Level 1: Foundation
First Stories. First Thinking.
Welcome to Level 1: Foundation — the beginning of an extraordinary thinking journey.
At this level, your child will explore the world through beautifully crafted picture books and short stories. From the very first lesson, your child will be asked to think out loud, share their views, and use the words of the text to explain what they believe.
Core level profile
Age Band
4–8 years
CEFR Range
Pre-A1 → A1
Lessons / Year
40 structured lessons per academic year
Core Texts
10 core texts (4 lessons each)
Cognitive Focus
BICS — phonics, high-frequency vocabulary, context-embedded language
Pre-A1 → A1 (approx. 90–100 instructional hours)
Text Complexity
Picture books and predictable narratives
This is the reading focus named in the syllabus for Level 1: Foundation.
Four competencies define the work at this level.
Critical Thinking
Students begin to notice what is happening in a story and distinguish what they observe from what they infer.
Moral Reasoning
Students consider whether a character's choice was right or wrong, and why — giving a simple reason.
Structured Reflection
Students connect story themes to their own lives: 'This reminds me of…'
Academic Expression
Students use sentence frames to share opinions aloud and write their first justification sentences.
Assessment tracks the quality of reasoning.
All written justification tasks are assessed using the WWL Four-Level Reasoning Rubric.
Lesson observation every lesson: teacher notes who provides evidence vs. opinion-only responses.
Written justification 2–3 per week: one-sentence Claim + Evidence response with feedback returned within 24 hours.
Exit ticket at the end of each lesson: one Reflect prompt; one sentence.
CEFR self-assessment each term on the Pre-A1 / A1 descriptor grid.
What this level builds toward
This level develops
By the end of this year, students analyse stories, evaluate characters' choices, and write their first justified opinions.
Next stage
Leads to Level 2: Development
In Level 2, students move from picture books into chapter books and begin writing full justification paragraphs.