Internal assessment resource English 1.11B for Achievement Standard 90856
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Internal Assessment Resource
English Level 1
This resource supports assessment against:
Achievement Standard 90856
Show understanding of visual and/or oral text(s) through close
viewing and/or listening, using supporting evidence
Resource title: Under Close Scrutiny – ‘Freedom Writers’
Visual Text
3 credits
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Internal assessment resource English 1.11B for Achievement Standard 90856
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Internal Assessment Resource
Achievement Standard English 90856: Show understanding of visual
and/or oral text(s) through close viewing and/or listening, using
supporting evidence
Resource reference: English 1.11B
Resource title: Under Close Scrutiny
Credits: 3
Teacher guidelines
The following guidelines are supplied to ensure that teachers can carry out valid and
consistent assessment using this internal assessment resource.
Teachers need to be very familiar with the outcome being assessed by Achievement
Standard English 90856. The achievement criteria and the explanatory notes contain
information, definitions, and requirements that are crucial when interpreting the standard and
assessing students against it.
Context/setting
This activity focuses on exploring ideas and text conventions in visual and/or oral text(s) and
requires students to show understanding of significant aspects of such text(s) through close
viewing and/or listening, through the use of supporting evidence.
This activity, in which students use visual and/or oral text(s) selected by you, is designed to
be an outline only. You will need to adapt and expand it for particular contexts.
In pre-assessment work, give students opportunities to develop some depth in their close
viewing of significant aspects of texts and support the development of convincing and/or
perceptive close viewing by scaffolding questions that lead to the kinds of responses desired.
Conditions
The activity must be carried out in class time (no material is to be taken home).
Give the class enough exposure to the text(s) to enable them to make valid comments. (For
example, students may view a visual extract three or four times: including once all the way
through, and then pausing throughout to allow them to write their responses.)
Students will closely view and/or listen to one or more texts and respond to at least four
significant text aspects in depth.
Students must give a different explanation for each text aspect, with each explanation
supported by different details.
Text(s) must be suitable for level 6 of the curriculum, classroom use, and the age of the
students, e.g. text(s) do not have a rating that prohibits their use for level 1 students).
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Internal assessment resource English 1.11B for Achievement Standard 90856
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General guidelines

Choose aspects for the whole class to use or allow students to choose. Aspects could
include themes; meanings; character’s/narrator’s/writer’s attitudes, experience, beliefs, or
insights; or text conventions such as major visual or oral language features or structures.

Before this activity starts, ensure that you have taught such techniques as features of
verbal and visual language, structure, and conventions of the text form.
Conditions for Assessment Guidelines
See the Conditions for Assessment Guidelines for comments on developing and practising
the skills required, use of modelling and scaffolded practice, assembling evidence, and
independent student work.
Resource requirements
Texts for close viewing and/or listening.
Formatted table for student use. (Format the table shown in the student instructions in a way
that allows for the level of in-depth close reading required. Take the nature of the text(s) to be
studied into consideration when designing the table.)
Resource examples
Examples of types of visual text(s):

Films

Television programmes

Plays

Television advertisements

Promos

1–2 pages from a graphic novel

A web page.
If the visual text that the students are to view closely is part of a longer text, the extract
should be short (approximately 2–3 minutes).
Examples of types of oral texts:

A part of a radio play, interview, or documentary

A promo or advertisement

A speech (or part of a long speech)

A song performance.
Additional information
Preparation for this standard might also contribute to students’ preparation for external
assessment in studied oral or visual texts AS 90850 Show understanding of specified
aspect(s) of studied visual / oral texts, using supporting evidence or integrate with studies
into connections across texts AS 90852 Explain significant connection(s) across texts, using
evidence. Wherever such integration between different parts of the programme occurs,
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Internal assessment resource English 1.11B for Achievement Standard 90856
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teachers must ensure that the work presented for each assessment is developed sufficiently
in order to meet the criteria for each standard. In all such cases teachers should refer closely
to each relevant standard including the Explanatory Notes and the Conditions of Assessment
Guidelines.
Contexts for this activity could arise from any aspect of the year’s English programme, but in
particular, the standard could sit alongside teaching and learning for AS 90850: Show
understanding of specified aspect(s) of studied visual or oral text(s), using supporting
evidence.
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Internal assessment resource English 1.11B for Achievement Standard 90856
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Internal Assessment Resource
Achievement Standard English 90856: Show understanding of visual
and/or oral text(s) through close viewing and/or listening, using supporting
evidence
Resource reference: English 1.11B
Resource title: Under Close Scrutiny
Credits: 3
Achievement
Show understanding of visual
and/or oral text(s), through close
viewing and/or listening, using
supporting evidence.
Achievement with Merit
Show convincing understanding
of visual and/or oral text(s),
through close viewing and/or
listening, using supporting
evidence.
Achievement with
Excellence
Show perceptive understanding
of visual and/or oral text(s),
through close viewing and/or
listening, using supporting
evidence.
Student instructions
Introduction
This assessment activity requires you to show understanding of at
least four significant aspects of an extract of the film ‘Freedom
Writers’ directed by Richard LaGravenese through close viewing
and/or listening, using supporting evidence.
One focus of a visual text study is to learn how verbal and visual
features work together to create meaning (for example, to create a
character or express an idea). In this activity, you will use your close
viewing and/or listening skills to examine the ‘parents’ night’ scene in
‘Freedom Writers’. Use the Resource table 1 to display your findings.
You will be assessed on your summary (in paragraph form) of your
findings.
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Internal assessment resource English 1.11B for Achievement Standard 90856
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Task 1: Identifying aspects for close viewing and/or listening (not
assessed)
Brief overview
Provide a brief overview of what is happening at this moment in your particular text(s).
Identifying aspects
After your first viewing and/or listening, identify which
four aspects of the scene you
intend to focus on. Choose significant (important) aspects of the scene. These should
be features that have made an impact on you in some way and are important for their meaning
and/or for the effect they provide. On your table, list each of the ideas and/or conventions you
have chosen under the heading “text aspects”.
Aspects may include:

significant ideas such as important themes, attitudes, beliefs, feelings, experiences,
insights, meanings, opinions, thoughts, and understandings within the scene

significant text conventions such as visual language features, purposes, audiences,
structures. (Some examples of significant text conventions are: dialogue, acting, costume,
setting, camera angle, camera shot, lighting, editing or structural techniques, sound
effects, special effects.)
Task 2: Supporting evidence and explanations (not assessed)
Supporting evidence
For each of the four aspects that you identify, you must provide supporting evidence. That is,
you must provide at least one specific and relevant detail to clearly describe
each aspect. These details must be different for each aspect, for example, a
description of a shot or special effect, a piece of dialogue, or a description of particular body
language used.
Explanation
In the explanation column, you need to explain why the creator of the text used the
technique; how it added to the meaning of the text and the effect it had on you as
the audience. Again, you must provide a different explanation for each aspect.
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Internal assessment resource English 1.11B for Achievement Standard 90856
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Task 3: Summary (assessed)
Under your table, write a summary in paragraph form of your findings. Use the information in
your table to answer these questions:

What was the creator of the text trying to achieve with each of the
aspects described?

How was it achieved?
You will be assessed on:

your identification of significant text aspects

your understanding of the purpose and audience of your text

the quality of your explanation of the meaning and/or effect of each aspect:
o
how they work together to create meaning in the text
o
how they communicate ideas about contexts, such as human experience,
society and the wider world.
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Internal assessment resource English 1.11B for Achievement Standard 90856
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Resource 1: Example of a table of findings
Text or text
extract(s)
studied:
Brief summary of
the text(s) (e.g.,
context and what
is happening)
Text aspects
Aspect 1: Costume
The Matrix (film extract) – the rescue scene
This is a scene in the film The Matrix where Neo and Trinity rescue
Morpheus from the agents. It is fast-paced and full of action.
Supporting evidence (at least
one specific and relevant detail
for each aspect)
Neo wears black. He’s now
wearing glasses (hasn’t
before). Trinity is in black.
She also wears glasses. Both
are wearing combat boots.
They have bags full of
weapons and Neo is strapped
up with guns. Neo wears a
long trench coat and a fitted
top that shows his fit body.
Explanation (Meanings and/or effects
created through the use of the
particular aspect identified)
Black – characters are in control,
mean business.
Glasses – characters now can ‘reflect’
the matrix; they are untouchable and
know why they are there and who they
are.
Boots, trench coat and fitted top –
represent that Neo and Trinity are
ready to act. Boots are military (no
nonsense). Trench coat suggests
power (businessman). Fitted top
shows Neo’s body – he is trained to
do the job properly.
Aspect 2
Aspect 3
Aspect 4
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Internal assessment resource English 1.11B for Achievement Standard 90856
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Assessment schedule: Achievement Standard 90856 Under Close Scrutiny
Evidence/Judgements for Achievement
Evidence/Judgements for achievement
with Merit
Evidence/Judgements for achievement
with Excellence
The student shows understanding of at least four
aspects of a visual and/or oral text in terms of
meanings and effects created. Responses may be
presented in appropriate oral, visual and/or written
forms.
The student shows convincing understanding of at
least four aspects of a visual and/or oral text in
terms of meanings and effects created. Responses
may be presented in appropriate oral, visual and/or
written forms.
The student shows perceptive understanding of at
least four aspects of a visual and/or oral text in
terms of meanings and effects created. Responses
may be presented in appropriate oral, visual and/or
written forms.
Text aspects include the following:
Text aspects are as listed under Achievement.
Text aspects are as listed under Achievement.
The student shows convincing understanding of
the four aspects in the texts by:
The student shows perceptive understanding of
the four aspects in the texts by:


purpose
ideas (e.g. notable or major themes,
attitudes, beliefs, experiences, feelings,
insights, meanings, opinions, thoughts,
and understandings within the text)
 language features and structures (e.g. part
text, whole text, narrative)
 text conventions (spelling, punctuation,
grammar)
The student shows understanding of the four
aspects in the texts by:




explaining how aspects of visual and/or
oral text(s) work together to create
meaning
supporting responses by the use of at
least one specific and relevant detail from
the text (s) for each of the four aspects.

explaining how aspects of visual and/or
oral text(s) communicates ideas about the
text in relation to the writer’s purpose as
well as wider contexts, such as human
experience, society and the wider world

supporting responses by the use of at
least one specific and relevant detail from
the text (s) for each of the four aspects.
explaining aspects of visual and/or oral
text(s) in terms of the meanings and
effects created
supporting responses by the use of at
least one specific and relevant detail from
the text (s) for each of the four aspects.
Final grades will be decided using professional judgment based on a holistic examination of the evidence provided against the criteria in the
Achievement Standard
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