Foundation: letters, sounds and numbers

Foundation is the first year of school: Prep in Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania, Kindergarten in NSW and the ACT, Reception in South Australia, Pre-primary in Western Australia and Transition in the Northern Territory. These activities read every question aloud so children who are not reading yet can practise letter sounds, rhyme, syllables, letter and numeral tracing, subitising and counting to 20.

    Foundation

    0

    First year of school

    Foundation: letters, sounds and numbers

    Foundation is called Prep in Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania, Kindergarten in NSW and the ACT, Reception in South Australia, Pre-primary in Western Australia and Transition in the Northern Territory. Every activity here reads its questions aloud, so children who are not reading yet can play on their own.

    Letters and Sounds

    Start here

    First sounds in the order schools teach them, rhyme, clapping syllables and letter tracing. All read aloud.

    Count and Compare

    Start here

    See small groups at a glance, count to 20, more or fewer, numbers in order and numeral tracing.

    Rhyming Words

    More rhyme practice with picture-free word choices.

    Sight Words

    The first high-frequency words, read aloud.

    Count Objects

    Count pictures and choose the number.

    Shapes

    Name circles, squares, triangles and rectangles.

    Free Draw

    Draw, trace outlines and build fine motor control.

    Colour and Learn

    Paint by number and learn a science fact.

    What Foundation children learn

    • Letter sounds first, letter names second. Schools usually start with s, a, t, p, i and n because they make many short words.
    • Hearing sounds in words: rhymes, first sounds and clapping syllables come before reading.
    • Forming letters from the right starting point, in the handwriting style your state teaches.
    • Counting to at least 20, and seeing small groups (up to 5) without counting.
    • Comparing groups: more, fewer, the same.
    • Naming familiar shapes and copying simple repeating patterns.

    At home, 5 to 10 minutes is plenty

    Play one activity, then talk about it. Point out first sounds on signs and food packets, count steps, and ask which plate has more. Stop while it is still fun.

    Australian Curriculum v9.0, Foundation

    The content descriptions these activities practise.

    • AC9EFLY09Recognise and generate rhyming words, alliteration patterns, syllables and sounds (phonemes) in spoken words (phonological awareness)
    • AC9EFLY11Recognise and name all upper- and lower-case letters (graphs) and know the most common sound that each letter represents
    • AC9EFLY08Form most lower-case and upper-case letters using learnt letter formations
    • AC9EFLY14Read and write some high-frequency words and other familiar words
    • AC9MFN01Name, represent and order numbers including zero to at least 20, using physical and virtual materials and numerals
    • AC9MFN02Recognise and name the number of objects within a collection up to 5 using subitising
    • AC9MFN03Quantify and compare collections to at least 20 using counting and explain or demonstrate reasoning
    • AC9MFA01Recognise, copy and continue repeating patterns represented in different ways
    • AC9MFSP01Sort, name and create familiar shapes; recognise and describe familiar shapes within objects in the environment, giving reasons