The first two lessons in a year 9 English unit. Within this unit, students engage with a range of Australian literary texts including short stories, films and poetry, and literature for stereotypes including bogans, Indigenous Australians and bushmen etc. We also explore concepts like multiculturalism, fair go and mateship. Students explore how events, situations and people can be represented from different perspectives and draw conclusions about characters, key ideas and Australia’s identity, justifying these with selective use of textual evidence. PowerPoint 1: Unit introduction Classroom expectations, Homework expectations, Expectations around use of laptops in the classroom and an introduction to the unit. It includes questions to prompt students to brainstorm their prior knowledge. It also includes clips from advertisements including the Australia Day Lamb Ads for fun brainstorming activities. PowerPoint 2: Introduction to key terms: multicultural, patriot, assimilate, nationalism and juxtapositon. Identifying Australian stereotypes within a music video parody Defining the term Identity and teaching students how to answer quesitons using the RAF method. It includes example responses and then questions for the students to respod to.

1) PowerPoint - This lesson focuses on teaching students about the context of World War One so that they have some frame of reference for approaching the poems written in this period. Afterwards, it explores how the perceptions of war in poetry changed during this period from patriotic beliefs in its valour to disillusionment as World War One saw a complete change in the way wars were fought and the attitudes towards them. This lesson opens with checking students prior knowledge of WW1. It then explains what the world was like during the 19th Century and the imperialist ideology. The beliefs of Europe’s’ Great Powers, the major causes of WW1, The assassination of Franz Ferdinand: A Shot that Changed the World, societal beliefs about war at the time, exploring propaganda posters from World War One, new technologies used in this war and the outcomes of the war. Things we will learn by the study of poetry from the First World War.

A ppt which explores how the literary devices are used in texts that represent teenagers. Teen specific examples of parody including clips from 'Not Another Teen Movie.' Examples of sarcasm with clips from 'The Inbetweeners' tv show (no swearing). The impact of tone of voice. Introducing other techniques: exaggeration, burlesque, irony (with a clip from the Little Rascals and Shrek). Then it looks at clips of J'amie from Summer Heights High and an example monologue about this scene written by a past student.

This lesson is an introduction to a moral/ethical dilemma - designer babies and saviour siblings. It defines each of these terms, includes quotes from doctors, a discussion of what genetic testing can currently do and a speculation what it could be used for in the future, some questions about the ethics of genetic testing, three case studies for students to consider, and a film trailer from My Sister's Keeper in preparation for watching this film.

PowerPoint 1: Paragraph writing. This ppt uses the I do, we do, you do approach. Firstly there is a slide explaining the PEEEL paragraph structure. There is also an example paragraph about Taylor Swift’s You Belong with Me music video. Afterwards, students watch another music video (Caught in the Crowd) and construct their own paragraph based on what they observed in the teacher example. PowerPoint 2: Explaining the assessment task (analytical essay). Document: Scaffolding booklet for assessment task.

PowerPoint: Watching an Australian music video to identify the various Australian identities and pastimes it features (to discuss whether these are accurate or stereotypical). Watching an excerpt of a sketch comedy program called ‘Big Girl’s Blouse’ (1994) where Kath and Kim originated. The youtube link to the sketch ''Kim's Wedding'' is included. Post-viewing questions and answers are included.

A lesson designed for use in a 12 Essential English classroom in Queensland, Australia as part of Unit 3: “Language that influences.” During this unit students learned how to create and shape perspectives on community, local and global issues in texts. Their assessment at the end of this unit was to write a 4-6 minute persuasive multimodal (speech) to be delivered live or pre-recorded about an issue of their choice. A PPT which structures the lesson. It began with 10 minutes of silent reading as a settling activity. This is followed by a reminder of what social issues are. This is followed by a viewing activity on ABC iView – You Can’t Ask That’s episode on ‘Domestic Violence’ (from series 4). There are 7 questions for students to answer as they watch. This is followed by some slides of research I found. It includes a definition of domestic violence and the types. There is some information about the QLD Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act (2012). Some key points from the Act are included in dot point form. After this students were split into groups and had to design a poster. There were 7 different options. This was followed by some information about conjunctions as a cool down. A worksheet with the viewing questions

Resources designed for the new senior Modern History syllabus (implemented in QLD in 2019). This lesson includes: 1 x list of source types for warm up evaluation activity (can be laminated with a magnet on the back for sorting activity) 1 x PowerPoint 1 x Source Booklet with sources about Hitler Youth 1 x Independent Work Booklet with various activities designed to help students practice the evaluation skill Context: My school runs this program in Alternative Sequence (yr 11 and 12s in together) due to the small size of the school. The lesson begins with some teaching that both grades can do together before the year 12s are assigned some independent work and the year 11s are given some more focused teaching. Then the year 11’s do independent work while the year 12s share their answers and receive feedback. The sequence of the lesson: The lesson begins with a warm up activity where students have to place types of sources on a grid in terms of how reliable and useful they typically are. Next students have to brainstorm some synonyms and antonyms for ‘reliable’ and ‘useful.’ Following this, year 12s are given a booklet which has evaluation activities (starting at simple activities and building up to those styled like the short response questions in the Term 4 exam). They begin completing these while the year 11’s get a more teacher centred lesson. In this portion of the lesson we begin with defining ‘evaluate’ before zooming in on the evaluation criteria we use in modern history – reliability and usefulness. There is information about what reliability is and that there are levels of reliability. There are tips for how to write a judgement of reliability and some things to look for when determining reliability. There is a list of reasons why a source may be deemed unreliable. There is an example reliability statement which has been colour coded to show how the writer has included various features of evidence in their evaluation. Following this, the gradual release method is used to engage with the first few sources in the booklet. (I explain the first activity, we engage with Source 1 and then complete the question together – with me modelling my thinking process via think alouds. Students then do Source 2 as a pair and Source 3 on their own). This is followed by explicit teaching on how to determine the usefulness of a source. There is also information about the importance of corroboration (including a video from the History Skills website). This is followed by some sentence starters which can be used when corroborating. This is followed by completing activities from the booklet (first as a we do, then students do one in a pair, then they do one on their own). Following this, the year 11’s continue doing the booklet independently while I go through the answers with the year 12s.

Miseenscene definition and music videos to exemplify (one Coldplay and one Brittney spears). Talking about genre and target audience and the importance of branding your artist. Viewing Pink's music video 'Just Give Me A Reason' and completing a quiz about lighting and shot sizes. Introducing new term - cinematography and what it means.

1) A PPT: to facilitate learning about the use of poison gas in WW1 and the gas masks which were provided to soldiers. Some context about the poet (Wilfred Owen). Students read and annotate Dulce et Decorum Est. This is followed by questions about the tone of the poem and its intended reading. Following this, students will identify the poetic devices within the poem and evaluate their effectiveness. This is followed by a series of questions for students to answer in their books (to help them expand their analysis). This is followed by a discussion to compare this text with other WW1 poems we have already explored and a reflection activity (KWL). 2) A handout for students to complete their analysis in (which also includes the details for their homework -- to write a mini essay about Owen’s representation of war in comparison to Seeger’s)

Part of a set of resources created for a year 7 English class in Australia (ACARA syllabus). The other resources are also available in my store - lrigb4. Designed for use in 70 minute lessons (with extra activities as a back up if the class is advanced). The focus text is ‘Black Snake: The Daring of Ned Kelly’ by Carole Wilkinson. PowerPoint 1 ‘Taking a closer look at One Stray Bullet’ - ** Reviewing what happened in the opening of chapter 3 ‘One Stray Bullet.’ This short piece of fiction told from the perspective of Ned’s sister Kate is one of the passages that students can choose for their written literary transformation {imaginative recount / short story}. The focus of this lesson is exploring characterisation (one of the creative writing techniques the author has used effectively in this extract) in order to prepare learners to develop their characters adequately within a small word limit. It includes a highlighting activity (colour coding the action/dialogue/actions/descriptions of the various characters in the passage.) The lesson also provides further historical context into the Fitzpatrick incident. It also includes scaffolding for if they were to re-write the opening of this narrative from the antagonists (Constable Fitzpatrick’s) perspective. There are 8 sentence starters to aid students to begin writing a practice narrative from Fitzpatrick’s perspective. There is a proofreading checklist for students to use after they have written their orientation. This passage can be used to gauge the students current writing abilities. PowerPoint 2 - Developing setting Assessment expectations – what language features students need to use to get a C, B & A. Reviewing key parts of speech that students need to know and use in their short story assessment (adjectives, adverbs, verbs & abstract nouns). Learning how to establish setting in a narrative. Top writing tips with example sentences. The importance of showing not telling. The importance of avoiding cliches. Planning to write a story from Mrs Kelly’s perspective (based on the events in One Stray Bullet). The lesson concludes with a creative writing activity where students write their own description of The Kelly House imagining that they are Ned’s mother.

A lesson designed for use in a 12 Essential English classroom in Queensland, Australia as part of Unit 3: “Language that influences.” During this unit students learned how to create and shape perspectives on community, local and global issues in texts. Their assessment at the end of this unit was to write a 4-6 minute persuasive multimodal (speech) to be delivered live or pre-recorded about an issue of their choice. The lesson begins with a settling activity where students copy terms into their glossary (inform, describe, explain and persuade). This is followed by a Viewing Activity: How shopping Apps dominate fast fashion and appeal to young people. Students are given some tips for how to reduce their expenditure on new clothes (ideas came from a podcast I listened to.) There was a brainstorming activity (to see what students retained from previous lesson about fast fashion). Students had to draw a table in their books to complete as they watched a report made by the ABC program ‘Foreign Correspondent.’ They had to make a list of environmental impacts and social impacts (impacts on the people). Following this, students learned about 3 types of appeal that they can use in a persuasive speech. We then discussed why teenagers should care about the environment (linking this to values, attitudes and beliefs). Finally, we reviewed the P.E.R.S.U.A.D.E Acronym (which lists 8 different persuasive techniques which students can use in their assessment and in the writing activities in class this term). Then students had to write a TEEEL paragraph about ‘Fast Fashion’ which was both informative and persuasive (to consolidate their knowledge).

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).

A PowerPoint for use in a 70 minute lesson. It begins with a look at Vietnam’s geographic location and the countries which border it. This information is used to explain which countries have tried to invade Vietnam in the past. This lesson explores questions including: What was Vietnam like under French rule? & Why was communism so attractive to Vietnamese Nationalists? A key historical figure (Ho Chi Minh) is introduced to students and his ideological influences are explained. Afterwards a series of sources about Ho Chi Minh are included along with questions which students can either answer in their books or discuss as a class (teacher discretion). There is information about key events before and during WW2. Students are asked to consider why communism may have been appealing to Vietnamese Nationalists. Some key dates from the Timeline in Hoepper et al’s 1996 textbook ‘Inquiry 2’ are displayed and a range of sources are used to elaborate on these talking points. The term Viet Minh is introduced to students. Information about how this group formed, their attire and who they fought against is outlined. Another figure – Emperor Bao Dai is introduced as he is someone who is likely to come up in student research. A key source – Ho Chi Minh’s speech proclaiming independence on September 2nd, 1945 – is provided for students to read along with a series of short response questions. This is followed by a paragraph writing activity which can be done as a ‘we do’ or a ‘you do’ depending on the ability level of the class. The lesson concludes with some information about the aid the USA provided to French to try to help them regain control of Vietnam after the Second World War. The Battle of Dien is briefly touched upon as well as the Geneva Settlement and the subsequent partitioning of Vietnam into two states. At the conclusion of the lesson, successful students will be able to explain the historical concept of anti-colonialism, key individuals and groups involved in the quest for Vietnam’s independence and the factors and events that influenced them. A handout designed to go with this lesson. It includes some information about Ho Chi Minh and a range of sources about him. For instance, The path which led me to Leninism by Ho Chi Minh – a primary source which outlines his reasons for joining the French Communist Party & his speech proclaiming independence on September 2nd, 1945. The handout includes questions but does not provide space for the answers (to save on printing). **NB: Resources designed for the new senior Modern History syllabus (implemented in QLD in 2019). The content would also be useful more broadly for students in other states and countries with an interest in the Vietnamese Independence Movement (1945-1975). The other resources are also available in my store - lrigb4. The end of term assessment for this unit was an essay. **

A set of questions for studying Deadly Unna by Phillip Gwynne – arranged by chapter. These are a mixture of comprehension questions, questions focusing on the setting, questions about specific language features / word choices, questions about specific characters, questions about themes (e.g. racism) etc. NB: Answers to these questions are provided in the PPT slides also available in my store: Aussie_Resources. Resources designed for 10 English in Queensland, Australia. It is part of a novel study unit which culminates in a 90-minute examination (500 to 800-word essay). Students had 1 week notice of the question and could bring 100 words of notes in with them. Within this unit students explored how an author’s use of language features, images and vocabulary contributed to the representation of themes in the novel. They also gained a deeper understanding of key literary techniques, including (but not limited to) characterisation, plot, and setting.

How to create realistic characters in short stories / narratives.

A PowerPoint designed for a 50 minute lesson which includes summaries of key scenes and important things to note in this act. It also features questions to check for understanding. An updated version of the Act One (Scenes 1-4) PowerPoint for a school with 70 minute lessons. It includes a warm up activity (definitions to copy), extra quotes and questions to check for understand. A lesson plan has also been included. A PowerPoint focusing on the Party Scene (Act One, Scene 5). It begins with a mini lesson on characterisation (with definitions and examples). Subsequently students act out the scene and discuss the perspectives of various characters. Afterwards, we watch the 1997 film version and prepare to explore the balcony scene in a future lesson. A 5 page script for the party scene which has been translated into modern language (more accessible for students). A homework sheet with questions about the party scene (Act 1, Scene 5). A handout - revision activity - a list of jumbled up events from this act which students have to reorganise into chronological order. Part of a set of resources created for a year 10 English class in Australia (ACARA syllabus). The other resources are also available in my store - lrigb4. Designed for use in 70 minute lessons (with extra activities as a back up if the class is advanced).

This booklet has been designed as part of a year 8 English unit of work on Parvana (a novel set in Afghanistan during the reign of the Taliban). It includes activities about characters, the setting and language features which students are to complete as they read the novel. There are also questions about the events/themes/character's perspectives et cetera for each chapter. This is all in preparation for a creative writing assessment where students take what they have learned to create a written literary transformation (a short story from a marginalised character's perspective). Their short story has to focus on a moral issue within the novel. I have referenced the other study guides I drew on when creating this resource.

List of emotive words which are useful for creative writing tasks.

4 resources designed for a year 8 poetry unit. The first is a PowerPoint which takes students through the STEP UP acronym which they will use to analyse poems in their upcoming assessment: subject matter, theme, emotions, poetic devices, your interpretation, purpose… It includes prompting questions that students should ask themselves to help guide their response for each category. It then includes a poem about a refugee and slides which work through the STEP UP process. The second is a worksheet for modified students which has most of the notes written so that they only have to write a few. The third is a handout which explains STEP UP which could be used as a poster. The fourth is a typed version of the analysis of the refugee poem (in a Word Doc)