Learning Map

Understanding print

Demonstrate understanding that print carries meaning, follows left-to-right top-to-bottom directionality, and is organised page by page in books

How to tell they’ve got it

Tick these off as you see them — no test required.

🖨 Print this page to keep the checklist — it prints beautifully.

Try this together

When your child looks at a page in a picture book, do they know to start at the top-left and follow the words left to right, then move down to the next line?

Where this sits on the map

Stuck here? Check the skills it builds on first. Confident? Here’s what it unlocks.

Builds on
Nothing on the map comes before this — it’s a starting point.
Understanding printthis skill · ages 4–6
Unlocks
Knowing all lettersages 4–6Must understand print direction before letter identification matters
Book Features and Author's Reasonsages 5–8Print concepts needed to understand book features
Spaces Between Wordsages 4–6Need to understand words in print
Pictures and Text Working Togetherages 5–9Print concepts support illustration-text relationship

solid = must come firstdashed = helps

Curriculum alignment

Candidate matches to official curriculum codes — machine-suggested, unreviewed (v0.1).

Show candidate curriculum codes · 3 ACARA · 2 NSW · 3 VIC

Australian Curriculum v9 candidate

AC9EFLA04high confidenceFoundation · Language

understand conventions of print and screen, including how books and simple digital texts are usually organised

AC9E1LA05high confidenceYear 1 · Language

understand how print and screen texts are organised using features such as page numbers, tables of content, headings and titles, navigation buttons, swipe screens, verbal commands, links and images

AC9E2LA05low confidenceYear 2 · Language

navigate print and screen texts using chapters, tables of contents, indexes, side-bar menus, drop-down menus or links

NSW syllabus codes & stages only

ENE-PRINT-01high confidenceEnglish K-10 · Early Stage 1
EN1-HANDW-01low confidenceEnglish K-10 · Stage 1

Victorian Curriculum 2.0 codes & levels only

VC2E1LA05high confidenceEnglish · Level 1 · Language strand
VC2EFLA04high confidenceEnglish · Foundation · Language strand
VC2E2LA05low confidenceEnglish · Level 2 · Language strand

These are candidate alignments generated by semantic matching — machine-suggested and unreviewed (v0.1), not official or verified mappings. For official curriculum content see australiancurriculum.edu.au, curriculum.nsw.edu.au and f10.vcaa.vic.edu.au. Don’t rely on them for registration or compliance purposes.

Nearby on the map

All Phonics & Word Reading skills →