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.
The first lesson to introduce students to the ‘Art and Community’ unit. It introduces students to some key terms they need to know for the unit. I use underlining to indicate to students what notes they need to copy from slides. There is information about some types of art (mosaic, sculpture, recycled art, collage, street art and wheat pasting). There is a viewing activity (a news story about street artworks made early on during the COVID 19 Pandemic). This is followed by some information about the upcoming assessment task and dates so students know where they are heading. Students also learn about the purpose of art which they will have to write about in the front section of their inquiry booklet. The lesson ends with an interesting viewing activity of the 100 most creative street artworks. There is also information about bottle cap art as our school decided to do a fun end of term activity where the students made one collective street art for display at the school.
A PowerPoint designed to introduce students to what Russia was like under the rule of Tsar Alexander II, Tsar Alexander the III and Tsar Nicholas II. It begins by explaining the terms ‘Tsar’ and ‘Tsarism.’ This is followed by an image of the pyramid explaining the feudal system. Students are asked what they can recall about this system. This is followed by some slides explaining Russia’s social structure where students take notes about the ruling class, upper class, middle class, industrial working class, free peasants and unfree peasants. There are some checking for understanding questions to discuss and a couple of visual sources to unpack. This is followed by a visual image of the line of succession with key details about the dates of their reign and the circumstances of their death. The following slides go into each of the Tsars in more detail. When it reaches Nicholas there is a photograph of his coronation and 2 artists depictions. There is information about he Khodynka field disaster and a couple of images. After this, students are prompted to draw a graphic organiser in their books and have to take notes about the political, geographic, social and economic factors which led to the Russian Revolution. The remaining slides go through these factors. This is followed by some checking for understanding questions.
Designed to meet the requirements of the senior Modern History syllabus (implemented in QLD in 2019), this unit falls under the category of ‘Ideas in the Modern World.’
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.
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).
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.
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 PowerPoint which begins with a warm up practice exam question where students must make inferences about someone based on a photograph of them and some brief information about their occupation and interests. This is followed by a reflection to see how confident students felt about this task. Afterwards the term ‘stereotype’ is defined along with some information about why people stereotype. Students are to copy the definition of ‘gender stereotypes’ into their glossary. There is a viewing activity that explains this concept further. Looking at some stereotypes e.g. which gender is dressed in pink vs blue. This segues to a discussion about how advertisements target viewers of particular genders. There is a clip for students to view and discuss (Top 10 Unnecessarily Gendered Products). This is followed by some visual literacy activities where students have to analyse a range of advertisements and explain their meaning (as this is a skill they must have for their exam). Some of these advertisements are quite sexual and lend well to discussions about the impact of advertisements on body image. They can also cause society to continue to accept misogynistic views of women. There is also a sample advertisement related question for students to view and another one for them to attempt to answer. If time permits, at the end of the lesson, there is an interesting TED talk to watch.
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 (although with drafting time it may take a few lessons depending on the needs and abilities of students).
Going through the information from the task sheet so that students understand exactly what they need to do and have the opportunity to ask questions. It also introduces students to the street art stimulus examples that they will respond to in their assessment ‘Merry Crisis’ and ‘I Have a Dream. ’There is an article about each mural and why it was created. There is also information about how to find viewpoints about the street art (including where to look and what search stems to enter). There are also screenshot examples of comments about the street art (e.g. from Twitter, Facebook or Tripadvisor). Students are shown the section of the graphic organiser that they need to fill in (where they store their information that they need for body paragraph 2). There are also some clips explaining what art curators do as this is the role they will be utilising in their assessment.
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.
A Unit plan designed for term 4 (a shorter term.) It includes syllabus objectives, a description of the unit, assessment task details and a list of recommended resources.A Scope and Sequence suggesting topics to be covered throughout the term is provided.
A Learning Intention and Success Criteria handout for students to glue into the front of their work books
A template for recording differentiations made to accommodate NCCD students. (The NCCD is an annual collection of information about Australian school students with disability. The NCCD enables schools, education authorities and governments to better understand the needs of students with disability and how they can be best supported at school.)
A PowerPoint used in a year 11 Modern History classroom. It begins with a viewing activity ‘A bite sized guide to the history of modern Western feminism.’ Following this there are slides talking about how gender stereotypes began to shift due to the work of the Women’s Liberation Movement. I get students to copy the underlined text and call on various students to read aloud other portions. Students are introduced to ‘consciousness raising’ a method used by 2nd wave feminists. Following this there is a quote from Zelda D’Aprano (a feminist from Melbourne) about the inspiration for using consciousness raising and what types of things they discussed. An extract from the Rivka Pile papers (University of Melbourne) is also included to demonstrate the significance of this strategy. Following this students are introduced to some gender theory including that gender is a social construct and the term ‘gender role’ is defined. This is followed by an exploration of visual sources (pictures from a children’s book from 1970) which reinforced traditional gender role stereotypes. This is followed by a list of issues that were being addressed by feminists by the 1970s including domestic violence, abortion law reform and availiability of childcare services (including day care and preschool). The introduction of women into Australian politics is discussed with reference to The Women’s Electoral Lobby and the ‘femocrats’ appointed to public service during Gough Whitlam’s time as PM. This is followed by information about the significant achievements which took place in the 1980s. The remaining few slides are about viewpoints about 2nd wave feminism. The lesson ends with a paragraph writing task which can be completed for homework if time gets away from you.
Resources designed for the new senior Modern History syllabus (implemented in QLD in 2019). Designed as part of a unit entitled Women’s movements since 1893 which has the scope to span from when Women’s suffrage in New Zealand became law to the present. Our school decided to focus on the Second Wave of Feminism for our assessment (while briefly touching on the other waves of feminism).The other resources are also available in my store - Aussie_Resources. The end of term assessment for this unit was an essay under exam conditions.
A PowerPoint used in a year 11 Modern History classroom focusing on the 3rd wave feminist movement (with a focus on the movement which existed in Australia although it does address the ideologies of the movement which began overseas).
It begins with an outline of the learning intentions and success criteria for the lesson. There are some context setting notes for students to copy (defining third wave feminism etc.) This is followed by a brief viewing activity (‘A bite-sized guide to Third Wave Feminism.’) Some important key terms (intersectionality and marginalised groups) are defined. Following this reasons for the rise of the third wave of feminism in the 1990s are outlined. The unpopularity against feminism in this era is mentioned along with the reasons for this backlash. There is a quote from Anne Summers which referenced the roll back of programs which safeguarded women’s equality which started to occur in Australian politics in the 90s. The reasons why women turned their backs on feminism are listed (e.g. fearing appearing unfeminine / anti-men or ending up alone). Some key figures in this wave of feminism are introduced including Naomi Wolf (USA). Some types of feminism in this era are explained including Lipstick feminism and international feminism. The Toronto ‘Slut Walk’ is given as an example of a campaign that was used. Some advances made in Australia in the 1990s are listed including the first female premiers of Western Australia and Victoria. The lesson concludes with some questions to check for student understanding.
Resources designed for the new senior Modern History syllabus (implemented in QLD in 2019). Designed as part of a unit entitled Women’s movements since 1893 which has the scope to span from when Women’s suffrage in New Zealand became law to the present. Our school decided to focus on the Second Wave of Feminism for our assessment (while briefly touching on the other waves of feminism).The other resources are also available in my store - Aussie_Resources. The end of term assessment for this unit was an essay under exam conditions.
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.
An inquiry booklet which students complete in the early phase of the unit. They then use what they find to write their speech. This booklet includes: a pre quiz (to see what students already know), key terms to be defined and a place to record information about types of street art. It also includes graphic organisers for students to record their analysis of the two artwork (stimulus) they select. Within this organiser is a place to summarise the techniques used by the artist, to record community reviews about the murals and to identify the similarities and differences between these reviews. Finally, there is a reflection section including a SWOT analysis to be completed at the end of the assessment.
A template to guide students to structure their PowerPoint presentation
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 (although with drafting time it may take a few lessons depending on the needs and abilities of students).
A PowerPoint designed to make students aware of what the different cognitive verbs they are being assessed on mean and where they are required for the assessment. It defines the following verbs: describe, explain, compare, contrast, decide and justify. For some of these skills there are sentence starters which students can make a note of.
This is followed by some information about how to structure their speech scripts and how to write an effective thesis statement (utilising a street art specific example). After students have planned their thesis statement, there is a recap of the TEEL paragraph structure and specific instructions about content to be covered in body 1. After writing this, there is a slide for editing body 1. This is followed by some sentence starters which can be used for writing body paragraph 2 (same structure as paragraph 1 but about the second artwork). After editing body 2,there are some sentence starters for body 3. Before writing there are two sample 'recommend and justify’ paragraphs for students to read and discuss the strengths and weaknesses. With this feedback fresh in their minds, they can write their final body paragraph and edit it.
An assessment piece designed for a Social and Community Studies unit focusing on Street Art. it is an eExtended response to stimulus – multimodal response. The stimulus (examples of street art) are provided to students each year and students select 2 to discuss in their speech.
This resource includes:
A copy of the task sheet for the unit which includes a suggested structure for the speech and PowerPoint students are required to produce
A copy of the stimulus (artworks) provided to students
‘I can’ statements which which break down the criteria into simple terms for students to understand (also assists teachers to mark the assessment with ease)
A QCIA cover sheet recommending adjustments to be made and individual learning goals to be assessed for students on a modified program (called QCIA students in QLD)
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.
A scaffolded lesson for use in a Social and Community Studies unit focusing on Street Art. The assessment at the end of the unit is an Extended response to stimulus – multimodal response.
This resource includes:
A PowerPoint which shows the students how to complete one part of their Inquiry booklet (the analysis of the Street Art).
NB: I have selected an example that students are not allowed to use to demonstrate how to complete the table to an appropriate standard.
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.
A PowerPoint designed to introduce students to their new topic: Russia. It begins with a popular culture text that some students may be familiar with (Fox’s animated Anastasia movie). This is used as a launching pad to introduce the last Tsar of Russia and his family. This is followed by a short clip about Anastasia and her fate (with questions for students to answer). This is followed by information about our IA2 assessment. Then the focus of the lesson begins with an introduction to the historical context of Russia (prior to the revolution). Students have to add key terms to their glossary (autocratic & tsars). Information about autocratic rule is included and the idea of ‘Divine Right’ is explained. There is a diagram of the feudal system to help students understand how society was structured. Students are introduced to terms including bourgeoise, proletariat and intelligentsia. This is followed by a brief bio of Nicholas II, his wife and the Tsaravivh Alexei. This is followed by a viewing activity about another key figure: Rasputin (and some viewing questions). The lesson ends with a look at Boney M’s song about Rasputin’s death. A reference list is also provided.
Designed to meet the requirements of the senior Modern History syllabus (implemented in QLD in 2019), this unit falls under the category of ‘Ideas in the Modern World.’
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.
The lesson opens with a discussion point about a contested issue - the difference between vandalism/graffiti and ‘street art.’ It provides some information about why people are compelled to graffiti. There is a news viewing activity which sheds light on this topic and features an Australian street artist. This is followed by some note taking tasks (defining vandalism and graffiti). There is some contextual information about the history of graffiti and a Venn Diagram (comparison) activity. This is followed by a series of pictures which students need to classify as either graffiti or street art.
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.
The lesson begins with a consideration of the role art plays in society. There is a Bansky quote which encourages discussion about whether these murals would be quite as powerful if they were in a gallery or done by legal means.
There is information about how art conveys messages and a series of slides which name and explain language techniques used by artists with relevant pictures of street art supplied. The techniques are: allusion, rhetorical questions, repetition, pun, metaphor, sarcasm, verbal irony, a call to action and parody. This is followed by a series of pictures where the students need to identify which language feature it utilises.
If time remains, this is followed by a Click View viewing activity about street artists in Melbourne.
A glimpse into history! This source can be used to explore what Queensland students were learning about the First World War as it was occurring. The first section of this monograph is includes information about the Gallipoli landing. Latter sections feature poems and stories.
Source name: The School Paper: ANZAC Day 1916 (for classes III and IV)
Author details: Queensland. Dept. of Public Instruction
Made in: Brisbane
Publisher: Department of Public Instruction
Source type: Monograph (a detailed written study of a single specialized subject or an aspect of it.)
Source origin: These books were given to students in Queensland schools during World War One. This was the property of Violet Coley (daughters of Philemon and Sylvia Coley) when she was a student in Coleyville. Coleyville is a rural locality in the Scenic Rim Region, Queensland, Australia. The locality is named after Violet’s parents who emigrated from Halesowen, Worcestershire, England, in 1866 and settled in the area.
A Unit plan designed for a 9 week term. It includes syllabus objectives, a description of the unit, assessment task details and a list of recommended resources.A Scope and Sequence suggesting topics to be covered throughout the term is provided.
A Learning Intention and Success Criteria handout for students to glue into the front of their work books
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.
This unit allows students to demonstrate planning, evaluation and inquiry by investigating the role technology, in particular the internet and social media, plays in their own life. They will explore the advantages and challenges associated with changing technology and how they can be safe when using it. Students will evaluate and analyse how science and technology has advanced the way we interact and improve our way of living. Students will learn how science and technology can help out society in the 21st Century. They will also learn the effects that science and technology have on society.
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.
5 modified revision activities for students with verified learning disabilities. It includes match the definitions, a categorising activity and a comic strip.