Students are provided with a modelled descriptive task where students are required to manually or electronically highlight the figurative techniques used. Students are then required to create their own descriptive passage using these techniques.

This Life Skills Program of Study was constructed for students in Stage 4, 5 and 6 within a Support Unit. Resources are taken from various websites and the booklet used is a TES resource (thank you!) Some resources can be found on Save Teacher’s Sundays. Teachers within a Support, Special Education or even mainstream setting, can easily adjust this program to suit the needs of your learners. Any reviews would greatly appreciated. Thanks.

This is a wonderful introductory lesson on students thinking about what makes them unique and wonderful. They use the Collage pictures to create a cubist -style collage and compose a Cinquain Poem that is highly scaffolded to then publish their work. The collage and poem can be pasted onto some coloured A3 paper or card and put on display in your classroom. A fantastic activity that creates truly unique representations of your student’s interests and qualities. Any reviews would be appreciated.

This lesson was used to engage learners in writing with expression, basic grammar and visual literacy. Students at every level of ability can access this text and get something out of it. This text and activities work well with students who are usually disengaged from their learning.

This Life Skills Program of Study was designed to be delivered to Stage 4, 5 and 6 throughout an Australian Support Unit. The program makes various adjustments to meet the needs of learners who have a mild to moderate intellectual disability. The teaching and learning activities and resources are tailored to meet the age-appropriate needs of Secondary students and adjustments can easily be made to meet the highly personalised needs of your students. Any reviews or feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

This Life Skills Program of Study was constructed for students in Stage 4, 5 and 6 within a Support Unit. Resources are taken from various websites and the booklet used is a TES resource (thank you!) Teachers within a Support, Special Education or even mainstream setting, can easily adjust this program to suit the needs of your learners. Any reviews would greatly appreciated. Thanks.

The unit allows students to become readers, writers and performers of written news. This program follows the otline of the wonderful BBC News Unit of Study on TES. Students will access a variety of news articles so that they can identify the common features and apply these when composing their own recount news article. Students will then extend this understanding into the realm of television, whereby they will learn to write and read a script. Students will work collaboratively as class to create a Falcon News broadcast. Students will: • understand the key features and organisation of a news story • To understand the differences between fact and opinion • To compare written news / TV news • To use language which is appropriate to the task, reader/audience and purpose • To use skills learned in written news and apply them to TV news

This Life Skills Program of Study was constructed for students in Stage 4, 5 and 6 within a Support Unit. Resources are taken from various websites. Teachers within a Support, Special Education or even mainstream setting, can easily adjust this program to suit the needs of your learners. Any reviews would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

A useful and memorable grid for students in drawing on their five senses using the W analogy.

This mind-map demonstrates how a Thematic Unit of Study can be designed using key questions as Learning Intentions for your students. Cross-Curricular Thematic Units of Study work incredibly well when working with students who experience challenging behaviours and barriers to their learning.

This resource was designed to reinforce student understanding of Purpose, Audience and Form when composing texts. The assessment clearly states three criteria which students have to reflect upon after receiving their teacher’s comment and target. Students then evaluate on how they believe they went in this task and provide a response to the teacher’s feedback. I have found this form of assessment invaluable in setting clear and achievable goals that are personalised to my students needs, both in a mainstream and Special Education/ Support setting. I hope you find the same.

This activity is highly scaffolded in introducing students to their first impressions of the Australian film ‘Red Dog’. Students will need to have some understanding of basic film techniques prior to completing the grid as they watch the film or the grid component could be used in a second viewing. This activity could be used with either ‘Red Dog’ films.

This unit is designed to have students think critically about the advertisements they are exposed to in daily life. Students will learn a combination of persuasive devices used to persuade a target audience alongside the skills of visual literacy. Student will work with print, online, radio and television advertising material and learn to annotate these in detail. Students will be assessed on their ability to both analyse and create advertisements in these various forms with the unit concluding with students developing, planning and presenting a detailed advertising campaign on a new brand of bottled water.

The unit engages students in the study of two films, ‘Despicable Me’ and ‘Megamind’ as the Anti-Hero and what that entails. Students will learn the Visual and Film techniques both use in depicting their central characters and will then start using their knowledge in annotating key scenes from this. Students will again be reintroduced to the PEEL formula whereby, they will compare and analyse both films for their similarities and differences. Students will be looking at; the process of character development; narrative structure and indicators (especially quotes); film techniques and their impact on the audience. Students analytical skills will all come into play by the end of the unit, where they compose a complete 5 paragraph modelled analysis of the films and the themes and techniques used to show their character development.

This Australian thematic unit of work engages students in the study of three key areas of the concept of a journey; physical; inner and imaginative. It uses the film ‘Lion’ as a core text and other comparative material is studied including the Robert Frost’s poem ‘The Road Not Taken’; an overview of the autobiography ‘Tracks’ and the film ‘Big Fish’ by Tim Burton. Students will see the similarities and differences in these concepts and become familiar with the concept of the journey being the essential aspect, not necessarily the destination. The structure of this unit of work is based on the Stage 6 Area of Study studied in mainstream Standard English and modified to meet students’ needs.

The unit engages students in a close study of Michael Morpurgo’s novel ‘Kensuke’s Kingdom’. Students will explore the themes, characters and techniques developed by the author and illustrate their understanding of these via a combination of creative and analytical tasks. Students will: • understand the features of a characterisation, narrative and themes and identify these throughout a close reading of the novel • develop their ability to infer meaning from the novel and consider their own interpretation of the concepts covered. • be introduced to analytical writing via the PEE formula and use quotations to support their points of view in their writing • recognise some basic narrative techniques and explain their use and effect on the viewer • adopt these narrative techniques in their own creative writing • use multimedia to compose an engaging Book Trailer. Any reviews or feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

This resource was developed to meet the needs of an IO class within a Secondary Support Unit (SEN). It has been constructed for a Year 9-11 class who experience an intellectual disability and adjustments can easily be made to meet the needs of your learners. Any reviews or feedback would be greatly appreciated.

These resources were designed for a high ability Year 7 class and led to creation of a Personal Narrative Folio consisting of 3 pieces of descriptive writing. Task 1: A description of a student’s first day of school Task 2: A description of a person a student admires Task 3: A recount of a student’s experience at school camp with an emphasis on using sensory imagery A marking rubric is included.

This is a simple yet highly effective worksheet in which students who experience challenging behaviours, sit down together (with teacher and SLSO/ Aide support) to share their ‘triggers’. These are noted on the sheet and the group discussed possible strategies for each student. This task encourages empathy and teamwork as the students work to identify their own barriers to their learning and/or communication with others, whilst thinking about their peers and what supports they may need when they are struggling. These sheets (best done in A3) can be displayed in the classroom so as to reinforce the significance and effectiveness of this task.

These differentiated resources introduce students to Haiku, Tanka and Renga Japanese poetry by examining the form, use of syllables and environmental themes. The PowerPoints and accompanying worksheets are highly scaffolded and would work well in both a mainstream and Support classroom setting.