Australian Curriculum • Foundation • English
Foundation English Curriculum Australia: Reading, Writing and Language
Foundation English builds the bridge between spoken language and literacy. Children learn to listen, speak, hear sounds in words, connect letters and sounds, make meaning from texts and begin composing their own messages.
What does Foundation English focus on?
Important areas include oral language, phonological awareness, early phonics, print concepts, shared reading, vocabulary, comprehension and beginning writing. These skills work together. A child who can discuss a story, notice sounds and connect them to letters is building the foundations for independent reading and spelling.
Use the exact curriculum unit
The Foundation English curriculum units make it easier to choose a resource that matches the learning goal. Rather than downloading a broad literacy sheet, identify whether the child needs sound work, word reading, comprehension, sentence work or another specific skill.
Read, talk, then write
Conversation is an important literacy tool. Before asking for written answers, discuss the text, retell events, identify important words and ask why something happened. When children write, encourage them to say the sentence first, listen for words and sounds, then record what they can. Correctness matters, but so does willingness to communicate meaning.
Keep early literacy practice short and frequent
Five to fifteen focused minutes can be more useful than one long worksheet session. Revisit high-value sounds and words, reread familiar text for fluency, and use quick comprehension questions. If a learner struggles, move back to a smaller step rather than pushing through a long page.
Free Foundation English resources
SkillrHub connects topic explanations, teacher presentations, printable practice, online questions and tests by curriculum unit. This helps teachers and families see what a resource is actually designed to teach.
Start with Foundation English
Browse Foundation English Curriculum Units
For cross-subject planning, use the Foundation curriculum overview or worksheet library.
Australian Curriculum v9
Foundation English curriculum codes at a glance
This guide is linked to the exact Australian Curriculum v9 content descriptions used by SkillrHub. There are 29 Foundation English curriculum codes in this subject. Use the code list below to move from the broad year-level overview to the exact skill a student is learning.
Language for interacting with others
AC9EFLA01 — How language is used differently at home and school depending...
explore how language is used differently at home and school depending on the relationships between people.
AC9EFLA02 — Different ways of using language to express preferences, likes and...
explore different ways of using language to express preferences, likes and dislikes.
Text structure and organisation
AC9EFLA03 — That texts can take many forms such as signs, books...
understand that texts can take many forms such as signs, books and digital texts.
AC9EFLA04 — Conventions of print and screen, including how books and simple...
understand conventions of print and screen, including how books and simple digital texts are usually organised.
Language for expressing and developing ideas
AC9EFLA05 — That sentences are key units for expressing ideas
recognise that sentences are key units for expressing ideas.
AC9EFLA06 — That sentences are made up of groups of words that...
recognise that sentences are made up of groups of words that work together in particular ways to make meaning.
AC9EFLA07 — The contribution of images and words to meaning in stories...
explore the contribution of images and words to meaning in stories and informative texts.
AC9EFLA08 — And develop awareness of vocabulary used in familiar contexts related...
recognise and develop awareness of vocabulary used in familiar contexts related to everyday experiences, personal interests and topics taught at school.
AC9EFLA09 — Punctuation as a feature of written text different from letters...
identify punctuation as a feature of written text different from letters; recognise that capital letters are used for names, and that capital letters also signal the beginning of sentences while punctuation marks signal the end.
Literature and contexts
AC9EFLE01 — Share ideas about stories, poems and images in literature, reflecting...
share ideas about stories, poems and images in literature, reflecting on experiences that are similar or different to their own by engaging with texts by First Nations Australian, and wide-ranging Australian and world authors and illustrators.
Engaging with and responding to literature
AC9EFLE02 — Respond to stories and share feelings and thoughts about their...
respond to stories and share feelings and thoughts about their events and characters.
Examining literature
AC9EFLE03 — Different types of literary texts and identify features including events...
recognise different types of literary texts and identify features including events, characters, and beginnings and endings.
AC9EFLE04 — And replicate the rhythms and sound patterns of literary texts...
explore and replicate the rhythms and sound patterns of literary texts such as poems, rhymes and songs.
Creating literature
AC9EFLE05 — Retell and adapt familiar literary texts through play, performance, images...
retell and adapt familiar literary texts through play, performance, images or writing.
Texts in context
AC9EFLY01 — Some familiar texts, such as stories and informative texts, and...
identify some familiar texts, such as stories and informative texts, and their purpose.
Interacting with others
AC9EFLY02 — Interact in informal and structured situations by listening while others...
interact in informal and structured situations by listening while others speak and using features of voice including volume levels.
Analysing, interpreting and evaluating
AC9EFLY03 — Some differences between imaginative and informative texts
identify some differences between imaginative and informative texts.
AC9EFLY04 — Decodable and authentic texts using developing phonic knowledge, and monitor...
read decodable and authentic texts using developing phonic knowledge, and monitor meaning using context and emerging grammatical knowledge.
AC9EFLY05 — Comprehension strategies such as visualising, predicting, connecting, summarising and questioning...
use comprehension strategies such as visualising, predicting, connecting, summarising and questioning to understand and discuss texts listened to, viewed or read independently.
Creating texts
AC9EFLY06 — And participate in shared editing of short written texts to...
create and participate in shared editing of short written texts to record and report ideas and events using some learnt vocabulary, basic sentence boundary punctuation and spelling some consonant-vowel-consonant words correctly.
AC9EFLY07 — And deliver short spoken texts to report ideas and events...
create and deliver short spoken texts to report ideas and events to peers, using features of voice such as appropriate volume.
AC9EFLY08 — Form most lower-case and upper-case letters using learnt letter formations
form most lower-case and upper-case letters using learnt letter formations.
Phonic and word knowledge
AC9EFLY09 — And generate rhyming words, alliteration patterns, syllables and sounds (phonemes)...
recognise and generate rhyming words, alliteration patterns, syllables and sounds (phonemes) in spoken words (phonological awareness).
AC9EFLY10 — Sentences into individual words; orally blend and segment single-syllable spoken...
segment sentences into individual words; orally blend and segment single-syllable spoken words; isolate, blend and manipulate phonemes in single-syllable words (phonological awareness).
AC9EFLY11 — And name all upper- and lower-case letters (graphs) and know...
recognise and name all upper- and lower-case letters (graphs) and know the most common sound that each letter represents.
AC9EFLY12 — Consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words by representing sounds with the appropriate letters...
write consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words by representing sounds with the appropriate letters, and blend sounds associated with letters when reading CVC words.
AC9EFLY13 — Knowledge of letters and sounds to spell words
use knowledge of letters and sounds to spell words.
AC9EFLY14 — And write some high-frequency words and other familiar words
read and write some high-frequency words and other familiar words.
AC9EFLY15 — That words are units of meaning and can be made...
understand that words are units of meaning and can be made of more than one meaningful part.
Curriculum descriptions are reproduced from the curriculum data used to organise SkillrHub resources. The Australian Curriculum remains the authority for official wording and scope.
Free-first learning
Try the free resources first
Before committing to another monthly or yearly learning subscription, use the free curriculum-linked resources available for the student’s current topic. Start with the Topic Guide, use Practice, review mistakes and then take the separate Test.
A larger paid question bank or learning program can be useful, but paying for more volume does not guarantee that a student will use it consistently. If the learner is already working through the free resources and still needs extra tutoring, marking, adaptive practice, reporting or more question volume, compare paid options for that specific need.
Free-first check: establish a consistent Learn → Practice → Test routine before deciding whether an additional paid service offers something the learner will genuinely use.