Handwriting behaviours are not described in the year level achievement standard or the writing assessment pointers. Instead, the Authority has developed the Handwriting Continuum to support Western Australian teachers in the teaching and monitoring of student handwriting for Pre-primary through to Year 10. The Handwriting Continuum can be found under the Teaching menu in the K-10 section of this website. Teachers will need to log in to the Extranet to access this resource.
Reading and Viewing
At Standard, students use predicting and questioning strategies to make meaning from texts. They recall one or two events from texts with familiar topics. They understand that there are different types of texts and that these can have similar characteristics. They identify connections between texts and their personal experience. They read short, decodable and predictable texts with familiar vocabulary and supportive images, drawing on their developing knowledge of concepts of print, sounds and letters, and decoding and self-monitoring strategies. They recognise the letters of the English alphabet, in upper and lower case, and know and use the most common sounds represented by most letters. They read high-frequency words and blend sounds orally to read consonant-vowel-consonant words.
Writing and Creating
Students understand that their texts can reflect their own experiences. They identify and describe likes and dislikes about familiar texts, objects, characters and events. When writing, students use familiar words, phrases and images to convey ideas. Their writing shows evidence of letter and sound knowledge, beginning writing behaviours and experimentation with capital letters and full stops.
Speaking and Listening
Students use appropriate interaction skills to listen and respond to others in a familiar environment. They listen for rhyme, letter patterns and sounds in words. Students understand that their texts can reflect their own experiences. They identify and describe likes and dislikes about familiar texts, objects, characters and events. In informal group and whole class settings, students communicate clearly. They retell events and experiences with peers and known adults. Students identify and use rhyme, and orally blend and segment sounds in words.
Health Education
At Standard, students identify unsafe situations and ways they can be healthy and safe, such as identifying trusted people in their community. Students identify simple actions that promote health, safety and wellbeing in familiar contexts and state why they are important.
Students identify different emotions that people experience in response to certain situations and use appropriate language and actions to communicate their own feelings.
Physical Education
At Standard, students perform fundamental movement skills, including body management, locomotor and object control skills.
Students identify ways that being active can make them healthy and well. They cooperate with other members of the group in structured movement activities and follow simple rules, such as staying between set boundaries and responding to commands.
At Standard, students pose and respond to questions, and recognise that there are a variety of sources from which information can be collected. They use simple categories to organise information and sequence familiar events. Students explore points of view, represent information in different ways and begin to draw simple conclusions. They share observations and ideas when participating in the decision-making process. Students develop simple oral texts, and reflect on what they have learnt using language, gesture and other non-verbal modes.
Students recognise that countries, such as Australia, and familiar places are represented on a globe or a map. They describe the features of places that are familiar to them. Students identify the interconnections that people have with familiar places and recognise why some places are special and need to be looked after. They identify similarities between families and suggest ways that families communicate and commemorate significant stories and events from the past.
Number and Algebra
At Standard, students count to and from 20 and order small collections. They make connections between number names, numerals and quantities up to 10.
Measurement and Geometry
Students compare objects using mass, length and capacity. They explain the order and duration of events. Students connect events and the days of the week. They group objects based on common characteristics and sort shapes and objects. Students use appropriate language to describe location.
Statistics and Probability
Students answer simple questions to collect information and make simple inferences.
Science Understanding
At Standard, students describe the properties and behaviour of familiar objects. They suggest how the environment affects them and other living things.
Science as a Human Endeavour
Students share and reflect on observations.
Science Inquiry Skills
Students ask and respond to questions about familiar objects and events.
At standard, students interact in Chinese with their teacher and each other through action-related talk, structured play, classroom instructions and routines to exchange simple greetings, such as 早、你好王老师再见, and to provide simple information about themselves, such as 你叫什么名字？我叫Anna. They participate in shared performance of familiar simple songs and rhymes, playing with sound patterns, with some guidance. Students identify most keywords and some phrases of spoken Chinese, and some keywords in written texts relating to their personal worlds. They convey meaning in spoken texts using tone, actions and gestures, and in written texts related to their personal worlds with some guidance. They participate in shared performance of imaginative texts, such as familiar songs and rhymes, and respond, with guidance, by reading and retelling stories. They share with others some familiar Chinese words, phrases, sounds and gestures related to their personal worlds, and explore how these may have similar or different meanings in English. They begin to talk about how Chinese feels/sounds different when speaking or hearing it spoken by others.
Students become familiar with the systems of the Chinese language, identifying Pinyin as the spelled-out sounds of spoken Chinese, and exploring with guidance, the tonal nature of spoken Chinese, using gestures to enhance differentiation. They explore with some guidance, Chinese characters as a form of writing that is different to other written languages and identify some familiar Chinese characters in their surroundings, with a satisfactory level of accuracy. Students recognise and use vocabulary related to greetings, name and age, and talk about how they are feeling, such as 你好, 再见, 我叫Anna and 我五岁, with a satisfactory level of accuracy. They begin to recognise and use some first elements of grammar including, recognising adjectives to describe how one is feeling, such as 我很好 and 我不好. Students develop number knowledge for numbers 0–5 and notice that Chinese sentences have a particular word order. They recognise that language is organised as ‘text.’ They recognise that there are different ways of greeting, addressing and interacting with people, and usually act accordingly. Students recognise that Chinese is one of the many languages spoken in Australia and around the world, and begin to develop curiosity around the ideas of language and culture.
At standard, students interact in Japanese with their teacher and each other through action-related talk, structured play, classroom instructions and routines to exchange simple greetings and to provide information about themselves, such as おはよう、さようなら、nameです. They respond to praise, support and show respect for others using modelled formulaic expressions or English. Students participate in shared performance of well-rehearsed stories and songs and make meaning using verbal and non-verbal forms of expression. They identify most keywords and some phrases of spoken Japanese relating to their personal worlds and convey most simple, factual information with guidance, using verbal and non-verbal forms of expression. They participate in shared performance of imaginative texts, such as familiar songs and rhymes, and respond with guidance, using verbal and non-verbal forms of expression. Students share the meaning of simple expressions related to their day, such as arigatou, ohayou gozaimasu and sayounara. They begin to talk about how Japanese feels/sounds different when speaking, singing a song or hearing it spoken by others compared with their own language(s).
Students become familiar with the systems of the Japanese language, experimenting with reproducing the sounds and rhythms of spoken Japanese with a satisfactory level of accuracy. They recognise that the Japanese language uses three different scripts, depending on word origin and the context of language use and that the different scripts that can be written vertically or horizontally. They recognise and use words and expressions and simple kanji, such as in pictures, labels, songs, rhymes and familiar words, and some first elements of grammar with a satisfactory level of accuracy. Students begin to use common forms of greetings and show awareness of the different levels of formality, such as おはようございます/ おはよう. They use different question words and the sentence-ending particle か. They identify that Japanese uses name + suffix instead of pronouns when referring to other people. Students begin to build vocabulary to describe and label familiar and immediate objects and environments. They comment on how language is organised as ‘text.’ They identify the different ways of greeting, addressing and interacting with people, and usually act accordingly. Students recognise Japanese as one of many languages spoken in Australia and around the world and begin to develop curiosity around the ideas of language and culture.
At standard, students interact in German with their teacher and each other through action-related talk, structured play, classroom instructions and routines to exchange simple greetings and to provide information about themselves such as Ich heiße ... und du?, Auf Wiedersehen, Danke! and Ich wohne ... . They participate in shared performance of familiar stories, songs and other forms of expression. Students identify most keywords and some phrases of spoken German relating to their personal worlds and convey some simple, factual information through verbal and non-verbal forms of expression. They participate in shared performance of imaginative texts, such as familiar songs and rhymes, and respond, with guidance, through verbal and non-verbal forms of expression. They share with others familiar German words, phrases and gestures related to their personal worlds and explore how these may have similar or different meanings in English. They begin to talk about how German feels/sounds different when speaking or hearing it spoken by others.
Students recognise and occasionally experiment with reproducing key vowel sounds and rhythms of spoken German, sometimes with guidance, with a satisfactory level of accuracy. They recognise and use words and expressions and write simple texts, such as such as lists and labels, using vocabulary and some first elements of grammar with a satisfactory level of accuracy. Students comment on how language is organised as ‘text.’They recognise that German uses the same alphabet. They notice that German has multiple words for ‘the,’ can use simple adjectives to describe and identify people, animals and objects using an article and a concrete noun such as eine Freundin, or a pronoun such as ich, du, er, sie, es and wir. Students describe actions using verbs, understand and use some question words. They show an awareness of terms referring to quantities of people and things, including cardinal numbers 0–10, and of vocabulary referring to time of the day, days, months and seasons. They begin to show an awareness of culture and notice that German speakers communicate in some ways different to their own. They identify that there are different ways of greeting, addressing and interacting with people, and usually act accordingly. Students recognise that German is one of many languages spoken in Australia and around the world, and that languages people use relate to who they are and where and how they live.
At standard, students interact in Italian through action-related talk, structured play, classroom instructions and routines to exchange greetings, such as Ciao! and Buongiorno Signora! and to provide simple information about themselves, such as Mi chiamo Anna and Non sto bene. They participate in shared performance of familiar stories, songs and make meaning using verbal and non-verbal forms of expression. Students identify most pictures, symbols, keywords and some phrases of spoken Italian relating to their personal worlds and convey most simple, factual information, with some guidance, using verbal and non-verbal forms of expression. They participate in shared performance of imaginative texts, such as familiar songs and rhymes and respond, with some guidance, using verbal and non-verbal forms of expression. Students share with others some familiar Italian words, phrases and gestures and explore how these may have similar or different meanings in English. They begin to talk about how Italian feels/sounds different when speaking or hearing it spoken by others.
Students experiment with reproducing the sounds and intonation patterns of spoken Italian with a satisfactory level of accuracy. They write simple texts, such as lists and labels, using vocabulary and some first elements of grammar with a satisfactory level of accuracy. Students begin to identify gender patterns in names, such as Paolo/Paola, and the use of definite and indefinite articles with nouns, such as il banco and un banco. They become aware of the structure of simple statements and questions and recognise different words for asking questions and making requests, describing actions and expressing negation, and use these in formulaic expressions, such as Non mi piace giocare. Students develop knowledge of numbers 0–10. They comment on how language is organised as ‘text.’ They recognise that Italian is one of many languages spoken in Australia and around the world and that there are different ways of greeting, addressing and interacting with people, and usually act accordingly.
At standard, students interact in Indonesian with their teacher and each other through action-related talk, structured play, classroom instructions and routines to exchange simple greetings, such as Selamat pagi, and to provide simple information about themselves, such as Nama saya Ben. They participate in shared performance of familiar stories and songs, and make meaning using verbal and non-verbal forms of expression. Students identify most key words and some phrases of spoken Indonesian relating to their personal worlds and convey most simple, factual information, with guidance, using verbal and non-verbal forms of expression. They participate in shared performance of imaginative texts, such as familiar songs and rhymes and respond, with guidance, using verbal and non-verbal forms of expression. Students share with others familiar Indonesian words, phrases and gestures related to their personal worlds. They explore how familiar Indonesian words may have similar or different meanings in English and begin to talk about how Indonesian feels/sounds different when speaking or hearing it spoken.
Students experiment with reproducing the sound of the vowels, letters and rhythms of spoken Indonesian with a satisfactory level of accuracy. They write simple texts, such as lists and labels, using vocabulary and some first elements of grammar with a satisfactory level of accuracy. Students greet and farewell others and describe actions using simple verbs, such as makan, duduk, minum and tidur. They refer to numbers of things using cardinal numbers, such as nol-sepuluh, respond to different question words, such as Siapa? and Apa? and provide the anticipated answer. They comment on how language is organised as ‘text.’ Students recognise that Indonesian is one of many languages spoken in Australia and around the world, and that there are different ways of greeting, addressing and interacting with people, and usually act accordingly. Students begin to develop curiosity around the ideas of language and culture.
At standard, students interact in French with their teacher and each other through action-related talk, structured play, classroom instructions and routines to exchange greetings, such as Bonjour! Comment ça va ? Très bien, merci, and to provide simple information about themselves, such as Je m’appelle Marie. J’ai cinq ans. They participate in shared performance of familiar stories and songs and make meaning using verbal and non-verbal forms of expression. Students identify most keywords and some phrases of spoken French relating to their personal worlds and convey most simple, factual information with guidance, using verbal and non-verbal forms of expression. They participate in shared performance of imaginative texts, such as familiar songs and rhymes, and respond with guidance, using verbal and non-verbal forms of expression. They share with others familiar French words, phrases and gestures related to their personal worlds and explore how these may have similar or different meanings in English. They begin to talk about how French feels/sounds different when speaking or hearing it spoken by others.
Students become familiar with the systems of the French language, experimenting with reproducing the common vowel sounds and rhythms of spoken French with a satisfactory level of accuracy. They recognise and use words and expressions and write simple texts, such as lists and labels, using vocabulary and some first elements of grammar with a satisfactory level of accuracy. Students are becoming aware of grammatical gender, identifying and using masculine or feminine forms of nouns, such as le chien and la maison. They identify people using appropriate pronouns, such as Je m’appelle Adam, et toi ? and develop number knowledge for numbers 0–10. They respond non-verbally on occasion to simple imperative verb forms and repeat with satisfactory accuracy, simple questions and statements. They comment on how language is organised as ‘text.’ They identify the different ways of greeting, addressing and interacting with people and usually act accordingly. Students recognise French as one of many languages spoken in Australia and around the world and begin to develop curiosity around the ideas of language and culture.
At Standard, students identify people that produce familiar objects within the community and some simple stages of the production process. In Engineering principles and systems, students move objects in a range of ways and observe their reactions. In Food and fibre production, students connect plant and animal products to their use as food, clothing and/or shelter. In Materials and technologies specialisations, students explore and select materials to use for construction, considering the materials’ characteristics.
With all Design and Technology contexts, students explore needs for designing simple solutions. They generate and record design ideas through describing, drawing, modelling and/or a sequence of written or spoken steps. Students safely use given components and equipment, to make simple solutions and evaluate their success using personal preferences.
At Standard, students label digital systems (hardware and software) and where they are used. They represent data using pictures, symbols and patterns. Students follow safety strategies while they collect and use information from an online source.
In Digital Technologies, students explore needs for designing simple solutions. They generate and record design ideas through describing, drawing, modelling and/or a sequence of written or spoken steps. Students safely use given components and equipment, to make simple solutions and evaluate their success using personal preferences.
At Standard, students produce media work that communicates meaning. They select or capture mostly relevant images, also using signs and symbols to give meaning to their messages.
Students identify the features used in media work to communicate messages and capture an audience. They share their opinion about media work viewed and produced.
At Standard, students respond to stimuli with simple drama ideas. They use voice and/or movement based on stimuli for an audience. Students follow some game routines and exercises to create drama ideas. They consciously face the audience using some performance skills in drama.
Students outline feelings about uses of voice, movement and other aspects in their own drama and the drama of others. They outline briefly different places and occasions where drama is seen or heard in the community.
At Standard, students respond to different stimuli to explore mostly familiar movements as a basis for creating short dance sequences that connect body shapes and levels in space. They demonstrate locomotor and non-locomotor movements showing some body awareness and some control of the whole body in space. Students perform dance sequences, sometimes acknowledging the audience.
Students respond briefly to familiar movements that are used in their own and others’ dance. They identify some places and occasions where people dance in their own lives and communities.
At Standard, students improvise and share simple music ideas through singing, playing, moving and drawing, with some inconsistencies. They recognise beat, copy some modelled rhythms and identify some changes in tempo. Students recognise high, low and direction of pitch and, with some accuracy, sing simple pitch patterns across a narrow range of notes. They recognise loud and soft and repeated musical patterns. Students identify familiar classroom instruments.
Students listen and respond to familiar music with mostly appropriate movements, drawings or descriptions. They associate music with familiar places and occasions.
At Standard, students apply their ideas, skills and techniques to making artwork. They express simple ideas, using some visual art elements, and explore materials to express developing ideas about a given theme. Students consider shape, line, colour and texture when producing artwork. They create artwork exploring some tactile techniques.
Students identify some appropriate places in their personal environment for artwork to be displayed. They respond to artwork by giving personal opinions.