Ireland · NCCA Curriculum Specifications
Junior Infants Foundations of Language and Literacy
A comprehensive introduction to oral language, phonological awareness, and emergent literacy. Students develop communication skills through play, storytelling, and structured phonics to build a lifelong love for reading and writing.
01The Power of Oral Language
Focuses on developing listening and speaking skills through social interaction and storytelling. Students learn to express needs, feelings, and ideas while building their vocabulary.
Students practice narrative skills by recounting personal experiences and listening to peers in a structured setting.
Students will identify and interpret various forms of figurative language (e.g., metaphors, similes, personification) in literary texts to deepen comprehension and appreciate authorial craft.
Students will explore and analyse various poetic devices such as alliteration, assonance, consonance, and onomatopoeia, understanding their contribution to rhythm, sound, and meaning in poetry.
Students learn and practice strategies for attentive listening, including eye contact and asking clarifying questions.
Students will learn and practice techniques for persuasive speaking, including structuring arguments, using rhetorical devices, and adapting delivery for different audiences and purposes.
Students will analyse and interpret complex instructions, procedures, and technical texts, identifying key steps, potential ambiguities, and the importance of precise language.
Students will analyse how authors use language, imagery, and character development to convey complex emotions and psychological states in literary texts.
Learning rules for respectful participation in group conversations, such as taking turns and responding to others.
Students will develop advanced descriptive writing skills, focusing on sensory details, figurative language, and precise vocabulary to create vivid and immersive descriptions of objects, people, and events.
02Discovering Letters and Sounds
An introduction to phonics and print awareness where students begin to connect sounds to letters. This unit builds the mechanical foundations for early reading.
Students will learn and apply advanced punctuation rules, including semicolons, colons, dashes, ellipses, and apostrophes, understanding their role in clarifying meaning and enhancing stylistic effect.
03Reading Pictures and Stories
Moving beyond decoding to focus on comprehension and response to text. Students engage with various genres to develop critical thinking and empathy.
Using clues from covers and titles to make logical guesses about story events.
Exploring who is in the story and where it takes place to deepen understanding of narrative structure.
Learning to navigate non-fiction texts to find facts and answer questions about the real world.
Students learn to identify the central message of a story or text and supporting details.
Students will analyse complex narrative structures, including rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution, and explore plot devices such as foreshadowing, flashbacks, and subplots.
Introduction to the common elements and characteristics of fairy tales.
Understanding fables as short stories with moral lessons.
Students express their understanding and feelings about a story through drawing, painting, or sculpting.
Connecting story events and characters to personal experiences and feelings.
04Drawing and Telling Our Stories
Students explore the writing process from drawing and scribbling to emergent spelling. The focus is on communicating meaning through various marks and symbols.
Students will engage in various brainstorming and idea generation techniques (e.g., mind mapping, free writing, graphic organisers) to develop and refine topics for their writing.
Exploring different purposes for writing, such as making lists, sending cards, or telling stories.
Students will learn and apply advanced spelling strategies, including understanding prefixes, suffixes, root words, and common spelling patterns, to improve accuracy and expand vocabulary.
Students will learn to construct and manipulate complex and compound-complex sentences, understanding how to use clauses, phrases, and conjunctions to add detail, variety, and sophistication to their writing.
Students practice reading their own writing aloud and receiving feedback from peers.
05Exploring Poetic Language
An introduction to the beauty and rhythm of poetry, focusing on sensory language and emotional expression.
Identifying and using words that appeal to the five senses in poems.
Recognizing and creating simple rhyming patterns in poetry.
Practicing reading poems aloud with expression and appropriate rhythm.
Students will explore and experiment with various poetic forms (e.g., sonnets, haikus, free verse, ballads), understanding their structural conventions and how they influence meaning and expression.
06Digital Literacy Foundations
Introduction to basic digital tools for communication and learning, focusing on safe and responsible use.
Watching and discussing animated stories and interactive books online.
Learning basic rules for staying safe and responsible when using digital devices.
Using simple drawing programs to create and share digital pictures.
07Celebrating Diversity in Literature
Exploring stories and characters from various cultures and backgrounds to foster empathy and understanding.
Reading and discussing folk tales and stories from different countries.
Identifying with characters who share similar experiences and learning from those who are different.
Students will explore the concept of language variation, including dialects, sociolects, and idiolects, and analyse how these variations are represented in literature and media.