Components Explanation/ Details Learning

Experiences
Unit orientation At the beginning of the unit, the focus will be introduced and briefly
examined. Students will then be able to create posters in groups on their
prior knowledge of Antarctica. Students will be able to briefly research
to add detail, otherwise this activity is very relaxed in terms of what
students produce and allows creativity. These posters will be placed
around the room.
1
Building the
knowledge of the field
Students begin this unit by demonstrating how much knowledge they
already have on the topic. The lessons then extend to examining the
layout of texts (including contents, paragraphs, diagrams, glossary and
index). Students will be exploring these texts by using a Venn diagram
to compare texts, and then in future lessons, will be forming groups to
fill out resource 2, which sorts the relevant information from the text.
This group work prepares students for future assessment and activities,
but all other learning will be whole class activities.
1, 2, 3, 4
Utilising the non-
fiction focus text
Norman, M. (2007). The Antarctica book: Living in the freezer. Fitzroy:
Black Dog Books.

This book will be used to drive the introduction of any new topic. The
text will be compared with other texts, assist with learning about maps,
aid the exploration of whales, and introduce the topic of global warming.
This book will also be consulted as a back up whenever not enough
information is provided during whole class activities. The book will be
available for all students to use in their assessment piece.
1, 2, 3, 6, 7,
15, 20, 22
Responding to texts Students will be able to respond to texts in various different ways
throughout the unit. By creating graphic organisers and drawing
pictures, students can see how different aspects of the texts can convey
information about different contexts (ACELT1608). They will then
begin to respond to texts by using the information learned to imitate the
layout of factual texts, including structure and language features
designed for a particular audience (ACELT1795).

3, 5, 6, 7, 8
Exploring texts Students will be exploring texts in many ways in this unit. By expanding
on knowledge that has been learnt, students can then extend this
knowledge to be represented in many ways. By doing this students are
identifying that texts can have many structures and purposes
(ACELA1504) and can be relevant in many formal and informal
situations (ACELY1699). During the units students will be exploring
diagrams and how to label them, extending their knowledge on maps,
and participating in content- specific activities and games.
10, 11, 12, 17,
19, 25
Examining texts including:
Text structure
and
organisation
Students will constantly be practising the structure and organisation of a
text in this unit. At the beginning, students will examine how the text
structure of factual texts assists the navigation of the text
(ACELA1797).
They will also look at the way posters can be chronologically laid out as
a correct text structure (ACELY1701). By working on their final
assessment piece, the students can experiment in small groups on how
1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9,
14, 15, 16, 18,
21, 24, 26
Components Explanation/ Details Learning
Experiences
the maps, diagrams, and paragraph can all be arranged to organise the
information in a logical manner.
Expressing and
developing
ideas
Students will constantly be developing their ideas throughout this unit.
They will convey many different texts from a variety of different
viewpoints (ACELT1610). By constantly revisiting how to write factual
reports, students can extend on their ideas by improving their report
writing with each practice. Students are also able to build on their ideas
by participating in activities, which sum up all information and hands
some independence over to the students.
2, 3, 7, 8, 17,
23, 25, 27
Visual and
multimodal
features of
texts
Students have the opportunity to examine many different multimodal
texts throughout the unit. Students will be able to analyse information
from a range of print and digital sources that they will be given
(ACELY1703). They will also be able to examine how information can
be presented through games (such as the overfishing game) and drama.
Multimodal features of texts examined include Venn diagrams, DVDs,
youtube clips, posters, images, diagrams, maps, interactive sites and
websites.
3, 5, 6, 8, 9,
11, 15, 20, 25,
27
Extending beyond the focus text including:
Creating texts
utilizing print
and
multimodal
texts
To be assessed, students need to demonstrate what they have learnt by
creating texts that incorporate their learned knowledge. Students have
the opportunity to plan, draft and present a multimodal poster in groups
to display in an expo (ACELY 1704). They will then plan and rehearse
and a presentation that explains the poster to the audience
(ACELY1700). Students will also be writing their own factual report,
which incorporates all content from the focus text and other texts that
have been learnt over the course of the unit.
9, 13, 14, 16,
18, 21, 24, 28,
28
Assessment
Formative Students will be asked to write a factual report for their formative piece
of assessment. Over the first half of the unit, different texts and topics
will be explored to introduce factual texts to the students. The teacher
will mainly model how it is written with the assistance of structured
resources. Students will then move on to doing it together as a class and
with the teacher, and eventually independently. Students will be writing
their report on an invented animal they create in previous lessons.
2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
13
Summative As a summative assessment, students will be working in small groups to
create a multimodal poster to present to teachers, parents and peers.
Each poster will be based on an animal that lives in Antarctica, and will
incorporate all multimodal facets that are covered during the unit
including maps, diagrams, factual reports, and images. Students will be
allocated time to complete this task and will present in the very last
session of the unit.
14, 16, 18, 21,
24, 26, 28
Significant
demonstration of
learning
There are many ways students will fulfill the curriculum achievement
standards. In order to understand how language features, images and
vocabulary influence settings and events, students will be exploring
many different text types and structures and examining whom the target
audience is and how it is structured. Many class discussions will be
conducted as well as group activities to allow students to form questions
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
7,8, 9, 10, 11,
12, 13, 14, 15,
16, 17, 18, 19,
20, 21, 22, 23,
24, 25, 26, 27,
Components Explanation/ Details Learning
Experiences
and clarify content. Students will be selecting information ideas and
images from many sources including websites, videos and books, which
will help them to create their presentation at the end of the unit. When
writing, students will always be wary of grammar and punctuation as
well as constantly asked to check over their work when writing reports.
28