English study is mandatory in NSW from Kindergarten to Year 12.
Students learn about the English language through written, spoken and visual texts of increasing complexity as they progress through their schooling.
An understanding of the English language is central to how we communicate and essential for intellectual, social and emotional development.
The study of English should develop a love of literature and learning and be challenging and enjoyable. It develops skills to enable students to experiment with ideas and expression, to become active, independent and lifelong learners, to work with each other and to reflect on their learning.
Kindergarten
For more detail about this stage use the link to visit the syllabus for Kindergarten. Stage statements are summaries of the knowledge, understanding, skills, values and attitudes that have been developed by students as a result of achieving the outcomes for each stage of learning.
By the end of Kindergarten students respond to a range of spoken, written and multimodal texts from familiar contexts. They demonstrate active listening behaviours to follow simple instructions and ask relevant questions. Students mix and communicate informally with peers, teachers and known adults in informal and structured classroom settings. They communicate clearly and purposefully when engaging in pair, group and class discussions. Students demonstrate an emerging awareness of how people use spoken language for different purposes. They deliver short presentations using familiar and learned vocabulary. Students explore the way familiar spoken texts are constructed and the features of these texts.
Students develop reading, viewing and comprehension skills and strategies using context, grammar, word usage and phonics to make meaning from short, predictable printed texts on familiar topics. They interpret and provide relevant explanations of characters and main events in imaginative texts, and key ideas and visual features in short informative texts, making connections to personal experience. Students recognise, discuss and respond to the different kinds and purposes of various written, visual and digital texts from a variety of cultures. They read with some fluency and accuracy, drawing support from concepts of print and their developing sound and letter knowledge. Students explore and identify some features of texts, including the use of rhyme, letter patterns and sounds in words in written and spoken texts.
Students engage in writing with an increasing awareness of the nature, purpose and conventions of written language. They create simple texts and recreate familiar imaginative texts by drawing on personal experience and through performance, drawing and images. Students retell events and experiences for known audiences that demonstrate an awareness of the text structure, basic grammar and punctuation needed. Students begin to apply simple editing techniques to their written work. They know and use letters and sounds of the alphabet to attempt to spell known words. Students write most lower and upper case letters appropriately, using the NSW Foundation Style as appropriate. They explore the use of digital technologies to construct a variety of multimodal texts. Students become aware of how to reflect on and assess their own and others' learning.
Years 1 and 2
For more detail about this stage the link to visit the syllabus for stage 1: Years 1 and 2
By the end of Years 1 and 2 students communicate with a wide range of audiences on familiar and introduced topics to achieve a variety of purposes. They interact effectively, adopting new communication skills and select vocabulary to enhance meaning in order to give confident presentations. Students attend to instructions, share ideas and engage effectively in group and class discussions. They recognise that spoken language has a range of purposes and audiences and use this knowledge when attempting to communicate effectively with others. They investigate the different types and organisational patterns of common spoken texts and recognise features within them. Students create imaginative, informative and persuasive spoken texts drawing on their own experiences, their imagination, and ideas they have learned.
Students read and view imaginative, informative and persuasive texts. They use an increasing variety of skills and strategies, including knowledge of text structure, context, grammar, punctuation, word usage and phonics, to make connections between texts and between their own experiences and information in texts. Students read with developing fluency and intonation short texts with some unfamiliar vocabulary, simple sentences and images. Students read, interpret and discuss texts from a variety of cultures, including visual and multimodal texts, using a range of skills and strategies. They locate literal information in written texts and refer to features of language and images to make inferences about characters’ actions and motivations. Students explore and identify ways in which texts differ according to purpose, audience and subject.
Students create imaginative, informative and persuasive texts on familiar topics for known readers by planning, proofreading and editing their own writing. They write using basic grammatical features and conventions of punctuation, showing an awareness of different purposes, audiences and subject matter. Students use knowledge of letter–sound correspondence, sight words and regular spelling patterns to accurately spell known words and an increasing number of irregularly spelt words. They write consistently and clearly using NSW Foundation Style as appropriate and use digital technologies to produce texts, recognising simple conventions, language and functions. Students reflect on and assess their own and others’ learning
Years 3 and 4
For more detail about this stage us the link to visit the syllabus for stage 2 :Years 3 and 4
By the end of Years 3 and 4 students communicate expressively and clearly with growing proficiency about ideas and information in classroom, school and social situations for a range of purposes. They explore a variety of roles when interacting in pairs and groups, attending to different views and responding appropriately. Students use various listening behaviours to gather general ideas and key points from conversations, reports or spoken presentations. They identify the effect of purpose, audience and culture on spoken texts and shape and present ideas accordingly. Students identify common organisational patterns and language features of predictable spoken texts.
Students independently read, view and respond to familiar and challenging texts and justify interpretations of ideas, information and events using a range of skills and strategies. They integrate a range of skills and strategies efficiently when reading, interpreting, analysing and evaluating texts and visual images. Students identify literal information in texts and make inferences, integrating and linking ideas and asking questions to clarify understandings. They recognise the representation of characters, settings and events in imaginative texts and start to evaluate point of view. They explain some ways in which authors and illustrators engage the interests of audiences and achieve a range of purposes. Students explore the structural and grammatical features and purposes for a range of written, visual and multimodal texts.
Students create well-structured imaginative, informative and persuasive texts in terms of topic, purpose, audience and language by drafting, proofreading and editing for familiar and unfamiliar audiences. They use simple and complex sentences, paragraphing, punctuation and grammatical features characteristic of the various texts to support meaning. Students spell familiar and unfamiliar words using knowledge of letter–sound correspondence, regular and irregular spelling patterns, spelling rules and a range of other strategies. They use increasing fluency when writing, applying NSW Foundation Style as appropriate, and develop digital publishing skills. Students explain and reflect on how they structure their writing to achieve intended purposes.
Years 5 and 6
For more detail about this stage use the link to visit the syllabus for stage 3: Years 5 and 6
By the end of Years 5 and 6 students communicate effectively, using considered language to entertain, inform and persuade audiences for an increasing range of purposes. They work productively and independently in pairs or groups to deliver effective presentations using various skills and strategies. Students collaborate with others to share and evaluate ideas and opinions and to develop different points of view. They express well-developed and well-organised ideas about literary texts and respond constructively to different opinions. They demonstrate active listening behaviours in order to gather specific information and ideas, recognising and exploring how spoken and written language differ and how spoken language varies according to context. Students evaluate characteristic language features and organisational patterns of challenging spoken texts.
Students independently read and view an extensive range of complex texts and visual images using a comprehensive range of skills and strategies. They respond to themes and issues within texts, recognise point of view and justify interpretations by referring to their own knowledge, values and experiences. They identify, critically analyse and respond to techniques, literary devices and language features used by writers to influence readers. Students compare and accurately summarise information on a particular topic from different texts and make well-supported generalisations about the topic. Students identify text structure of a range of complex texts and explore how grammatical features work to influence an audience's understanding of written, visual, media and multimodal texts.
Students create well-structured and well-presented written and multimodal imaginative, informative and persuasive texts for a wide range of purposes and audiences. They deal with complex topics, issues and language features. Students select information and ideas from personal, literary and researched resources, and adapt imaginative ideas and situations from literature. They make considered choices in written texts from an expanding vocabulary and from growing knowledge of grammatical patterns, complex sentence structures, cohesive links and literary devices. Students write well-structured sentences and paragraphs on particular aspects of the topic, clarifying and explaining how choices of language and literary features were designed to influence the meaning communicated in their texts. They spell most common words accurately and use a variety of strategies to spell less common words. They develop a fluent writing style and employ digital technology to present written texts effectively in a variety of ways for different purposes and audiences. Students evaluate the effectiveness of their writing by drafting, proofreading, editing, reviewing and publishing, focusing on grammatical features and the conventions of writing.
Jolly grammar
Jolly Grammar is a systematic, explicit teaching program in which all students in years 1 to year 4 learn the fundamental skills involved in the use of correct grammatical structures during reading and writing. All students are explicitly taught the correct names and roles that parts of the English language play in the formation of grammatically correct written passages. Students are taught spelling using the rules learnt in Jolly phonics and built upon through past, present and future tense aspects of grammar. Jolly grammar is a well-rounded grammar program that moves students from simple sentence structures to more complex structures using greater vocabulary choices and grammatical features.