EUN106 English, Language and Literacies 1: Early and Primary Reading
To view more information for this unit, select Unit Outline from the list below. Please note the teaching period for which the Unit Outline is relevant.
| Unit code: | EUN106 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Timetable | Details in HiQ, if available |
| Availabilities |
|
| CSP student contribution | $592 |
| Domestic tuition unit fee | $3,468 |
| International unit fee | $4,740 |
Unit Outline: Semester 2 2026, Kelvin Grove, Internal
| Unit code: | EUN106 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Coordinator: | Lynn Downes | l2.downes@qut.edu.au |
Overview
The Early Years Learning Framework and Primary English curriculum provide key contexts for the development of literacy skills and knowledges. Literacy is an area of concern for all early childhood and primary teachers, and comprises the largest proportion of daily learning. In current times it is vital for all learners to understand and work with texts across a variety of modes, therefore oral language and print reading are key components of this unit. There will be a focus on the teaching of phonics and phonological awareness, speaking (oral language), listening, reading fluency, reading comprehension, vocabulary, viewing, and assessment of these vital English skills, drawing on current learning frameworks and curriculum documents. Elements of this unit interconnect with EUN201. A further aim of the unit is for you to develop your own academic, personal and professional literacy capabilities.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Interpret the concepts, substance and structure of the English Curriculum and content (CLO1).
- Identify strategies and appropriate resources for the teaching and assessment of reading in early childhood and primary contexts, including phonics, oral language and comprehension (CLO1).
- Apply scholarly research into how children learn phonics and reading, and reflect critically on the implications for teaching, learning, curriculum and professional teaching practice (CLO2).
- Apply technical and communication skills to design lesson plans, evaluate, implement, analyse and theorise about developments in English curriculum, including reading, that contribute to teaching practice (CLO8).
Content
Content and learning activities in this unit include:
- phonemic awareness, phonological awareness and phonics - recognising, substituting, and manipulating sounds, phonemes, syllables, rhymes, onset-rimes, consonant diagraphs and blends, vowel diphthongs and blends, assessment
- vocabulary instruction for reading and writing
- reading fluency - understanding cueing, sight word recognition, strategies for teaching reading fluency, evaluating reading fluency
- the role of assessment in child/student learning, including informal and formal, diagnostic, formative and summative approaches
- diagnostic tools - miscue analysis/running records, oral-reading records - and how the results inform teaching practice
- reading comprehension - understanding reader factors, text factors and dialogic approaches
- teaching methods and strategies informed by research literature into how students learn
- language and literacy teaching strategies
- effective processes for learning and knowledge acquisition, including the function of memory, the limits of working memory and how to reduce cognitive overload
- the most current effective teaching practices to reduce cognitive overload, including explicit instruction, scaffolding, and clearly structured content that connects new information to prior learning
- literacy and oral language in the transition to school
- teaching resources, including ICTs, that engage children/students in their learning
- pedagogies in early childhood and primary settings including play-based approaches
- children's literature: concepts of literacy and literacy experiences and pedagogies.
Some example activities you will participate in are:
Discussion with peers about the most efficient and effective processes of knowledge acquisition in the brain, including the function of memory and the concept of cognitive overload. This includes the cognitive process of learning—how the brain moves information through working memory into long-term memory—how to optimise this process, the potential barriers to learning, the limits of working memory, how cognitive overload occurs, and the most effective teaching practices to reduce it, such as explicit instruction, scaffolding, and clearly structured content that connects new information to prior learning.
Discussion with peers about delivering effective reading instruction through systematic and explicit teaching of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension and oral language.
Learning Approaches
This unit will be studied through personal research, reading, writing, observation and collaborative learning activities. Activities will encourage experience, analysis, conceptualisation and application of literacy teaching strategies. Lectures and workshops will focus your attention on the theory-practice nexus. Workshops and online collaborative learning sessions will include oral presentations and discussions with peers. The unit adopts a blended learning approach to cater to internal and online students, which includes weekly lectures and workshops, augmented with online learning materials. Students with poor personal language skills will be referred to support services. You should access the unit Canvas site regularly as it contains important unit resources.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
You will receive formative feedback throughout the unit through class discussions.
You will receive formal feedback on summative assessment using rubrics (criterion-referenced assessments).
Assessment
Overview
Assessments are authentic, linked to the content, underlying principles and unit outcomes. Formative assessment is provided during workshops.
Teachers of language, literature and literacies require a body of essential knowledge that includes the range of topics covered in the unit. In the case of the assignment, you must pass the personal literacy criterion on the assignment criteria sheet. This recognises that teachers of English language require a high level of literacy capability.
Literacy and numeracy standards, as required by the profession, are an inherent requirement of this unit.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Professional Plan
You will design a reading lesson which involves: (1) an annotated lesson plan with appropriate references. This entails selecting and organising content from curriculum and planning learning activities with a range of appropriate teaching and assessment strategies, and engaging resources including ICTs; (2) an oral rationale that justifies the decisions made in the lesson plan using literacy, pedagogical, and assessment theory which will take place as a discussion with your tutor/unit coordinator/moderator.
Your lesson design should be underpinned by appropriate research into how students learn and the implications this has for teaching.
The ethical and responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is authorised in this assessment. See the relevant assessment details in Canvas for specific guidelines.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Relates to learning outcomes
Course learning outcomes: 1, 2, 8
APST: 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 2.6, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 5.1, 5.4
Assessment: Authentic Text Showcase
- Working in pairs you will source an authentic text that you would use in the primary school subject English classroom. You will design teaching and learning opportunities that outline how, by using this text, you will teach the 6 pillars of reading to early readers. The content you explore and share will incorporate:
- English, language and literacy learning
- content, pedagogy and assessment strategies specifically related to the teaching of early reading
- effective processes for learning and knowledge acquisition, including the function of memory, the limits of working memory and how to reduce cognitive overload
- explicit instruction, scaffolding, and clearly structured content that connects new information to prior learning, including explicit instruction of phonics.
The ethical and responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is authorised in this assessment. See the relevant assessment details in Canvas for specific guidelines.
Relates to learning outcomes
Course learning outcomes: 1, 2
APST: 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 2.6, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 5.1, 5.4
CC: 1.2, 2.4
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.
The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.
You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.
Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Resources
The following resource materials will be used throughout this unit.
Resource Materials
Prescribed text(s)
Tompkins, Gail, E. , Carol Smith , Rod Campbell , David Green (2019) Literacy for the 21st Century: A Balanced Approach (3rd ed.) French's Forest, Australia: Pearson
Recommended text(s)
Fellowes, J. & Oakley, G. (2014) Language, literacy and early childhood education. South Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press
Students choose ONE of the following books :
Bungawitta - Emily Rodda
Wonder - R J Palacio
Bridge to Terabithia - Katherine Paterson
My Girragundji - Meme McDonald and Boori Monty Pryor
Wombat Stew - Marcia,K Vaughan, and Pamela Lofts
Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley - Aaron Blabey
We will work on these books during workshop times. You are not required to purchase these books.
Other
Department of Education and Training. Curriculum into the Classroom (C2C).
ACARA website
Risk Assessment Statement
There are no out-of-the-ordinary risks associated with the general conduct of this unit. Workplace health and safety protocols in relation to computer use will apply.
Standards/Competencies
This unit is designed to support your development of the following standards\competencies.
Australian Professional Standards for Teachers
1 Professional Knowledge: Know students and how they learn
- Understand how students learn
Relates to: Professional Plan, Authentic Text Showcase
2 Professional Knowledge: Know the content and how to teach it
- Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
Relates to: Professional Plan, Authentic Text Showcase - Content selection and organisation
Relates to: Professional Plan, Authentic Text Showcase - Curriculum, assessment and reporting
Relates to: Professional Plan, Authentic Text Showcase - Literacy and numeracy strategies
Relates to: Professional Plan, Authentic Text Showcase - Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
Relates to: Professional Plan, Authentic Text Showcase
3 Professional Practice: Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning
- Establish challenging learning goals
Relates to: Professional Plan, Authentic Text Showcase - Plan, structure and sequence learning programs
Relates to: Professional Plan, Authentic Text Showcase - Use teaching strategies
Relates to: Professional Plan, Authentic Text Showcase - Select and use resources
Relates to: Professional Plan, Authentic Text Showcase
5 Professional Practice: Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning
- Assess student learning
Relates to: Professional Plan, Authentic Text Showcase - Interpret student data
Relates to: Professional Plan, Authentic Text Showcase
Course Learning Outcomes
This unit is designed to support your development of the following course/study area learning outcomes.EU30 Master of Teaching (Early Childhood)
- Knowledgeable: Demonstrate comprehensive professional knowledge of learning areas, learners and learning.
Relates to: ULO1, Professional Plan, Authentic Text Showcase - Scholarly: Reflect critically on the ways in which educational theory and research informs and impacts teaching practice.
Relates to: ULO3, Professional Plan, Authentic Text Showcase - Communicative: Engage and communicate effectively and professionally.
Relates to: ULO4, Professional Plan
EU40 Master of Teaching (Primary)
- Knowledgeable: Demonstrate comprehensive professional knowledge of learning areas, learners and learning.
Relates to: ULO1, Professional Plan, Authentic Text Showcase - Scholarly: Reflect critically on the ways in which educational theory and research informs and impacts teaching practice.
Relates to: ULO3, Professional Plan, Authentic Text Showcase - Communicative: Engage and communicate effectively and professionally.
Relates to: ULO4, Professional Plan
Unit Outline: Semester 2 2026, Online
| Unit code: | EUN106 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
Overview
The Early Years Learning Framework and Primary English curriculum provide key contexts for the development of literacy skills and knowledges. Literacy is an area of concern for all early childhood and primary teachers, and comprises the largest proportion of daily learning. In current times it is vital for all learners to understand and work with texts across a variety of modes, therefore oral language and print reading are key components of this unit. There will be a focus on the teaching of phonics and phonological awareness, speaking (oral language), listening, reading fluency, reading comprehension, vocabulary, viewing, and assessment of these vital English skills, drawing on current learning frameworks and curriculum documents. Elements of this unit interconnect with EUN201. A further aim of the unit is for you to develop your own academic, personal and professional literacy capabilities.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Interpret the concepts, substance and structure of the English Curriculum and content (CLO1).
- Identify strategies and appropriate resources for the teaching and assessment of reading in early childhood and primary contexts, including phonics, oral language and comprehension (CLO1).
- Apply scholarly research into how children learn phonics and reading, and reflect critically on the implications for teaching, learning, curriculum and professional teaching practice (CLO2).
- Apply technical and communication skills to design lesson plans, evaluate, implement, analyse and theorise about developments in English curriculum, including reading, that contribute to teaching practice (CLO8).
Content
Content and learning activities in this unit include:
- phonemic awareness, phonological awareness and phonics - recognising, substituting, and manipulating sounds, phonemes, syllables, rhymes, onset-rimes, consonant diagraphs and blends, vowel diphthongs and blends, assessment
- vocabulary instruction for reading and writing
- reading fluency - understanding cueing, sight word recognition, strategies for teaching reading fluency, evaluating reading fluency
- the role of assessment in child/student learning, including informal and formal, diagnostic, formative and summative approaches
- diagnostic tools - miscue analysis/running records, oral-reading records - and how the results inform teaching practice
- reading comprehension - understanding reader factors, text factors and dialogic approaches
- teaching methods and strategies informed by research literature into how students learn
- language and literacy teaching strategies
- effective processes for learning and knowledge acquisition, including the function of memory, the limits of working memory and how to reduce cognitive overload
- the most current effective teaching practices to reduce cognitive overload, including explicit instruction, scaffolding, and clearly structured content that connects new information to prior learning
- literacy and oral language in the transition to school
- teaching resources, including ICTs, that engage children/students in their learning
- pedagogies in early childhood and primary settings including play-based approaches
- children's literature: concepts of literacy and literacy experiences and pedagogies.
Some example activities you will participate in are:
Discussion with peers about the most efficient and effective processes of knowledge acquisition in the brain, including the function of memory and the concept of cognitive overload. This includes the cognitive process of learning—how the brain moves information through working memory into long-term memory—how to optimise this process, the potential barriers to learning, the limits of working memory, how cognitive overload occurs, and the most effective teaching practices to reduce it, such as explicit instruction, scaffolding, and clearly structured content that connects new information to prior learning.
Discussion with peers about delivering effective reading instruction through systematic and explicit teaching of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension and oral language.
Learning Approaches
This unit will be studied through personal research, reading, writing, observation and collaborative learning activities. Activities will encourage experience, analysis, conceptualisation and application of literacy teaching strategies. Lectures and workshops will focus your attention on the theory-practice nexus. Workshops and online collaborative learning sessions will include oral presentations and discussions with peers. The unit adopts a blended learning approach to cater to internal and online students, which includes weekly lectures and workshops, augmented with online learning materials. Students with poor personal language skills will be referred to support services. You should access the unit Canvas site regularly as it contains important unit resources.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
You will receive formative feedback throughout the unit through class discussions.
You will receive formal feedback on summative assessment using rubrics (criterion-referenced assessments).
Assessment
Overview
Assessments are authentic, linked to the content, underlying principles and unit outcomes. Formative assessment is provided during workshops.
Teachers of language, literature and literacies require a body of essential knowledge that includes the range of topics covered in the unit. In the case of the assignment, you must pass the personal literacy criterion on the assignment criteria sheet. This recognises that teachers of English language require a high level of literacy capability.
Literacy and numeracy standards, as required by the profession, are an inherent requirement of this unit.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Professional Plan
You will design a reading lesson which involves: (1) an annotated lesson plan with appropriate references. This entails selecting and organising content from curriculum and planning learning activities with a range of appropriate teaching and assessment strategies, and engaging resources including ICTs; (2) an oral rationale that justifies the decisions made in the lesson plan using literacy, pedagogical, and assessment theory which will take place as a discussion with your tutor/unit coordinator/moderator.
Your lesson design should be underpinned by appropriate research into how students learn and the implications this has for teaching.
The ethical and responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is authorised in this assessment. See the relevant assessment details in Canvas for specific guidelines.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Relates to learning outcomes
Course learning outcomes: 1, 2, 8
APST: 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 2.6, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 5.1, 5.4
Assessment: Authentic Text Showcase
- Working in pairs you will source an authentic text that you would use in the primary school subject English classroom. You will design teaching and learning opportunities that outline how, by using this text, you will teach the 6 pillars of reading to early readers. The content you explore and share will incorporate:
- English, language and literacy learning
- content, pedagogy and assessment strategies specifically related to the teaching of early reading
- effective processes for learning and knowledge acquisition, including the function of memory, the limits of working memory and how to reduce cognitive overload
- explicit instruction, scaffolding, and clearly structured content that connects new information to prior learning, including explicit instruction of phonics.
The ethical and responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is authorised in this assessment. See the relevant assessment details in Canvas for specific guidelines.
Relates to learning outcomes
Course learning outcomes: 1, 2
APST: 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 2.6, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 5.1, 5.4
CC: 1.2, 2.4
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.
The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.
You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.
Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Resources
The following resource materials will be used throughout this unit.
Resource Materials
Prescribed text(s)
Tompkins, Gail, E. , Carol Smith , Rod Campbell , David Green (2019) Literacy for the 21st Century: A Balanced Approach (3rd ed.) French's Forest, Australia: Pearson
Recommended text(s)
Fellowes, J. & Oakley, G. (2014) Language, literacy and early childhood education. South Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press
Students choose ONE of the following books :
Bungawitta - Emily Rodda
Wonder - R J Palacio
Bridge to Terabithia - Katherine Paterson
My Girragundji - Meme McDonald and Boori Monty Pryor
Wombat Stew - Marcia,K Vaughan, and Pamela Lofts
Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley - Aaron Blabey
We will work on these books during workshop times. You are not required to purchase these books.
Other
Department of Education and Training. Curriculum into the Classroom (C2C).
ACARA website
Risk Assessment Statement
There are no out-of-the-ordinary risks associated with the general conduct of this unit. Workplace health and safety protocols in relation to computer use will apply.
Standards/Competencies
This unit is designed to support your development of the following standards\competencies.
Australian Professional Standards for Teachers
1 Professional Knowledge: Know students and how they learn
- Understand how students learn
Relates to: Professional Plan, Authentic Text Showcase
2 Professional Knowledge: Know the content and how to teach it
- Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
Relates to: Professional Plan, Authentic Text Showcase - Content selection and organisation
Relates to: Professional Plan, Authentic Text Showcase - Curriculum, assessment and reporting
Relates to: Professional Plan, Authentic Text Showcase - Literacy and numeracy strategies
Relates to: Professional Plan, Authentic Text Showcase - Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
Relates to: Professional Plan, Authentic Text Showcase
3 Professional Practice: Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning
- Establish challenging learning goals
Relates to: Professional Plan, Authentic Text Showcase - Plan, structure and sequence learning programs
Relates to: Professional Plan, Authentic Text Showcase - Use teaching strategies
Relates to: Professional Plan, Authentic Text Showcase - Select and use resources
Relates to: Professional Plan, Authentic Text Showcase
5 Professional Practice: Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning
- Assess student learning
Relates to: Professional Plan, Authentic Text Showcase - Interpret student data
Relates to: Professional Plan, Authentic Text Showcase
Course Learning Outcomes
This unit is designed to support your development of the following course/study area learning outcomes.EU30 Master of Teaching (Early Childhood)
- Knowledgeable: Demonstrate comprehensive professional knowledge of learning areas, learners and learning.
Relates to: ULO1, Professional Plan, Authentic Text Showcase - Scholarly: Reflect critically on the ways in which educational theory and research informs and impacts teaching practice.
Relates to: ULO3, Professional Plan, Authentic Text Showcase - Communicative: Engage and communicate effectively and professionally.
Relates to: ULO4, Professional Plan
EU40 Master of Teaching (Primary)
- Knowledgeable: Demonstrate comprehensive professional knowledge of learning areas, learners and learning.
Relates to: ULO1, Professional Plan, Authentic Text Showcase - Scholarly: Reflect critically on the ways in which educational theory and research informs and impacts teaching practice.
Relates to: ULO3, Professional Plan, Authentic Text Showcase - Communicative: Engage and communicate effectively and professionally.
Relates to: ULO4, Professional Plan