Pre-primary year syllabusTest
Pre-primary year syllabus
Year Level Description
Students enter the early years of school with established communication skills in one or more languages and varying degrees of early literacy capability. As Noongar is a reviving language, students typically have little to no prior experience of the Noongar language, but some may have varying degrees of understanding of the culture.
In Pre-primary, students communicate in Noongar, interacting and exchanging simple information with their peers and the teaching team through action-related talk and structured play. They participate in shared activities, facilitated by movement and gestures, to perform songs, stories and rhymes, or to respond to teacher talk and instruction in Noongar. Students recognise pictures, key words and short, repetitive sentence patterns in rhymes, songs and titles, and convey factual information about themselves using gestures and drawings in sand, water or mud to describe familiar words. They engage by listening to and viewing short imaginative texts and through action and other forms of expression, and participate in shared performance of short imaginative texts, playing with sound patterns and non‑verbal forms of expression.
Students become familiar with the systems of the Noongar language, recognising and experimenting with reproducing the common sounds and rhythms of spoken Noongar by singing, clapping, imitating and repeating words and phrases in context. They begin to notice and use context-related vocabulary and recognise some first elements of grammar in simple spoken and written texts to generate language for purposeful interaction.
In Pre-primary, students recognise that, while English is most commonly spoken language in Australia, Noongar is one of many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages and other languages which are spoken in Australia. Students learn about Country/Place and community by interacting with Elders and community members and exploring Country/Place. They learn to use respectful behaviour when interacting with Elders, other speakers within the community and community texts. They also notice similarities and differences between Noongar and English, and begin to develop curiosity around the ideas of language and culture. Creative play in the classroom and in the environment provides opportunities for exploring these differences.
Students learn Noongar in the early years through rich language input. Regular opportunities to revisit, recycle and review, and continuous feedback, response and encouragement assist students in the language learning process.
Communicating
Socialising
Interact with peers, the teaching team and visiting Noongar Elders and community members, using familiar Noongar language and gestures to greet and farewell; for example, Kaya.; Kaya Miss/Mr Jones.; Boorda/Boordawan ...
Participate in simple word games, such as Naatj nidja? (Stepping stones game); Naatj kooda-k nyininy (What’s in the bag?) and action songs with lots of repetition and visual support, such as Kaya koolangka, kaya koolangka (Greeting song); kaat, djerdim, boornitj, djena (Head, shoulders, knees and toes)
Respond to simple instructions, such as yoowarl koorl, dat nyin, yira yaak, dordong warn, bedik-bedik, with modelled language and gestures
Informing
Discover and identify key information by pointing to, matching, drawing, circling or role playing key words and phrases in spoken and written Noongar
Listen to stories from Noongar Elders and use sand and water play to show understanding; sort natural objects, such as grass, rocks and leaves, to demonstrate knowledge of hard, soft, rough and smooth
Use simple statements, drawings, photos, labels, songs or gestures to describe family, animals, sand, water, mud play
Creating
Engage by listening to and viewing stories and songs and responding through singing, miming, puppets, drawing, movement, gestures, hand signs
Participate in the shared performance of songs or rhymes, for example through miming, role playing Noongar animals, puppet plays, using gestures and actions, using familiar words and patterns, and repeating or imitating sounds and key words
Translating
Share familiar Noongar words, sounds and gestures with others
Co-create simple bilingual texts for the classroom, such as captions, labels and wall charts
Identity
Identify self in relation to own family, class or peer group in an illustrated family diagram/chart
Reflecting
Begin to notice how Noongar sounds different when speaking, singing a song or hearing it spoken by others
Understanding
Systems of language
Recognise and experiment with reproducing the different sounds of Noongar, including:
- vowels: a, aa, e, i, o, oo sounds are consistently the same
- a – as in but
- aa – as in car
- e – as in ten
- i – as in hit
- o – as in jaw
- oo – as in book
Recognise the spelling and writing of Noongar words using the Marribank orthography and through sound charts and visual alphabet charts
Notice and use some different word types, with extensive visual support, and begin to understand their purpose, including:
- becoming aware of common nouns; for example, ngany, moort, barna
- noticing common pronouns to identify people; for example, ngany, noonook
- repeating greeting – kaya
- repeating farewell – boorda
- responding to non-verbal commands or instructions, with gestures – dat nyin, djinang, yoowarl koorl, nganop
Recognise that stories are told in different ways in Noongar, such as Noongar Elders yarning, song, dance, music, sand paintings
Recognise that Noongar people have a personal relationship with language and Place
Language variation and change
Recognise that there are different ways of greeting and interacting with people; for example, Kaya Mr Smith, noonook moorditj? Kaya.
Notice Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander words used in everyday life, such as koala, billabong, dingo, didgeridoo
Language awareness
Recognise that many languages are spoken at school and in the community
Understand that Noongar language belongs to Noongar people
Role of language and culture
Identify which stories belong to which natural features, animals and plants
Role of language building
Recognise the importance of listening to and engaging with Noongar Elders and community members to learn Noongar songs, games and stories
Recognise that new songs and games can be formed by working with Noongar Elders and community members
Achievement standard
At standard, students interact with each other, the teaching team and visiting Noongar Elders and community members, using familiar Noongar language and gestures to greet and farewell. Students begin to notice the protocols of respect and behaviour when interacting with Elders and community members and respond appropriately. They engage in simple word games and action songs with repetition and visual support and respond to a range of simple instructions using modelled language and gestures, with a satisfactory level of accuracy. Students discover and identify a range of key information using verbal and non verbal forms of expression. They engage in the shared performance of a range of songs or rhymes using familiar words and patterns, repeating or imitating sounds and key words. They identify self in relation to own family, class or peer group.
Students become familiar with the systems of the Noongar language, with a satisfactory level of accuracy, experimenting with different sounds of spoken Noongar. They begin to build vocabulary, using words and expressions related to greetings, leave taking and respectful gestures, and some first elements of grammar, with a satisfactory level of accuracy. Students recognise the significance of natural features, animals and plants to the Noongar language. They also recognise that Noongar is one of many languages spoken at school and in the community as well as the importance of listening to and engaging with Noongar Elders and community members to build on language.
Year Level Description
Students enter the early years of school with established communication skills in one or more languages and varying degrees of early literacy capability. As Noongar is a reviving language, students typically have little to no prior experience of the Noongar language, but some may have varying degrees of understanding of the culture.
In Pre-primary, students communicate in Noongar, interacting and exchanging simple information with their peers and the teaching team through action-related talk and structured play. They participate in shared activities, facilitated by movement and gestures, to perform songs, stories and rhymes, or to respond to teacher talk and instruction in Noongar. Students recognise pictures, key words and short, repetitive sentence patterns in rhymes, songs and titles, and convey factual information about themselves using gestures and drawings in sand, water or mud to describe familiar words. They engage by listening to and viewing short imaginative texts and through action and other forms of expression, and participate in shared performance of short imaginative texts, playing with sound patterns and non‑verbal forms of expression.
Students become familiar with the systems of the Noongar language, recognising and experimenting with reproducing the common sounds and rhythms of spoken Noongar by singing, clapping, imitating and repeating words and phrases in context. They begin to notice and use context-related vocabulary and recognise some first elements of grammar in simple spoken and written texts to generate language for purposeful interaction.
In Pre-primary, students recognise that, while English is most commonly spoken language in Australia, Noongar is one of many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages and other languages which are spoken in Australia. Students learn about Country/Place and community by interacting with Elders and community members and exploring Country/Place. They learn to use respectful behaviour when interacting with Elders, other speakers within the community and community texts. They also notice similarities and differences between Noongar and English, and begin to develop curiosity around the ideas of language and culture. Creative play in the classroom and in the environment provides opportunities for exploring these differences.
Students learn Noongar in the early years through rich language input. Regular opportunities to revisit, recycle and review, and continuous feedback, response and encouragement assist students in the language learning process.