Explicit Teaching in Stage 1–2: Balancing Direct Instruction with Inquiry

The Australian Curriculum supports explicit, systematic teaching, particularly in literacy and numeracy. However, explicit teaching in the Australian context is not lecture-based instruction—it is responsive, interactive, and embedded in meaningful contexts.

The explicit teaching cycle in Australian classrooms typically follows: model (I do), guided practice (we do), collaborative practice (we do together with peer support), and independent practice (you do). This cycle is recursive—teachers may move through it multiple times within a lesson or across days.

Literacy instruction in Stage 1–2 combines explicit phonological awareness, phonics, and comprehension teaching with immersion in quality texts. Teachers explicitly teach letter-sound relationships, blending strategies, and comprehension comprehension, but always within the context of reading and writing for meaning.

A Stage 1 teacher might explicitly teach a blending strategy (sound-by-sound then blend) using real decodable texts, then immediately apply that strategy to reading connected text. The explicit teaching serves the authentic literacy task, not the reverse.

In numeracy, explicit teaching makes mathematical thinking visible. Teachers model problem-solving strategies, verbalise thinking aloud, and guide students through processes. However, this is balanced with time for exploration, pattern-finding, and student-generated strategies.

A Stage 2 teacher might explicitly teach a column addition strategy (how to decompose and regroup), then provide guided practice with support, and eventually transition students to solving problems independently. Over time, students develop flexible strategy use and understanding of place value concepts underpinning the procedure.

Effective explicit numeracy teaching uses concrete materials, visual representations, and symbolic notation in sequence. Students see (concrete blocks), visualise (drawn diagrams), understand the process (verbal explanation), and finally work with symbols (numerals and notation).

The Australian Curriculum advocates both explicit teaching and inquiry-based learning. These are not opposing approaches—they are complementary. Explicit teaching provides knowledge and tools; inquiry learning applies and extends that knowledge.

A unit might begin with explicit teaching of a concept (e.g., water cycle processes), then transition to inquiry-based investigation where students design experiments to test hypotheses about evaporation or condensation. The explicit teaching provides the foundation; inquiry deepens understanding and develops investigative capabilities.

Explicit teaching in the Australian Curriculum context is not lockstep pacing. Teachers continuously assess student understanding and adjust pace accordingly. If a cohort is not ready to move forward, teachers provide additional explicit teaching and practice. If students quickly grasp a concept, teachers accelerate to application and extension.

Effective Stage 1–2 teachers read their cohort continuously. They use formative assessment (observations, questions, exit tickets) to inform decisions about what to teach next, how long to spend on a concept, and who needs additional support or extension.

Stage 1–2 teachers use flexible grouping to deliver explicit teaching matched to student needs. Guided reading groups, small group numeracy instruction, and targeted phonics teaching allow teachers to pitch explicit instruction at the appropriate level for each group.

Grouping is fluid and frequently reviewed. As students progress, they move between groups. Some children might receive additional explicit instruction in phonics while participating in grade-level shared reading. Others might move to more advanced numeracy strategies within a mixed-age group.

Technology can also support explicit teaching through carefully selected digital tools that allow interactive modelling and practice, though these supplement rather than replace teacher-led instruction.