Unique resources created by an experienced Secondary English and History teacher. These are academically rigorous resources that target children between 13 and 18 years of age.
Unique resources created by an experienced Secondary English and History teacher. These are academically rigorous resources that target children between 13 and 18 years of age.
This 32 page booklet has been designed as part of an Australian film studies unit focusing on the 2002 film The Rabbit Proof Fence. It includes activities exploring characterisation, the beliefs of the time and analysing the aesthetic features (film and language techniques) which students are to complete during and after viewing the film. While used for year 9 in this case, it could be applicable for any junior secondary grade. It could also be used during NAIDOC week.
This booklet contains resources which would be useful for preparing students to write a range of genres including film reviews, feature articles, persuasive texts and analytical essays. There are questions about the events/themes/character’s perspectives and the effects of the aesthetic features.
It introduces students to concepts such as textual structures, language features, visual features, film techniques and themes. It includes information about the socio cultural context of the film, articles about the women on which the film is based, key quotes from the film, scaffolded analysis activities for key scenes, an introduction to evaluative language and how it is used to describe films. The final pages include an explanation of how to structure an essay (along with planning and editing steps).
This is a great resource for high school teachers which can be used as a fun activity for the ends of lessons, in homerooms for National Science Week or for transition / induction days. It includes a combination of multiple-choice questions, true/false questions and fact-based questions.
This quiz contains questions about the branches of science, famous scientists & their inventions, modern technology, the periodic table, animals, biology, phobias, representations of science in popular culture and much much more.
In the past I have run this like around-the-world or pac man https://reliefteachingideas.com/2013/07/28/pac-man/
Do you fear teaching students about poetry because of how you learned about poets in school? Are you new to teaching poetry and want some ideas of where to start? If so this could be the resource for you. This lesson is the first of many created to teach learners to appreciate poems, analyse poems and write poems of their own. Each of these worksheets has been made after consulting numerous texts about best practice pedagogy and each includes links to other resources you may find helpful (see reference list).
This worksheet can be used as a one on one tutoring resource. Alternatively, you can take activities from here to use in a PowerPoint lesson, as fast finishers or homework activities. It includes a definition of poetry, some of the reasons people write poems and the effects poetry can have on the reader.
It goes back to the basics of grammar looking at how poets use adjectives, nouns, verbs and prepositions to convey meaning. Example poems are provided for students to identify these devices in.
Other poems are provided along with comprehension questions to help students see the importance of reading to glean meaning. There is also a section on tone which provides students with a list of words to describe the tones of various texts and activities to check for student understanding.
Finally, it includes a vocabulary building and spelling activity for fast finishers.
A great resource for revisiting punctuation basics with high school students. This worksheet can be used as a one on one tutoring resource. Alternatively, you can take activities from here to use as fast finishers or homework activities.
This document introduces students to the three major uses of the apostrophe: to make words possessive, to make contractions and to make odd plurals. Each section includes a range of activities for students to apply what they have learned (short response and some multiple choice questions taken from past NAPLAN tests).
It also includes some follow up activities that can be set for homework.
This 9-page booklet/resource provides 8 tips to improve your writing. These can be applied to a range of text types including narratives, essays and newspaper articles. Each tip comes with examples, activities or a suggested word bank for students to try to incorporate in their writing going forward.
This worksheet can be used as a one on one tutoring resource. Alternatively, you can take activities from here to use as fast finishers or homework activities.
This document introduces students to key terms like fact, opinion and embellishment. It includes sentences and paragraphs and challenges students to identify whether they are subjective/objective. It also provides some information about zoos and asks students to write a subjective and objective paragraph about the topic.
The second section explores how verbs, adverbs and well-constructed, extended noun groups can position the reader to form an opinion or judge a person. It gives an example of a famous Australian and shows how by changing a few words you can change the connotation of the text. It includes comprehension questions to check the students understanding.
In the third section, a subjective newspaper article about the Vietnam war is included for students to analyse. There are comprehension questions which follow this.
The final section introduces students to the concept of tone and gives them a list of different words to describe the tone of a text. Students then look at an advertisement and have to suggest the tone. Subsequently, they read a bias newspaper article and answer questions about this. Finally, there is a writing activity for students which encourages them to write persuasively.
Do you have students who constantly use fragments (incomplete sentences) in their writing? Do you want a resource that will teach students about clauses, sentences, and fragments so that you have a shared language when it comes to providing feedback at drafting time? If so, this may be the resource for you.
This worksheet can be used as a one on one tutoring resource. Alternatively, you can take activities from here to use as fast finishers or homework activities. You could even put this into a PowerPoint for a NAPLAN preparation lesson.
The first section of this worksheet includes explanations and examples of: independent, co-ordinant and dependent clauses. It also has a section about embedded clauses and how they can be an effective tool for writers. It also features a lot of activities to test students understanding of what they have learned.
The second section of the worksheet looks at the requirements of sentences. It includes examples of the following types of sentence: simple, compound and complex. The information is interspersed with activities to check for understanding.
The final section of the worksheet introduces students to fragments and why they are nonsensical and detrimental to your writing.
This is followed by a writing activity (students are given a list of key points to turn into a newspaper article). It also includes editing prompts at the end which helps students to refine their initial story.
Do you have students whose writing lacks cohesion because they just can't seem to connect their ideas together? The first half of this resource explains conjunctions and has a table of the different kids which could be printed as a poster for the classroom or given to the students as a handout to consult when drafting their work.
Do you have students who don't know the various parts of speech e.g. adverbs? Are you approaching NAPLAN and want a way to save yourself some time while still having a quality resource to use in your classroom? If so, this may be the resource for you.
This worksheet can be used as a one on one tutoring resource. Alternatively, you can take activities from here to use as fast finishers or homework activities. You could even put this into a PowerPoint for a NAPLAN preparation lesson.
This worksheet includes explanations and examples. It also features a lot of activities to test students understanding of what they have learned. It also includes an extended reading activity (of a news article) at the bottom which challenges students to find all the conjunctions and adverbs in the text and explain the effect these vocabulary choices have on the reader.
Do you have students who don't know the various parts of speech e.g. nouns, verbs and adjectives? Do you want a resource that looks at explains verbs and tense to your students? If so, this may be the resource for you.
This worksheet can be used as a one on one tutoring resource. Alternatively, you can take activities from here to use as fast finishers or homework activities. You could even put this into a PowerPoint for a NAPLAN preparation lesson.
This worksheet includes explanations and examples. It also features a lot of activities to test students understanding of what they have learned.
Do you have students who don't know when to use a comma? Do you want a resource that looks at the rules around when to, and when not to, utilise a comma in your writing? If so, this may be the resource for you.
This worksheet can be used as a one on one tutoring resource. Alternatively, you can take activities from here to use as fast finishers or homework activities. You could even put this into a PowerPoint for a NAPLAN preparation lesson.
This worksheet includes explanations and examples. It also features a lot of activities to test students understanding of what they have learned.
Suitable for upper primary and high school students.
The Key Focuses of the unit are teaching students about:
○ Christian vocation: working for Christ (living his mission by serving other people.)
○ Seven sacraments esp. Baptism and confirmation
○ Gifts of the Holy spirit (character traits)
○ Serving Christ through worship and prayer (through communion & Eucharist)
○ doing God’s work when we speak out against injustice (CSTs)
○ Human dignity
○ Authentic freedom
This is a PowerPoint designed to teach students about the Gifts of the Holy spirit. It begins with a film explaining why we are baptised as at Baptism, we receive seven special gifts from the Holy Spirit. These gifts help us to make good choices, and to serve God and others. Subsequently the PowerPoint goes through each of these gifts. The presentation also includes information about the twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit and a journal writing activity to finish off the lesson.
Three resources used in a 9 Theology unit on social justice and the work of laypeople.
1) a PowerPoint introducing students to Inquiry Based Learning. It includes the two big questions of the unit (aka fertile questions). Students to complete a KWL chart before learning to develop sub questions to answer the two big questions. It then talks students through a process that they can use to begin finding answers to these questions. It includes an explanation of BOOLEAN search practices which can be used when researching online to produce more relevant results.
2) A list of prayers required to be taught throughout the year (grade 9)
3) A table which explains the various steps of TELSTAR (the structure used for this Inquiry unit)
Three resources designed for a year 9 theology unit where students interview lay people from various churches in their hometown to develop an understanding of the role of the laity within each church. According to the curriculum they must "examine ways in which believers live their Christian vocation, and distinguish between their participation in the priestly, prophetic and kingly work of Jesus Christ."
!) Task sheet for their summative assessment item (an ethnographic study.) An ethnographic study is a method of investigation that studies the culture of a society using research as well as field reporting techniques like interviewing. Their findings will be presented in a report format.
2) A booklet to guide students through their ethnographic study (including developing appropriate questions, researching Jesus' values and actions, researching each church prior to the interviews etc.) It also includes a retrieval chart for students to record the answers to their interview questions into & an explanation of how students should set out their report and what should be in it.
3) A report template for the students to write their final report into.
A unit designed in an Australian Catholic school which could be easily modified for other contexts. The unit entitled 'Walking in Christ's Footsteps' poses two big questions to students - Do people in my community walk in Christ’s footsteps? Why should I walk in Jesus Christ’s footsteps?
It then outlines the learning activities which will occur. The unit has been designed to follow the TELSTAR method of inquiry and has drawn on a range of recommended Inquiry Based Learning pedagogy. It has been designed to be as interactive as possible.
Within the unit students will explores how Jesus lived on Earth and the examples he left for us. They will learn how lay people from various Christian churches within their local community walk in Christ’s footsteps (aka live their Christian vocation. They will discover why we have the sacraments of initiation (baptism, confirmation and the eucharist.) They will see how Christians serve Christ through worship and prayer but also through charity (living his mission by serving other people and speaking out against social injustices.)
Their final assessment is to interview lay people from a range of churches in their local area and write a report to demonstrate their findings.
A PowerPoint designed for a year 9 Theology unit on Social Justice. It introduces students to each of the Catholic Social Teachings (What they are and how they can be upheld). This can be a useful starting point for discussion of students own values or can be used to then encourage students to identify scripture which supports each of these CST's.
This PowerPoint was designed for use in an Australian Catholic School as part of a year 9 theology unit. It introduces students to the eight beatitudes of Jesus & the ten commandments. The PowerPoint includes activities where the students consider the relevance of these and how they relate to their own lives. It also includes links to YouTube clips which further explain these concepts and a research activity where students compare these to the articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
6 resources used to scaffold a short story assessment task for a year 12 authority English class in Queensland Australia.
the task sheet explaining task requirements and the marking rubric.
A PowerPoint further explaining the task. It also reviews the major elements of a narrative including: plot (aka the structure), setting, characterisation, language devices and the types of narrator.
a worksheet of planning steps the students should use prior to writing to ensure they have addressed all elements of the task.
4 & 5) two example assessments to go through with students to further exemplify the genre conventions they should be using.
A peer review activity for students to complete prior to submitting their draft.
1) PowerPoint: The construction of characterization, plot and setting in Slave. This PowerPoint was designed to help prepare students for a short story assessment where they were to write from a marginalized character's perspective in the autobiography Slave. Within the lesson students will explore how Mende and her journalist co-write established characters and setting within the novel through the use of various writing techniques.
2) Document for students to take their notes into with extracts from the text for students to analyse.
6 resources utilised in a 12 English Authority unit in Queensland Australia.
1) A PowerPoint taking students through the history of Sudan. It begins by introducing students to key terms including: coup, constitution, fundamentalist, Islam, junta and secession. These terms are integral to understanding the events in Slave as the author's life was influenced by the political events occurring in society at the time. After a brief overview of the early history, it delves into the civil war (1980s-1990s). Lastly it looks at contemporary politics (since 2002).
2) A handout of the notes about the history of Sudan (which were taken from the Oxford dictionary of contemporary world history). This can be given to students who struggle to summarise or used for purposes of revision.
3) Further research about Slave and the Nuba culture.
4) A handout to be given to students at the beginning of the term explaining the purpose of the unit and outlining what the two items of assessment are.
5) A diagram which shows the various influences on the author as she wrote her autobiography.
Anyone who thinks that slavery went the way of the nineteenth century will be disabused of that belief when reading “Slave: My True Story” written by Mende Nazer, a Sudanese Nuba, along with Damien Lewis, a British journalist. This book gives a chilling overview of the modern slave trade from the perspective of one who was victimized by it. Human trafficking, unfortunately, is alive and well as a weapon of war in the late twentieth and twenty-first century.
This resource is a PowerPoint presentation designed for use in a 12 English Authority class in Queensland Australia. It introduces students to the concepts of cultural context and social situations and how both can influence the author. This lesson prepares students to answer the following question: What is the social impact of the text? i.e. is it recycling or reinforcing cultural assumptions?
Within this lesson students will learn about the Nuba people – cultural practices e.g. scarification, beads, wrestling, religious beliefs, dwellings, diet, languages & female genital mutilation. In addition to information, images and videos of some of these are provided. It also includes some information about save trading in Sudan.
At the end of the PowerPoint are some sample answers to the chapter questions for chapters 1-8.