DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND CHILDREN’S SERVICES
Unit plan
Name
C2C
English
Examining representations of Australia’s peoples, histories, and cultures
Year Level
9
Teacher
Unit
1
Class
Duration
5 weeks
Unit Outline
In this unit, students listen to, read and view a variety of information and literary texts featuring different representations of Australia’s peoples, histories and cultures to
produce close readings of excerpts selected from these texts.
Curriculum intent:
 Content descriptions
 Language/Cultural Considerations
 Teaching Strategies
Language
Literature
Literacy
Language variation and change
Understand that Standard Australian English is a living
language within which the creation and loss of words
and the evolution of usage is ongoing
EAL/D students may be bilingual as they already
communicate in at least one other language. Their
language knowledge is a valuable resource in the
classroom.
When examining the origins of English words, look for
examples with their roots in the languages of the
students in the classroom.
Compare the words of different languages in the
classroom (for example What do other languages call
‘kangaroos’? Why are there similarities or differences?).
Literature and context
Interpret and compare how representations of people
and culture in literary texts are drawn from different
historical, social and cultural contexts
These are areas where EAL/D students can be actively
drawn into conversations, demonstrating varying values
and cultural viewpoints.
If they are happy to participate, use students as a
resource to deepen this discussion.
Explore and reflect on personal understanding of the
world and significant human experience gained from
interpreting various representations of life matters in
texts
Texts in context
Analyse how the construction and interpretation of texts,
including media texts, can be influenced by cultural
perspectives and other texts
EAL/D students can provide concrete examples of this
from their own experiences.
Allow students to share their experiences (if they wish to
do so) and use this as a way of validating their differing
perspectives.
Language for interaction
Investigate how language used for evaluation can be
expressed directly and indirectly using devices, for
example allusion, evocative vocabulary and metaphor
The nuances found within any language are only
observable once a learner has gained sufficient
linguistic and cultural resources to identify them.
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Responding to literature
Reflect on, discuss and explore notions of literary value
and how and why such notions vary according to
context
This is an area where EAL/D students can be actively
drawn into conversations, demonstrating varying values
and viewpoints. Students in the Beginning and
Emerging phases may not be confident in expressing
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Interacting with others
Listen to spoken texts constructed for different
purposes, for example to entertain and to persuade, and
analyse how language features of these texts position
listeners to respond in particular ways
Listening comprehension activities are an important part
of language acquisition and should be encouraged as
part of a balanced language program.
For students who are in the Beginning and Emerging
phases, provide written texts so that they can follow the
script for support.
Listening to the text more than once will help support
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Students in the Beginning, Emerging and Developing
phases may not yet have developed sufficient linguistic
resources to identify evaluation in language.
Use word clines to exemplify the power and strength of
words. Explicitly analyse and discuss metaphors.
Provide the cultural and historical knowledge required to
identify and interpret allusion.
Text structure and organisation
Understand that authors innovate with text structures
and language for specific purposes and effects
Compare and contrast the use of cohesive devices in
texts, focusing on how they serve to signpost ideas, to
make connections and to build semantic associations
between ideas
This is an opportunity for useful work around cohesive
devices for EAL/D students.
Some languages/dialects (such as Aboriginal English)
do not have an extensive use of referential pronouns.
Explicitly address cohesive devices and show how they
work to make connections throughout a text.
Provide extra support when needed on referential
pronouns and on case in pronouns.
Understand how punctuation is used along with layout
and font variations in constructing texts for different
audiences and purposes
Punctuation and its use varies across languages (some
languages do not use it at all).
Explicitly teach all English punctuation and its uses.
Expressing and developing ideas
Explain how authors creatively use the structures of
sentences and clauses for particular effects
Understand how certain abstract nouns can be used to
summarise preceding or subsequent stretches of text
Analyse and explain the use of symbols, icons and myth
in still and moving images and how these augment
meaning
Symbols and images may generate varying
interpretations and implications depending on the
background of the student (different cultural
conceptualisation). These may differ from intended
interpretation in the original text. For example, a ‘full
moon’ can signal a mystical element in some cultures,
or symbolise beauty in others, or create a sense of
foreboding in thrillers.
C2C adapted with permission by NT DET © The State of Queensland
their ideas.
If they are happy to participate, use students as a
resource to deepen this discussion. Elicit information
from Beginning and Emerging phase students in a
smaller group context, and recast their speech as they
express themselves so that support can be given from
other students and/or the teacher if they choose to
contribute to class discussions.
Explore and reflect on personal understanding of the
world and significant human experience gained from
interpreting various representations of life matters in
texts
The nuances found within any language are only
observable once a learner has gained sufficient
linguistic and cultural resources to identify them.
Experimenting with them may prove challenging
depending on the student’s level of English language.
Use word clines to exemplify the power and strength of
words. Explicitly unpack and discuss metaphors and
allegory. Provide the cultural and historical knowledge
required to identify and interpret symbolism. Encourage
students to make connections and identify differences
with their home language/culture.
Examining literature
Analyse texts from familiar and unfamiliar contexts, and
discuss and evaluate their content and the appeal of an
individual author’s literary style
As text structures and language features vary from
language to language, an EAL/D student may not
possess the knowledge required for this task.
Discern what prior knowledge students require and
identify the level of scaffolding and support they will
need to engage with this task.
Investigate and experiment with the use and effect of
extended metaphor, metonymy, allegory, icons, myths
and symbolism in texts, for example poetry, short films,
graphic novels, and plays on similar themes
Analyse text structures and language features of literary
texts, and make relevant comparisons with other texts
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students.
Interpreting, analysing, evaluating
Apply an expanding vocabulary to read increasingly
complex texts with fluency and comprehension
EAL/D students in the Beginning and Emerging phases
will still be developing a bank of everyday vocabulary for
school purposes. The ‘everyday’ and ‘familiar’ are
socially and culturally defined, and so assumptions
should not be made about what is likely to be known
vocabulary. Students in the Developing phase will be
expanding this but will still experience confusion with
the nuances between words.
Provide students with realistic targets of new vocabulary
that they can work towards (for example five words a
day).
Use comprehension strategies to interpret and analyse
texts, comparing and evaluating representations of an
event, issue, situation or character in different texts
Facility with comprehension strategies should not be
assumed.
Identify the student’s level of reading comprehension
and provide support as appropriate, teaching the
necessary comprehension strategies explicitly.
Introduce new comprehension strategies, such as
inferring, using explicit teaching around familiar texts
Explore and explain the combinations of language and
visual choices that authors make to present information,
opinions and perspectives in different texts
EAL/D students in the Beginning and Emerging phases
may not be able to show the depth of their
understanding if they are required to respond in
extended written or spoken text.
Provide alternative methods for teaching, such as
graphic organisers, a teacher interview, or creation of a
multimedia response.
Creating texts
Review and edit students’ own and others’ texts to
improve clarity and control over content, organisation,
paragraphing, sentence structure, vocabulary and
audio/visual features
In order to edit their own work, students need to have
the linguistic resources to identify mistakes and
determine which are more desirable choices of
vocabulary and text structure. The work they produce is
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Explain the English interpretation of these symbols and
icons, and the origin of these interpretations.
Identify how vocabulary choices contribute to specificity,
abstraction and stylistic effectiveness
This is an opportunity for useful work around vocabulary
choices for EAL/D students.
Employ explicit strategies when modelling this and
enable students to take notes (and annotate these in
their first language if needed).
indicative of their abilities and reflective of what they
have yet to learn.
Peer editing or editing with the teacher can be an
informative activity for EAL/D students. Photocopy or
print out their work, cut up the sentences and
investigate together what effects can be created by
manipulating the sentence or word order.
General capabilities and Cross-curriculum priorities
Literacy
Students will develop skills in:

text knowledge: comprehend texts through listening, viewing and reading

compose texts through writing and creating

visual knowledge: understand and demonstrate visual knowledge

grammar knowledge: understand and create texts using text features and grammar
Critical and creative thinking
Students will develop skills in:

Analysing, synthesising and evaluating information through developing and using critical thinking and reasoning through close analysis of texts, and research and
knowledge of language

Generating innovative ideas and possibilities through probing complex and abstract ideas about societal issues and modify ideas in innovative and open-ended ways

Reflecting on thinking, actions and processes through using both logical reasoning and intuitive thinking to generate new responses and solutions.
Personal and social capability
Students will develop skills in:

Self-awareness: identify and express opinions, beliefs and responses

Social awareness: describe, clarify and reflect on their range of options, beliefs, values, questions, choices and emotional responses

Self-management: show maturity in the ways they express and manage their opinions, beliefs, values, questions, choices and emotional responses.
Intercultural understanding
Students will develop skills in:

respect: build understanding about the diversity of Australia’s peoples and cultures and appreciate their value and contributions to Australian society

recognising: recognise how languages and cultures shape values, attitudes and behaviours.
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Cross-curriculum priorities
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures
Students will engage with organising idea:
 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ ways of life are uniquely expressed through ways of being, knowing, thinking and doing
Students will develop an awareness and appreciation of, and respect for, the histories and cultures of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Relevant prior curriculum
Students require prior experience with:
 understanding how cohesion in texts is improved by strengthening the internal structure of paragraphs through the use of examples, quotations and substantiation of
claims

investigating how visual and multimodal texts allude to or draw on other texts or images to enhance and layer meaning

recognising that vocabulary choices contribute to the specificity, abstraction and style of texts

exploring the ways that ideas and viewpoints in literary texts drawn from different historical, social and cultural contexts may reflect or challenge the values of individuals
and groups

understanding and explaining how combinations of words and images in texts are used to represent particular groups in society, and how texts position readers in relation
to those groups

interpreting and analysing language choices, including sentence patterns, dialogue, imagery and other language features, in short stories, literary essays and plays

interpreting the stated and implied meanings in spoken texts, and using evidence to support or challenge different perspectives

analysing and evaluating the ways that text structures and language features vary according to the purpose of the text and the ways that referenced sources add authority
to a text

using comprehension strategies to interpret and evaluate texts by reflecting on the validity of content and the credibility of sources, including finding evidence in the text
for the author’s point of view.
Curriculum working towards
The teaching and learning in this unit works towards the following in Year 10:
 reading and responding to literary texts

writing narratives that extend the texts.
Supportive learning environment
Differentiation
What do your learners already know, do and value? Where do the learners need and want to be? How do the learners best learn?
Consider the individual needs and values of all students, including EAL/D, Gifted and Talented and Special Needs, and provide learning experiences that are accessible to
and respectful of the diversity of students’ cultural backgrounds.
Start from where your students are at and differentiate teaching and learning to support the learning needs of all students. Plan and document how you will cater for individual
learning needs.
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The learning experiences within this unit can be differentiated by increasing the:

frequency of exposure for some students

intensity of teaching by adjusting the group size
 duration needed to complete tasks and assessment.
For guided and/or independent practice tasks:

student groupings will offer tasks with a range of complexities to cater for individual learning needs

rotational groupings that allow for more or less scaffolding of student learning.

audio recordings of written texts can be used to support student reading (e.g. a reading of the Strange Objects and Undying Love extracts).
Feedback
How will I inform learners and others about the learner’s progress?
Feedback is information and advice provided by a teacher, peer, parent or self about aspects of someone’s performance. The aim of feedback is to improve learning and is
used to plan what to do next and how to teach it. Teachers and students use feedback to close the gap between where students are and where they aim to be. Teachers use
self-feedback to guide and improve their teaching practice.
Establish active feedback partnerships between students, teachers and parents to find out:
 what each student already knows and can do

how each student is going

where each student needs to go next.
Ensure feedback is timely, ongoing, instructive and purposeful.
Feedback may relate to reading, writing and speaking throughout the unit. In this unit this may include:
 students’ reading strategies, including skimming, scanning, identifying main ideas, summarising information

students’ writing, including paragraph formation, sentence structure, use of language
 students’ understanding about Australian representations in poetry, literary texts and images.
Use feedback to inform future teaching and learning.
Reflection on the unit plan
Identify what worked well during and at the end of the unit for future planning.
Reflection may include:
 learning experiences that worked well and why

learning experiences that could be improved and how

monitoring and assessment that worked well and why

monitoring and assessment that could be improved and how

common errors that need, or needed, to be addressed (e.g. grammar, spelling, punctuation)

differentiation and future student learning needs
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Assessment
How will I check the learners have made progress?
Assessment is the purposeful, systematic and ongoing collection of information as evidence for use in making judgments about student learning.
Principals, teachers and students use assessment information to support improving student learning. Feedback from evaluation of assessment data helps to determine
strengths and weaknesses in students’ understanding.
Students should contribute to an individual assessment folio that provides evidence of their learning and represents their achievements over the year. The folio should include
a range and balance of assessments for teachers to make valid judgments about whether the student has met the achievement standard. Refer to Year level plan for more
assessment information.
Monitoring student learning
Student learning should be monitored throughout the teaching and learning process to determine student progress and learning needs.
Each lesson provides opportunities to gather feedback about how students are going and where they need to go to next. Specific monitoring opportunities in this unit include:
Skimming, scanning and summarising activities
Skimming and scanning activities, practice summaries and class discussions provide opportunities to check student understanding and ability to skim, scan and summarise.
Monitor how effectively students are gauging main ideas and are able to paraphrase.
Analysis of images
Check students’ understanding of visual knowledge and ability to analyse and comment on objects, positioning, symbols, colour, text and style.
Responses to literary texts
Students’ responses to literary texts provide opportunities to check their ability to make inferential and critical readings. Monitor how well students can:

use appropriate terms and appropriate analytical language

paraphrase and summarise
 decipher main ideas (versus secondary and supporting information).
Check for understanding of visual knowledge and understanding of analysis and analytical writing.
Assessing student learning
There is no summative assessment of student learning in this unit.
Sequencing teaching and learning
What will constitute the learning journey and what are the contexts for learning? Who does what?
The relationship between what is taught and how it is taught is critical in maximising student learning.
Start with what your students already know and set goals for the next steps for learning.
Decide how to provide multiple opportunities for all students to explore and consolidate ideas, skills and concepts by considering how students learn best and by using a
variety of teaching strategies.
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Teaching strategies and learning experiences
A suggested teaching and learning sequence is outline below. For further information about learning focuses and teaching strategies, refer to the lesson overview and lesson
plans.
Australian identity

Exploring Australian identity

Interpreting and comparing representations

Summarising a representation
Questioning the text

Constructing an Australian identity

Comprehending through interrogation of texts
Representations in multimodal texts

Examining Australian representations in images

Analysing Australian representations in images

Analysing written responses
Examining literary texts

Responding to an aural text

Reading and responding to a literary extract

Analysing choices of vocabulary and structure

Examining a modelled analysis

Reading and responding to an unseen text

Reflecting on responses
Making judgements
How do I know how well my students have learned?
Teachers and students use standards to judge the quality of learning based on the available evidence. The process of judging and evaluating the quality of performance and
depth of learning is important to promoting learning.
Teachers identify the task-specific assessable elements to make judgements against specified standards on evidence.
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Achievement standard
In this unit, monitoring of student learning is working towards the following components of the Achievement standard.
Receptive modes (listening, reading and viewing)
By the end of Year 9, students analyse the ways that text structures can be manipulated for effect. They analyse and explain how images, vocabulary choices and language
features distinguish the work of individual authors.
They evaluate and integrate ideas and information from texts to form their own interpretations. They select evidence from the text to analyse and explain how language
choices and conventions are used to influence an audience. They listen for ways texts position an audience.
Productive modes (speaking, writing and creating)
Students understand how to use a variety of language features to create different levels of meaning. They understand how interpretations can vary by comparing their
responses to texts to the responses of others. In creating texts, students demonstrate how manipulating language features and images can create innovative texts.
Students create texts that respond to issues, interpreting and integrating ideas from other texts. They make presentations and contribute actively to class and group
discussions, comparing and evaluating responses to ideas and issues. They edit for effect, selecting vocabulary and grammar that contribute to the precision and
persuasiveness of texts and using accurate spelling and punctuation.
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Lesson overviews
Australian identity
Is there an Australian identity? (1of 3)
Interpret and compare representations (2 of 3)
Summarise a representation (3 of 3)

Share prior knowledge of Australian icons,
iconic texts, well-known Australians

Consider a different representation of
Australia

Revise active reading strategies with non-fiction —
informational texts

Analyse how the language in the song True
Blue (John Williamson) is used to represent
an Australian identity

Identify cohesive devices in the ABS text
[skimming]

Skim to determine the main idea


Paraphrase — generalise and condense information
Refine understanding of the text’s cohesion
[scanning]

Distinguish between main and secondary ideas

Write a summary

Generate a list of ‘stereotyped’ Australian
characteristics

Explain whether this representation of
Australians is still relevant in a multicultural
society
Differentiation
Resources
Australian identity
Text
True Blue by John Williamson
Cultural diversity overview — Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Picture of a Nation, 2070.0. 2006, pp. 34–37 (4 pp. in total) http://www.abs.gov.au/
Website — True Blue (Lyrics and audio available from http://www.johnwilliamson.com.au/music/true_blue_21.html)
Research background information on John Williamson and the times in Australia (early 1980s) when he wrote True Blue
Find and prepare
Research background information on John Williamson and the times in Australia (early 1980s) when he wrote True Blue.
Helpful information
White Australia Policy
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Questioning the text
Construction of an Australian identity (1 of 3)



Evaluate the effect on readers of text
structures and language features of a website
Identify how vocabulary choices contribute to
the specificity, abstraction and stylistic
effectiveness in the website
Examine how language and structure are
designed for the audience and purpose of an
Australian tourism website
Comprehension through interrogation of texts
(2 and 3 of 3)

Examine the importance of questioning a text

Identify effective questioning strategies

Apply questioning techniques

Peer review and edit questions applied to a
website
Differentiation
Resources
Questioning the text
Questioning the text: Website home page with an Australian youth focus, selected by each student
Questioning the text: Website — Lonely Planet
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Representations in multimodal texts
Examine Australian representations in images
(1 of 3)
Analysis of Australian representations in
images (2 of 3)

Revise how language and visual choices
influence the communication of meaning in
an image

Examine the visual choices made in Invitation
to the opening of Federal Parliament, 1901


Examine techniques, design, form and style
Identify techniques, design, form and style


Model a critical analysis of an image
Find an iconic Australian image

Identify and explain extended metaphor,
allegory, icons and symbolism in an image of
student choice
Analysis of written responses (3 of 3)

Examine and compare three written responses to an image to
identify how the use of metalanguage enhances an analytical
paragraph

Justify decisions about quality to the class
Differentiation
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Examining literary texts
Response to aural text (1 of 6)
Read and respond to a literary extract (2 of 6)
Vocabulary and structure (3 of 6)

Listen to Kevin Rudd’s ‘Apology speech’ and
complete a comprehension task

Read the extract from Strange Objects by
Gary Crew

Analyse responses from the previous lesson to the Strange
Objects extract

Listen again and complete a cloze exercise
with a focus on the language of apology

Respond to activities related to this text


Explain how the language used offers a
credible and heartfelt apology
Identify, in modelled responses to these questions, how
choices of vocabulary and structure of sentences create
particular effects

Write a personal response to the ‘Apology
speech’ based on a modelled text
Modelled analysis (4 of 6)
Read and respond to an unseen text (5 of 6)
Student reflection (6 of 6)



Peer review responses to Undying Love using a checklist

Write a self-reflection and set goals
Re-examine the literary extract from Strange
Objects in terms of specific language and
structural features

Refine use of active reading strategies (e.g.
margin notations, reading journals)

Critically examine those specific language
and structural features

Re-examine a sample analytical paragraph in
terms of specific language and structural
features

Read the extract from Undying Love by S
Brooks
Respond to activities related to this text
Differentiation
Resources
Examining literary texts
AV — Kevin Rudd ‘Apology speech’ (first 4:09 minute only)
Extract from Strange Objects by Gary Crew
Extract from Undying Love by S Brooks
Helpful information — Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders handbook (2010) published by the Queensland Studies Authority (QSA) — provides information about
appropriate language use and terminology (appropriate Aboriginal terminology and appropriate Torres Strait Islander terminology)
References
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/ Australian Curriculum Version 3.0 dated 23 January 2012
https://portal.ntschools.net/SITES/LEARNINGLINKS/default.aspx
http://www.scootle.edu.au/ec/p/home
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