make sure the chosen classroom action is actually possible and safe. Use no copied icons or official hazard symbol unless its source and meaning have been checked.

Prepare blank cards, dark markers, sticky notes, movable object markers, a map or block model of the three classroom places, and two sets of signs: one small and one large. For a child who cannot see the drawing reliably, make an object or raised-line counterpart and describe it aloud. Ask families how names, home languages and signs are used in the child's life; do not assume one language or household routine.

Day 1 — What job does a sign do? (35 minutes)

Focus: different texts have different purposes; a sign can guide someone in a familiar place. Links: AC9EFLA03, AC9EFLY01, AC9HSFK03, AC9TDEFK01.

1. Model, 5 min. Hold up the book sign next to a real book. Say, “I see a book and an arrow. I think this sign helps me find where a book goes. I will test that.” Walk to the shelf and place the book there. Tell children the sign was made by a person for a purpose.
2. Look and ask, 10 min. Give groups the three signs and their matching objects. Ask: “What do you notice? What could this help someone do? What would you ask before deciding?” A child may respond by matching, pointing, signing or using an AAC choice.
3. Try it, 15 min. In groups of three or four, choose one child to place a sign while the others predict where a new visitor would look; then walk the route. Rotate the placing, predicting and observing roles over the week so each child has a turn. If a sign is confusing or hidden, move it and retest. No child is blamed for a sign that needs improvement. The teacher closely observes 4–6 focus children today and follows up the others during Days 2–5 or next week's arrival station.
4. Close, 5 min. “This sign helps someone ___ because ___.” Offer a model sentence, a picture choice and a real demonstration. Record the focus children's own reasons if given; mark other responses not yet observed until heard.

Evidence: the child identifies a sign's plausible purpose and can show where it would help. If they match by colour only, remove the colour cue and ask what the picture/object means. Life links: finding a library return, a bus queue, a community garden tool area, or a place to return sports equipment. These are examples, not a claim that every family uses them.

Day 2 — A sign is a design we can test (40 minutes)

Focus: generate, make and evaluate a useful sign. Links: AC9TDEFP01, AC9AVAFD01/FC01, AC9EFLA07.

1. Choose a real need, 5 min. Present two choices from the room, such as finding the paper recycling box or the quiet area. A child may propose a different safe need. Ask: “Who is the sign for? What should it help them find or do?”
2. Make two ideas, 10 min. On half-cards, children try two picture/word/object-marker ideas. Model one example: a paper rectangle above a box; then a clearer paper rectangle with an arrow. Ask which details matter. Do not insist on fine handwriting.
3. Build one, 10 min. Choose a version, draw or collage it, add a real object marker if useful. Adult scribes optional words; children may use taught letters where meaningful. If making is inaccessible, the child chooses and positions pre-made shapes and directs the adult.
4. Test with a peer or adult, 10 min. Show the sign without explaining it first. Ask the viewer, “What do you think this helps with?” The maker listens or observes. They may revise the sign after seeing what the viewer understood.
5. Record, 5 min. “I changed ___ because ,” or “I kept ___ because it helped .” A gesture plus adult dictation is valid evidence.

Evidence: a link between the intended purpose, a design feature and a test response. “It is pretty” can be a valued art judgment; ask a separate question to establish whether it communicates the intended action.

Day 3 — Pictures, words and a short story (35 minutes)

Focus: compare a sign with a short story about using it. Links: AC9EFLA03/04/07, AC9EFLY01/03, AC9HSFS03.

Run order: 5 minutes read aloud, 5 minutes compare booklet/screen panels, 10 minutes discuss the sign and story, 10 minutes retell in a chosen format, 5 minutes test a changed sign. Read this original micro-story aloud, showing the physical sign and objects as you go:

Jo had finished looking at a book. Jo wanted to leave it where another reader could find it. A card showed a book and an arrow. Jo followed the arrow to the shelf and slid the book into place. Later, Ari found it there.

Before discussing meaning, make the same story into two tiny teacher-made texts: a folded paper booklet with a front/title and pages turned from front to back; and three drawn “screen” panels with a visible next arrow. An actual local offline screen is optional; paper panels teach the convention without requiring a device. Model: “I start at the book's front and turn a page. On this screen version I move to the next panel with the arrow.” Invite a child to show where each version starts and how it continues. The teacher reads both; children are not asked to decode untaught words.

Ask: “What happened first? What did the card tell Jo? What did the story tell us that the card did not?” Do not ask a child to read the story independently unless its words match taught decoding and supported comprehension. Let children act it with the actual book, arrange three picture/object cards, draw, dictate, sign or narrate. A child may choose a different character name or a non-personal setting.

Try a change: remove the arrow from the sign. Ask children what information is lost, then put it back and test. A learner can disagree if they give a reason; signs can work differently in different positions.

Evidence: can the child distinguish the quick direction of the sign from the sequence of events in the story, using words, pictures or actions? Can they show the front/start and how to continue a book or simple screen text? Record these as separate observations. If not, place sign and three story objects side by side and model the comparison once, then try a new sign.

Day 4 — Which sign can we find from here? (40 minutes)

Focus: position and visibility in a familiar space. Links: AC9HSFS01/02/04, AC9HSFK03, AC9TDEFP01.

1. Draw or build a simple map/model with the door and the three places. Ask each child to locate one sign on it. A model of blocks is an equal starting route; the flat map is a later representation to connect.
2. Compare a sign placed low behind a box with one placed where a child can see or touch it from the route. Ask: “Which can this person find? How could we improve the other?” Do not place any sign where it blocks access, creates a trip risk, or reveals a child's private space.
3. Let groups improve one location. Revisit from the entry point. Ask one child to guide with a pointer, their words, a sound cue, or a movable marker. A child may ask an adult to move the marker at their direction.
4. Record one before/after explanation: “We moved the sign from ___ to ___ because ___.” A photo is optional and must follow school consent/privacy rules; a sketch works.

Evidence: the child's reason relates to whether the intended viewer can use the sign. If they can only name where it is, model a viewer who cannot find it and ask what to change. Variant domains: shelves in a community library, bins in a playground, seed trays in a garden, or instrument storage in a music room.

Day 5 — Make a sign set someone can use (40 minutes)

Focus: communicate, share and revise. Links: revisit the partial links above; no single finished sign is proof of an entire achievement standard.

Give a small team a fresh practical brief: “Someone new to our room needs to find the books, making things and a calm place. Make a sign or object marker for one of them.” A child may work alone or direct a partner. Ask the team to plan → make → test → change one thing if needed. A peer, adult or family supporter can test it. Do not require a child to publicly disclose why they use the calm space.

Teacher check, five minutes per sampled child across the day:

Give children choice about display. A sign made for a real room can be used, but remove or revise it if its message is confusing. Keep an annotated copy or teacher note as evidence. A family-facing home variant may use a book return spot, toy container or coat hook; the family chooses what is meaningful and need not buy anything.

Ready-to-copy learner card

MY SIGN HELPS: ______________________________________________
WHO COULD USE IT: ____________________________________________

MY FIRST IDEA                     MY IDEA AFTER TESTING
[draw, build or place a symbol]   [draw, build or place a symbol]

I TESTED IT BY: ______________________________________________
THE VIEWER DID: ______________________________________________
I KEPT OR CHANGED: ___________________________________________
BECAUSE: _____________________________________________________

The card can be enlarged, read aloud, represented with actual objects, answered through AAC or completed by an adult scribe. A printable word-and-picture sign is not a substitute for a tactile sign or a locally chosen accessible route.

Source and rights

National framework: ACARA Australian Curriculum v9 downloads, Foundation Year, source workbook SHA-256 db446882d2c00cf7c085a03e250e2442fda6c44011fc114680c46c1dc7a822c3 retrieved 29 September 2026. Codes above were checked against the local imported official workbook. Alignment is an author's partial interpretation, not ACARA endorsement. ACARA terms apply to curriculum source material; no ACARA artwork has been reused.

Reuse this guide: © NeuroForgeIO Pty Ltd 2026, “SubjectNest Signs and Stories, Foundation Week 2”, version 0.1.0-draft. The original micro-story, sample signs, scripts and learner card are CC BY 4.0; credit SubjectNest by NeuroForgeIO Pty Ltd, link the source and licence, and note changes. ACARA curriculum source material retains its own terms. AERO's early literacy guide supports rich talk and shared texts, and AERO's early numeracy guide supports planned playful learning and observation. These sources inform the design; the pack has not yet been classroom tested. ACARA student diversity guidance supports individual access adjustments. A reviewed translation would need an exact locale, version and language reviewer; none is claimed here.