Grade 01: English

In this unit, 'Letter sounds and phonics set 1', you learn to say and match the 26 letter sounds and blend three-letter words. Lessons are short and playful, with objects, pictures and talk. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Listen first: your teacher or a recording says the new words or sentences from 'Letter sounds and phonics set 1' twice. You repeat them aloud.
• Notice the pattern: find where the new sound, word form or sentence rule appears in a short text and mark it.
• Use it: say and match the 26 letter sounds and blend three-letter words, first with help, then alone.
• Check and fix: read your work aloud once more; fix one thing you hear is wrong.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Say the first sounds with a picture. s for sun, a for ant, t for tap, p for pin, i for ink, n for net. Say the sound, not the letter name: "sss", not "ess". Reason: sounds, not names, build words.
2. Step 2, Blend three sounds into a word. s-a-t: touch each letter, say each sound, then slide them together: "sat". Reason: touching and sliding keeps the child going left to right.
3. Step 3, Swap one sound to make a new word. sat, pat, pan, pin. Only one sound changes each time. Reason: noticing which letter changed shows how each sound matters.
4. Step 4, Fix an error. The child reads "pin" as "pan". Correction: look at the middle letter. The letter i says "i" as in ink. Point to it and blend again: p-i-n, "pin".
5. Step 5, Say the sounds in order: a, b, c, d, e, f... as sounds: "a" as in apple, "b" as in ball, "c" as in cat. Match each letter card to a picture card. Reason: matching practises both sound and shape.
6. Step 6, Write and say a sentence with blended words: "A cat sat on a mat." Point to each word as you read. Words to blend: c-a-t, s-a-t, m-a-t. Reason: reading a real sentence gives the sounds a purpose.
7. Step 7, Your turn. Blend these words: "tip", "nap", "tin". Model answer: t-i-p "tip"; n-a-p "nap"; t-i-n "tin". Now make a new word by changing the first sound of "tin" to "p": "pin".

Activity. About 20 to 30 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: one page in your learning book.

Standard to meet. Say and match the 26 letter sounds when you hear them and blend three-letter words: at least 4 of 5 attempts correct, said or written, with one real example from home or school.

In this unit, 'Reading simple words', you learn to read common short words and decode simple regular words. Lessons are short and playful, with objects, pictures and talk. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Listen first: your teacher or a recording says the new words or sentences from 'Reading simple words' twice. You repeat them aloud.
• Notice the pattern: find where the new sound, word form or sentence rule appears in a short text and mark it.
• Use it: read common short words and decode simple regular words, first with help, then alone.
• Check and fix: read your work aloud once more; fix one thing you hear is wrong.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Read tricky words you cannot sound out by sight. Words like "the", "is", "was", "you", "said". Say them, cover them, and say them again. Reason: these common words are used in nearly every sentence.
2. Step 2, Decode a regular word. Word: "frog". Say each sound: f-r-o-g. Blend the first two: "fr", add "o", add "g": "frog". Reason: blends like fr, st and cl are read as two sounds quickly together.
3. Step 3, Read a short sentence with both types. "The frog is on a log." Sight words: "the", "is", "on", "a". Decodable words: "frog", "log". Point and read smoothly.
4. Step 4, Fix an error. The child reads "was" as "wass". Correction: "was" is a sight word and says "woz". Practise by covering and reading it five times quickly. Reason: not every word follows the sound rule.
5. Step 5, Check meaning after reading. Sentence: "The dog ran to the pond." Question: "Where did the dog run?" Answer: "To the pond." Reason: reading is understanding, not only sounding out.
6. Step 6, Read a two-sentence story. "A big ant sat on a leaf. The ant said, 'I am hot.'" Notice speech marks around what the ant says. Point to the full stop at the end of each sentence and take a short pause.
7. Step 7, Your turn. Read this and answer: "The cat is on the bed. It is big." What is on the bed? Model answer: "The cat is on the bed." Then say how big it is: "It is big."

Activity. About 20 to 30 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: one page in your learning book.

Standard to meet. Read common short words and decode simple regular words: at least 4 of 5 attempts correct, said or written, with one real example from home or school.

In this unit, 'Writing letters and my name', you learn to form letters correctly and write my first name and short labels. Lessons are short and playful, with objects, pictures and talk. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Listen first: your teacher or a recording says the new words or sentences from 'Writing letters and my name' twice. You repeat them aloud.
• Notice the pattern: find where the new sound, word form or sentence rule appears in a short text and mark it.
• Use it: form letters correctly and write my first name and short labels, first with help, then alone.
• Check and fix: read your work aloud once more; fix one thing you hear is wrong.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Form letters from the right starting point. The letter c starts at the top right, curves left round and stops. The letter a starts the same way and then draws a straight line down. Say the path aloud as you write.
2. Step 2, Keep letters the right height. Tall letters (b, d, h, l) reach the top line; short letters (a, c, e, o) sit in the middle. Write "bad" and check: b and d are tall, a is short.
3. Step 3, Write your first name with one capital letter. Model: write [your name] with a capital first letter. The capital letter is tall, the other letters are small. Reason: names always start with a capital letter.
4. Step 4, Fix an error. The child writes the name all in small letters or all in capitals. Correction: capital first, lowercase after. Another error: letter b facing backwards. Fix: draw the straight line first, then the circle to its right ("bat and ball").
5. Step 5, Leave spaces between words. Write "my cat" with a finger-width gap between the words. Reason: gaps make the words easy to read, and a finger space gives the correct size.
6. Step 6, Write labels for pictures. A picture of a hat: label "hat". A picture of a dog: label "dog". Say the sounds as you write: h-a-t. Reason: saying the sounds helps you spell the word.
7. Step 7, Your turn. Write your name and a label for a drawing of a sun. Model answer: your name at the top, and under the sun picture write "sun".

Activity. About 20 to 30 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: one page in your learning book.

Standard to meet. Form letters correctly and write my first name and short labels: at least 4 of 5 attempts correct, said or written, with one real example from home or school.

In this unit, 'Simple sentences', you learn to say and write a sentence that starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop. Lessons are short and playful, with objects, pictures and talk. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Listen first: your teacher or a recording says the new words or sentences from 'Simple sentences' twice. You repeat them aloud.
• Notice the pattern: find where the new sound, word form or sentence rule appears in a short text and mark it.
• Use it: say and write a sentence that starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop, first with help, then alone.
• Check and fix: read your work aloud once more; fix one thing you hear is wrong.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, A sentence tells a whole idea. Say it aloud: The cat sat. That is a sentence because it tells who and what happened. The red hat is not a sentence because it does not tell us what happens. Clap once for each word in The cat sat, and count 3 words.
2. Step 2, A sentence starts with a capital letter. Write The cat sat. with a big T. The word I is always a capital, too: I see a dog. Compare the big letter T with the small letter t, and trace both with your finger before you write them.
3. Step 3, A sentence ends with a full stop. The full stop is a small dot on the line after the last word. Write: I see a dog. Say the sentence, then put the dot straight after dog without a gap. The dot tells the reader to stop and take a breath.
4. Step 4, Put the words in the right order. Dog the runs is mixed up. Move the words so it makes sense: The dog runs. Then add the capital T and the full stop. Say each word in turn and point to it as you write, leaving a finger space between words.
5. Step 5, Say it and then write it. Say: We play in the park. Hold up one finger for each word: We, play, in, the, park. That is 5 words. Write each word with a finger space, start with a capital W, and finish with a full stop. Read it back.
6. Step 6, Your turn: fix this sentence, my mum can cook, and write it correctly. Answer: My mum can cook. It starts with a capital M and ends with a full stop.

Activity. About 20 to 30 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: one page in your learning book.

Standard to meet. Say and write a sentence that starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop: at least 4 of 5 attempts correct, said or written, with one real example from home or school.

In this unit, 'Naming words', you learn to sort words for people, animals, places and things. Lessons are short and playful, with objects, pictures and talk. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Listen first: your teacher or a recording says the new words or sentences from 'Naming words' twice. You repeat them aloud.
• Notice the pattern: find where the new sound, word form or sentence rule appears in a short text and mark it.
• Use it: sort words for people, animals, places and things, first with help, then alone.
• Check and fix: read your work aloud once more; fix one thing you hear is wrong.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Sort naming words into four groups: people, animals, places, things. People: teacher, mother. Animals: cat, goat. Places: school, shop. Things: book, ball. Reason: a noun names someone or something.
2. Step 2, Say a sentence for each group. "The teacher is kind." "The cat is soft." "The school is big." "The ball is red." Reason: the noun is the main word in each sentence.
3. Step 3, Use "a" or "an" before a noun. "a cat", "a school", "an egg", "an animal". Reason: "an" goes before a vowel sound (a, e, i, o, u), and "a" goes before other sounds.
4. Step 4, Make more than one with -s. One dog, two dogs. One book, three books. Reason: adding s changes a naming word from one to many. Say each pair aloud and hear the final s.
5. Step 5, Fix an error. The child puts "run" in the animal group. Correction: "run" is something we do; it is not a thing or animal. Put "dog" there. Ask: "Can I see it, touch it, or name it as a place or person?"
6. Step 6, Sort a mixed list. Words: mum, park, lion, pen, Dubai, farm. People: mum. Places: park, farm, Dubai. Animals: lion. Things: pen. Notice "Dubai" begins with a capital letter because it is the name of a place.
7. Step 7, Your turn. Sort: boy, tree, bus, bird, kitchen. Model answer: people: boy. Animals: bird. Places: kitchen. Things: tree, bus. Make a sentence: "The bird is in the tree."

Activity. About 20 to 30 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: one page in your learning book.

Standard to meet. Sort words for people, animals, places and things: at least 4 of 5 attempts correct, said or written, with one real example from home or school.

In this unit, 'Action words', you learn to act out and use action words in sentences. Lessons are short and playful, with objects, pictures and talk. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Listen first: your teacher or a recording says the new words or sentences from 'Action words' twice. You repeat them aloud.
• Notice the pattern: find where the new sound, word form or sentence rule appears in a short text and mark it.
• Use it: act out and use action words in sentences, first with help, then alone.
• Check and fix: read your work aloud once more; fix one thing you hear is wrong.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Act out an action word. Say "jump" and jump. Say "clap" and clap. List them: run, hop, sit, eat, write. Reason: an action word tells what someone does.
2. Step 2, Put the action word in a sentence. "The boy runs." "The girl jumps." "I sit on a mat." Reason: every sentence needs a naming word and an action word.
3. Step 3, Use the right ending with one person. "The dog runs." "The cat sleeps." For more than one: "The dogs run." "I run." Reason: the verb takes -s after he, she, it or one thing.
4. Step 4, Ask a question about an action. "What does the boy do?" "He kicks the ball." Reason: "do" asks about an action, and the answer repeats the action word.
5. Step 5, Fix an error. Wrong: "The boy run." Right: "The boy runs." Another error: "The cat jump high." Right: "The cat jumps high." Listen to the s sound at the end when one thing is doing the action.
6. Step 6, Make a sentence from a word bank. Words: "The bird" and "flies", "sings", "eats". Model: "The bird flies." "The bird sings." "The bird eats." Check each has a capital letter and a full stop.
7. Step 7, Your turn. Write two sentences using the action words swim and read. Model answer: "The fish swims." "I read a book." Check: capital letter, action word, full stop.

Activity. About 20 to 30 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: one page in your learning book.

Standard to meet. Act out and use action words in sentences: at least 4 of 5 attempts correct, said or written, with one real example from home or school.

In this unit, 'Rhymes and short stories', you learn to retell a story with beginning, middle and end and join in with rhymes. Lessons are short and playful, with objects, pictures and talk. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Listen first: your teacher or a recording says the new words or sentences from 'Rhymes and short stories' twice. You repeat them aloud.
• Notice the pattern: find where the new sound, word form or sentence rule appears in a short text and mark it.
• Use it: retell a story with beginning, middle and end and join in with rhymes, first with help, then alone.
• Check and fix: read your work aloud once more; fix one thing you hear is wrong.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Retell a short story in three parts. Story: "A hen found a seed. She planted it. It grew into a big tree." Beginning: the hen finds a seed. Middle: she plants it. End: a tree grows.
2. Step 2, Use story words. "First, the hen found a seed. Next, she planted it. At the end, a tree grew." Reason: first, next and at the end show the order of events.
3. Step 3, Join in with a rhyme. "Hen, ten" and "tree, three" rhyme because they share the end sound. Say: "One hen, two hens, three hens, ten." Clap the beat as you say it.
4. Step 4, Find rhyming words. Pairs: cat and hat, bug and rug, star and car. Reason: the end sounds match, even if the spelling differs a little.
5. Step 5, Fix an error. The child tells the end before the middle. Correction: ask "What happened first? What happened next? How did it end?" Reason: events must follow the order of the story.
6. Step 6, Draw and say three pictures. Picture 1: a boy with a kite. Picture 2: the kite flies high. Picture 3: the kite gets stuck in a tree. Retell: "The boy has a kite. It flies high. It gets stuck."
7. Step 7, Your turn. Retell this: "A cat sat on a wall. It saw a bird. The bird flew away." Model answer: "First, the cat sat on a wall. Next, it saw a bird. At the end, the bird flew away."

Activity. About 20 to 30 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: one page in your learning book.

Standard to meet. Retell a story with beginning, middle and end and join in with rhymes: at least 4 of 5 attempts correct, said or written, with one real example from home or school.

In this unit, 'Speaking and listening', you learn to take turns, listen to instructions and speak in a full sentence. Lessons are short and playful, with objects, pictures and talk. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Listen first: your teacher or a recording says the new words or sentences from 'Speaking and listening' twice. You repeat them aloud.
• Notice the pattern: find where the new sound, word form or sentence rule appears in a short text and mark it.
• Use it: take turns, listen to instructions and speak in a full sentence, first with help, then alone.
• Check and fix: read your work aloud once more; fix one thing you hear is wrong.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Take turns when talking. Rule: one person speaks, the others listen. Model: "It is your turn, my friend." "Thank you. I like red." Reason: waiting for your turn shows respect.
2. Step 2, Listen to a two-step instruction. Teacher: "Pick up your pencil and write your name." Do two actions in order: first pick up, then write. Reason: listening carefully means doing every step.
3. Step 3, Answer in a full sentence. Question: "What is your favourite food?" Answer: "My favourite food is rice." Not just "Rice." Reason: a full sentence has a naming word and an action or being word.
4. Step 4, Speak so people can hear. Use a loud, clear voice and look at the listener. Model: "Good morning. My name is [your name]." Reason: a clear voice and eye contact make you easier to understand.
5. Step 5, Fix an error. Question: "Where do you live?" Child: "Near." Better: "I live near the market." Another error: speaking while someone else is talking. Correction: wait, then say "Excuse me."
6. Step 6, Ask a question back. "I like cats. Do you like cats?" Answer: "Yes, I do." Reason: a question keeps a conversation going.
7. Step 7, Your turn. Answer in a full sentence: "What do you do after school?" Model answer: "After school I play with my friends." Then ask a question: "What do you do after school?"

Activity. About 20 to 30 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: one page in your learning book.

Standard to meet. Take turns, listen to instructions and speak in a full sentence: at least 4 of 5 attempts correct, said or written, with one real example from home or school.

On the slide: L1 Basic · Letters, sounds and first reading

Notes: Match letters to sounds and read short words and simple sentences aloud. Notes: use the sounds s, a, t, p, i, n; learners blend them into sat, pin and tap, then read a three-word sentence and clap the syllables.

This course: Grade 01 English is at this level. Its units include Letter sounds and phonics set 1; Reading simple words; Writing letters and my name; Simple sentences and more.

On the slide: L2 Awareness · Sentences and simple writing

Notes: Write a clear sentence with a capital letter and full stop, and read a short story with understanding. Notes: give a picture prompt; learners say the sentence first, write it, and check capital, spacing and full stop with a partner before reading it aloud.

On the slide: L3 Foundation · Paragraphs, grammar and reading for meaning

Notes: Write a paragraph of five connected sentences and identify nouns, verbs and adjectives in a text. Notes: colour nouns blue and verbs red in a short passage; learners then write about their street, using at least two adjectives and one linking word.

On the slide: L4 Practitioner · Essays, speaking and responding to texts

Notes: Write a 300-word structured essay and give a short talk, quoting evidence from a text to support a view. Notes: model Point, Evidence, Explain; learners write one paragraph about a character, quote one line, and explain what it shows, then speak it aloud.

On the slide: L5 Specialist · Analysis, argument and style

Notes: Analyse a writer's choices of language and structure and write a sustained argument of 600 words. Notes: take two openings of different short stories; learners compare tone, sentence length and imagery in a table, then argue which opening works better and why.

On the slide: L6 Advanced · Literary and linguistic study

Notes: Evaluate texts through a critical lens, tracing how language changes across time and context in a researched essay. Notes: compare an older and a modern passage; learners list five differences in vocabulary and syntax and argue in 1,500 words what each reveals about its period.

On the slide: L7 Super expert · Research, editing and authorship

Notes: Produce an original piece of research or a polished long-form text, with a literature review and defended method. Notes: pick a narrow question about language in one genre; build a corpus of fifty samples, analyse patterns, write 5,000 words, and revise after external review.