In Year 1, children learn to:

• respond speedily with the correct sound to graphemes (letters or groups of letters) for all 40+ phonemes, including, where applicable, alternative sounds for graphemes;
• read accurately by blending sounds in unfamiliar words;
• read common exception words;
• read aloud accurately books that are consistent with their developing phonic knowledge and that do not require them to use other strategies to work out words;
• develop pleasure in reading, motivation to read, vocabulary and understanding by:
  1. listening to and discussing a wide range of poems, stories and non-fiction at a level beyond that at which they can read independently;
  2. becoming very familiar with key stories, fairy stories and traditional tales.
• understand both the books they can already read accurately and fluently and those they listen to by:
  1. checking that the text makes sense to them as they read;
  2. as they read, correcting inaccurate reading;
  3. discussing the significance of the title and events; and
  4. predicting what might happen on the basis of what has been read so far.