3 & 4 year old: Three and four year olds approach the world with great curiosity and a desire to explore. They are increasingly verbal, use longer sentences and speech is becoming clearer. 3 and 4 year old are also developing independence with motor skills (such as riding, jumping and catching) and an emerging awareness of words, letters and numbers.

5 year old: A five year old is characterised by energy and imagination. 5 year olds use clear speech, complex language and have extensive vocabularies. Literacy skills are developing with children learning to sound out, read and write simple words. Motor skills are more refined with 5 year olds able to fasten buttons and zips, use a pencil to draw and use tools such as scissors.

Year 1 & 2: Children in years 1 and 2 are characterised by curiosity and a desire to share their ideas with others. Literacy becomes a focus with children learning the power of reading to gain information and writing as a way to share ideas with others. Oral language skills (e.g. storytelling) are important as children refine their language and transfer to a written form. Over this period the processes of reading, spelling and writing develop into a more “effortless” process.

Years 3 to 6: Students in middle to upper primary are independent and creative problem solvers. By 8 and 9 years of age students are able to use language in an adult form, demonstrate extensive abstract word knowledge and will be able to efficiently organise and elaborate upon their thoughts. This ability then provides the springboard into writing. At this stage oral reading becomes less important and comprehension of the material becomes more significant.