Year 1

Word reading

Pupils should be taught to:

  • apply phonic knowledge and skills as the route to decode words
  • respond speedily with the correct sound to graphemes (letters or groups of letters) for all 40+ phonemes, including, where applicable, alternative sounds for graphemes
  • read accurately by blending sounds in unfamiliar words containing GPCs that have been taught
  • read common exception words, noting unusual correspondences between spelling and sound and where these occur in the word
  • read words containing taught GPCs and –s, –es, –ing, –ed, –er and –est endings
  • read other words of more than one syllable that contain taught GPCs
  • read words with contractions, e.g. I’m, I’ll, we’ll and understand that the apostrophe represents the omitted letter(s)
  • read aloud accurately books that are consistent with their developing phonic knowledge and that do not require them to use other strategies to work out words
  • re-read these books to build up their fluency and confidence in word reading

Comprehension

Pupils should be taught to :

  • Develop pleasure in reading, motivation to read, vocabulary and understanding by:
    • listening to and discussing a wide range of poems, stories and non-fiction at a level beyond that at which they can read independently
    • being encouraged to link what they read or hear read to their own experiences
    • becoming very familiar with key stories, fairy stories and traditional tales, retelling them and considering their particular characteristics
    • recognising and joining in with predictable phrases
    • learning to appreciate rhymes and poems, and to recite some by heart
    • discussing word meanings, linking new meanings to those already known
  • Understand both the books they can already read accurately and fluently and those they listen to by:
    • drawing on what they already know or on background information and vocabulary provided by the teacher
    • checking that the text makes sense to them as they read and correcting inaccurate reading
    • discussing the significance of the title and events
    • making inferences on the basis of what is being said and done
    • predicting what might happen on the basis of what has been read so far
    • participate in discussion about what is read to them, taking turns and listening to what others say
    • explain clearly their understanding of what is read to them

Transcription

Spelling (see TJ Spelling Progression)

Pupils should be taught to:

  • Spell:
    • words containing each of the 40+ phonemes already taught
    • common exception words
    • the days of the week
  • Name the letters of the alphabet:
    • naming the letters of the alphabet in order
    • using letter names to distinguish between alternative spellings of the same sound
  • Add prefixes and suffixes:
    • using the spelling rule for adding –s or –es as the plural marker for nouns and the third person singular marker for verbs
    • using the prefix un–
    • using –ing, –ed, –er and –est where no change is needed in the spelling of root words (e.g. helping, helped, helper)
  • Apply simple spelling rules and guidelines
  • Write from memory simple sentences dictated by the teacher that include words using the GPCs and common exception words taught so far

Handwriting

  • Sit correctly at a table, holding a pencil comfortably and correctly
  • Begin to form lower-case letters in the correct direction, starting and finishing in the right place
  • Form capital letters
  • Form digits 0-9
  • Understand which letters belong to which handwriting ‘families’ (i.e. letters that are formed in similar ways) and to practise these

Composition

Pupils should be taught to:

  • Write sentences by:
    • saying out loud what they are going to write about
    • composing a sentence orally before writing it
    • sequencing sentences to form short narratives
    • re-reading what they have written to check that it makes sense
  • Discuss what they have written with the teacher or other pupils
  • Read aloud their writing clearly enough to be heard by their peers and the teacher

Vocabulary, grammar and punctuation

  • Joining words and joining sentences using and
  • How the prefix un– changes the meaning of verbs and adjectives (negation, g. unkind, or undoing, e.g. untie the boat)
  • Regular plural noun suffixes –s or –es (e.g. dog, dogs; wish, wishes)
  • Suffixes that can be added to verbs (e.g. helping, helped, helper)
  • How words can combine to make sentences
  • Sequencing sentences to form short narratives
  • Separation of words with spaces
  • Introduction to capital letters, full stops, question marks and exclamation marks to demarcate sentences
  • Capital letters for names and for the personal pronoun I