ABSTRACT
Table 3.1 is arranged in three columns, headed Meaning, Phonics and Fluency. These are the three aspects of reading and writing around which competencies and skills are clustered as has been illustrated in Figure 1.1 of Chapter 1. Vertically the table is divided into four stages. These are positions from which it is convenient to take stock of how far the child has progressed. We recognise that teachers, Infant teachers in particular, may wish to make further subdivisions to the earlier stages. The stages reflect levels 1 to 3 of initial reading skills in National Curriculum English. At the time of writing, however, we are not sure in what form National Curriculum levels will be retained. We have preferred the term ‘stages’ rather than ‘levels’ as our main purpose is to cross-reference assessments to teaching suggestions in the manual. Furthermore, ‘stage 1’ is much easier to achieve than the curriculum ‘level 1’.
