Two powerpoints used in a 8 English protest poetry unit I designed. The first explores: What is critical literacy and why do we need these skills? How will it help us to understand protest poems? It introduces key critical literacy terms (ideology, privileged, intended reading, marginalised, silenced etc.) It includes a list of things it is important to be aware of when viewing or reading a poem/text. It also begins to introduce students to Indigenous Australian issues as these are the first series of poems to be explored. It includes poems about colonisation and questions to prompt students to analyse these poems. The second is an introduction to poetic devices which includes definitions and examples of personification, rhyme, onomatopoeia, alliteration, simile, metaphor etc. Additional resource: A handout I use at the end of the poetic devices lesson to check whether the students have understood what was taught (it is a matching terms activity).

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. This document introduces students to key terms like fact, opinion and embellishment. It includes sentences and paragraphs and challenges students to identify whether they are subjective/objective. It also provides some information about zoos and asks students to write a subjective and objective paragraph about the topic. The second section explores how verbs, adverbs and well-constructed, extended noun groups can position the reader to form an opinion or judge a person. It gives an example of a famous Australian and shows how by changing a few words you can change the connotation of the text. It includes comprehension questions to check the students understanding. In the third section, a subjective newspaper article about the Vietnam war is included for students to analyse. There are comprehension questions which follow this. The final section introduces students to the concept of tone and gives them a list of different words to describe the tone of a text. Students then look at an advertisement and have to suggest the tone. Subsequently, they read a bias newspaper article and answer questions about this. Finally, there is a writing activity for students which encourages them to write persuasively.

A PowerPoint to guide students as they read the World War One poem ‘Aftermath.’ It includes information about the author’s background and encourages students to speculate about how that influenced him to write Aftermath. As they read the poem there are little discussion-prompting questions and annotations down the side. Afterwards, students will suggest an intended reading and explore how the language features contributed to this message. Finally, students will review what they have learned about WW1 as next lesson they will move onto a new time period. The handout with the typed questions from the PPT.

Excellent for preparing students for NAPLAN, narrative structure. Naplan expectations. Example stimulus. Writing task.

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. **

A powerpoint. This lesson was used in a year 12 Authority English unit on war poetry (to give students context to the war prior to reading poems from this period) however, it is basically a history lesson. It includes information about the cause of the Vietnam and war what led America to become involved in what was initially a civil war (in Vietnam). It includes who was involved in the conflict, how the tropical conditions and nature of guerilla warfare impacted the US troops, the weapons used and the impact of the war on Vietnamese civilians. It includes famous images from this period, clips from films including Forrest Gump, Good Morning Vietnam and Love and Honor. It shows why people became disillusioned with the war, discusses how conscription worked, reasons why that war is unique and what happened in the aftermath of the war. A handout which contains the homework questions

As part of a year 9 English unit investigating means to be Australian, this PowerPoint looks at one of the earliest stereotypes about Australians: that of the rugged bushman. It focuses on the bushman stereotype and poems written by Henry Lawson and Banjo Patterson. This PowerPoint was designed to teach students how to: Evaluate the use of stereotypes in the texts explain how the poet’s use of language helps to create meaning in the poem and positions readers in a certain way. Explain what is accurate and what may be inaccurate about the Aussie bushman stereotype This lesson explains the origins of this bush myth and why it was adopted by Australians. It introduces students to poetic ballads including the Man from Snowy River (which they watch a youtube clip of and must then respond to a series of questions). It also includes a summary of challenges often depicted in these poems. Subsequently, students read a Henry Lawson Poem (Ballad of the Drover) to compare the writing styles of Lawson and Patterson. Poems are included in this resource (as a handout). This PPT also explains the link between bushmen and diggers, lists recent films which continue this stereotype etc.

A year 8 Eng PowerPoint designed to introduce students to the concept of intended reading while touching on the idea of resistant reading. It includes questions they should ask themselves when reading a poem to help them identify the intended meaning of the text. It includes the words to Donald Bruce Dawe’s poem Homecoming and some follow-up questions to help the students learn to do this together. They are then given a poem to read independently and suggest what the author’s intended reading might be.

About the PPT: A PPT designed to be used after students have viewed the film Batman Forever. It begins with an explanation of Two Face and his back story. There are images of his costume which students can describe in the Language Features portion of the retrieval chart. There are slides going through colours and their meanings – maroon, yellow and black. Some information about his props is provided. Students can mention any others that they have noticed. A quote from the news reporter from the orientation of the film is included. Students are asked to volunteer what attitudes they noticed. Some key scenes from the film are summarised to generate opportunities for students to identify his Values, Beliefs and Cultural Assumptions. These scenes include – his escape from Arkham Asylum, Murdering the Flying Graysons, Forming an alliance with the Riddler & Gate crashing Nygma’s event. A similar structure is followed for Batman and The Riddler. About the Word Document: A table I made containing quotes from key characters in the film which students can come back to when writing their review for evidence of character VABs. Context: A lesson designed for use in a 12 Essential English classroom in Queensland, Australia as part of Unit 4: “Representations and popular culture texts.” During this unit students learned about Hero and Villain films and how filmmakers use cinematic techniques to portray them and create an intended message. Their assessment at the end of this unit was to write a 4-6 minute multimodal (speech) to be delivered live or pre-recorded reviewing one of the three films shown within the unit.

About the PPT: A PPT designed to be used after students have viewed The Incredibles. It begins with an exploration of Mr Incredible and his two costumes. Students are to discuss what VABs they noticed in the film. I have provided some answer slides with possible options. This process continues with Elastigirl and Syndrome. Some information about supporting characters including Violet and Dash are also provided. About the word documents: A table I made containing quotes from key characters in the film which students can come back to when writing their review for evidence of character VABs. A teacher version of the report card. Context: A lesson designed for use in a 12 Essential English classroom in Queensland, Australia as part of Unit 4: “Representations and popular culture texts.” During this unit students learned about Hero and Villain films and how filmmakers use cinematic techniques to portray them and create an intended message. Their assessment at the end of this unit was to write a 4-6 minute multimodal (speech) to be delivered live or pre-recorded reviewing one of the three films shown within the unit.

Context: A lesson designed for use in a 12 Essential English classroom in Queensland, Australia as part of Unit 4: “Representations and popular culture texts.” During this unit students learned about Hero and Villain films and how filmmakers use cinematic techniques to portray them and create an intended message. Their assessment at the end of this unit was to write a 4-6 minute multimodal (speech) to be delivered live or pre-recorded reviewing one of the three films shown within the unit. About the PPT: A lesson designed to help prepare students to analyse and evaluate the films they view in class. The lesson begins with an explanation of visual features. There are mini activities where students have to describe things they see in still images or clips e.g. the costumes in the Incredibles film and Spider-Man (2002). Students then learn about non verbal communication including body language and facial expression – they are then shown 4 pictures to describe. They then view a clip from Spider-Man which they will discuss after viewing. This is followed by an introduction to soundtrack (music and sound effects). They watch the trailer for Aquaman and list the sound effects they heard and the types of musical instruments which were featured. They then view a scene from Spider-Man (2002) and do the same. Then students learn about 6 main shot sizes. They then have the opportunity to identify these using stills from Wonder Woman 1 and 2. The next technique is camera angles (eye level, high angle and low angle). This is followed by a checking for understanding activity. Students are then taught about camera movement (panning, tilting, tracking and zooming). They then view clips which exemplify some of these techniques. Next up are editing techniques (montage, transition, simultaneous time, slow motion). These are exemplified via short clips (hyperlinks included in case embedded video does not work). If time, there is also information about traditional language features including characterisation, figurative language and emotive language.

A reading comprehension activity which utilises the QAR reading strategy. Students will read an article entitled “Teenagers and social networking – it might actually be good for them” and then complete the questions.

PowerPoint: Watching an Australian music video to identify the various Australian identities and pastimes it features (to discuss whether these are accurate or stereotypical). Watching an excerpt of a sketch comedy program called ‘Big Girl’s Blouse’ (1994) where Kath and Kim originated. The youtube link to the sketch ''Kim's Wedding'' is included. Post-viewing questions and answers are included.

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.

A PowerPoint taking 12 Essential English students through another exemplar persuasive speech. The lesson begins with a settling activity – there is a jumbled-up list of persuasive techniques, definitions and examples. Students have to match them up correctly. There is a placemat which shows the skill ‘arguing/persuading’ and contains some suggested conjunctions and sentence starters. The parts of the speech and “I can” statements are reviewed. Then students go through a persuasive speech about climate change and consider how it was structured, the language features used and the suggestions made. This is followed by information about the good and bad parts of this exemplar and what they could have improved.

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. This PowerPoint introduced students to a First Nations topic - the potential for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament (which was a recommendation in the Uluru statement from the heart). It began with some context about the 2017 convention held at Uluru. It looks at the proposals made. Some information from the Reconciliation Australia website is provided re the need for a First Nations Voice and the need for a referendum to achieve this. The draft referendum question and the wording to be added to the constitution is included. Sourced from https://fromtheheart.com.au/ Information about what the constitution is and its establishment is provided. An ABC news clip from August 2022 when PM Anthony Albanese proposed the referendum is included. Some visuals of the Campaign Slogans are included as well as some quote from respected Indigenous Australians.

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. This PowerPoint introduced students to the unit and what the term ‘social issue’ means. Students had to brainstorm some issues and then these were sorted into local, national and international categories. Information was provided about the United Nations as the task for this year was that students would be delivering their speech at a UN youth conference in Brisbane. Following this, students were introduced to their first issue for the term: fast fashion. There was a viewing activity from the ABC. There were underlined notes for students to copy. Information was provided about how to spot a fast fashion brand. Some things to watch out for when purchasing clothes were also provided. There was an opinion piece (text) about fast fashion for students to read and take note of the language features used to position the reader. Finally, some information about fast fashion’s impact on the planet (pollution, water consumption, synthetic microfibres, carbon emissions) is included (via infographics, images and research from websites).

Part of a set of resources created for a year 10 English class in Australia (ACARA syllabus). The other resources are also available in my store – Aussie_Resources. A PowerPoint designed for use in a 70 minute lesson. This unit teaches students to be media literate and prepares them to do a speech where they analyse 1 x print news item and 1 x audio visual news item. The lesson begins with explicitly explaining the cognitive verb analyse and the process of analysing. There is an outline of some things that students will need to address when analysing in their upcoming assessment. This is followed by an exploration of some visual features which students can look out for in print and online news stories e.g. illustrations, colour, font choices, layout of text and graphics, positioning (within the newspaper/magazine), body language and facial expressions within photographs and shot sizes. After this there is a front cover of a magazine for students to view and identify the features in. the next slides include the remainder of the magazine story for students to analyse.

Part of a set of resources created for a year 10 English class in Australia (ACARA syllabus). The other resources are also available in my store – Aussie_Resources. Assessment scaffolding resources A list of key terms, language features and text structures that students can use to assist them with their planning A writing booklet which includes a suggested structure for the speech along with sentence starters to prompt student responses A PowerPoint template which has been pre-filled with appropriate headings for the assessment A handout outlining how to reference the following text types in APA formatting: websites, newspaper articles, magazine articles, televised news segments