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.
Defining each theme and posing questions for students to consider e.g. Why do human beings have a basic need and desire to be in a group? What are the consequences of being an outcast from main groups? (both physically and mentally). Can groups affect your behavior and encourage you to engage in behaviors you might not otherwise? A list of texts which feature this theme. Clips from various teen films (mostly trailers) with questions for students to respond to post-viewing. It also explains how popular teens and unpopular teens are commonly shown.
An explanation of the elements of photography to consider when planning a photo shoot. An explanation of the following concepts (with images as examples) e.g. Framing, Rule of Thirds, Composition, Layering, Light, Perspective, and Viewpoints. Also some advice about what not to take
5 resources for a crime fiction unit for Senior English students. The first is an explanation of the cozy fiction subgenre and its codes and conventions. It includes an explanation of 'Murder on the Orient Express.' A list of more recent TV examples e.g. Rosemary and Thyme. It also includes a trailer of Identity which utilses many of the genre features but places them in a modern setting.
Resource 2: Spelling list for the term - 24 words per week.
Resource 3: Homework for this lesson.
Resource 4: homework for the following lesson (after beginning watching Identity).
Resource 5: retrieval chart for while watching identity.
A PowerPoint defining the following terms:
● Shape
● Line
● Colour
● Point
● Value
● Balance
● Perspective/Scale
● Harmony
● Movement
● Texture
● Unity
● Variety
A PowerPoint designed to introduce year 9 students to photography. It addresses areas including the Importance of knowing your subject, audience, and medium. Introduction to key terms e.g. body language, visual features, foreground, and salience. A range of images (e.g. from Vietnam war) with questions to prompt student analysis and discussion. Some info about framing your subject and the rule of thirds.
3 Resources:
1) Report Writing PowerPoint explaining the assessment task: (They had to create a written informative report that analyses how language, communication and technology influence our personal lives and has changed society.) The PowerPoint explains what a report is, goes through planning steps, how to search more effectively using a BOOLEAN search and a structure for the report.
2) A word doc template for students to fill their report into.
3) An example PowerPoint looking at the evolution of the Radio
Resource 1: A handout explaining the PEEL paragraph structure with an annotated example paragraph, a list of important vocab words including synonyms for said, a list of linking words and an explanation of what verbs like compare, contrast etc. mean
Resource 2: A PowerPoint designed to guide students to writing a paragraph about Crocodile Dundee (after viewing excerpts of the film in previous lessons). It includes a list of Australian stereotypes evident in the film, an explanation of PEEL, sentence starter prompts and an example answer. Subsequently, it includes information about other writing devices including high modality language (with activities to help students identify modality in example sentences). It also touches on linking words (conjunctions).
A PowerPoint designed to be delivered at the end of a term to introduce the next topic (Vietnamese Independence Movement). It outlines the key question and five sub questions, provides brief information about the assessment task & summarises the learning intentions and success criteria for the unit. It also includes information about Cornell note taking (a style that students will use in the next lesson which will be run like a university lecture.)
A worksheet designed to be used alongside the documentary Vietnam and the War (2015) – available at https://clickv.ie/w/0iwn. It includes 30 questions which I wrote as I watched the documentary (so they can be answered chronologically).
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.
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 - Aussie_Resources. Designed for use in 70 minute lessons (with some back up content in case students finish early). The end of term assessment for this unit was a 90 minute short response examination.
A PowerPoint designed to teach students about gender roles (particularly those from past decades) with lots of visual stimulus to aid visual learners. It begins with revision of what the term ‘gender’ means. Afterwards students can copy additional terms into their glossary (gender identity & gender expression). There are visuals on the slide to prompt a discussion about about body language / posture e.g. typically male ways of sitting vs female ways. There are two clips from the 1959 film ‘Some Like it Hot’ (a comedy which features two males hiding from the mafia by dressing as females). These clips show the expectations of women at the time in a humorous way. This is used to segue into learning the terms ‘femininity’ and ‘masculinity’ & the fact that there is no necessary association between being biologically female and being ‘feminine’, or between being biologically male and being ‘masculine’. Revisit the concept of gender roles and that there has been a shift away from the traditional gender roles of previous decades. Students are to brainstorm traditional roles for men and women. This is followed by information about how gender roles are learned. Students are to copy notes about gender socialisation. This is followed by an image of the Disney princesses and other TV programs (e.g. I Love Lucy) which shows how popular culture can impact and reinforce gender roles. Students view some vintage Woman’s Weekly & Housekeeping Monthlymagazine covers from the 1940s and must answer questions about them in their book. There is a viewing activity (the trailer for Mona Lisa smile) and a teacher’s contract from 1923 outlining the expectations of American teachers.There is also a guide for women published in a magazine in 1955 followed by questions to check for understanding.
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 - Aussie_Resources. Designed for use in 70 minute lessons. The end of term assessment for this unit was a 90 minute short response examination.
A lesson which focuses on developing student ability to define, describe and explain (cognitive verbs which they will need for their upcoming assessment).It also builds student knowledge of how the media perpetuates gender stereotypes. It begins with a revision activity (a match the definitions task).This is followed by looking at what it means to define, describe and explain.Looking at some example questions which use the cognitive verb ‘explain.’ Some sentence starters which can be used for explaining are provided (from Pat Hipwell’s Logon Literacy explain poster). Then, using the Gradual Release of Responsibility method there is a ‘we do’ practice explain question to be done as a whole class and one to be done with their elbow partners (the person sitting beside them). This is followed by a self reflection tool for the student to see how confident they feel at this point. After this, the lesson moves onto practicing some question types similar to those on the exam that we have encountered thus far.There is a set of ‘you do’ questions about a person and what can be inferred from their interests and appearance and whether it is fair to ‘judge a book by its cover.’ This is followed by a look at another question which will require students to unpack an advertisement and “explain the effect the advertisement could have on female and male audiences.” As this is intended for a year 12 class, the advertisements are quite mature. They are derogatory advertisements produced for the men’s fashion brand Suitsupply which was founded in 2000 by Fokke de Jong in Amsterdam. This is meant to generate discussion about the fact that ‘sex sells’ and without rules to curtail advertising companies, some really messed up advertisements can be created. They are to make connections between the sexualisation of women in ads and how this can inadvertently reinforce negative perceptions of women and their value in society. This ties in nicely with our second part of the unit which is about discrimination. After doing the suit supply paragraph together, there is a Madison Avenue advertisement about cooking equipment for the students to analyse on their own and complete a practice response about.
A graphic organiser (worksheet) for students to fill in while watching the documentary ‘HITLER’S WORLD: THE POST WAR PLAN: NAZIFICATION’ (2017) available on ClickView at
https://online.clickview.com.au/libraries/series/9204332/hitler-s-world-the-post-war-plan
The documentary originally aired on SBS and funs for 45 minutes.
I utilise the broadcast strategy approach (Barry & King, 1998) previewing the graphic organiser prior to playing the documentary so that students know what to listen out for. I then facilitate a class discussion to go through the answers once we have finished watching the documentary.
I have also included notes taken by a student as a sample response.
Resources designed with QCIA (special needs) students in mind.
These students were encouraged to choose The Incredibles. The resource includes a QCIA task sheet, a word bank and a cloze passage (to assist the Teacher’s Aide to prompt student to develop their own response). The student this was designed for was at a grade 3-4 level.
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.
A worksheet for a documentary viewing lesson. I utilise the broadcast strategy approach (Barry & King, 1998) previewing the questions prior to playing the documentary so that students know what to listen out for. The documentary THE SIXTIES The War In Vietnam (SBS) is available on Click View or Enhance TV
There are 30 short response questions with lines for students to write their answers on. I have also included a scanned copy of the answers I wrote during the lesson. I use this to help students to expand upon their answers when we go through the sheet at the end of the lesson.
The bottom of the worksheet includes a list of names of historical figures from this era. For homework, students need to choose one of them and create a profile to share with the class (it can be a poster, infographic or PPT). Students must include info from both primary and secondary sources. They need to provide information about who/what influenced them and their political ideologies and associations. They also need to address how they influenced the Vietnamese Independence movement.
**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 lesson designed for a senior English class to practice identifying representations (messages about sport) and identifying various character’s values, attitudes, beliefs and cultural assumptions.
It includes a breif synopsis of the film, pictures of the main characters, a graphic organiser for studdents to record the VABs of the various characters and some post viewing questions.
About the PPT: A PPT designed to be used after students have viewed Wonder Woman. It begins with a warm up activity where students watch a 5-minute video which goes through visual techniques including size, salience, vector, juxtaposition, colours, gaze and symbols. I have included some key points from the video to unpack on the next few slides. This is followed by a list of Language Features and students are asked to volunteer some of the things they observed in the film which they believe were impactful. This is followed by a list of Text Structures. Students are asked which they could use to show how the hero/villain has been portrayed {they only focus on one in their speech}, and that characters VABs {values, attitudes and beliefs}. Students are prompted to discuss what VABs they noticed in the film. I have provided some answer slides with possible options (about heroes and villains in general) which students can use to help them. Students are to take notes about the VABs of both Wonder Woman and Ares as, at this point, they will not have selected which character they are going to write about. Students are asked to consider what stereotypes {cultural assumptions} are challenged/reinforced by the film. They are also asked to consider what the film’s intended reading {overall message} is.
This is followed by slides going through the Essential English criteria which have been turned into student-friendly “I can” statements. Then there is a slide explaining what is meant by evaluative language. We then looked at a negative review of the Hunger Games Prequel from Time Magazine to make a note of the author’s word choices.
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.
Films focused on in this particular year: Wonder Woman & Into the Spiderverse
A PPT to introduce students to the second of the two films they can write a film review about for their assessment {a multimodal presentation}. It includes: some quick facts about the comic-book origins of the character and the creator. Information about King pin and his origin story in the comics. The inspiration for the film. A link to the trailer is included for introducing who the key players in the film are. Students are provided with information about the director, producer etc. to add into their retrieval chart. This is followed by images of the costumes of key characters (Kingpin, Prowler, Miles etc.) so that students can take notes about colour & props.
A film viewing report card (retrieval chart) to be used in subsequent lessons while viewing the film
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.
Films focused on in this particular year: Wonder Woman & Into the Spiderverse
A table I made containing quotes from key characters in the film which students can come back to when writing their review for evidence of character VABs (Values, Attitudes and Beliefs).
To save on printing, I put one copy on the word wall in the classroom and one copy on the class One Note for students to access digitally.
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.
Films focused on in this particular year: Wonder Woman & Into the Spiderverse
About the PPT: A PPT designed to be used after students have viewed Into the Spiderverse. It begins with a list of Language Features and students are asked to volunteer some of the things they observed in the film which they believe were impactful. I included some screen shots from the film to illustrate colour, lighting and shadow, camera angles and shot sizes. I also included some lyrics from two of the songs in the soundtrack.
This is followed by a list of Text Structures. Students are asked which they could use to show how the hero/villain has been portrayed {they only focus on one in their speech}, and that characters VABs {values, attitudes and beliefs}.
Students are prompted to discuss what VABs they noticed in the film. I have provided some answer slides with possible options (about heroes and villains in general) which students can use to help them. Students are to take notes about the VABs of both Miles and King pin as, at this point, they will not have selected which character they are going to write about.
Students are asked to consider what stereotypes {cultural assumptions} are challenged/reinforced by the film. They are also asked to consider what the film’s intended reading {overall message} is.
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.
Films focused on in this particular year: Wonder Woman & Into the Spiderverse
A PPT to introduce students to one of the two films they can write a film review about for their assessment {a multimodal presentation}. It includes: some quick facts about the comic-book origins of the character and the creator. Information about Ares and his origin story in the comics. The inspiration for the film. A chronological timeline for films in the DC universe (2017-2023). A link to the trailer is included for introducing who the key players in the film are. Students are provided with information about the director, producer etc. to add into their retrieval chart. This is followed by images of her costume so that students can take notes about colour & props. A brief synopsis of the plot and how the film begins {present day > flashback} is provided. The lesson ends with viewing a segment of the show The Secret History of Comics: The Truth about Wonder Woman.
A film viewing report card (retrieval chart) to be used in subsequent lessons while viewing the film
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.
Films focused on in this particular year: Wonder Woman & Into the Spiderverse