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.
A lesson PowerPoint. It begins with a proofreading activity (an excerpt from Chapter 5). Followed by a mini lesson on using an apostrophe to make contractions. This includes examples and non examples and a series of activities which progress through the I do, we do, you do phase of the gradual release of responsibility pedagogy. In upcoming lessons, students will write a persuasive essay to convince their readers of their perspective about Ned Kelly’s guilt or innocence. Students will read chapter six of Black Snake and complete activities so that they can use evidence from the novel to develop their argument about whether Ned Kelly was a victim, a villain or a hero. They learn about mood and tone and apply their new knowledge to the fictional passage at the beginning of the chapter. The PowerPoint ends with a summary of the chapter and some questions to be completed for homework.
A handout with the activities for Chapter 6 which students will complete throughout the lesson.
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.
A lesson used in a Senior Authority English class to teach students how to analyse visual images in preparation for the QCS test. It allows students to practise their use of the following core skills or common curriculum elements (CCEs): CCE 5 Interpreting the meaning of pictures; CCE 33 Inferring; and CCE 43 Analysing.
This lesson provides recent political cartoons from Australian cartoonists David Pope (from The Canberra Times) and Mark Knight from The Herald Sun. Many are about the Double Dissolution election or the recent census but there are some about the great barrier reef and privatizing medicare.
This lesson provides a brief overview of the history of political cartoons in Australia. It reveals how they work and what can be learned from studying them. It revisits the concept satire and defines many of the persuasive / satirical devices they use (e.g. symbolism, caricature, labels, analogy, irony, juxtaposition, and exaggeration). It has a few example analyses and then gives the students questions to ask themselves when analyzing a political cartoon. Students then answer these questions using the cartoons provided (mostly about refugee issues).
Part of a set of resources created for a senior Social & Community studies class in Australia (QCAA syllabus). The other resources are also available in my store - lrigb4. Designed for use in 70 minute lessons (with additional activities for fast finishers).
A PowerPoint focusing on bullying in the workplace and the toll it can take on an organisation. It includes a definition of bullying and an explanation of what counts as ‘unreasonable’ behaviour. Students will view a video from ReachOut.com about workplace bullying with various examples. It includes a think pair, share to get students to reflect on their own experiences as well as notes to copy about examples of bullying. It also includes information about what doesn’t count as workplace bullying and who gets targeted the most. The four types of bullies described by Drs. Gary and Ruth Namie are explained and then students complete a short response writing task. Subsequently, students watch a viewing activity about how to stand up to a bully. This is followed by an explanation of employer responsibilities for addressing bullying and tips for what individuals should do when they are being bullied by coworkers and how the Fair Work Commission can help.
A lesson plan
Introduction to the hard-boiled genre of crime fiction (Set in1930s - 1950s America)
This PowerPoint examines the genre conventions of hard-boiled fiction, the typical protagonist of these tales & events that were occurring in American society at the time these tales were written, and how these influenced these texts. Students will watch a trailer for The Maltese Falcon Trailer (a famous example). The movie of The Maltese Falcon is dated 1941, during the War, but the story was published in 1930: it’s a tale of the roaring ‘20s. The PPT also includes a trailer for a recent example (the HBO television series Boardwalk Empire) which recreates this era.
A resource which I think Legal Studies / Civics teachers will find helpful. If you use it, and like it, please give me a positive star rating / review.
It is designed to help students revise content for their short response exam. It includes terms to revise and some practice questions.
NB: My lessons have been designed for use in Australian classrooms and will often feature examples from Queensland legislation.
My school runs a 10 Legal Studies elective designed to give students a taste of Senior Legal Studies. This is a scope and sequence for a unit designed to give students foundational knowledge about Australian law and government. There are 2 lessons a week. Some of these lessons are also available for sale at my store.
A resource which I think Legal Studies / Civics teachers will find helpful. If you use it, and like it, please give me a positive star rating / review.
A PowerPoint which I think Legal Studies / Civics teachers will find helpful. If you use it, and like it, please give me a positive star rating / review.
A warm up question for students to answer in paragraph form about the importance of impartiality and fairness in legal trials.
This lesson begins by defining criminal law and its purpose. It introduces the main source of laws in QLD – the Criminal Code of 1899. The categories of criminal law are explained – offences against the person; offences against property; drug crime and motor vehicle offences. The different reasons for punishment are explained – retribution; deterrence; rehabilitation; denunciation; community protection. Then students learn how to navigate legal documents and how to read the subsections. This is modelled for students using ‘Wilful Damage’ in the QLD criminal code. Students have to write a summary of what they learn (teaching synthesis skill). Following this, public order offences are explained. A list of illegal activities from the Summary Offences Act (2005) are shown in dot point form. Students then have to look up ‘public nuisance’ and write a summary of what it involves and what the punishment is. The meaning of the term penalty unit is explained. Finally, there is a viewing activity about public nuisance.
NB: My lessons have been designed for use in Australian classrooms and will often feature examples from Queensland legislation.
A match the definitions warm up activity where students have to identify the correct meanings of various cognitive verbs.
A PowerPoint which I think Legal Studies / Civics teachers will find helpful. If you use it, and like it, please give me a positive star rating / review. I usually get students to copy the underlined text. The lesson then focuses on how the adversarial court system works in comparison to an inquisitorial system. There is an explanation of which section of the constitution provide for the creation of federal courts. There is an explanation of the various types of courts in Australia. The following roles are explained: magistrate, judge, jury,
Prosecution, defence, solicitor, barrister, bailiff, interpreter, media, clerk, defendant and witness. Information about specialist courts and tribunals is also provided e.g. the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
NB: My lessons have been designed for use in Australian classrooms and will often feature examples from Queensland legislation.
A PowerPoint which I think Legal Studies / Civics teachers will find helpful. If you use it, and like it, please give me a positive star rating / review.
It begins with a quick recap of the two houses of parliament – The House of Representatives (lower house) and The Senate (upper house). Some information about Australia’s mixed system of government is provided. here the terms democracy, representative government, constitutional monarchy and federation are introduced. Next students are introduced to the term MP (short for Members of Parliament). They take notes about what they do. There is a timetable for a typical Monday in parliament house which is used to explain what they do while they are in Canberra. This is followed by an explanation of how MPs are elected. There is a video from the 2022 elections which gives a run down of the main political parties in Australia. Information about backbenchers and their work on committees is provided. This is followed by an explanation of the skills MPs need and a recap of the process for taking a Bill from its initial draft to becoming a law. There are then clips from the news in 2024 showing some topical issues – Tax Cuts and the possibility of removing ‘Negative Gearing.’ The lesson ends with some checking for understanding questions.
NB: My lessons have been designed for use in Australian classrooms and will often feature examples from Queensland legislation.
A PowerPoint which I think Legal Studies / Civics teachers will find helpful. If you use it, and like it, please give me a positive star rating / review.
It is designed to simultaneously introduce students to the topics for their practice exam (voter apathy) and their real exam (lack of representation in parliament). It begins with unpacking Australia’s demographics using results from the census (August 2021). This includes information about the percentage of Australians in each generation, the percentage of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander citizens, the percentage of Australians who speak another language at home, the various religious affiliations of our citizens, the types of households, percentages of home owners vs renters, information about long term health conditions experienced, the educational qualifications we hold & the hours worked and common professions.
Then there is an infographic which shows the make up of parliament (2016-2019) which shows the breakdown using categories of Australia, house of reps, senate, the liberal /national coalition party and Labor party. The categories shown are gender age, sexual orientation, education level, non-English speaking background and Indigenous.
This is followed by an explanation of party allegiances and how party members rarely “cross the floor.” Afterwards the term apathy is introduced as well as voter apathy aka political apathy / electoral disengagement. There is a graph showing the number of people who lodge a vote as a percentage of all who are enrolled to vote from 1925-2016 showing a decline since 2007. There is a clip from YouTube where Craig Reucassel discusses voter apathy. Information is provided about the fact that in other countries, voting is optional and some of the cons of this. Following this, students are given their seen sources for their practice exam which they are to look at in class and for homework.
NB: My lessons have been designed for use in Australian classrooms and will often feature examples from Queensland legislation.
A PowerPoint which I think Legal Studies / Civics teachers will find helpful. If you use it, and like it, please give me a positive star rating / review. This is the first lesson in a unit designed to introduce student to legal concepts and terms. It begins with an explanation of laws and how they differ from rules and customs. Information about who has authority to make laws in Australia is provided. Students are introduced to an acronym for writing short response questions (as students will sit an exam at the end of the unit). They apply this structure to answer a checking for understanding question. Following this there is information about the two main sources of law in Australia: Statute Law and Common Law. Within this section, students learn terms including: constitution, Bill, amendment, House of Representatives, Senate, fair and reasonable.
Also included: two copies of the learning intentions and success criteria for the unit (poster and handout style).
NB: My lessons have been designed for use in Australian classrooms and will often feature examples from Queensland legislation.
A worksheet which I think Legal Studies / Civics teachers will find helpful. If you use it, and like it, please give me a positive star rating / review.
It contains questions for watching episode 2 and 4 of Ms Represented {available on ABC iView and ClickView.} This is intended to introduce student to the concept of representation in government and why it is important to have female politicians. Episode 4 in particular looks at a method which was used to raise the number of females in parliament (quotas). This is a concept that I wanted my students to be familiar with for their exam. It also shows some of the difficulties which female politicians have experienced in the past.
NB: My lessons have been designed for use in Australian classrooms and will often feature examples from Queensland legislation.
This unit was designed for a year 10 English class in Australia. Within this unit students learn to analyse and evaluate how human experience is represented in new media texts and documentaries, including the use of images. Students will also develop a critical understanding of the contemporary media and analyse the differences between news media texts.
This PowerPoint introduces students to what a documentary is and how they can have powerful social and political influence. The lesson goes on to outline the key features of a documentary and the two main types of documentaries (objective and subjective). It explains the difference and then includes a series of short clips for students to view and decide whether it is an objective/subjective documentary.
It also includes a research activity (homework sheet) for students to investigate the works of Michael Moore.
3 resources used in a 9 English unit.
1) A homework sheet which includes the poem 'Then and Now' by Oodgeroo Noonuccal and comprehension questions which are designed to help students begin to analyse the text. This poem touches on the dispossession of land and the consequences for the poet and her people.
2) A PowerPoint which teaches visual source analysis using the picture book 'The Rabbits' by John Marsden (illustrated by Shaun Tan). Students have to respond to the images by answering the following questions: What do you feel about the imagery? What does it mean to you? What is the idea of Australian identity portrayed in the picture? Afterwards, the PPT explains that this story is an allegory. The PowerPoint also includes some examples of Australian slang (as this is part of a stereotypes unit).
3) A PowerPoint which points out that for a long time there were “entrenched negative stereotypes” about Aboriginal people in Australia and how the media’s focus on negative Aboriginal issues creates much hurt when it presents the problems of individual Aboriginal people as problems of all Indigenous Australians. It explores the negative stereotypes about Indigenous people as shown in Bran Neu Dae and the positive attributes shown in The Sapphires. The clips I have selected from Bran Neu Dae are humorous but touch on serious issues and often generate good classroom discussions.
This resource was designed as an introduction to a film studies unit focusing on the moral issues and moral dilemmas that the characters faced in the film Remember the Titans. It has enough content to take a few lessons.
This resource would still be useful for other films as it teaches students about various textual structures, language and visual features which directors use to influence how the audience responds to the film.
It includes a summary of the film, a definition of dialogue and some examples for students to discuss (what it reveals about the characters), nonverbal communication, visual features to focus on e.g. costuming. It also goes through various cinematic techniques with a definition and an example from a famous film e.g. The Shining, Forrest Gump, Harry Potter and The Help (with post-viewing questions).
The film techniques covered are panning, tracking, tilting, zooming, montage, transition, simultaneous time, slow motion, music, sound effects, shot sizes. It ends with a cloze strategy to check whether students have understood these terms.
It then goes on to provide some historical context about the Civil Rights movement in the US.
A PPT explaining the Soweto uprising and its aftermath.
The last slide contains a homework activity which requires students to research differing interpretations of the Soweto uprising and write a response to questions.
Resources designed for the new senior Modern History syllabus (implemented in QLD in 2019). The syllabus objectives would also be useful more broadly for English students in other states and countries with an interest in the Anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa (1948-1994).
A PPT to help students to learn about key figures including: H. F. (Hendrik Frensch) Voerwoerd, B. J. (Balthazar Johannes) Vorster, Joe Slovo, Ruth First, Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, Albertina Sisulu, Chief Albert Luthulli, Steven Biko, Kalushi Drake Koda, Desmond Tutu etc. It includes images and information from various websites including Encyclopaedia Britannica and South African History Online.
Resources designed for the new senior Modern History syllabus (implemented in QLD in 2019). The syllabus objectives would also be useful more broadly for English students in other states and countries with an interest in the Anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa (1948-1994).
A PPT summing up the key events in the second half of the 1970s. It includes information about the 1976 Internal Security Act, the renewed use of death sentences, the emergence of the Black Consciousness Movement, the trade embargo established by the UN (1977), Botha’s ascension to PM (1978). There is also some information about the beginning of the 1980s including the formation of the United Democratic Front.
Resources designed for the new senior Modern History syllabus (implemented in QLD in 2019). The syllabus objectives would also be useful more broadly for English students in other states and countries with an interest in the Anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa (1948-1994).
A worksheet to be used while viewing the Bio pic ‘Long Walk to Freedom.’ It includes during viewing questions and post viewing questions about key people, key events, ideologies/beliefs/motives and some empathy-based questions. There is also a homework activity which requires students to do some further research about Mandela.
Resources designed for the new senior Modern History syllabus (implemented in QLD in 2019). The syllabus objectives would also be useful more broadly for English students in other states and countries with an interest in the Anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa (1948-1994).
A PowerPoint presentation which continues on from the Historical Context lesson. It introduces students to various South African politicians from 1924 onwards beginning with James Hertzog. Ideologies / motives + political actions are outlined. Students take notes from the underlined information. Early laws like the ‘Immorality Act’ (1927) are explained. The Sauer Report (1948) is explained. There are some extracts from biographies and autobiographies about Nelson Mandela as well as the Cambridge Senior Modern History textbook. This is followed by laws and policies introduced by the National Party after the General Election up until 1957.
Resources designed for the new senior Modern History syllabus (implemented in QLD in 2019). The syllabus objectives would also be useful more broadly for English students in other states and countries with an interest in the Anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa (1948-1994).