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

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.

Do you have students who don't know the various parts of speech e.g. nouns, verbs and adjectives? Do you want a resource that looks at explains verbs and tense to your students? If so, this may be the resource for you. This worksheet can be used as a one on one tutoring resource. Alternatively, you can take activities from here to use as fast finishers or homework activities. You could even put this into a PowerPoint for a NAPLAN preparation lesson. This worksheet includes explanations and examples. It also features a lot of activities to test students understanding of what they have learned.

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.

Do you fear teaching students about poetry because of how you learned about poets in school? Are you new to teaching poetry and want some ideas of where to start? If so this could be the resource for you. This lesson is the first of many created to teach learners to appreciate poems, analyse poems and write poems of their own. Each of these worksheets has been made after consulting numerous texts about best practice pedagogy and each includes links to other resources you may find helpful (see reference list). This worksheet can be used as a one on one tutoring resource. Alternatively, you can take activities from here to use in a PowerPoint lesson, as fast finishers or homework activities. It includes a definition of poetry, some of the reasons people write poems and the effects poetry can have on the reader. It goes back to the basics of grammar looking at how poets use adjectives, nouns, verbs and prepositions to convey meaning. Example poems are provided for students to identify these devices in. Other poems are provided along with comprehension questions to help students see the importance of reading to glean meaning. There is also a section on tone which provides students with a list of words to describe the tones of various texts and activities to check for student understanding. Finally, it includes a vocabulary building and spelling activity for fast finishers.

Do you have students whose writing lacks cohesion because they just can't seem to connect their ideas together? The first half of this resource explains conjunctions and has a table of the different kids which could be printed as a poster for the classroom or given to the students as a handout to consult when drafting their work. Do you have students who don't know the various parts of speech e.g. adverbs? Are you approaching NAPLAN and want a way to save yourself some time while still having a quality resource to use in your classroom? If so, this may be the resource for you. This worksheet can be used as a one on one tutoring resource. Alternatively, you can take activities from here to use as fast finishers or homework activities. You could even put this into a PowerPoint for a NAPLAN preparation lesson. This worksheet includes explanations and examples. It also features a lot of activities to test students understanding of what they have learned. It also includes an extended reading activity (of a news article) at the bottom which challenges students to find all the conjunctions and adverbs in the text and explain the effect these vocabulary choices have on the reader.

PowerPoint - How to write a short story + extracts from Chapter Four of Black Snake. This lesson begins with a proofreading activity where students need to add the necessary punctuation to an excerpt from the novel. The rules for when to begin a new paragraph in a narrative (short story). The structure of a short story (narrative arc). The PowerPoint then steps through each part of the short story providing examples from other texts. It also includes an exemplar short story (for the upcoming assessment task) retelling the story of when Ned saved the Sheldon Boy from Ned’s perspective. Some of the key language features in the exemplar have been highlighted / colour coded so students can see the range of devices being used throughout. Subsequently it looks at the short piece of fiction at the beginning of chapter four. This passage is written from the perspective of a young girl (whose father, a trooper, was killed by Ned Kelly at Stringybark Creek.) This is followed by questions to check students’ understanding of the plot and how the author constructed a child’s perspective. Study passage - ‘Enemies of Society’ an extract from the beginning of Chapter 4. Some of the key language features have been highlighted in the word document. Part of a set of resources created for a year 7 English class in Australia (ACARA syllabus). The other resources are also available in my store - lrigb4. Designed for use in 70 minute lessons (with extra activities as a back up if the class is advanced). The focus text is ‘Black Snake: The Daring of Ned Kelly’ by Carole Wilkinson.

This lesson was designed for the second phase of the unit where students are preparing to write a persuasive text about Ned Kelly. This lesson focuses on reading the events in Chapter Four of Black Snake, responding to questions and considering whether Ned’s actions make him a hero or a villain (or a victim of circumstances). There is a video excerpt of the shootout at Stringybark Creek (from the Heath Ledger film). There is also a clip from the Victoria Police which is intended as a memorial for the policemen killed in action by the Kelly Gang members. It also includes information about the two letters Ned famously wrote expressing why he turned to a life of crime (The Cameron Letter and the Jerilderie Letter). It concludes with information about how the public opinion of Ned shifted from a negative one to a more positive one after the 1960s. The lesson tries to present all points of view so that students can make up their own minds about Ned Kelly and whether he deserves to be held up as an Aussie icon. Handout - proofreading activity (an excerpt from the novel). Part of a set of resources created for a year 7 English class in Australia (ACARA syllabus). The other resources are also available in my store - lrigb4. Designed for use in 70 minute lessons (with extra activities as a back up if the class is advanced). The focus text is ‘Black Snake: The Daring of Ned Kelly’ by Carole Wilkinson.

A lesson PowerPoint. It begins with a proofreading activity (an excerpt from Chapter 4). Followed by a review of the events in Chapter 4 of Black Snake. It then includes activities based on the opening section of Chapter 5 (including answering comprehension questions.) Students will be successful if they can: Identify the motivation of the narrator at the beginning of chapter 5 and explain the narrator’s viewpoint. Students will review the term modality and consider whether the language used by the writer (narrator) is high / low modality. There is also a creative writing activity for students to complete (an imaginative recount based on an excerpt from this chapter). A copy of the lesson plan Chapter 5 handout - the activities contained in the PowerPoint for distributing to learners. Part of a set of resources created for a year 7 English class in Australia (ACARA syllabus). The other resources are also available in my store - lrigb4. Designed for use in 70 minute lessons (with extra activities as a back up if the class is advanced). The focus text is ‘Black Snake: The Daring of Ned Kelly’ by Carole Wilkinson.

Part of a set of resources created for a year 7 English class in Australia (ACARA syllabus). The other resources are also available in my store - lrigb4. Designed for use in 70 minute lessons (with extra activities as a back up if the class is advanced). The focus text is ‘Black Snake: The Daring of Ned Kelly’ by Carole Wilkinson. PowerPoint 1 ‘Taking a closer look at One Stray Bullet’ - ** Reviewing what happened in the opening of chapter 3 ‘One Stray Bullet.’ This short piece of fiction told from the perspective of Ned’s sister Kate is one of the passages that students can choose for their written literary transformation {imaginative recount / short story}. The focus of this lesson is exploring characterisation (one of the creative writing techniques the author has used effectively in this extract) in order to prepare learners to develop their characters adequately within a small word limit. It includes a highlighting activity (colour coding the action/dialogue/actions/descriptions of the various characters in the passage.) The lesson also provides further historical context into the Fitzpatrick incident. It also includes scaffolding for if they were to re-write the opening of this narrative from the antagonists (Constable Fitzpatrick’s) perspective. There are 8 sentence starters to aid students to begin writing a practice narrative from Fitzpatrick’s perspective. There is a proofreading checklist for students to use after they have written their orientation. This passage can be used to gauge the students current writing abilities. PowerPoint 2 - Developing setting Assessment expectations – what language features students need to use to get a C, B & A. Reviewing key parts of speech that students need to know and use in their short story assessment (adjectives, adverbs, verbs & abstract nouns). Learning how to establish setting in a narrative. Top writing tips with example sentences. The importance of showing not telling. The importance of avoiding cliches. Planning to write a story from Mrs Kelly’s perspective (based on the events in One Stray Bullet). The lesson concludes with a creative writing activity where students write their own description of The Kelly House imagining that they are Ned’s mother.

A lesson designed to teach students the skills that they need to complete their inquiry booklet. This lesson focuses on teaching students how to evaluate whether a source is reliable and worth quoting in their essay. It also practices the skill of drawing key points from sources like web pages and news articles. A PowerPoint which introduces students to the cognitive verb ‘evaluate’ and gives them an opportunity to practice evaluating sources provided by the teacher. It includes an explanation of the graphic organiser students need to complete in their inquiry booklet. There is an explanation of how to evaluate to meet criteria 2.1 to a C standard and to an A standard. Then they read an article about Social media and try to work out which points are most important. I have modelled answers on the slide as a way of talking through my decision making process. I also have included my answers to the graphic organiser. This is followed by a ‘brain break’ (interesting video) after which students read another article and do the evaluation independently or in pairs. There are additional activities at the end of the slide for if the students progress through this more quickly than expected. A handout which contains the two articles referred to in the PowerPoint. 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.

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 lesson was designed to assist students to write a paragraph for their upcoming assessment which shows a range of viewpoints about identity theft / financial fraud (e.g. victim, victim’s family, scammer, Australian police, Australian government). It includes some recommended content to be incorporated into this paragraph (which students work out how to incorporate into a TEEL structure).It includes a review of Criteria 2.2 which is entirely assessed in this paragraph. This is followed by an explanation of where to find viewpoints.To ensure students get off to a good start, there is advice about how to plan and write a clear topic sentence for their paragraph. The lesson is broken up by a brain break video and then students are to complete their paragraph. There is also information about the next paragraph students are to write (and a homework task).

Chapter summaries Key Quotes Questions to check for understanding

Excellent for NAPLAN preparation or teaching the foundations of punctuation.

This is a PowerPoint which is useful for teaching the final act of the play. It includes dot-point summaries of each act, key quotes and some historical background into how to attack a castle.

A comprehensive scaffolding booklet which students are to use to conduct their inquiry prior to writing their essay. Teachers may opt to provide some or all sections of this to students based on their ability. It can also be broken up into handouts and used within specific lessons (chunking) with incremental deadlines to ensure students are on track to have found useful sources and analysed/evaluated these making notes about key features to mention within their essay. The booklet includes: • A brainstorming mind map for students to reflect on what they have learned throughout the term (used to aid them to select a topic to focus on in their essay) • A list of key individuals, groups and events prior to and during the Vietnam War (they must investigate an individual / group) to learn about their social, political or ideological views & their impact on the independence movement • Tips for developing a key inquiry question (including an example for another topic) • Tips for developing apt sub questions which are open and incorporate any of the 7 historical concepts which are prioritised in the Queensland syllabus • A graphic organiser for the student to reflect on their key and sub questions • A retrieval chart for students to keep their research organised. Students were advised that they needed to “Locate at least 10 historical sources (minimum two books and five primary sources – the rest can be from journal articles / websites / online sources) that present the perspectives of different people in response to your questions.” • Graphic organisers (using T.A.D.P.O.L.E acronym for students to note key details from sources that are worthy of analysis in their essay. I also added a section where they are prompted to reflect on the usefulness and reliability of the source (as students should be evaluating some of the sources within their essay). • Tips for developing a hypothesis (students should do this prior to writing their essay). • Tips for writing the essay including a suggested word count breakdown for each paragraph. There is information about the TEEASC body paragraph structure recommended on the History Skills website (as an alternative to TEEL). 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 PowerPoint designed to be delivered at the end of a term to introduce the next topic (Vietnamese Independence Movement). It is to be run in a quasi-lecture style. Students are given a Cornell notes template to take notes as the lesson proceeds. The lesson begins with three learning goals which helps students know what they need to listen out for as they note take. The lecture includes some information about The Cold War Era before introducing the origins and duration of the Vietnam War. It includes information about America’s involvement in the war. Groups including the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese army are discussed and cartoons and photographic sources are featured. Information about the terrain, climate and wartime experiences of soldiers and civilians are summarised. Clips from the film ‘Good Morning Vietnam’ are used to engage audio-visual learners. Key weapons (agent orange and NAPALM) are explained. As is the Viet Cong Tunnel system and their military tactics. This segues into the reasons for anti-war protest in America and includes information about how photojournalism influenced this movement. Clips from the films ‘Forrest Gump’ and ‘Love and Honour’ are used along with primary sources (photographs). **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. **

To prepare students for their upcoming assessment (writing a historical essay about an individual / group involved in the independence movement that they have investigated) this lesson focuses on paragraph writing. This resource includes a PowerPoint, a handout of sources about the Viet Cong and a homework sheet about the TET offensive. A handout containing a range of source types including extracts from textbooks, online encyclopaedias, biographies, illustrations and photographs. The PowerPoint begins by introducing students to the question they need to respond to in paragraph form. They learn the meaning of the term ‘modus operandi’ which appears in the question. Students are reminded of the importance of synthesising (one of the criteria in the instrument specific marking guide for this subject). Synthesis is explained and then students have time to engage with the sources on the handout and write their TEEL paragraph. Students have a checklist to use post writing to ensure they have met the communication criteria. Afterwards students are called on to share their answers and feedback is provided from the teacher about their responses in terms of structure, content, synthesis, evidence of analysis/evaluation of sources within their response, word choices etc. Then, if time permits, this is followed by a brief introduction to a key event: The Tet offensive. There are some clips to view to provide students with a better understanding of this event in preparation for their homework task. A homework sheet that requires students to summarise the Tet offensive, look at a famous photograph from the time and research its context & answer some questions about this image. **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. **

This free lesson was designed to remind students about the requirements of historical essays in preparation for drafting their assessment. It looks at the QCAA’s exemplar essay about the end of the Cold War. It goes through the instrument specific marking guide and what must be done to get top marks for each criteria. Students are then given a handout (included for free in my shop at this link) designed to prompt students to deconstruct the IA3 example from QCAA. After students are given time to work through this independently or in groups, there is a whole class discussion of the answers (allowing teacher to point out what makes the essay a high quality example). This is followed by some advice from historyskills.com about how to write an apt introduction with a recommended structure – B.H.E.S. This is followed by the T.E.E.A.S.C. Structure which they recommend for body paragraphs (as an alternative to TEEL). Finally, we look at recommendations made for writing powerful concluding paragraphs. If you loved the resource and think it’s worth 4 or 5 stars, please leave a review as this will help other people to know that my resources are high-quality. **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. **

The beginning of the PowerPoint is a handout of the IA3 task for 11 Modern History (a 1500-2000 word historical essay based on research). It includes a suggested word count breakdown for the various sections of their essay. There is information about what is and is not counted in the total word count. This is followed by an exemplar written by a previous student (not perfect by any means but with a lot of potential). Students are to read the introduction and make note of the strengths, weaknesses and how it could be improved. One lengthy body paragraph is provided which students can evaluate and check against the TEEASC structure. This is followed by a recap of tips for writing a conclusion and the student’s sample conclusion (very brief). A better conclusion from the QCAA is provided as a point of contrast. NB: to avoid plagiarism, printed copies of the exemplar should not be given to students. This is followed by explicit teaching on how to write a hypothesis (something that students must complete for homework and submit as an assessment checkpoint). It explains what a hypothesis is and includes an example from the historyskills.com website and other examples. There is a slide with an example vs non example to provide clarity to students. This is followed by information about how to test their hypothesis and fine-tune their argument. An example graphic organiser is provided to show how you then build from the final hypothesis to write your essay (showing how a writer dot pointed their ideas and evidence to justify each element of their hypothesis). This is followed by an example intro for students to read and identify where the thesis was featured. **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. **