Junior Certificate English: Reading and Writing Non-fiction Unit - Mountaineering

This highly engaging and enjoyable unit is focused on the subject of mountaineering and explores literary non-fiction texts as a prelude to students completing their own creative and non-fiction writing. It is ideal for a grade 9-10 class. Texts include extracts from Joe Simpson’s ‘Touching the Void’ and Matt Dickinson’s ‘The Death Zone’ both of which are dramatic accounts of mountaineering expeditions. There are lots of opportunities for paired and group discussion and students learn how to write effectively including analytical responses to reading as well as their own creative pieces and an argumentative essay on the subject of extreme sports. There is a particular focus on planning and your class will be introduced to innovative planning methods including the box plan and the ‘because, but, so’ model. I have included a 62 slide teaching PPT as well as 21 well-presented resources to use as handouts in class. Please note that the PPT and resources are in PDF format and a Zip file is also included.

Junior Cycle English Learning Outcomes include:
Reading
3. Use a wide range of reading comprehension strategies appropriate to texts.
4. Use an appropriate critical vocabulary while responding to literary texts
8. Read their texts to understand and appreciate language enrichment by examining an author’s choice of words, the use and effect of simple figurative language, vocabulary and language patterns, and images, as appropriate to the text.
11. Identify and comment on features of English at word and sentence level using appropriate terminology, showing how such features contribute to overall effect
Writing

1. Demonstrate their understanding that there is a clear purpose for all writing activities and be able to plan, draft, re-draft, and edit their own writing.
2. Write for a variety of purposes, for example to analyse, evaluate, imagine, explore, engage, amuse, narrate, inform, explain, argue, persuade, criticise, comment on what they have heard, viewed and read.
3. Respond imaginatively in writing to their texts showing a critical appreciation of language, style and content, choice of words, language patterns, tone, images.

I hope you enjoy teaching the unit.