English

Language and Literacy in P1 puts talking and listening first. Children build vocabulary, join in with stories, songs and rhymes, follow instructions and learn to take turns in conversation — the base on which all reading and writing is built.

Reading begins with phonological awareness and early phonics: hearing rhyme and initial sounds, then blending letter sounds into simple words and recognising a growing bank of common words on sight.

Writing starts with mark-making and moves toward correct letter formation and writing their own name, then simple captions. Regular one-to-one reading with an adult makes more difference at P1 than anything else.