Literacy Fundamentals

NZC07 Level 1–2 | English — Reading & Writing (NZC07 fallback — te Mātaiaho 2025 Phase 1–2 English addresses phonics through the Common Practice Model rather than discrete achievement objectives)

"Uses their developing knowledge of the alphabetic code to decode unfamiliar words."

"Uses their developing knowledge of letter-sound relationships to spell simple words."

"Reads with a level of accuracy and understanding that shows they have decoded the words and made meaning of the text."

Common Practice Model for Literacy

The phonics-specific instructional content of this unit — phoneme-grapheme correspondence, blending, segmenting, decodable texts, fluency development — is aligned to the Ministry of Education's Common Practice Model (CPM) for structured literacy, which operates alongside te Mātaiaho as the national framework for early literacy instruction. The CPM provides the pedagogical sequence; these NZC07 statements provide the curriculum accountability anchor.

Key Competencies

• Using language, symbols, and texts: The alphabetic code is the foundational symbol system students are learning to use — every lesson is an exercise in this competency at its most basic and most powerful level
• Thinking: Decoding is an act of reasoning — students apply phoneme-grapheme rules to unknown words, self-monitor for accuracy, and adjust when a word doesn't make sense
• Managing self: Building reading stamina and self-correction habits requires students to notice when their reading breaks down and apply a strategy independently

Formative Assessment — Phase Probes

After each 4-lesson phase, run a brief phoneme probe (2–3 minutes, 1:1 or small group): show 10 grapheme cards from the completed phase and record accurate/inaccurate. This data drives the next phase — students who haven't consolidated Phase 1 phonemes should not accelerate to Phase 2 digraphs.

• Phase 1 probe (after L4): Single consonants + short vowels. Threshold: 8/10 accurate before moving to Phase 2
• Phase 2 probe (after L8): Digraphs (ch, sh, th, ng) + long vowel patterns. Threshold: 7/10 accurate before Phase 3
• Running record (any decodable text read during fluency lessons): Mark each error, self-correction, and accurate word. Note the error type (substitution, omission, insertion) — patterns reveal whether the student is decoding, guessing from context, or skipping
• Dictation sentences (Phases 3–4): Dictate 2–3 sentences using target phonemes. Correct spelling is the written measure; letter formation and directionality are secondary observations

Summative Assessment — Literacy Passport (Lesson 16)

The Literacy Passport is the unit's celebration and evidence document. Each student's passport records: which phoneme-grapheme correspondences they can reliably read and spell (ticked from the Phase 1–4 progression), their current reading fluency level from a timed decodable text, and a "next step" note from the kaiako. The passport goes home with the student and serves as a communication tool with whānau.

Assessment at Years 0–3 is not a grade — it is a diagnostic map. The passport tells the next kaiako exactly where to start, not what the student "achieved."

Entry — Phoneme Sorting

Students sort a set of picture cards by their initial sound using a pocket chart or sorting mat. Start with two contrasting sounds (e.g. /s/ and /m/); expand to four as confidence builds. The cognitive load is low, the kinesthetic engagement is high, and the teacher can observe phonemic awareness in real time without requiring any reading or writing from the student.

Developing — Decodable Text Read with Self-Correction Tracking

Students read a decodable text matched to their current phase, placing a small counter on each word they had to try more than once. After reading, they return to each counter and write the word in their literacy journal. They then self-correct: does the word follow a rule they know? This builds the habit of attending to orthographic patterns rather than accepting approximations.

Mastery — Make a Reader for a Buddy

Students write and illustrate a short decodable reader (4–6 pages) using only phonemes they have mastered, then read it aloud to a younger student or sibling. Constraints: every word in the book must be fully decodable using Phase 1–2 knowledge (no sight-word guessing required). The real audience makes the writing purposeful; the decoding constraint makes the task a sophisticated phonics review.

Learning arc: This unit builds the alphabetic code from single phoneme-grapheme correspondences through to multisyllabic word decoding across 16 lessons in four phases. The thread throughout is "The Code" — every sound can be mapped to a spelling pattern, and every spelling pattern can be decoded. Students who reach Lesson 16 with this principle internalised can attack any unknown word systematically rather than guessing.

Phase 1: Phonics Foundations (Lessons 1–4)

• Lesson 1 — Phonics Foundations 1: Initial consonants and short vowels /a/, /e/, /i/. Oral blending before written tasks — students who can't yet blend orally are not ready for print decoding
• Lesson 2 — Phonics Foundations 2: Short vowels /o/, /u/ completed. First CVC words built from taught phonemes only
• Lesson 3 — CVC Word Building: Students blend onset and rime to read and build their first fully decodable words. Magnetic letters, card tiles, and oral rehearsal before pencil
• Lesson 4 — Blending & Segmenting: Explicitly separates blending (reading direction: sounds → word) from segmenting (spelling direction: word → sounds). Students practise both until automatic

Phase 2: Digraphs & Morphology (Lessons 5–8)

• Lesson 5 — Consonant Digraphs: ch, sh, th, ng. Students discover that two letters can represent one sound — this extends The Code principle without breaking it
• Lesson 6 — Long Vowel Patterns: Magic-e and vowel teams. The "vowel says its name" frame gives students a heuristic for a new pattern class
• Lesson 7 — Prefixes & Suffixes: un-, re-, -ing, -ed. Morphological awareness begins — students learn that words have parts with consistent meanings, not just sounds
• Lesson 8 — Morphology Practice: Compound words and morpheme hunting across classroom texts. Cross-curricular application of Phase 2 knowledge

Phase 3: Fluency & Complex Patterns (Lessons 9–12)

• Lessons 9–10 — Complex Patterns 1 & 2: Vowel diphthongs, variant vowels, silent letters, soft c/g. The Code is now large enough that students need systematic strategies for unknown patterns rather than memorisation
• Lessons 11–12 — Fluency Building 1 & 2: Phrase reading, prosody, and paired reading. Fluency is not speed — it is the automatic recognition that frees working memory for comprehension. Students who decode accurately but slowly are still not fluent readers

Phase 4: Application & Consolidation (Lessons 13–16)

• Lesson 13 — R-Controlled Vowels: ar, or, er, ir, ur. Among the most common patterns in English that don't follow short or long vowel rules — important to name explicitly
• Lesson 14 — Multisyllabic Words: Syllable division strategies (closed, open, magic-e, vowel team, r-controlled, consonant-le). Students apply all four phases to longer words
• Lesson 15 — Application Practice: Students decode subject-specific vocabulary from other learning areas — science, maths, social studies. Reading is not just for English
• Lesson 16 — Assessment & Celebration: Literacy Passport completed; students celebrate growth with whānau. The passport records exactly where each student sits on The Code continuum — a diagnostic handover to the next teacher, not a grade

Beyond the unit: The phonics knowledge built here is not "completed" at Year 3 — it is the foundation that makes all subsequent reading instruction possible. Students leaving this unit with Phase 1–2 consolidated and Phase 3–4 emerging are on track. Students still consolidating Phase 1 need targeted small-group intervention before Year 4, where the curriculum assumes decoding is automatic.