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 32 page booklet has been designed as part of an Australian film studies unit focusing on the 2002 film The Rabbit Proof Fence. It includes activities exploring characterisation, the beliefs of the time and analysing the aesthetic features (film and language techniques) which students are to complete during and after viewing the film. While used for year 9 in this case, it could be applicable for any junior secondary grade. It could also be used during NAIDOC week.
This booklet contains resources which would be useful for preparing students to write a range of genres including film reviews, feature articles, persuasive texts and analytical essays. There are questions about the events/themes/character’s perspectives and the effects of the aesthetic features.
It introduces students to concepts such as textual structures, language features, visual features, film techniques and themes. It includes information about the socio cultural context of the film, articles about the women on which the film is based, key quotes from the film, scaffolded analysis activities for key scenes, an introduction to evaluative language and how it is used to describe films. The final pages include an explanation of how to structure an essay (along with planning and editing steps).
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.
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.
A Scope and Sequence suggesting topics to be covered throughout the term is also included (as taught by me in 2023).
The learning resources (PPTs, worksheets etc.) for the unit are also available in My Store.
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 PPT which structures the lesson. It began with 10 minutes of silent reading as a settling activity. This is followed by a reminder of what social issues are. This is followed by a viewing activity on ABC iView – You Can’t Ask That’s episode on ‘Domestic Violence’ (from series 4). There are 7 questions for students to answer as they watch. This is followed by some slides of research I found. It includes a definition of domestic violence and the types. There is some information about the QLD Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act (2012). Some key points from the Act are included in dot point form. After this students were split into groups and had to design a poster. There were 7 different options. This was followed by some information about conjunctions as a cool down.
A worksheet with the viewing questions
A PowerPoint taking students through the assessment task (a 4-6 minute multimodal presentation). It includes a list of possible issues under the following categories: environmental issues; human rights issues; mental health issues and cultural / heritage issues. The requirements for filming their speech are included. Information about devices available to film their speeches on are provided. information is also provided about the live presentations and the requirement to submit a recorded draft. The importance of not getting an N is explained. Following this, the criteria is explained (I have turned these into student friendly “I can” statements.) Following this there is an exemplar speech about “Youth Mental Health” to read as a class. Afterwards the various parts of a persuasive speech are explained [thesis > introductions > body paragraphs > conclusion]. Then students are shown the specific structure intended for their 4 body paragraphs. Then they have time to work on their planning booklet.
A copy of the “I Can” Statements
The planning booklet which students used (it contained research prompts and planning steps before they began writing)
The PowerPoint which guides the lesson. There is a viewing activity from ABC iView about Juvenile detention and some research which I found online. At the end of this PPT are some slides taking students through our school’s oral assessment policy and rules for submitting pre-recorded speeches.
A handout which contains two settling activities to use at the beginning of the lesson. Firstly, there is a jumbled-up paragraph about recycling. Students need to read this and number 1-6 the correct order. Secondly, there is a persuasive text about climate change. Students need to identify and label the persuasive language features in this stimulus text.
A homework task [retrieval chart] where students are to research juvenile detention (in Australia).
A lesson plan – designed for a supervision teacher.
A PPT designed to introduce 10 Legal studies students to criminal law. It begins with the Rule of Law pyramid and an explanation of the main principles of the legal system (fairness and equality before the law). Students are introduce to some key terms to write in their glossary (common law and doctrine of precedent). They are introduced to the Queensland Criminal Code Act 1899 as well as a list of some other Acts which deal with specific criminal offences, such as drug offences and traffic offences. They are then introduced to the investigation process after an alleged criminal situation is reported. The various potential stakeholders in a crime are explained. Students are introduced to the concept of evidence and the process required for collecting evidence (as outlined in the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act of Queensland). The difference between direct and circumstantial evidence is explained. There is a video for students to watch to understand their rights when engaging with police. Information is provided about what happens when you are charged with an offence. This is followed by information about the rights of Police. Information is provided about Legal Aid (legal assistance available to people from low socio-economic backgrounds in Queensland).
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.
1) PowerPoint - This lesson focuses on teaching students about the context of World War One so that they have some frame of reference for approaching the poems written in this period. Afterwards, it explores how the perceptions of war in poetry changed during this period from patriotic beliefs in its valour to disillusionment as World War One saw a complete change in the way wars were fought and the attitudes towards them. This lesson opens with checking students prior knowledge of WW1. It then explains what the world was like during the 19th Century and the imperialist ideology. The beliefs of Europe’s’ Great Powers, the major causes of WW1, The assassination of Franz Ferdinand: A Shot that Changed the World, societal beliefs about war at the time, exploring propaganda posters from World War One, new technologies used in this war and the outcomes of the war. Things we will learn by the study of poetry from the First World War.
A fun PPT I put together for the end of the year. It has 10 questions per round.
The rounds include:
Films of 2024 (identifying from pictures)
Next lines (given a line of a Christmas carol and must write next line)
Famous faces (identifying celebrities from pictures of part of their face / body)
Christmas tv viewing (identifying Xmas films from still images)
Christmas trivia
Songs of 2024 (watch a YouTube clip which has snippets of songs from this year)
News of 2024 [questions about events which happened this year]
Films of 2023
News of 2023
This is a worksheet to the SBS series First Australians Episode 1: They have come to stay. This resource was made for use in an 11 Modern History classroom in Queensland, Australia. I have also included a scanned copy of my teacher answer sheet.
According to SBS, “First Australians chronicles the birth of contemporary Australia as never told before, from the perspective of its first people. First Australians explores what unfolds when the oldest living culture in the world is overrun by the world’s greatest empire.”
Episode 1 focuses on Sydney and New South Wales (1788–1824). It includes the first contact, friendships formed between powerful men such as Governor Arthur Phillip and the Aboriginal Bennelong. The smallpox epidemic. The bloodshed and conflicts which arose as settlers spread out across the land.
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 ppt which explores how the literary devices are used in texts that represent teenagers. Teen specific examples of parody including clips from 'Not Another Teen Movie.' Examples of sarcasm with clips from 'The Inbetweeners' tv show (no swearing). The impact of tone of voice. Introducing other techniques: exaggeration, burlesque, irony (with a clip from the Little Rascals and Shrek). Then it looks at clips of J'amie from Summer Heights High and an example monologue about this scene written by a past student.
The first two lessons in a year 9 English unit. Within this unit, students engage with a range of Australian literary texts including short stories, films and poetry, and literature for stereotypes including bogans, Indigenous Australians and bushmen etc. We also explore concepts like multiculturalism, fair go and mateship. Students explore how events, situations and people can be represented from different perspectives and draw conclusions about characters, key ideas and Australia’s identity, justifying these with selective use of textual evidence.
PowerPoint 1: Unit introduction
Classroom expectations, Homework expectations, Expectations around use of laptops in the classroom and an introduction to the unit. It includes questions to prompt students to brainstorm their prior knowledge. It also includes clips from advertisements including the Australia Day Lamb Ads for fun brainstorming activities.
PowerPoint 2:
Introduction to key terms: multicultural, patriot, assimilate, nationalism and juxtapositon.
Identifying Australian stereotypes within a music video parody
Defining the term Identity and teaching students how to answer quesitons using the RAF method. It includes example responses and then questions for the students to respod to.
Resources designed for the new senior Modern History 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 colonialism and Australia’s Frontier Wars (1788-1930s).
This is a PowerPoint which can be used in the the first few lessons of the term. It is part of a Frontier Wars unit which culminates in a 2 hour examination (short response to stimulus). The first part of this lesson explains what history is (followed up with a clip), an overview of the assessment for the year, goal setting, rules and expectations. This is followed by an introduction to The Frontier Wars including terms to be copied into their glossary. Subsequently, contextual information is provided to set the scene: an explanation of what Indigenous life was like pre-contact, how Indigenous people came to be in Australia, the cultural achievements of Indigenous people, their beliefs about the land, language and learning, social organization, the role of elders, weapons, art, face & body painting. Finally, I explain what other groups the first Australians met before Cook, touch on the colonial mentality of the English and the reasons why BRitain wanted to colonise Australia (a place so far away).
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 wordsearch. 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.
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 for use in a 70 minute lesson. It begins with a look at Vietnam’s geographic location and the countries which border it. This information is used to explain which countries have tried to invade Vietnam in the past. This lesson explores questions including: What was Vietnam like under French rule? & Why was communism so attractive to Vietnamese Nationalists? A key historical figure (Ho Chi Minh) is introduced to students and his ideological influences are explained. Afterwards a series of sources about Ho Chi Minh are included along with questions which students can either answer in their books or discuss as a class (teacher discretion). There is information about key events before and during WW2. Students are asked to consider why communism may have been appealing to Vietnamese Nationalists. Some key dates from the Timeline in Hoepper et al’s 1996 textbook ‘Inquiry 2’ are displayed and a range of sources are used to elaborate on these talking points. The term Viet Minh is introduced to students. Information about how this group formed, their attire and who they fought against is outlined. Another figure – Emperor Bao Dai is introduced as he is someone who is likely to come up in student research. A key source – Ho Chi Minh’s speech proclaiming independence on September 2nd, 1945 – is provided for students to read along with a series of short response questions. This is followed by a paragraph writing activity which can be done as a ‘we do’ or a ‘you do’ depending on the ability level of the class. The lesson concludes with some information about the aid the USA provided to French to try to help them regain control of Vietnam after the Second World War. The Battle of Dien is briefly touched upon as well as the Geneva Settlement and the subsequent partitioning of Vietnam into two states. At the conclusion of the lesson, successful students will be able to explain the historical concept of anti-colonialism, key individuals and groups involved in the quest for Vietnam’s independence and the factors and events that influenced them.
A handout designed to go with this lesson. It includes some information about Ho Chi Minh and a range of sources about him. For instance, The path which led me to Leninism by Ho Chi Minh – a primary source which outlines his reasons for joining the French Communist Party & his speech proclaiming independence on September 2nd, 1945. The handout includes questions but does not provide space for the answers (to save on printing).
**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.
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Resources designed for the new senior Modern History 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 colonialism and Australia’s Frontier Wars (1788-1930s).
PowerPointand lesson plan. Settling activity - copy the definition of bias. Explain the cognitive verb ‘evaluate’ and review concept of modality. Look at some conjunctions (linking words) which can be used in evaluating paragraphs. Subsequently, the lesson explores how to know if the source is useful before introducing the concept of corroborating sources (with a history skills video to consolidate this learning). Look at a sample exam question and deconstruct it. Then look at how to determine if a source is relevant (look at an example which focuses on origin, perspective, context, audience and motive). Then introduce the T.A.D.P.O.L.E acronym for a deeper level of source analysis. Afterwards, there are sources (about the Myall Creek massacre) for the students to evaluate (I use Gradual Release - we do then you do). Finally there is a PEEL/TEEL paragraph writing activity.
T.A.D.P.O.L.E handout with sources about the Myall Creek Massacre for students to analyse.
Example evaluating paragraph about the Hornet bank massacre (with labels to show key features).
Homework sheet - Sources about the Hornet bank massacre for students to analyse.(answers are included at the base of the PowerPoint).
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 wordsearch. 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.
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.
A PowerPoint and worksheet used to introduce students to the parts of a coffee machine, their functions and how to clean them. The worksheet includes a picture of a machine with arrows to each part which students are to label as they progress through the lesson. There are also underlined notes on the slides for students to add to a table on their worksheet. Included in the PPT is a brain break video from ‘Sorted’ (YouTube channel) reviewing a coffee machine. There is an extension part on the worksheet for fast finishers about the types of milk (whole milk, light milk, skim milk, organic milk, soy milk, UHT milk, almond milk, coconut milk).
Resources designed for use in an 11 Hospitality Practices class in Australia (2019 curriculum). Unit 1: Introduction to Hospitality, Topic 1: Beverage operations and services. My school has 70-minute lessons. The assessment at the end of this unit was an examination (short response).
This PowerPoint includes images of storyboards, an explanation of when in the production a storyboard is drawn. Information about what the storyboard convey and why you make one. It has a video The Killers Mr. Brightside for the children to watch and then an example of how you would storyboard this (using screen captures from the actual video). That way students will see the level of detail required for the written description. Following this, the PowerPoint also explains the rule of thirds and some things to keep in mind when planning your music video with pictures of what to do and what not to do.