Theme: Diversity
Key Concept: Perspective
Stage 1
8-10 weeks
To enable students to view, understand, interpret, question, create and analyse a text from
a main character’s perspective. This will deepen their understanding of diversity and
broaden their understanding and thinking.
Warragamba Public School, Stage One 2013.
Communicate through speaking, listening,
reading, writing, viewing and representing.
Objective A
Objective B
Use language to shape and make
meaning according to purpose, audience
and context.
Objective C
Think in ways that are
imaginative, creative,
interpretive and critical.
Objective D
Express themselves and
their relationships with
others and their world.
Objective E
Learn and reflect on their
learning through their
study of English.
Speaking and Listening 1
Speaking and Listening 2
Expressing Themselves
Reflecting on Learning
EN1-1A Communicates with a range of people in
informal & guided activities demonstrating interaction
skills and considers how own communication is
adjusted in different situations.
 Develop & apply contextual knowledge
 Understand & apply knowledge of language forms and
features
 Respond to & compose texts
EN1-6B Recognises a range of purposes &
audiences for spoken language & recognises
organisational patterns & features of predictable
spoken texts
 Develop & apply contextual knowledge
 Understand & apply knowledge of language
forms and features
 Respond to & compose texts
Thinking Imaginatively &
Creatively
EN1-11D
Responds
to
and
composes a range of texts about
familiar aspects of the world and
their own experiences.
EN1-12E Identifies and discusses
aspects of their own and others’
learning.
Writing & Representing 1
Writing & Representing 2
EN1-2A Plans, composes and reviews a small range of
simple texts for a variety of purposes on familiar topics
for known readers and viewers.
 Develop & apply contextual knowledge
 Understand & apply knowledge of language forms and
features
 Respond to & compose texts
EN1-7B Identifies how language use in their own
writing differs according to their purpose,
audience and subject matter.
 Develop & apply contextual knowledg
 Understand & apply knowledge of language
forms and features
 Respond to & compose text
H’writing & Digital Technologies
Reading & Viewing 2
EN1-3A Composes texts using letters of consistent size
& slope & uses digital technologies.
 Develop & apply contextual knowledge
 Understand & apply knowledge of language forms and
features
 Respond to & compose texts
EN1-8B recognises that there are different kinds
of texts when reading and viewing and shows an
awareness of purpose, audience and subject
matter.
 Develop & apply contextual knowledge
 Understand & apply knowledge of
language forms and features
 Respond to, read & view texts
Reading & Viewing1
EN1-4A draws on an increasing range of skills and
Grammar, Punctuation & Vocab
strategies to fluently read, view and comprehend a
EN1-9B
Uses basic grammatical features,
range of texts on less familiar topics in different media
punctuation
conventions
and
vocabulary
and technologies.
appropriate to the type of text when responding
 Develop & apply contextual knowledge
to and composing texts.
 Understand & apply knowledge of language forms and

Develop & apply contextual knowledge
features
 Understand & apply knowledge of language
 Develop and apply graphological, phonological,
forms and features
syntactic & semantic knowledge.

Understanding & apply knowledge of vocabulary
 Respond to, read & view texts
 Respond to & compose texts
Spelling
EN1-5A Uses a variety of strategies, including
knowledge of sight words and letter–sound
correspondences, to spell familiar words.
 Develop & apply contextual knowledge
 Understand & apply knowledge of language forms and
features
 Respond to & compose texts
Whoever You Are
-
by Mem Fox
EN1-10C Thinks imaginatively and
creatively about familiar topics, ideas
and texts when responding to and
composing texts.
 Engage personally with texts
 Develop and apply contextual
knowledge
 Understand and apply knowledge
of language forms and features
 Respond to and compose texts
 Engage personally with texts
 Develop and apply contextual
knowledge
 Understand and apply
knowledge of language forms
and features
 Respond to and compose texts
 Develop and apply
contextual knowledge
 Understand and apply
knowledge of language forms
and features
 Respond to and compose
texts
Spea
Resp

E
Writ
Resp

C
Read
Deve

D
Gram
Content covered in this
unit is highlighted.
Unde
and f

U
b
Speaking and Listening 1
Respond to and compose text

Engage in conversations and discussions that
relate to the focus text.
Reading and Viewing 1
Develop and apply contextual knowledge

Make a connection between the text and their
own life.
The story reaffirms the idea that
even though we may appear
different we share a common bond
of joy and pain.
Reflecting on Learning
Thinking Imaginatively and Creatively
Engage personally with the text
Understand and apply knowledge of
language forms and features


Share picture books and visual media for
enjoyment.
Develop an appreciation for books
Respond to and compose texts
Respond to and compose texts

Discuss ideas drawn from picture books

Communicate the purpose of a text
Expressing Themselves
Respond to and compose texts

Discuss characters in a literary text and share personal
responses to the texts, making connections with students’
own experiences
Teaching/Learning Activities

Objective A
Communicate through
speaking, listening,
reading, writing, viewing
and representing.



Objective B
Use language to shape and
make meaning according
to purpose, audience and
context.


Objective C
Think in ways that are
imaginative, creative,
interpretive and critical.



Objective D
Express themselves and
their relationships with
others and their world.


Objective E
Learn and reflect on their
learning through their
study of English.

Speaking and Listening 1
Respond to and compose texts
Resources
Discuss the front cover with the class (title and picture). Whoever You Are is a story that celebrates the
differences between children everywhere.
Class discussion about things that make us special and different. Teacher prompts may include: what are
you good at? What is your favourite food? What is your family origin? Etc.
Extension activity: Learn greetings from another language. If students already know how to speak
another language they could teach their peers.

Ask students to identify the words that are repeated by the author? Why does she repeat the words
“Whoever they are, wherever they are, all over the world”. Discuss common feelings and traits.
Students write a sentence to match the quote “Whoever they are, wherever they are, all over the world”.
For example, they like to play games. Students then draw a picture to match their sentence. (Writing
assessment)


Watch the video, Whoever You Are, performed by the Grade 2/3 class of Windang P.S,. as a focus point for 
the following activity:
Provide students with a blank Venn diagram. Using the two circles, students draw two different faces, the 
middle portion should be kept blank. Students then record factors that make us unique in the outside
parts of the circle (on the faces). In the middle portion students write similarities that they share.

Pair and Share. In pairs, students interview each other to discover interesting facts about their partner.
Students then share what they have learnt about their partner (speaking and listening assessment,
observation)
Students bring in family photographs to show the class and to discuss what they love about their family.

Reflect on the focus story and ask students to think about our differences and how boring the world
would be if everyone were exactly the same.
Ask students what they liked and disliked about the story.


Whoever You Are by Mem
Fox
IWB or computer access www.translate.google.com
Whoever You Are by Mem
Fox
Whoever You Are by Mem
Fox
IWB or computer access http://www.youtube.com/w
atch?v=uAilHtLsGgU
Venn diagram proforma
Whoever You Are by Mem
Fox
Photographs of student’s
families.
Whoever You Are by Mem
Fox
Mirror
by Jeannie Baker
Even with differences, in the ways that really
matter, we are all the same. We are the mirror of
each other.
Expressing Themselves
Thinking Imaginatively and Creatively
Develop and apply contextual knowledge
Reflecting on Learning
Develop and apply contextual knowledge

Respond to and compose texts

Respond to and compose texts



Recognise how composers use creative features to
engage their audience
Respond to and compose texts

Recreate text imaginatively using drawing

Respond to texts drawn from a range of cultures and experiences.
Discuss characters in a text and share personal responses to these
texts, making connections with students’ own experiences.
Respond to a text that includes issues about their world.
Discuss the roles and responsibilities
when working as a member of a group
Jointly develop criteria for assessing
their own and others’ presentations
with teacher guidance.
Teaching/Learning Activities
Objective A
Communicate
through speaking,
listening, reading,
writing, viewing
and representing.






Objective B
Use language to
shape and make
meaning according to
purpose, audience
and context.



Objective C
Think in ways that
are imaginative,
creative, interpretive
and critical.




Objective D
Express themselves
and their
relationships with
others and their
world.




Resources
Using only the cover (front and back) and title, ask students to discuss what they think this story is about.
By only viewing the front and back cover, ask students to write a description of the boys on either side. They should
include information about personality, age and where they might live.
Jeannie Baker uses visual images to make connections between the lives of the two boys. Make a list in two columns of all
the things you can see that are the same/similar in each boy’s story. For example, the stars in the sky each boy looks at
from his bedroom window. (peer assessment)
Using only the cover images, draw a table and list all the things that are natural and all the things that are made by people
that can be seen from each window. What similarities and differences do you notice?
Discuss what makes a family. Talk about your own family groups and the two families in Mirror.

Mirror by
Jeannie Baker
Divide the room into two halves labelled ‘Agree’ and ‘Disagree’. Have students move to the appropriate corner whenever
statements are made. For example, Morocco looks like a great place to live, Sydney looks like a great place to live,
Children don’t have to attend school in Morocco, Families don’t cook meals in Sydney etc.
Look closely at the pictures and find the objects that people use in their daily life in Australia and Morocco e.g. tools,
transport, houses etc. Make a list of these objects under the headings Morocco and Australia. Draw a line to connect the
objects that are the same in each country.
Create a noun wall for each country based on the pictures.
Imagine the two boys in Mirror are penpals. Write the first letter each boy sends to each other, telling his new penpal about
his everyday life. Then, write the first email each boy sends to each other. (writing assessment)
In Mirror, the “magic carpet” helps to bring two boys from different sides of the world together. Write a story about a
magic carpet that brings two people together in some way.
Imagine you have a magic carpet that can fly from Australia to Morocco. Use Google Earth to plan a route that includes
travel over mountains, deserts, oceans etc. Write an imaginary journey describing the different countries you pass over and
the landscapes you see. Turn your story into a travel brochure that promotes ‘Magic Carpet’ tours.
Create a class book box that contains things relating to Mirror. For example, a rose, spices, materials that Jeannie Baker
uses etc. Discuss why these items relate to the book.
Use Google Earth as a magic carpet to explore the satellite view of the Valley of Roses in Morocco. Research how the
landscape was formed, where people live, where water comes from, what the weather is like and what it might be like to
live there. Then investigate the satellite view of Rozelle, Sydney. Compare the two views. How are the landscapes the
same and how are they different?
Talk to people in your local community and find out why your local town was built and what impact that has had on the
original environment.
Write two separate timelines – one for the daily events in Morocco and one for the daily events in Sydney. Use drawings to
divide the day.
Neither child is depicted going to school. Draw a picture that would illustrate an aspect of a boy’s day at school in Sydney.
Research pictures of school in Morocco and then draw the mirror image.
Research task. Can you name the region/country/city that your ancestors came from? What languages did they speak?

Mirror by
Jeannie Baker

Mirror by
Jeannie Baker
Computer and
internet access
Google Earth
Items to be
placed into a
book box






Mirror by
Jeannie Baker
Computer and
internet access
Google Earth

Objective E
Learn and reflect on
their learning through
their study of
English.

What kinds of food did they eat? What religious beliefs were held? Where were you born? What languages do you speak?
What are your favourite hobbies? (family background project assessment)
Small group discussion – What is something that you have done with your family recently? Where does your family eat
meals? Is your family more like the Australian or Moroccan family? Create a presentation (collage, picture, story) to
describe a favourite activity you do with your family.
Create factual sentences for each page to narrate the events. (writing and reading assessment)

Mirror by
Jeannie Baker
Speaking and Listening 1
Writing and Representing 2
Understand and apply knowledge of language
forms and features
Understand and apply knowledge of language forms
and features


Explore different ways of expressing emotions
Respond to and compose texts

Identify some differences between imaginative and
informative texts.
Reading and Viewing 2
Describe in detail familiar places and things
Writing and Representing 1
Develop and apply contextual knowledge
Respond to and compose texts


The Little Refugee
Draw on personal experience to express opinions
by Anh Do
Reading and Viewing 1
Respond to, read and view texts


Use comprehension strategies to build literal and
inferred meaning
Identify visual representations of characters’
speech and consider how these images add to the
meaning of accompanying words.

Reflect on own reading
Grammar, Punctuation and Vocabulary
Develop and apply contextual knowledge
The power of hope, resilience, family,
friends and good humour can carry us
through the darkest of times.

Begin to understand that choice of vocabulary adds to the
effectiveness of text.
Thinking Imaginatively and Creatively
Expressing Themselves
Engage personally with texts
Develop and apply contextual knowledge


Reflecting on Learning
Respond to and compose texts
Discuss possible author intent and intended audience of a
range of texts.
Recognise the way that texts create different
personal responses.
Develop and apply contextual knowledge

Begin to understand how composers use creative
features to engage their audience
Respond to texts drawn from a range of experiences
Respond to and compose texts

Respond to a text that include issues about their world
Teaching/Learning Activities

Objective A
Communicate through
speaking, listening, reading,
writing, viewing and
representing.


Objective B
Use language to shape and
make meaning according to
purpose, audience and
context.

Objective C


Objective D
Express themselves and their
relationships with others and
their world.
Read the first three pages to students without showing them the images. Ask them to draw images based
on the words. When they have finished, show them the images. Discuss how language can be interpreted
in different ways, and why the images are important to understanding Anh Do’s perspective.
Show students a section of Anh Does Vietnam, which shows a Vietnamese school. Discuss the similarities
and differences between a Vietnamese and Australian school.

What differences might students have observed in Anh? For example, his food. Encourage students to
think about how they would feel in someone like Anh’s position, in various situations detailed in this book.
For example, how would you make a new student at school feel welcome?
Write a fictional story as if you were a person arriving at a new school where you know no one and wanted

The Little Refugee by
Anh Do

The Little Refugee by
Anh Do
Paper
Pencils
Pait
Brushes
The Little Refugee by
Anh Do

The Little Refugee by
Anh Do
Anh Does Vietnam
DVD– selected clip of a
Vietnamese school.
to fit in.

Think in ways that are
imaginative, creative,
interpretive and critical.
Resources

The images are executed in two contrasting styles: cartoon-like coloured images (childlike) and sepiacoloured images (realistic and historical). Discuss the contrast with students and encourage them to draw
two pictures in these contrasting styles. This activity could be paired with the fictional story students wrote
about arriving at a new school.
Examine the cover and discuss why the illustrator has depicted Anh Do in the foreground in colour, while
the background is in a sepia tone. Students can draw their own image of Anh.
Briefly discuss with students: what is a refugee? What is an asylum seeker? Which countries are they
escaping from today?
‘I had different food to the other kids and some of them laughed at me.’ Why would students laugh at





someone just because they are different? Discuss sharing different cultural experiences and what students
learn from them.

Objective E
Learn and reflect on their
learning through their study
of English.
Encourage students to explore their own stories of their past, by engaging them in a memoir writing
exercise (journal writing assessment)

Test your students’ comprehension after reading the story by answering simple questions such as: Why
did his family leave Vietnam? How did they escape? What is Anh’s brother’s name? What strange clothes
did Anh’s baby brother wear? What sort of business did his parents establish in Australia?
Assessment / Collecting Evidence
Observation
Objective D: Speaking and listening assessment
Objective B: Writing assessment

The Little Refugee by
Anh Do
Anecdotal Records
Checklist / Matrix
Rubric (CTJ)
Self-Assessment
Peer Assessment
Student Teacher Conference
Journals
Assessment task
Objective E: Writing assessment
Objective A: Similarities and Differences
Objective C: Writing assessment
Objective E: Journal writing
Objective D: Family background project
Possible Links to Other KLA’s
Mathematics
History
Data – graphing
Australian culture (western
and indigenous)
Timeline
Family background
History of the local area
Science &
Technology
Using computer software
and technology