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.
This resource includes:
An exemplar written by a student who wrote their essay about ‘coercive control’ to an A standard
An exemplar written by a student who focused on ‘trial by media’ and got 24/25
A series of PowerPoints which were used in lessons to scaffold this task (as students are in year 10 and have only done legal studies in year 9 and this year)
NB: In my PPTs I typically underline the information that I want students to write. The rest I use as talking points / visual aids.
A resource which I think Legal Studies / Civics teachers will find helpful. If you use it, and like it, please give me a positive star rating / review.
NB: My lessons have been designed for use in Australian classrooms and will often feature examples from Queensland legislation.
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.
Also included is the Learning Intentions & Success Criteria handout which students glue in their books + a more comprehensive Know-Do-Think table which teachers developed as a shared understanding of what we were looking for when marking the assessment.
This resource includes:
A PowerPoint used to take students through the requirements of the task and to help them complete part 1.1 of the assessment (responding to the event brief).
The task sheet
The planning booklet which steps students through the theory part of the assessment (planning, evaluating, reflecting)
The writing booklet where students type their good copy (headings and prompts included)
Resources designed for use in an 11 Hospitality Practices class in Australia (2019 curriculum). Unit 1: Introduction to Hospitality, Topic 2: Cafes, preparation and service of non-alcoholic beverages. My school has 70-minute lessons. The assessment at the end of this unit was running a pop up café. Students had to complete a planning booklet documenting their decisions in the lead up to the event.
Resource 1: A Unit plan designed for a 10 week term (with the assessment taking place in week 8 to allow time for beginning the next unit). The unit plant includes syllabus objectives, a description of the unit, assessment task details and a list of recommended resources (including visual media)
Resource 2: A Scope and Sequence suggesting topics to be covered throughout the term is provided. It shows the balance between teaching content and practicing exam cognitions and building students communication skills.
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 copy of the task sheet for the unit. This task is an extended response to stimulus task. This technique assesses the interpretation, analysis/examination and/or evaluation of ideas and information in provided stimulus materials. While students may undertake some research in the writing of the extended response, it is not the focus of this technique. According to the syllabus, “In Social and Community Studies, an extended response requires reasoned responses to specific questions. It allows students to demonstrate their ability to use investigative and thinking skills and to formulate ideas, make judgments and reach conclusions, which are part of the process of social investigation.” The task sheet includes suggested content for the speech students are required to write
A stimulus (source) booklet with a fictional legal case which students are to use as their case study for their speech.
A PowerPoint used in the assessment handout lesson. It includes the context statement, task description and information about the specific role students are playing in their speech (a police prosecutor). Regular checkpoints (mini deadlines) are established. This is followed by some more information about drink driving (the type of crime in the stimulus case).
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 multimodal presentation.
I pride myself on the quality of the materials I produce, I don’t charge high prices because I don’t agree with paying £10 for a word search. If you need to check before you buy, have a look at some of the free resources in my shop for a sample of the quality and depth.’
A Unit plan designed for taking up 7 weeks out of a 10 week term (students begin learning for new topic in remaining weeks due to year 12’s having a short term 4). It includes syllabus objectives, a description of the unit, assessment task details, information from the syllabus about Inquiry based learning + the extended response genre and a list of recommended resources. A Scope and Sequence suggesting topics to be covered throughout the term is provided within this document.
A Learning Intention and Success Criteria handout for students to glue into the front of their work books
A PowerPoint presentation designed for use in a Grade 12 English class. it was designed to prepare the students for their external exam (where they have to write an essay in response to a question / statement about the text).
The lesson includes:
• A quick quiz (11 questions) to establish prior knowledge (answers pop up when clicked)
• An explanation of language features (with examples provided). Terms included: paradox, oxymoron, allusion, binary oppositions, portmanteau, motif, metaphor, extended metaphors (aka conceit), personification, simile, symbolism,
• Information about the following techniques in Nineteen Eighty Four: allusion, binary oppositions, portmanteaus, symbolism,
• A language features quiz to check for understanding (6 questions)
Bonus resource: A word document table for assigning students a specific chapter to analyse (to contribute to the Class One Note)
Resources designed for the new senior General English syllabus (implemented in QLD in 2019). The syllabus objectives would also be useful more broadly for English students in other states and countries with an interest in this text.
A PowerPoint used to teach chapters 11-15 of Phillip Gwynne’s 1998 novel Deadly Unna?
We would read one chapter at a time (or listen to the audio book on CD) and then students would answer the chapter questions.
This PowerPoint contains a summary for each chapter and then slides with answers to the chapter questions. The PPT also includes links to ClickView where parts of the film Australian Rules have been snipped which illustrate events from that particular chapter (I did not show the film in its entirety as it has some parts where it differs from the novel).
This PPT also includes the questions for chapters 16-17 (no answers).
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.
A student work booklet for use while reading the novel Deadly Unna?
It includes: a synopsis, a list of the key themes, a retrieval chart for recording language features they encounter, a retrieval chart for recording the most effective textual structures within the novel, a table for recording key details about the characters (character names pre-filled), a set of post reading questions (for once they have finished reading the novel), some information about an event which inspired the novel & some activities to help students gather their ideas for their essay under exam conditions.
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.
A PowerPoint used to teach chapters 22-28 of Phillip Gwynne’s 1998 novel Deadly Unna?
We would read one chapter at a time (or listen to the audio book on CD) and then students would answer the chapter questions.
This PowerPoint contains a summary for each chapter and then slides with answers to the chapter questions. It also includes a homework / fast finishers activity where students need to find evidence for 2 themes in the novel.
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.
A PowerPoint used to teach chapters 29-35 of Phillip Gwynne’s 1998 novel Deadly Unna?
We would read one chapter at a time (or listen to the audio book on CD) and then students would answer the chapter questions.
This PowerPoint contains a summary for each chapter and then slides with answers to the chapter questions. The PPT also includes links to ClickView where parts of the film Australian Rules have been snipped which illustrate events from that particular chapter (I did not show the film in its entirety as it has some parts where it differs from the novel).
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.
A lesson to inform students about what criteria I am looking for in their upcoming essay exam. The task conditions are explained e.g. what students can bring in with them to their exam. An explanation of analytical essays is provided. It includes an explanation of the cognitive verbs: Explain and Analyse. There is also information about what language features they need to use in their essay (e.g. evaluative language, high modality language, specialised language, third person, embedded clauses, synonyms and linking words). Some important punctuation rules are summarised. Some sample questions are available for discussion. The Criteria for the task is unpacked (in student friendly terms).
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.
A PowerPoint used to teach chapters 36-41 of Phillip Gwynne’s 1998 novel Deadly Unna?
We would read one chapter at a time (or listen to the audio book on CD) and then students would answer the chapter questions.
This PowerPoint contains a summary for each chapter and then slides with answers to the chapter questions. The PPT also includes post reading questions and some assessment preparation. It explains the major text structure of the novel (division of book into ‘summer’ and ‘winter.’) Students are asked to determine what they believe the intended reading of the novel is. There is a paragraph writing activity about the representations of Australia within the novel. There are also key terms for students to define in their glossary.
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.
This lesson teaches students about the genre conventions of an essay. It begins with a warm up proofreading activity (an extract from p 10 of the novel). This is followed by an explanation of the term ‘Analyse’ with a QCAA poster. Following this there is information about how an essay is structured. The CAT acronym is used to explain the structure of an introduction. There is a table breaking down the structure of a body paragraph (extended TEEEL) and some tips about what should go in their paragraphs (Language features and text structures). Finally, the RAG structure is used for breaking down the elements of a good conclusion. Following this, there is a practice question which I teach with think alouds and co-construction.
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.
The lesson begins with an explanation of what themes are, and an image of common themes in literature.
Following this there are slides explaining the following themes:
Masculinity (and toxic masculinity)
Racism
The importance of family
Mateship
Duty and Sacrifice
Examples from the novel are provided.
This is followed by a practice question + some planning activities around this question.
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.
This lesson is designed to help students revise for their upcoming exam by reviewing the major settings in Phillip Gwynne’s 1998 novel Deadly Unna?
It begins by explaining what ‘setting’ means. An example structure for a paragraph about setting is provided (check boxes). An overview of the following settings is provided (including significant quotes from the novel).
The Jetty
The Beach
The Pub
The oval and sports facilities
The cemetery
The Point (mission)
The question we used in this year was “To what extent is Deadly Unna by Phillip Gwynne a realistic representation of modern-day Australia?”
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.
This lesson was taught in the phase of the unit where students were prepping for their upcoming essay exam.
It begins with a worm up where students had to look at a list of 5 characteristics and consider which characters from the novel Deadly Unna? had them.
This was followed by an explanation of citing conventions (how to in text reference). Examples were provided to show how to punctuate direct quotes properly. Then students were shown a table which contained quotes from the novel – they had to turn this into a sentence with appropriate referencing. This was followed by information about how to embed quotes into essay paragraphs – with examples for another text. 2 x poor examples and 2 x good examples are provided for ‘Rabbit Proof Fence.’ This is followed by time for students to plan their response to the practice exam question - Are the male characters in the novel realistic, outdated or stereotypical representations of Australian men?
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.
‘I can’ statements which break down the criteria into simple terms for students to understand (also assists teachers to mark the assessment with ease)
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 key terms to be defined, a place to reflect on and record what they know about the reasons for laws and other important information which they will need for their speech. It also a space to record their analysis of the stimulus provided to them (a legal case which forms the basis of the evidence for their speech). It also includes a graphic organiser for collecting information about the relevant laws which are applicable in this case and scaffolding for what should be included in the speech and PowerPoint presentation. A reflection to be completed at the end of the assessment including a SWOT analysis evaluating their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
An exemplar A standard inquiry booklet which can be used to assist with the marking process / to model key sections to the students.
An example IA1 task for the ‘Women’s movements since 1893’ which is studied as part of Unit 2 of 11 Modern History in Queensland, Australia.
The examination is an 800-1000 word essay in response to historical sources (2 hrs + 15 minutes planning time). Included in this resource are:
12 relevant sources which showcase a range of perspectives on second wave feminism, have a mix of primary and secondary sources and include some visual sources, a song, extracts from textbooks, newspapers etc.
The reference details and appropriate context statements for these sources.
A booklet of lined paper for students to write their response on
An exemplar response which received top marks (the student redacted some words using a black highlighter during the exam as they knew they were over the word count). This essay has been annotated by the marker which colours representing the various criteria (analysing, evaluating) or important features (e.g. putting forward historical argument, linking back to that argument etc.)
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 practice exam designed to give students the opportunity to practice meeting the key criteria and writing an essay under time constraints.
The examination is an 800-1000 word essay in response to historical sources (2 hrs + 15 minutes planning time). Included in this resource are:
A task sheet for the practice exam which includes scaffolding and a reflection for students to complete at the end.
12 sources which I chose along with their reference details and appropriate context statements.
A booklet of lined paper for students to write their response on
A peer review checklist to be used in a subsequent lesson
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). In Unit 2, students form their own knowledge and understanding about movements that have emerged in the Modern World. Our class focused on the removal of discrimination and exploitation based on sexism. Through our depth study we investigated the Women’s Rights Movement focussing on the changes in goals, strategies and challenges across the ‘waves’ of feminism between the late nineteenth century and today. 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.