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 – Aussie_Resources. A PowerPoint designed for use in a 70 minute lesson. This unit teaches students to be media literate and prepares them to do a speech where they analyse 1 x print news item and 1 x audio visual news item. The lesson begins with explicitly explaining the cognitive verb analyse and the process of analysing. There is an outline of some things that students will need to address when analysing in their upcoming assessment. This is followed by an exploration of some visual features which students can look out for in print and online news stories e.g. illustrations, colour, font choices, layout of text and graphics, positioning (within the newspaper/magazine), body language and facial expressions within photographs and shot sizes. After this there is a front cover of a magazine for students to view and identify the features in. the next slides include the remainder of the magazine story for students to analyse.

A resource designed for use with Year 12 Essential English students (Australian curriculum). Students are preparing to sit a response to stimulus exam with one seen source and one unseen source (1 x written and 1 x visual). The document includes a list of language features and text structures commonly found in visual stimulus texts (along with definitions and examples). How I used this in my teaching: I printed a class set of the LF on one colour and the TS on another colour and had them laminated. I hand them out in each lesson when students are analysing texts. I also printed one set in A3 and put them up as posters in the classroom.

A PowerPoint explaining the assessment task (students are to write a monologue from the perspective of a character of their choosing). This resource includes: planning steps, the structure of a monologue, the language features that should go in a monologue, a list of character choices and example monologues written by year 10 students in Australia. This also includes a word document version of the planning booklet which can be printed for students or shared electronically. 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 50 minute lessons (with extra activities as a back up if the class is advanced).

A series of resources: a handout which includes the questions on the slide (to be given to students to answer / shared electronically.) The PowerPoint. Some information pertaining to the historical context of the play. A summary of each scene with key quotes and questions. Viewing Act Five, Scene Three (the final act) both Baz Luhrmann film and the 2013 version (for comparative purposes). Important things to note from Act 5. Revision questions. Optional extras for if time: questions about themes. Role play activity. A handout - revision activity - a list of jumbled up events from this act which students have to reorganise into chronological order. An updated PowerPoint which features all of Act 5 (Scenes 1-3). It includes a warm up activity (explaining what a friar is - with notes to copy). Additionally, it features quotes from the play, checking for understanding questions (some to answer in books and some to discuss as a class) & some brain breaks (viewing activities - two excerpts of the play being staged in The Globe Theatre). This lesson is designed to fit into a unit where students must complete an exam where they respond to an essay which argues that Friar Laurence is solely to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. Through studying each scene in depth, students should begin to see that a range of other characters could be referenced in their counter argument. 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).

Two assessment tasks written for a Macbeth Unit and the unit plan showing the lesson outlines for an 8 week unit. This English unit has been developed for a year twelve class (in Australia) studying William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth. The focus for this eight week unit has been taken from the Queensland Studies Authorities suggested work program “The human condition – Shakespeare.” Within this unit, the student’s engagement with Macbeth will emphasise “the aspects of the human condition evident in the play through the representations of central characters and their relationships and motivations.” As part of this focus, “students will consider such aspects as the impact or role of power, fear and violence in the play and their relevance to contemporary times.” Included are two summative assessment pieces – a spoken ‘persuasive text’ (summation speech) and a written ‘reflective text’ (feature article) and marking rubrics.

24 spelling words for 6 weeks. A few weeks of context-specific words followed by conjunctions, verbs, emotive language.

These resources are for the beginning of a crime fiction unit taught to senior English students. This unit provides many opportunities for students to develop an enjoyment and appreciation of language and literature. Students will be exposed to canonical and popular culture texts that explore crime fiction. Great value for money, see the explanation of the six resources included below. Resource 1: A Brief Introduction PowerPoint (defining crime and genre, introducing students to the crime fiction genre, the three basic elements of crime fiction and listing some subgenres of crime fiction. Resource 2: One lesson from a unit entitled ‘Revolutionary texts of the past meet popular culture texts of today.’ A PowerPoint introducing students to gothic romantic literature (genre conventions). It explains the social context of the time this genre originated, it outlines its key features and looks at two prominent examples: an extract from Frankenstein and Edgar Allen Poe’s Short Story ‘Tell-Tale Heart.’ Resource 3: Homework handout with questions about ‘Tell-Tale Heart’ Resource 4: A copy of the ‘Tell-Tale Heart’ to email to students. Resource 5 & 6: Spelling words for the term and a template for students to write their definitions and sentences in. The unit focuses on the study and analysis of texts including a film, novel extracts and a range of short stories to allow students to judge and value literary works in terms of the insights and truths they offer. Students should come to realise that both popular culture and canonical texts have meaning and value in contemporary society. If you are interested in the other resources from this unit, please visit my shop.

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.

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.

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). A PowerPoint designed to engage students / excite them as they ‘tune in’ to the new unit. It includes: a review of my classroom expectations (as well as the positive and negative consequences). Some interesting facts about Ned Kelly. Some questions about the front and back cover of the novel Black Snake: The Daring of Ned Kelly’ by Carole Wilkinson. After getting the students to make predictions about the novel, they complete a K-W-L chart about what they already know about Ned Kelly and what they would like to know. Subsequently we go through what the two assessments for the term will be. We then review some important parts of the novel and how they work (contents, a map of Kelly Country and the Introduction). Some info about the language features in the novel is provided as well as a spelling list of 24 words taken from the novel and ACARA’s English glossary. Students will define these for homework throughout the week. Some extra information is included at the end of the PowerPoint if you happen to finish early. 2)** A handout containing the map, contents, intro and spelling words.**

A fun trivia PPT designed for an end of the year activity but which would also be useful if you broke it up and used particular rounds as warm ups or brain breaks throughout a year. There are 20 questions per round (12 rounds in total) - each slide features 10 questions which auto appear upon clicking. Each round has a different focus or theme. There are a couple of picture rounds (famous people, famous landmarks, celebrity singers etc.) Additional round categories include: popular culture, true or false, food and drink, science and the human body, English, Geography, History, General Knowledge, Maths and lastly Animals and Birds. After each round is a slide providing the answers for that round. Questions could also be used in a jeopardy style game.

In addition to analysing cinematic techniques (aka visual features), students need to analyse the effect of language features in their chosen documentary. This lesson introduces students to a range of language features to watch out for with examples from Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 911 and Morgan Spurlock's Super Size Me. These language features include high modality, rhetorical questions, emotive language, repetition and groups of three. It also includes a list of generic questions for students to ask themselves when watching documentaries.

About the PPT: The lesson begins with an activity which asks the students to brainstorm some attitudes they associate with heroes. The slide includes a reminder of what an attitude is and some answers which pop up when you click. There is a viewing activity from YouTube about heroic archetypes which goes for 11 minutes which you can watch to gather further heroic traits from. This is followed by an explanation of what a nemesis is and some of their qualities. Next some common conventions of hero texts are explained. Joseph Conrad’s hero’s journey monomyth is explained. Some information about criticism of this monomyth is provided as well as information about the emergence of films which have female leads. Subsequently student are introduced to a music video report card which they will fill in as we watch the 3 films this term. Screen shots are included on the slides so I could explain the various parts. We quickly recap language features (especially cinematic devices) discussed in earlier lessons. More information is provided about music and sound effects (diegetic and non diegetic sound). Information about factors which influence the listener are explained and list of words for describing music care provided. Next the impacts of light and shadows are explained. The following are explained: high-key lighting, low-key lighting, backlighting and shadow. Next the following transitions are explained in more detail – fade, dissolve, wipe and cut. Themes are explained with a visual showing common themes. Lastly, students are introduced to the film they will watch in future lessons – Batman Forever. They watch the trailer, get some contextual information to add to their report card, are shown images of each of the characters and read a brief synopsis of the plot. About the Word Doc: A movie review retrieval chart for students to fill in during subsequent lessons. Context: A lesson designed for use in a 12 Essential English classroom in Queensland, Australia as part of Unit 4: “Representations and popular culture texts.” During this unit students learned about Hero and Villain films and how filmmakers use cinematic techniques to portray them and create an intended message. Their assessment at the end of this unit was to write a 4-6 minute multimodal (speech) to be delivered live or pre-recorded reviewing one of the three films shown within the unit.

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

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 PowerPoint which structures the lesson. It begins with a reminder of what we are learning about and persuasive techniques (the P.E.R.S.U.A.D.E Acronym). Students are asked to list some persuasive texts which they encounter in their daily lives. A review of the 3 types of appeal (reason, character and emotion) is included. Following this, students have 4 questions to write down for as they view the “You Can’t Ask That” episode about Indigenous Australians on iView. There are some answers providing on the subsequent slides. There is also a viewing activity (an anti-racism PSA called “The Invisible Discriminator”) which is good for generating discussion. To conclude the lesson, there is a paragraph writing activity for students to write a paragraph a out the social issues which Indigenous Australians experience. I included additional information for if the lesson finished early. It includes information about kinship, the role of elders and texts which are useful for gaining an understanding of Indigenous histories.

Unit plan designed for a 10-week term of 12 Essential English. It includes a subject description, a description of the unit, a list of unit objectives (from the syllabus), my planned teaching and learning cycle, the unit learning intentions and success criteria, assessment task details and a list of recommended resources. A Scope and Sequence suggesting topics to be covered throughout the term is also included (as taught by me in 2023). The learning resources (PPTs, worksheets etc.) for the unit are also available in My Store.

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 – Aussie_Resources. A PowerPoint designed for use in a 70 minute lesson. A warm up game of real news vs fake news. This is followed by several slides which explain what students need to do to get good marks for their spoken presentation. This is followed by a variety of prompts for ‘30 second speeches’ every student has the opportunity to practice using the verbal and non-verbal speech techniques they learned earlier in the lesson.

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.

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 – Aussie_Resources. A PowerPoint designed for use in a 70 minute lesson. This lesson begins by defining what a representation is and why they are so powerful. The variance in portrayals of Meghan Markle and Princess Kate are used to prompt discussion. This is followed by a series of slides about the language features that students can look for when analysing news stories. The slides include definitions and examples. Language features include: similes, metaphors, appeal to authority, appeal to emotion, connotations, emotive language, hyperbole, repetition, inclusive language, omission, groups of three, rhetorical questions, alliteration, idioms and hashtags. The lesson concludes with reading an example article about Novak Djokovic and considering whether it paints him in a positive / negative light. There are a series of questions to help students to analyse this text.