Level 2 · Free curriculum · Ages 8 to 12 · No login

From sentences to stories.

Moving Up English takes children from A1 to A2: longer texts with some new words to work out, linked paragraphs, emails and stories, the past continuous and present perfect, and telling instead of just answering. A complete 36-week programme that follows on from Level 1.

36weeks

108lessons

3 × 60minutes a week

A1 → A2target level

The whole year. Tap a week to open it. Term 1Term 2Term 3Review and assess

By week 36

Children tell a short story from pictures, talk about what they did and what they have done, read a 200-word story or email with some new words, and write linked paragraphs, emails, reviews and a short story of their own. Term 1 secures Cambridge A1 Movers; Terms 2 and 3 work towards A2 Flyers.

How the year fits together

Three terms, one big project each

Term 1 · Weeks 1 to 12

Strong foundations

Every A1 Movers structure made secure: past simple, comparatives and superlatives, must and have to, adverbs, who, which and where.

Final projectOur Class Magazine

Term 2 · Weeks 13 to 24

Our world

Flyers grammar through facts and science: will, going to, might, past continuous, present perfect, zero conditional, be made of.

Final projectExplorer's Guide to Our World

Term 3 · Weeks 25 to 36

Stories and voices

Narrative, opinion and exam readiness: postcards, emails, reviews, biographies, legends and a story of their own.

Final projectStory Anthology and Storytelling Show

What changes from Level 1

Speaking moves to telling. Retelling a story from pictures, explaining, giving reasons.

Texts get longer. 150 to 250 words, with some unknown words to work out from context.

Writing joins up. Linked paragraphs, emails, reviews and a story from three pictures.

Before week 1

Ready for Level 2?

5 to 8 minutes per child, one to one, plus a short group writing task. Score each item 0, 1 or 2, out of 20.

Habit or now?"What do you usually do on Saturdays? What are you doing this weekend?"
Describe a busy picture5+ sentences with is doing and there is / are.
Find three differences"In my picture the dog is black, in yours it's brown."
Last weekendThree past verbs, one irregular.
Compare two animalsBigger, faster, the most dangerous.
Two-step instruction"Before you draw the cat, write your name at the top."
Three-picture storyAny tense attempt scores 1; consistent past scores 2.
Read a 100-word emailThree questions, one of them "why".
Five gaps, no optionswho, was, because, than, went.
Write five sentences"My best day", 10 minutes, as a group.

0 to 9: build up first

Finish Level 1 Term 3, or start Level 2 on the supported track with Level 1 weeks 25 to 30 as pre-teaching.

10 to 15: core track, with support where needed

Same topics. For children who need it: sentence frames, word banks, picture-supported Level 2 texts and 40 to 60 word writing targets. Move up after two weekly checks at 3.

16 to 20: extended track

Level 3 texts, an extra "how do you know?" question, 120 to 200 word writing and the full Flyers story task from week 17. These children could sit A2 Flyers at the end of the year.

Ability, not age

A confident 8-year-old may be ahead of a 12-year-old beginner. Topics such as online safety, biographies and the future were chosen with older children in mind.

Scope and sequence

All 36 weeks

Open any week for its three lessons and matching free resources. Print the whole plan with every week expanded.

Same shape as Level 1

The 60-minute lesson

The same six stages children know from Level 1. Lesson A leans on speaking, B on reading and writing, C on role-play and the project.

10 min Warm-up and review
15 min New vocabulary and grammar
10 min Listening and speaking
10 min Reading activity
10 min Writing activity
5 min Review and exit question

Worked example

Week 17, Lesson B: Suddenly...

Objective: Use the past continuous for background ("It was raining") and the past simple for what interrupts it ("the lights went out"), read a story for detail and inference, and write two interrupted-action sentences.
You need: The passage, six action picture cards, a light switch, mini whiteboards.
Free extras: The treasure map story for listening, and Finish the story for homework.
Adapt it: Supported: the frame "___ was ___ when ___." and a past verb bank. Extended: a "while" sentence and a new ending paragraph.

Time	Teacher	Children
0 to 10	Flash action cards, hide them: "What was Sam doing?"	"He was cooking."
10 to 25	Switch the lights off mid-sentence. "What were you doing when the lights went out?" Timeline: wavy line cut by an arrow.	Answer, build sentences, sort halves into background and interruption
25 to 35	Pre-teach torch, batteries, flat, candles. Read the passage aloud.	Follow; gist: scared or happy at the end?
35 to 45	Set the questions	Answer in pairs with evidence from the text
45 to 55	Two pictures: a boy riding a bike, a dog runs into the road	Write one "when" and one "while" sentence
55 to 60	"What were you doing at 8 o'clock last night?"	One full sentence each

Reading passage · The Night the Lights Went Out

Last Friday it was raining hard and the wind was blowing through the trees. Maya and her grandfather were playing a board game in the kitchen. Her little brother, Leo, was building a rocket out of old boxes in the living room. Mum was cooking pasta and singing along to the radio.

Suddenly, all the lights went out. "Who turned off the lights?" shouted Leo. Nobody answered. Maya walked slowly to the cupboard while Grandad looked for his phone. She found a torch, but the batteries were flat.

Then Grandad had an idea. He lit three candles and put them in the middle of the table. While the storm was blowing outside, he told them a story about a fox who lived on the moon. Everyone listened quietly, and nobody wanted the story to end.

When the lights came back on an hour later, Leo looked sad. "Oh no," he said. "Can we turn them off again?"

What was the weather like on Friday?
What was Leo doing when the lights went out?
Why couldn't Maya use the torch?
Complete with 1 to 4 words: Grandad put the candles ______ of the table.
What does "flat" mean in this story?
Why did Leo want to turn the lights off again? How do you know he enjoyed the evening?

Know who needs what

Assessment and progress

Placement in week 1, a quick check every week, and formal assessments in weeks 12, 24 and 36. Each term keep one speaking recording, one reading comprehension and one independent writing sample per child. Week 36 adds a full Flyers-style practice test, as information for families, not a pass or fail.

Suggested weighting

One four-point scale for every skill

1Needs a lot of support

2Developing, with prompts

3Meets the objective on their own

4Goes beyond, uses it in new situations

What "3" looks like at this level

Skill	Meets the objective (3)
Speaking	Tells a 3-picture story or a personal recount in linked sentences with mostly correct past tenses; asks and answers questions
Listening	Follows multi-sentence instructions and a 2-minute story; completes Flyers-style tasks with few errors
Reading	Answers fact, vocabulary and inference questions on a 150 to 250 word text; works out some unknown words
Writing	80 to 120 words in paragraphs with and, but, because, so, when, then; past tenses mostly correct
Grammar	Uses the term's grammar in new sentences and most of the term's word list

What to expect at the end of each term

Skill	Term 1	Term 2	Term 3
Speaking	Weekend recount; compare and describe	Explain facts, predictions and experiences; group presentation	Story from pictures; 2-minute storytelling
Reading	100 to 150 word recounts and fact texts	150 to 200 word information texts with inference	200 to 250 word stories, emails, reviews, biographies
Writing	60 to 80 word recount or profile	100 to 150 word fact page or diary	120 to 250 word story; email; review
Grammar	Past simple, comparison, must / have to, relative clauses, adverbs	will, going to, might, past continuous, present perfect, zero conditional	before / after clauses, sense verbs, mixed narrative tenses, direct speech

These are checkpoints, not promises. 108 hours will not take every child from A1 to A2: progress depends on starting point, attendance, reading at home and how much English children hear outside class.

Beyond the lesson

Homework, families and mixed ages

About 40 minutes a week

Reading15 minutes, four times a week, at the right level.
Words8 to 10 words a week from the topic list, with pictures.
SpeakingA recorded 1-minute talk: a pet, a hero, last weekend.
WritingOne task a week, growing from 60 to 150 words.

Send families the week's words and the official Cambridge word list. For online classes, keep live time for talk and collect photos of writing and short voice recordings.

Adjusting for ages 8 to 12

	Ages 8 to 9	Ages 10 to 12
Words	7 to 8 per lesson	10 to 12 per lesson
Reading	Level 2, picture-supported stories	Level 3, biographies, reviews, non-fiction
Writing	Frames and models, 60 to 100 words	Planning and editing, 120 to 250 words
Speaking	Games, picture stories, pairs	Debates, interviews, presentations
Activities	Movement and short cycles	Longer projects and research

Two questions

Which materials should you start with?

Free to use, checked November 2026

The free resource library

Everything below is free from the publisher's own site. Some need a free account, and each site sets its own terms for copying and sharing.

Optional: one coursebook, if you want one

You do not need a coursebook. If you buy one, buy one series only and pick the level by ability.

Paid · Bridge from Level 1Super Minds Level 3, 2nd editionCambridge University Press. The next step after Super Minds 1 and 2.
ISBN 9781108812276
Cambridge shop

Paid · Best overall matchSuper Minds Level 4, 2nd editionCambridge University Press. The closest fit for most of this programme.
ISBN 9781108812306
Cambridge shop

Paid · Exam practice onlyFun for Flyers, 4th editionCambridge University Press. Only for families who want the A2 Flyers test.
ISBN 9781316617588
Cambridge shop

Getting ready

Classroom checklist

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From the people behind Litlings

Teaching this to a whole class? Litlings does the admin.

This programme is free and always will be. Litlings is our classroom app for reading and English, free for up to 40 pupils.

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