Yearly curriculum

12-month literacy curriculum map

This plan shows the monthly reading and writing focus used across Year 6 through Year 12. Difficulty, language complexity, and expected output scale by grade level.

Back to sample lessons Back to homepage

January

Personal narratives

Reading focus: Voice, sequence, and perspective in first-person storytelling.
Vocabulary focus: High-utility emotion, action, and transition language.
Writing outcome: Structured personal paragraph with clear beginning, middle, and end.

February

Historical speeches

Reading focus: Purpose, audience, and persuasive techniques in famous speeches.
Vocabulary focus: Rhetorical verbs, civic terms, and argument language.
Writing outcome: Short persuasive response using claim + evidence + explanation.

March

Classical poems

Reading focus: Imagery, symbolism, and tone across poetic excerpts.
Vocabulary focus: Figurative language and descriptive precision.
Writing outcome: Poetry interpretation paragraph with quoted support.

April

Extracts from classic novels

Reading focus: Character motivation, setting, and plot tension.
Vocabulary focus: Narrative and literary terms from extended prose.
Writing outcome: Analytical response to character and theme development.

May

Persuasive texts

Reading focus: Argument structure, bias, and reasoning quality.
Vocabulary focus: Evaluation language, modality, and connector phrases.
Writing outcome: Position paragraph using rebuttal and evidence.

June

Fiction narratives

Reading focus: Conflict, resolution, and author craft in short fiction.
Vocabulary focus: Characterisation and story-world vocabulary.
Writing outcome: Narrative continuation with controlled sentence variety.

July

Informational and explanatory texts

Reading focus: Main idea extraction, structure mapping, and precision reading.
Vocabulary focus: Domain terms, definitions, and word families.
Writing outcome: Explanatory paragraph with clear sequencing and clarity.

August

Biography and memoir

Reading focus: Life events, evidence of impact, and point of view.
Vocabulary focus: Time markers, achievement verbs, and reflective language.
Writing outcome: Biographical summary highlighting significance.

September

Media and opinion texts

Reading focus: Fact vs opinion, framing, and reliability cues.
Vocabulary focus: Media literacy terminology and stance language.
Writing outcome: Opinion paragraph with reasoned support.

October

Myths, legends, and folklore

Reading focus: Motif tracking, moral framing, and cultural context.
Vocabulary focus: Archetype language and narrative symbolism terms.
Writing outcome: Comparative response between traditional and modern retellings.

November

Science and discovery writing

Reading focus: Cause-effect logic, process explanation, and evidence use.
Vocabulary focus: Academic and scientific terminology in context.
Writing outcome: Evidence-led explanation with technical precision.

December

Reflection, synthesis, and essay writing

Reading focus: Comparative reading and multi-text synthesis.
Vocabulary focus: Abstract academic language and synthesis connectors.
Writing outcome: Final reflective or argumentative paragraph aligned to grade level.

Progression rules

Across each month, lessons follow structured progression: vocabulary recycles from day 8 onward, language features move from foundational patterns in weeks 1-2 to advanced structures in weeks 3-4, and question difficulty shifts from recall to analysis and synthesis by grade band.