ENGLISH PLANNING – Rowan of Rin

What does the data suggest we should teach?

R09 Connects ideas across two paragraphs of a simple narrative text to interpret information.R25 Connects ideas to infer a character's behaviour in a narrative textR21 Interprets the main character’s motivation in a narrative text

Unit overview

How does the author use language choices to develop a character and construct/communicate the character's message in a novel?

Select relevant essential learnings linked to the data

Ways of Working recognise and select vocabulary and distinguish between literal and figurative

language. make judgments and justify opinions using information and ideas from texts, and

recognise aspects that contribute to enjoyment and appreciation

Knowledge and UnderstandingReading and Viewing

Readers and viewers draw on their prior knowledge of language and texts when engaging with a text e.g. readers familiar with newspapers will bring understandings about the way news reports are written.

Readers and viewers use a number of active comprehension strategies to interpret texts, including activating prior knowledge, predicting, questioning, identifying main ideas, inferring, monitoring, summarising and reflecting.

Comprehension involves using language elements and contextual cues to interpret, infer from and evaluate texts in personal and community contexts e.g. connecting pronouns to the nouns to which they refer.

Writing and Designing The purpose of writing and designing includes entertaining, informing and describing

e.g. designing a comic strip to entertain. Writers and designers use a number of active writing strategies, including planning,

drafting, revising, editing, proofreading, publishing and reflecting and by referring to authoritative sources e.g. working with a partner to proofread each other’s texts.

Text users make choices about grammar and punctuation, to make meaning.Language Elements

A sentence can be either simple, compound or complex Text connectives signal how things, ideas and information are related Pronouns refer to nouns within and across sentences Figurative language describes settings and characters Conjunctions signal relationships between things, ideas and events

Literary and Non-literary texts Literary texts entertain, evoke emotion, and convey messages and information. Events can be sequenced to build tension and suspense within a text and are used to

explore ideas and feelings through the invention of characters and situations. Narratives have structural features that set the scene, introduce and describe

characters and plot (orientation), describe events or actions leading to a problem (complication), and describe how and why a problem is solved (resolution).

Which text type will the students write to best display their knowledge of the selected essentials?

Short Story narrative

Write the task

Students will construct a short story to demonstrate how authors develop a well crafted main character (their motivation and behaviour) by connecting ideas across paragraphs, write sentences using inference and use evaluative language elements and choices.

Write an A exemplar

Identify the salient/grammar features that make the text ‘go’ (these become criteria)

1. aesthetic language 2. nominal groups 3. emotive, descriptive and figurative language.4. powerful processes

What text/s will you and the students read and investigate to learn the stated essentials

To build field knowledge Rowan of Rin (to investigate salient/grammar features) 'Matilda' by Roald Dahl Poems for alliteration and figurative language Power points on language elements e.g. nominal groups

To deconstruct Short stories A exemplar

Plan rest of the unit with the end in mind

BUILDING THE FIELD

See below

Use correct meta-language: powerful processes, noun groups, verb groups, figurative language (similes), circumstances, conjunctions, tense

Pre-reading questions about the text. Make predictions etc. Access prior knowledge – have you ever felt like or been in a similar situation to

Rowan

Read a number of chapters (at least 8) just for enjoyment and to get a sense of the story.

Deep Understandings What will the students learn from reading this text?

o Learn about the motivation and behaviour of people by studying characters in novels

o That authors create characters by making choices about languageo That authors evoke emotions by using words to describe the characterso That authors write narrative fantasy type stories to entertain us

What would the students talk about?o What are the strengths and weakness of Rowan and other characterso What would it be like to walk in Rowans’ and other characters shoeso How is the author trying to make us feel? What feelings were evoked? What

language was used to evoke emotion?o How does learning about characters help me to understand people in my lifeo How does the author create these characterso How can I create a character

Have discussions with students around inference. What is it? How does it work? What evidence is in the text to infer a character motivation or behaviour?

Does the author ‘tell’ us what Rowan is like as a character or does he ‘show’ us what he’s like through use of language choices.

Teach self questioning (e.g. "how do I know" and "What in the text helps me think that?"

Model Think aloud strategies. (E.g. model and answer "How does the author link these two ideas?", "How words signal a relationship between ideas" "What does that link mean?" "What does the author want me to think because of this linking in the text".)

Model Re-read and Reading on.

Nominal Groups - teach what a nominal group is (students will find nominal groups in the text. eg use work sheets p.28, 29 in the text

Figurative language - students to find examples of this in the text. p.28, 29. How does figurative language build a character profile?

Investigate Powerful processes. How are processes used to describe a characters behaviour?

Process activities - p.15 take out whirled and put in other words- how does it change the sentence and original mood. E.g. "her horrible warnings whirled around in his head” to “her horrible warings floated out of his head”. Do a cloze activity and take out the powerful processes and get students to add them back in. Give the cloze a theme – use happy words throughout, use sad words etc.

Character profile (Rowan)- investigate Characters motivation, attitudes, actions and how his character is developed e.g Compare strong John and Rowan (in the beginning the story is about the power of strong John) and how Rowan takes on his character qualities and what new language choics does the author make to describe Rowan in the end.

Track Rowan throughtout the text and how his character is developed - use flow charts, make word walls

Take chapter 2 - track pronoun refercing throughout the text "He was filled with dread" - who was filled with dread. Is it John, Rowan or Sheba p.38,39 justify choices made

Vocab development - make wall charts of words and their meanings, use NAPLAN spelling words

Forefront the assessment task. Give the students the task and discuss with them what it is they will have to know and be able to do

DECONSTRUCTING

Analyse short stories for the generic structure. E.g. short stories very quickly get into a complication and other start with a complication

Highlight the use of the language elements throughout the text and these work to construct a whole text – draw from the work done in building the field

Analyse the exemplar for language features and how some of the things students saw in ‘Rowan of Rin’ is also replicated in other stories. (compare/contrast)

Place students in reading groups with short story texts and analyse texts to make lists about character development

Analyse what language is needed to build the different parts of the genre – orientation, complication, conclusion

Teach cohesion and text connectives to tie the text together Compare the difference between a recount and a short story text type

CONSTRUCTING

Revisit the criteria sheet and A exemplar Model the writing of each section of the short story Use think aloud to demonstrate the process Allow lot’s of time for reflecting and editing work Give students individual feedback about their work and how they could move from for

e.g. a B to an A

Criteria SheetAssessable Elements

Knowledge and understandingInterpreting textsConstructing textsAppreciating textsReflecting

Assessment

Develop a character description using nominal groups, figurative language and powerful processes.

Give students a piece of writing and find these elements

Assessment Reflect on the differences between a recount and a story genre

by writing an evaluation in a journal

Assessment Write a short story

Midnight and the Bear!

Midnight, the playful, confident tabby cat was doing what cat’s like to do and was chasing a wild, silver grey coloured mouse. But when the clever rodent ran into his tiny whole, Midnight could not follow him in. Feeling quite sorry for himself, he went to explore more of the jungle like bushland outside. Maybe, the fun he wanted to have could be found out there. Playing inside was fun, especially the chase of cat and mouse, but outside Midnight could be the king of the jungle, just like a lion. Midnight did not realise the danger that awaited him, silently seated inside a nearby cave.The senses of the creature hiding in the cave told him that there was another animal lurking around. That made him angry because he didn’t like the idea of an animal being around his cave. The grizzly bear became furious. He lifted himself up, made his way out of the cave and stamped heavily through the grassy bushland.Meanwhile, the tabby cat paused, twitched his nose and sniffed the air with curiosity. What he smelt warned him of danger. But danger didn’t worry Midnight as he felt he was strong and courageous. The smell seemed to be coming stronger by the minute. Midnight’s eyes went to the darkest green they had ever been and his whole body bristled with excitement. Then the overzealous cat heard a frightening roar close to where he was.The cat saw the bear and instead of the usual smell of fear, the bear could smell a confidence not seen in smaller animals. Midnight hissed and the bear heard the sound. As the cat leaped, the bear swung his massive paw. It was the biggest paw that the tabby had ever seen in his entire life. Midnight jumped like a Springbok, thinking it was a game until he got a swipe from the bear on his left hand side. The poor pussy fell to the ground with a hard thump.The bear thought he had won. But Midnight, the little fighter, took an enormous leap. He landed on the bear’s head! The bear gave a groaning roar then swiped the cat off his head. Poor Midnight landed onto a pile of rocks nearby like a rag doll thrown across a room. Midnight lay senseless. He had been knocked out.The bear lumbered off satisfied, but he was now thirsty and tired. So he headed for the lovely blue lake with the cool refreshing water to quench his thirst.Meanwhile Midnight woke to find he was all alone. Not feeling so playful or confident, he headed inside to find a comfy pillow to sleep off his sore head.

Criteria Sheet

Assessableelements

Descriptors A B C D EThe student work demonstrates evidence of:

Constructing texts• Writers and designers use a number of active writing strategies, including planning, drafting, revising, editing, proofreading, publishing and reflecting, and by referring to authoritative sources

All writing strategies were used carefully and effectively so that the final product was presented polished and published without any errors

All writing strategies were used well so that the final product was presented polished and published with only a couple of errors

All writing strategies were used. The final product was published but there were some careless errors

Writing strategies need attention. Careful planning and editing would improve results. Parts are unreadable. There were many errors.

Writing strategies rarely used. Many mistakes identified. Most parts were unreadable

Knowledge and understanding

• Nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs and prepositional phrases, develop and elaborate ideas and portray people, characters, places, events and things in different ways

• Vocabulary describes, labels and sequences, and can represent people, characters, places, events and things

• Text users make choices about grammar

• Use of nominal group and figurative language

Crafts a well developed character personality with carefully selected specific language choices and through a series of events or a complication, the character is altered or changed

Vocab was expertly and carefully chosen to orientate and elaborate on the main character in the narrative and the character is well developed throughout the text.

All sentences made sense and were grammatically correct.

Compound and complex sentences were used and used cleverly to enhance the text

Develops a character personality with some carefully chosen specific language choices and through a series of events or a complication, the character is altered or changed

Vocab was well used and carefully chosen to orientate and elaborate on the main character in the narrative and the character is developed throughout the text.

All sentences made sense and were mostly grammatically correct.

Compound and complex sentences were used throughout

Develops a character personality with some general language choices and through some events or a complication, the character is altered or changed

Some well chosen Vocab was used to orientate and elaborate on the main character in the narrative and was developed sometimes throughout the text.

Most sentences made sense. There were some grammar errors.

Mostly simple sentences used and at least 2 compound or complex sentences were used

Characters, place and setting was not developed.

Some specific vocab was used. Words were not well chosen and did not describe the character very well. The character was not developed throughout the text.

Limited sentence structure. Many sentences were not grammatically correct.

Only simple sentences used.

Text was mostly unreadable

• Punctuation marks, including capital letters, full stops, commas, exclamation marks and question marks, clarify meaning

All punctuation is used accurately and effectively and was at times used to enhanced the writing for impact

Most punctuation used accurately and effectively

Most or all capitals and full stops used accurately. Other punctuation used, but not accurately.

Many punctuation errors. Punctuation often used incorrectly.

No punctuation used

• Texts are produced for particular audiences and their interests

The narrative entertained and engaged the reader throughout the entire story with well chosen ideas

The narrative entertained and engaged the reader throughout most of the story with many well chosen ideas

The narrative entertained and engaged the reader throughout some of the story. Had some good ideas that need building on.

The narrative did not engage the reader. Choice of ideas needs attention. Ideas expressed were confusing

The narrative was hard to follow. Ideas did not relate.

• Narratives have structural features that include orientation, complication and resolution, and descriptions of characters and settings.

The text was accurately and cleverly sequenced

Effective use of structural features to orientate the reader, build suspense with a clever and well crafted complication that was effectively resolved

At least 4 paragraphs are evident and used effectively and correctly

The text was accurately sequenced

Good use of structural features to orientate the reader, build suspense with a well crafted complication that was effectively resolved

At least 3 paragraphs are evident and used effectively and correctly

The text showed elements of sequencing.

Structural features of orientating, building suspense, complication and resolution were used but were not well crafted.

At least 2 clear paragraphs were used correctly

The text was not well sequenced

Narrative had only 1 or 2 elements of the structure of the genre (e.g. only a beginning and an ending)

No paragraphs used

Text was mostly unreadable

Keep a Reflective journalInterpreting textsRecognise and select vocab to comment on and interpret how this effects the reader

You kept a clearly detailed reflective journal to document new vocabulary you found in ‘Rowan of Rin’. You have clearly articulated and insightfully understood what the word means, made a link to the text and to your own experiences.

You kept a detailed reflective journal to document new vocabulary you found in ‘Rowan of Rin’. You have clear understanding what the word means, made a link to the text and to your own experiences.

You kept a reflective journal to document new vocabulary you found in ‘Rowan of Rin’. You have general understanding what the word means, tried to make a link to the text and to your own experiences.

You kept a reflective journal to document new vocabulary you found in ‘Rowan of Rin’. There were no links made but you tried to explain what the vocab meant

No reflection kept

Appreciating textsMake judgements and justify your opinions about the character using evidence from the text.E.g. I think Rowan is ... because the author says....

Detailed interpretation about the role of the character and how it added to the appreciation of the text, clearly backed by evidence from the text (what language choices did the author make and how did this value add to the story). Insightful judgements made about your favourite and/or least favourite parts

Clear interpretation about the role of the character and how it added to the appreciation of the text, backed by evidence from the text (what language choices did the author make and how did this value add to the story). Clear judgements made about your favourite and/or least favourite parts

Make some interpretation about the role of the character and how it added to the appreciation of the text. Make some judgements made about your favourite and/or least favourite parts.

Made some judgements about your favourite and least favourite part

No reflection kept

ReflectReflect on learning

Clearly explained and communicated how an author uses language for a specific purpose and make judgements about the different types of language features (aesthetic, figurative) used to

Explained how an author uses language for a specific purpose and articulated the different types of language features (aesthetic, figurative) use to communicate characters behaviour and

Wrote how an author uses some language elements for a purpose and the different types of language features used in the text (aesthetic, figurative) to communicate characters

Wrote a limited amount about how an author uses some language elements for a purpose to describe characters

No reflection kept

effectively communicate characters behaviour and motivation in the text.

motivation in the text. behaviour and motivation in the text.