Three resources designed for a year 9 theology unit where students interview lay people from various churches in their hometown to develop an understanding of the role of the laity within each church. According to the curriculum they must "examine ways in which believers live their Christian vocation, and distinguish between their participation in the priestly, prophetic and kingly work of Jesus Christ." !) Task sheet for their summative assessment item (an ethnographic study.) An ethnographic study is a method of investigation that studies the culture of a society using research as well as field reporting techniques like interviewing. Their findings will be presented in a report format. 2) A booklet to guide students through their ethnographic study (including developing appropriate questions, researching Jesus' values and actions, researching each church prior to the interviews etc.) It also includes a retrieval chart for students to record the answers to their interview questions into & an explanation of how students should set out their report and what should be in it. 3) A report template for the students to write their final report into.

A unit designed in an Australian Catholic school which could be easily modified for other contexts. The unit entitled 'Walking in Christ's Footsteps' poses two big questions to students - Do people in my community walk in Christ’s footsteps? Why should I walk in Jesus Christ’s footsteps? It then outlines the learning activities which will occur. The unit has been designed to follow the TELSTAR method of inquiry and has drawn on a range of recommended Inquiry Based Learning pedagogy. It has been designed to be as interactive as possible. Within the unit students will explores how Jesus lived on Earth and the examples he left for us. They will learn how lay people from various Christian churches within their local community walk in Christ’s footsteps (aka live their Christian vocation. They will discover why we have the sacraments of initiation (baptism, confirmation and the eucharist.) They will see how Christians serve Christ through worship and prayer but also through charity (living his mission by serving other people and speaking out against social injustices.) Their final assessment is to interview lay people from a range of churches in their local area and write a report to demonstrate their findings.

A PowerPoint designed for a year 9 Theology unit on Social Justice. It introduces students to each of the Catholic Social Teachings (What they are and how they can be upheld). This can be a useful starting point for discussion of students own values or can be used to then encourage students to identify scripture which supports each of these CST's.

This PowerPoint was designed for use in an Australian Catholic School as part of a year 9 theology unit. It introduces students to the eight beatitudes of Jesus & the ten commandments. The PowerPoint includes activities where the students consider the relevance of these and how they relate to their own lives. It also includes links to YouTube clips which further explain these concepts and a research activity where students compare these to the articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

6 resources used to scaffold a short story assessment task for a year 12 authority English class in Queensland Australia. the task sheet explaining task requirements and the marking rubric. A PowerPoint further explaining the task. It also reviews the major elements of a narrative including:  plot (aka the structure), setting, characterisation, language devices and the types of narrator. a worksheet of planning steps the students should use prior to writing to ensure they have addressed all elements of the task. 4 & 5) two example assessments to go through with students to further exemplify the genre conventions they should be using. A peer review activity for students to complete prior to submitting their draft.

1) PowerPoint: The construction of characterization, plot and setting in Slave. This PowerPoint was designed to help prepare students for a short story assessment where they were to write from a marginalized character's perspective in the autobiography Slave. Within the lesson students will explore how Mende and her journalist co-write established characters and setting within the novel through the use of various writing techniques. 2) Document for students to take their notes into with extracts from the text for students to analyse.

6 resources utilised in a 12 English Authority unit in Queensland Australia. 1) A PowerPoint taking students through the history of Sudan. It begins by introducing students to key terms including: coup, constitution, fundamentalist, Islam, junta and secession. These terms are integral to understanding the events in Slave as the author's life was influenced by the political events occurring in society at the time. After a brief overview of the early history, it delves into the civil war (1980s-1990s). Lastly it looks at contemporary politics (since 2002). 2) A handout of the notes about the history of Sudan (which were taken from the Oxford dictionary of contemporary world history). This can be given to students who struggle to summarise or used for purposes of revision. 3) Further research about Slave and the Nuba culture. 4) A handout to be given to students at the beginning of the term explaining the purpose of the unit and outlining what the two items of assessment are. 5) A diagram which shows the various influences on the author as she wrote her autobiography.

Anyone who thinks that slavery went the way of the nineteenth century will be disabused of that belief when reading “Slave: My True Story”  written by Mende Nazer, a Sudanese Nuba, along with Damien Lewis, a British journalist. This book gives a chilling overview of the modern slave trade from the perspective of one who was victimized by it. Human trafficking, unfortunately, is alive and well as a weapon of war in the late twentieth and twenty-first century. This resource is a PowerPoint presentation designed for use in a 12 English Authority class in Queensland Australia. It introduces students to the concepts of cultural context and social situations and how both can influence the author. This lesson prepares students to answer the following question: What is the social impact of the text? i.e. is it recycling or reinforcing cultural assumptions? Within this lesson students will learn about the Nuba people – cultural practices e.g. scarification, beads, wrestling, religious beliefs, dwellings, diet, languages & female genital mutilation. In addition to information, images and videos of some of these are provided. It also includes some information about save trading in Sudan. At the end of the PowerPoint are some sample answers to the chapter questions for chapters 1-8.

A task sheet for a year 10 English assessment (Australian curriculum). Also provided is the planning and writing steps in a scaffolding document. The scaffolding is invaluable as it helps students to plan to address the key criteria prior to writing the task. In particular they evaluate how text structures and language features can be used to influence audience response.

These are the homework resources for a year 12 Authority English unit delivered in Queensland, Australia. The focus for this unit is the comprehensive study of a text that explores a different culture (the autobiography Slave by Mende Nazer). Through examining the autobiographies underlying ideologies and themes, students will be exposed to social and cultural experiences that are far removed from their own. In particular, students will explore the controversial and confrontational issues privileged in the selected text. Engaging with a culturally rich text will allow students to develop empathy and connect other cultural experiences with their own lived experience. Resource 1: List of vocabulary (spelling words) for the term - students are to learn 24 words per week. Resource 2: List of terms that students should know by the end of year 12 which can be used as extension for gifted students. Resource 3: A list of comprehension questions written to assess students knowledge of each chapter of the autobiography. This is a good tool for consolidating knowledge and will be useful revision when they need to develop an idea for their assessment tasks.

One PowerPoint taken from a year 10 English unit taught in an Australian school. This PowerPoint is comprehensive and could be used over a few lessons. Within the unit Students compare and contrast the social, moral and ethical themes in the novel 'The Hunger Games.' Students are being prepared to evaluate how text structures and language features can be used to influence audience response. This presentation focuses on two moral issues within the text: Inequality and murder. It begins with a definition of inequality and listing the various types of inequality. This is followed by a YouTube video (a vox pop about Inequality in America) to clarify student's understandings of these issues. Subsequently, students are introduced to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and some of the important articles within this document. Students watch a clip from the second film and must identify which of those rights are being violated in the text. Information is provided contrasting life in District 12 with life in The Capitol. Extracts are provided for students to analyse to see how Collins constructs this inequality through her use of language devices. Different examples of inequality within the novel are provided. Reflection questions are provided at the end of this section for students to demonstrate what they have learned. In the murder section students are introduced to the terms murder and manslaughter and the differences between these crimes. Discussion questions are provided to get students to share their views on this issue. The PowerPoint then looks into the Christian perspective on murder focusing on scripture including one of the ten commandments. Following this the focus turns to killing within The Hunger Games and the various characters attitudes towards this. Film clips, quotes or summaries of each time Katniss kills in the games are provided.

Resource 1: PowerPoint This lesson introduces the concept of lying broadly before zooming in to focus on how the moral issue is shown in the novel. Students are introduced to the types of lie (white lie, fabrication, bold faced lies). Discussion questions are posed on the PowerPoint to encourage students to share their views on the issue. There is a short clip from the film Liar Liar to provide a humorous stimulus for discussion. Following this students will read the feature article 'Are white lies dead in the age of social media?' As they read the various language and visual features will be pointed out to them (as they will be writing a feature article for their mid term assessment). After reading the article there are activities for students to complete including defining some terms from the article and answering literal, inferred and applied level comprehension questions. Subsequently, the lesson introduces the various types of lies in the novel. The PPT includes extracts from the text where people are shown discussing lying or telling a lie. These extracts are followed by discussion/comprehension questions. Resource 2: a feature article taken from 'The Australian' (newspaper) in 2017 about white lies which students will explore in this lesson.

Prior to students learning about moral issues in The Hunger Games, they must first learn what morals are and have a chance to identify them in other texts. This PowerPoint teaches students what terms including moral, morality and immoral mean. Students are also introduced to the news genre and its purpose. They learn about how regular news stories are structured and their common language before reading a news story with a moral issue in it. After reading the article there are a series of comprehension questions which could be answered individually or as a class depending on the abilities of your learners. These questions increase in difficulty and were written using verbs from Bloom's taxonomy. Resource 2: A copy of the newspaper article students explored in this lesson (taken from an Australian newspaper in 2017).

A resource taken from an Australian 10 English Unit entitled 'Contemporary literature.' In this unit students compare and contrast the social, moral and ethical themes in a range of contemporary literature texts, including films and the close study of a novel. Students evaluate how text structures, language and visual features can be used to influence audience response. This PowerPoint provides a dot point summary of these chapters and is followed by chapter questions which could have been set for homework or could be used within the lesson to check for student understanding. I have added one YouTube clip showing a relevant scene but you could add more if your learners prefer the broadcast strategy.

Three resources made for a year 10 English class in Australia. Resource 1: Spelling list (24 words per week, 6 weeks worth of words). Resource 2: blank glossary table for students to add their definitions and example sentences into. Resource 3: A PowerPoint introducing students to the text they will be studying (the first novel in the trilogy). The presentation includes a brief synopsis of the novel and what inspired the author to write the novel. Reviewing expectations for reading the novel and the homework students will be completing. It outlines what students need to know to successfully complete their two assessment items for this unit.

5 resources which are useful for teachers who want to prepare their students for NAPLAN. 1) Is a unit outline for a four-week skills focus 2) Minimum standards for NAPLAN year 9 (copied and pasted from the internet) 3) NAPLAN tests teaching ideas (copied and pasted from the internet) 4) A list of things to teach prior to NAPLAN that I compiled 5) A spelling list (24 words per week) of words that have appeared in past NAPLAN tests

This booklet has been designed as part of a year 8 English unit of work on Parvana (a novel set in Afghanistan during the reign of the Taliban). It includes activities about characters, the setting and language features which students are to complete as they read the novel. There are also questions about the events/themes/character's perspectives et cetera for each chapter. This is all in preparation for a creative writing assessment where students take what they have learned to create a written literary transformation (a short story from a marginalised character's perspective). Their short story has to focus on a moral issue within the novel. I have referenced the other study guides I drew on when creating this resource.

This resource was designed for a 12 English unit analysing war poetry. It is a suggested structure for a feature article analysing three texts.

Hunger Games 1 Student Work Booklet. This booklet has been designed as part of a unit of work on moral issues. It includes activities about characters, the setting and language features which students are to complete as they read the novel. There are also questions about the events/themes/character's perspectives et cetera for each chapter. This is all in preparation for a feature article assessment where students respond to the following statement:‘In times of conflict people disregard the social and moral norms of the time. This has been reflected in various fictional texts.’ Students must form and argument and persuade their audience to accept your viewpoint. They also had to analyse quotes and examples from the novel and use them to justify their argument. Within their feature article they had to:  Use specific examples of moral issues from The Hunger Games.  Focus on one or two characters in the novel (and their perspective of the moral issue).  Quote from the novel and identify language features which help position readers to view the moral issue in a particular way. You must explain the effect of these language features  Include genre features such as a headline, by-line, two columns, images and captions  Write in 3rd person and use a range of language features to engage your readers (e.g. similes, metaphors, rhetorical questions etc.).

This booklet has been designed as part of a unit of work on Catching Fire (the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy). It includes activities about characters, the setting and language features which students are to complete as they read the novel. There are also questions about the events/themes/character's perspectives et cetera for each chapter. This is all in preparation for a creative writing assessment where students take what they have learned to create two or three diary entries which provide insight into a minor character from the novel. In doing so they must reveal the personality of their character through what they see, think, feel, hope for and fear. Students were assessed on how purposefully they shaped their representations of people, places, events and concepts in the novel.