Language: Italian
Target group: Stage 5 (Year 9)
Key concepts:
The key concepts I want students to learn are that:
- teenagers in Italian-speaking countries enjoy many of the same
leisure activities as Australian teenagers
- some sports in Italian-speaking countries are influenced by the
seasons
- there is a range of language that can be used when discussing
leisure time in Italian.
Targeted outcomes:
Unit of work: Leisure, hobbies and
Estimated duration: 4 weeks
pastimes
Why does the learning matter?
The learning matters because:
- students are able to make common links between their own culture and
the cultures of Italian-speaking communities, building intercultural
bridges and breaking down stereotypes
- understanding Italian-speaking communities requires an understanding
of how seasons can affect daily life
- students will be able to use Italian to discuss familiar topics,
establishing relationships with their Italian-speaking peers, including
classmates, pen-friends and exchange students.
A student:
5.UL.1
selects, summarises and analyses information and ideas in spoken texts and responds appropriately
5.UL.2
selects, summarises and analyses information and ideas in written texts and responds appropriately
5.UL.3
uses Italian by incorporating diverse structures and features to express own ideas
5.UL.4
experiments with linguistic patterns and structures in Italian to convey information and to express own ideas
5.MLC.1
demonstrates understanding of the nature of languages as systems by describing and comparing linguistic features across languages
5.MLC.2
uses linguistic resources to support the study and production of texts in Italian
5.MBC.1
explores the interdependence of language and culture in a range of texts and contexts
5.MBC.2
identifies and explains aspects of the culture of Italian-speaking communities in texts
Intellectual quality

Deep knowledge

Deep understanding

Problematic knowledge

Higher-order thinking

Metalanguage

Substantive communication
Quality learning environment

Explicit quality criteria

Engagement

High expectations

Social support

Students’ self-regulation

Student direction
Significance

Background knowledge

Cultural knowledge

Knowledge integration

Inclusivity

Connectedness

Narrative
Students learn about:
5.UL.1
Students learn to:

ways in which texts are constructed for specific
purposes



5.UL.2

ways of identifying relevant details when listening for
specific information
the use of multimedia for communicative purposes
5.UL.3

responding to factual and open-ended questions


collaborative and inclusive ways to achieve
communication goals
the manipulation of structure, format and choice of
vocabulary to achieve specific purposes
resources available to enhance or promote
independent learning
the use of technology to express ideas and create own
text
ways to support and sustain communication in
extended text
the importance of being aware of the choices that are
made to convey precise meaning
the contributions of diverse cultures to the local and
global community
cultural attitudes that add meaning to texts

5.UL.4



5.MLC.1

5.MLC.2

5.MBC.1

5.MBC.2

Intellectual quality

Deep knowledge

Deep understanding

Problematic knowledge

Higher-order thinking

Metalanguage

Substantive communication
Quality learning environment

Explicit quality criteria

Engagement

High expectations

Social support

Students’ self-regulation

Student direction



identify purpose, e.g. to inform, persuade or entertain, and distinguish
between main points and specific and supporting details
in text
make judgements about the relevance of detail in understanding text,
e.g. extracting ideas and issues referred to in text
participate in discussions with speakers of Italian, e.g. by using email,
discussion forums on the internet
maintain an interaction by responding to and asking questions and
sharing information
interact with reference to purpose, audience or participants, e.g. making
arrangements
select and incorporate particular structures to achieve specific purposes

develop skills in accessing appropriate additional information to expand
and enhance communication
access websites to transfer and manipulate data to produce a specific
text
describe features of text structure, textual coherence and cohesion in
sequencing ideas
evaluate the accuracy and appropriateness of structures when
constructing and editing text
reflect on attitudes and practices that differ from their own

identify and discuss cultural influences in specific texts



Significance

Background knowledge

Cultural knowledge

Knowledge integration

Inclusivity

Connectedness

Narrative
Structures:
Types of hobbies, sport and music, e.g.
Gioco a calcio, faccio la ginnastica, suono la chitarra, ascolto la
musica, guardo un film, vado al cinema, incontro gli amici / le
amiche, gioco con il playstation, gioco a calcetto, vado in piazza,
faccio la passeggiata
Present tense verbs: io, tu, lui/lei, forms
giocare / fare
suonare
Days and frequency: il lunedì, al weekend
una volta / due volte al giorno / alla
settimana
d’inverno, d‘estate
Likes and dislikes:
mi piace / non mi piace
Finding out when people are free
Reasons for choices: perché clauses
Mi piace perché / Non mi piace perché…
Sociocultural content:
Leisure activities in Italian-speaking
countries
Soccer as a national sport in Italy
Calcetto (table soccer)
Hanging out with friends in the
piazza,
la passeggiata and fare bella figura
Cross-curriculum content and
policies:
Work, employment and enterprise
(group work)
Key competencies
Numeracy (table)
ICTs (email, Internet research,
podcast)
Building the field:
 Watch DVD Album italiano, Theme 5: Leisure and note which activities students do in their free time.
 Watch movie clip from Esplora, available on DVD or online and note what the depicted Italian students do in their free time.
 Read stimulus sheet Che cosa fai quando hai tempo libero? Hai un passatempo? and discuss.
 Discuss in English the other activities students think Italian-speaking teenagers may like, and categorise them by seasons.
 Brainstorm associated vocabulary they may already know.
Intellectual quality

Deep knowledge

Deep understanding

Problematic knowledge

Higher-order thinking

Metalanguage

Substantive communication
Quality learning environment

Explicit quality criteria

Engagement

High expectations

Social support

Students’ self-regulation

Student direction
Significance

Background knowledge

Cultural knowledge

Knowledge integration

Inclusivity

Connectedness

Narrative
Suggested teaching, learning and assessment activities:
Note: teaching and learning activities marked with an asterisk (*) could be used as formal
assessment tasks
1.
Dictionary skills: students build a vocabulary board of the key vocabulary
items for display in classroom. (Writing)
Evidence of learning and ongoing feedback for
students throughout unit of work

Class discussion and teacher feedback on
appropriate vocabulary.
Students’ ability to complete the listening
comprehension. Teacher observation and oral
feedback.
Student self evaluation of successful
completion of activity.
2.
Students listen to interviews about what teenagers do after school.*
(Listening and Responding)

3.
Students make a list of hobbies and write a sentence about each which
includes whether they like or dislike the hobby and how often/when they do
each hobby. (Writing)

4.
Students interview five classmates about their hobbies. (Listening and
Responding, Speaking)

Student peer evaluation of successful
completion of activity.
5.
Students role play interviewing others and then interview a student in
another school via video conference.

Student peer evaluation of successful
completion of activity.
6.
Results of interviews are summarised as a class in graph form. (Writing)

7.
The class brainstorms ways in which likes and dislikes can be expressed
and record as a table or in Word.(Writing)

Student participation in class discussion about
hobbies. Peer evaluation of results.
Class discussion and teacher feedback on
student contributions.
8.
Battleships: working in pairs and taking turns, students say how they feel
about six different hobbies (hate, find okay, like, love). If their partner has
coloured in the corresponding cell on their sheet, then they have a ‘direct
hit’. (Listening and Responding, Speaking)

Student use of appropriate vocabulary and
structures. Teacher observation and peer
evaluation of successful completion of activity.
9.
Album italiano, Theme 5: game Cosa c’è in tivù? Italian television, types of
programs and channels. Compare with Australian TV.

Student self evaluation of successful
completion of activity.
Intellectual quality

Deep knowledge

Deep understanding

Problematic knowledge

Higher-order thinking

Metalanguage

Substantive communication
Quality learning environment

Explicit quality criteria

Engagement

High expectations

Social support

Students’ self-regulation

Student direction
Significance

Background knowledge

Cultural knowledge

Knowledge integration

Inclusivity

Connectedness

Narrative
Registration/
Date
10.
Students read letter, email or Facebook entry from Italy about a young
person’s leisure activities, and answer questions.* (Reading and
Responding)

Students’ ability to complete the reading
comprehension. Teacher observation and oral
feedback.
11.
Students keep a journal or blog for a week about their leisure activities and
then present their chosen week to the class orally.* (Writing, Speaking)

Student peer evaluation of successful
completion of activity.
12.
Students read advertisements for upcoming events (e.g. concerts, sporting
events, youth club), and answer questions. (Reading and Responding)

Students’ ability to complete the reading
comprehension. Teacher observation and oral
feedback.
13.
Students design their own poster, advertising an event of interest using
ArtRage or Photoshop to be creative* (Writing)

Student peer evaluation of successful
completion of activity.
14.
Pair work activity: based on the facts given, students guess the identity of
the famous person (Speaking, Listening and Responding)

Student peer evaluation of successful
completion of activity.

15.
Students choose a famous Italian or Australian sport, music or TV
personality and research them on the Internet, then design an ID card for
this person. (Reading and Responding, Writing)
Students’ ability to complete the writing task.
Teacher observation and oral feedback.
16.
Students use their celebrity ID cards as stimulus for further pair work or for a
game of ‘Celebrity Heads’ (Listening and Responding, Speaking)

Student peer evaluation of successful
completion of activity.
Intellectual quality

Deep knowledge

Deep understanding

Problematic knowledge

Higher-order thinking

Metalanguage

Substantive communication
Quality learning environment

Explicit quality criteria

Engagement

High expectations

Social support

Students’ self-regulation

Student direction
Significance

Background knowledge

Cultural knowledge

Knowledge integration

Inclusivity

Connectedness

Narrative
17.
Students write an email to a pen pal/classmate about leisure activities,
including personal leisure choices and frequency, class leisure time and
preferred leisure activities of Australian teenagers in general. Students tell
their pen friend what they have learnt about Italian-speaking teenagers and
their leisure time.* (Writing)
18.
Prepare a script for a podcast describing the leisure activities of the
class and then post it.
19.
Italian soccer game: to play, watch or play calcetto. (table soccer game)

Students’ ability to complete the writing task.
Self evaluation, teacher observation and
written feedback

Student peer evaluation of successful
completion of activity.

Student participation and enjoyment of activity.
Resources
DET resource sheets 1-3
Album Italiano, Theme 5: Leisure, free time
Ecco 1, capitolo 5:Buon weekend
Esplora 1, capitolo 3: Text and workbook
Esplora 2, capitolo 3: Text and workbook
Ciao amici! 1, Unità 8: Viva il weekend!
Pronto via 1, Unit 16: Per noi giovani la musica è tutto
Intellectual quality

Deep knowledge

Deep understanding

Problematic knowledge

Higher-order thinking

Metalanguage

Substantive communication
Quality learning environment

Explicit quality criteria

Engagement

High expectations

Social support

Students’ self-regulation

Student direction
Significance

Background knowledge

Cultural knowledge

Knowledge integration

Inclusivity

Connectedness

Narrative
Evaluation and variation:
(Considerations: Time allocated for unit; variety of teaching strategies used; opportunities for teacher feedback and student reflection; suitability of resources; suitability of
ICT/laptop activities; literacy/numeracy links)
Date commenced:
Date completed:
Class Teacher signature:
Head Teacher signature:
Intellectual quality

Deep knowledge

Deep understanding

Problematic knowledge

Higher-order thinking

Metalanguage

Substantive communication
Quality learning environment

Explicit quality criteria

Engagement

High expectations

Social support

Students’ self-regulation

Student direction
Significance

Background knowledge

Cultural knowledge

Knowledge integration

Inclusivity

Connectedness

Narrative