Year 1 & 2 Language and Literacy Developmental Milestones

Children in Year 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, particularly narrative (storytelling) skills are also very important at this stage as children refine their language and transfer oral language to a written form. Initially written work is phonetic, however over time students should integrate their phonics and sight words and writing becomes more accurate. Oral reading should transition from a reliance on ‘sounding-out’ to reading in a fast and automatic manner. Over this period the processes of reading, spelling and writing should develop into a more “effortless” process. While literacy is a major focus within this period, for many students the development of reined motor and language skills may still require attention.

How to Use…
Please keep in mind, that every child’s development is unique and complex and a child may not follow these developmental milestones exactly. Although each child may develop skills at different rates, there is a predictable sequence of development. It is therefore important to consider the individual child when using these milestones.

Use these milestones and the associated tips and activity ideas to:

• Gain a sense of your child’s strengths and areas requiring development.
• Get tips for helping your child to develop strong language and literacy skills

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