Australian Curriculum • Year 1 • English
Year 1 English Curriculum Australia: Reading, Writing and Language
Year 1 English strengthens the move toward independent literacy. Students continue developing phonics and word knowledge while building reading fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, speaking and increasingly controlled sentence writing.
Reading and word knowledge
Children need regular opportunities to decode unfamiliar words, reread familiar text smoothly and discuss meaning. Phonics practice is most useful when it connects to actual reading and spelling rather than becoming an isolated worksheet routine.
Comprehension and discussion
Ask students to retell, identify key information, explain character actions and make simple inferences. Talking about a text before writing about it helps learners organise their ideas and use new vocabulary.
Writing in Year 1
Students work toward clearer sentences and short texts for different purposes. Encourage them to plan orally, write, reread and make one or two useful edits. The aim is not perfect adult writing; it is increasing control over meaning, sentence structure, spelling patterns and punctuation.
Choose the exact curriculum unit
The Year 1 English curriculum units help teachers and families target the current skill rather than giving broad “English work”. SkillrHub connects each unit with a Topic Guide, Teacher Slides, Worksheet, Practice and Test so the learner can move between instruction and assessment without changing topic.
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Australian Curriculum v9
Year 1 English curriculum codes at a glance
This guide is linked to the exact Australian Curriculum v9 content descriptions used by SkillrHub. There are 30 Year 1 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
AC9E1LA01 — How language, facial expressions and gestures are used to interact...
understand how language, facial expressions and gestures are used to interact with others when asking for and providing information, making offers, exclaiming, requesting and giving commands.
AC9E1LA02 — Language to provide reasons for likes, dislikes and preferences
explore language to provide reasons for likes, dislikes and preferences.
Text structure and organisation
AC9E1LA03 — How texts are organised according to their purpose, such as...
explore how texts are organised according to their purpose, such as to recount, narrate, express opinion, inform, report and explain.
AC9E1LA04 — How repetition, rhyme and rhythm create cohesion in simple poems...
explore how repetition, rhyme and rhythm create cohesion in simple poems, chants and songs.
AC9E1LA05 — How print and screen texts are organised using features such...
understand how print and screen texts are organised using features such as page numbers, tables of content, headings and titles, navigation buttons, swipe screens, verbal commands, links and images.
Language for expressing and developing ideas
AC9E1LA06 — That a simple sentence consists of a single independent clause...
understand that a simple sentence consists of a single independent clause representing a single event or idea.
AC9E1LA07 — That words can represent people, places and things (nouns, including...
understand that words can represent people, places and things (nouns, including pronouns), happenings and states (verbs), qualities (adjectives) and details such as when, where and how (adverbs).
AC9E1LA08 — How images in different types of texts contribute to meaning
compare how images in different types of texts contribute to meaning.
AC9E1LA09 — The vocabulary of learning area topics
recognise the vocabulary of learning area topics.
AC9E1LA10 — That written language uses punctuation such as full stops, question...
understand that written language uses punctuation such as full stops, question marks and exclamation marks, and uses capital letters for familiar proper nouns.
Literature and contexts
AC9E1LE01 — How language and images are used to create characters, settings...
discuss how language and images are used to create characters, settings and events in literature by First Nations Australian, and wide-ranging Australian and world authors and illustrators.
Engaging with and responding to literature
AC9E1LE02 — Literary texts and share responses by making connections with students’...
discuss literary texts and share responses by making connections with students’ own experiences.
Examining literature
AC9E1LE03 — Plot, character and setting, which are features of stories
discuss plot, character and setting, which are features of stories.
AC9E1LE04 — Poems, chants, rhymes and songs, and imitate and invent sound...
listen to and discuss poems, chants, rhymes and songs, and imitate and invent sound patterns including alliteration and rhyme.
Creating literature
AC9E1LE05 — Retell or adapt a familiar story using plot and characters...
orally retell or adapt a familiar story using plot and characters, language features including vocabulary, and structure of a familiar text, through role-play, writing, drawing or digital tools.
Texts in context
AC9E1LY01 — Different texts and identify some features that indicate their purposes
discuss different texts and identify some features that indicate their purposes.
Interacting with others
AC9E1LY02 — Interaction skills including turn-taking, speaking clearly, using active listening behaviours...
use interaction skills including turn-taking, speaking clearly, using active listening behaviours and responding to the contributions of others, and contributing ideas and questions.
Analysing, interpreting and evaluating
AC9E1LY03 — Some similarities and differences between imaginative, informative and persuasive texts
describe some similarities and differences between imaginative, informative and persuasive texts.
AC9E1LY04 — Decodable and authentic texts using developing phonic knowledge, phrasing and...
read decodable and authentic texts using developing phonic knowledge, phrasing and fluency, and monitoring meaning using context and grammatical knowledge.
AC9E1LY05 — Comprehension strategies such as visualising, predicting, connecting, summarising and questioning...
use comprehension strategies such as visualising, predicting, connecting, summarising and questioning when listening, viewing and reading to build literal and inferred meaning by drawing on vocabulary and growing knowledge of context and text structures.
Creating texts
AC9E1LY06 — And re-read to edit short written and/or multimodal texts to...
create and re-read to edit short written and/or multimodal texts to report on a topic, express an opinion or recount a real or imagined event, using grammatically correct simple sentences, some topic-specific vocabulary, sentence boundary punctuation and correct spelling of some one- and two-syllable words.
AC9E1LY07 — And deliver short oral and/or multimodal presentations on personal and...
create and deliver short oral and/or multimodal presentations on personal and learnt topics, which include an opening, middle and concluding statement; some topic-specific vocabulary and appropriate gesture, volume and pace.
AC9E1LY08 — Words using unjoined lower-case and upper-case letters
write words using unjoined lower-case and upper-case letters.
Phonic and word knowledge
AC9E1LY09 — Words into separate phonemes (sounds) including consonant blends or clusters...
segment words into separate phonemes (sounds) including consonant blends or clusters at the beginnings and ends of words (phonological awareness).
AC9E1LY10 — Manipulate phonemes in spoken words by addition, deletion and substitution...
orally manipulate phonemes in spoken words by addition, deletion and substitution of initial, medial and final phonemes to generate new words (phonological awareness).
AC9E1LY11 — Short vowels, common long vowels, consonant blends and digraphs to...
use short vowels, common long vowels, consonant blends and digraphs to write words, and blend these to read one- and two-syllable words.
AC9E1LY12 — That a letter can represent more than one sound and...
understand that a letter can represent more than one sound and that a syllable must contain a vowel sound.
AC9E1LY13 — One- and two-syllable words with common letter patterns
spell one- and two-syllable words with common letter patterns.
AC9E1LY14 — And write an increasing number of high-frequency words
read and write an increasing number of high-frequency words.
AC9E1LY15 — And know how to use grammatical morphemes to create word...
recognise and know how to use grammatical morphemes to create word families.
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.
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Free-first check: establish a consistent Learn → Practice → Test routine before deciding whether an additional paid service offers something the learner will genuinely use.