English // Area
English Thinking
Age coverage
Ages 5 to 11
Starts at age 5 // 1 topic
Starting at age 5
- Reading for Meaning
Understand that reading is about making meaning, not just saying words correctly — a text that can be decoded but not understood has not been read
Ages 5 to 6Thinking skill
Starts at age 6 // 1 topic
Starting at age 6
- Monitoring Comprehension
Notice the difference between decoding words and actually understanding them — recognise when you've read the words but not grasped the meaning, and do…
Ages 6 to 8Thinking skill
Starts at age 7 // 2 topics
Starting at age 7
- Inference vs Explicit Meaning
Distinguish between what a text explicitly says and what you have inferred, assumed, or read in — knowing which is which is fundamental to honest comprehension
Ages 7 to 9Thinking skill - Author's word choices
Recognise how an author's deliberate choices — of words, structure, tone, and perspective — create particular effects on you as a reader
Ages 7 to 9Thinking skill
Starts at age 8 // 2 topics
Starting at age 8
- Reviewing Own Writing
Evaluate whether your own writing achieves the effect you intended on a reader — go beyond checking for correctness to asking whether it actually works
Ages 8 to 10Thinking skill - Knowing What You Don't Know
Monitor your own vocabulary gaps — notice words you half-know, distinguish confident from uncertain knowledge, and develop strategies to resolve the uncertainty
Ages 8 to 10Thinking skill
Starts at age 10 // 1 topic
Starting at age 10
- Reflecting on Your Language Use
Reflect on yourself as a language user — how your reading, writing, and speaking shift across audiences, purposes, and contexts, and where you want to develop…
Ages 10 to 11Thinking skill