Board of Studies NSW Program Builder Pb.Bos.Nsw.Edu.Au

The Best Kept Secret by Emily Rodda | Stage 2 | English

Summary Duration

Cecilia says merry-go-rounds are for little kids, but Jo feels there′s Term 3 something mysterious and not at all childish about the carousel that has 10 weeks appeared overnight in Marley Street. There′s something odd about the beckoning music something strange about the gleaming horses. And why are certain people able to gain entrance to the carousel while others - try as they will - have to give up and turn away? Jo feels she must try to get in. Eleven-year-old Jo takes a magical carousel ride seven years into the future, where she and her fellow travelers face a decision involving a possible change in the nature of reality. This unit will involve the students •Interpreting and discussing relationships between characters. •Identifying simple symbolic meanings and stereotypes in texts. •Recognizing the link between text type and purpose. •Responding to key features of illustrations. •Making predictions about plot development and characters. •Identifying settings. •Talking and writing informally about personal reading.

Unit overview Enter your own title

English K-10 Blooms taxonomy worksheet.

› EN2-2A plans, composes and reviews a range of texts that are more demanding in terms of topic, audience and language

› EN2-3A uses effective handwriting and publishes texts using digital technologies

› EN2-4A uses an increasing range of skills, strategies and knowledge to fluently read, view and comprehend a range of texts on increasingly challenging topics in different media and technologies

› EN2-5A uses a range of strategies, including knowledge of letter–sound correspondences and common letter patterns, to spell familiar and some unfamiliar words

› EN2-6B identifies the effect of purpose and audience on spoken texts, distinguishes between different forms of English and identifies organisational patterns and features EN2-9B uses effective and accurate sentence structure, grammatical features, punctuation conventions and vocabulary relevant to the type of text when responding to and composing texts

› EN2-10C thinks imaginatively, creatively and interpretively about information, ideas and texts when responding to and composing texts

Stage 2 - Writing and representing 1  Orientation to the text. Predict what the story might  Students will answer critical be about through the title, looking at the cover, blurb thinking questions. Students: and using quotes from the text.  Speech on the future. Develop and apply contextual knowledge  Discuss is the girl enjoying the ride?  Students to create a story . identify key elements of planning,  Discuss prior knowledge about merry –go –rounds. map. composing, reviewing and publishing in Get children to share memories. order to meet the demands of composing  Research inventions. texts on a particular topic for a range  Discuss in what ways the girl’s horse was unlike of purposes and audiences those on other carousels.  Write a report about a recent invention. . experiment and share aspects of  Discuss Fantasy. composing that enhance learning and  Write an account of how it enjoyment  “And suddenly she felt an icy shiver of fear”. Write was created and what it was your own predictions of what might happen during meant to do. Understand and apply knowledge of language the ride. forms and features  Draw and describe a  Think about something that you have kept a secret. fantastic invention of your . plan, draft and publish Write a short report about it and share it with your own. imaginative, informative and persuasive group. texts containing key information and  Create an illustrated set of supporting details for a widening range of  Write the book words from the box to match instructions for a yo – yo audiences, demonstrating increasing meanings. Use this chart to help you as you read trick. control over text structures and language the book. features (ACELY1682, ACELY1694) Respond to and compose texts  Write these sets of words from the book in . discuss aspects of planning prior to writing, dictionary order. eg knowledge of topic, specific vocabulary and language features  Questions on Chapters 1 and 2. . identify elements of their writing that need  Get the children to describe Mr Bean. improvement and review using feedback  Students to read the descriptions on pages 2 and 6. from teacher and peers Complete an illustrated report on a building.

 Writing techniques: using foreshadowing. Talk about déjà vu and get the students to write about what else in Chapter 2 suggests something unusual might happen.

Stage 2 - Reading and viewing 1  Questions on Chapters 3 – 6. Students:  Is Cecilia a perfect friend for Jo? State your reasons. Develop and apply contextual knowledge  Read descriptions of carousel pages 19 & 20. . draw on experiences, knowledge of the Create your own detailed picture of one. topic or context to work out the meaning of unknown words  List the clues given in Chapter 4 to suggest there is something extraordinary about the carousel?  Use the word groups to complete the descriptions.

Understand and apply knowledge of language  Read the description of what Jo saw during the forms and features carnival ride page 38. Use a storyboard to draw a scene from an important event. Record on video. use metalanguage to describe the effects of ideas, text structures and language  Predicting – what do you think will happen when the features of literary texts (ACELT1604) carousel stops? Develop and apply graphological,  Read the Notice to Intending Riders of the carousel phonological, syntactic and semantic knowledge page 31. Discuss your favourite ride at theme parks and write your own notice. . use graphological, phonological, syntactic and semantic strategies to respond to texts, eg knowledge of homophones, contractions, syllables, word families and common prefixes Respond to, read and view texts  use comprehension strategies to build literal and inferred meaning to expand content knowledge, integrating and linking ideas and analysing and evaluating texts (ACELY1680, ACELY1692)

 summarise a paragraph and indicate the main idea, key points or key arguments in imaginative, informative and persuasive texts

Stage 2 - Spelling  Questions on Chapters 7 to 9. Students:  Correct or add to your prediction about the carousel stopping. Develop and apply contextual knowledge  In groups compile a list of questions to be answered . understand how accurate spelling supports the reader to read fluently and interpret by a teenager who was your age seven years ago. written text  Discuss how much things have changed in seven Understand and apply knowledge of language years. forms and features  Brainstorm ideas for a skit where one child is . understand how to use strategies for invisible. Rehearse and present to the class. spelling words, including spelling rules,  Write about what you would do if you had an hour to knowledge of morphemic word families, spend visiting your city seven years into the future. spelling generalisations, and letter combinations including double letters  Use the verbs to complete the description. (ACELA1485, ACELA1779) Respond to and compose texts  Questions on Chapters 10 to 13. . use a variety of spelling strategies to spell high-frequency words correctly when  Adults always stuck together – bad and good alike – composing imaginative and other texts page 66. Discuss this statement and get the

discuss and use strategies for spelling students to write their opinion. difficult words  Why does Alfred walk off and abandon them?  Will the man in the brown trouser suit make a fortune from his plan? Why or why not?

Stage 2 - Reading and viewing 2  Circle the words that describe those who didn’t want to save Davy. Students:  Role play this activity. Develop and apply contextual knowledge  Speech marks help show Oscar’s strong feelings in . interpret how imaginative, informative and this passage. Rewrite the examples correctly. persuasive texts vary in purpose, structure and topic  Find the meanings of the words and write them in a sentence.  Discuss anticlimax and get the students to write some examples.

Understand and apply knowledge of language forms and features  Use the picture clue to discuss what is happening why Jo is doing this and then write what happened . identify characteristic features used in next. imaginative, informative and persuasive texts to meet the purpose of the text  Questions on Chapters 14 to 17. (ACELY1690)  Why did Jo have to take Davy home? . discuss how language is used to describe the settings in texts, and explore how the  “Jo had wanted to learn to play the piano and heard settings shape the events and influence herself playing” page 93. Talk about skills you’d like to develop or things you would like to achieve in the the mood of the narrative (ACELT1599) next seven years. Respond to, read and view texts . identify and interpret the different forms of visual information, including maps, tables, charts, diagrams, animations and images

Stage 2 - Grammar, punctuation and  Had Jo’s mother also visited the future? Give

Board of Studies NSW – Program Builder – pb.bos.nsw.edu.au Program Builder contains NSW syllabus content prepared by the Board of Studies NSW for and on behalf of the State of New South Wales which is protected by Crown copyright. 8 Content Teaching, learning and assessment Resources / Adjustments & extensions vocabulary reasons for your answer. Students:  Create a newspaper or magazine advertisement. Develop and apply contextual knowledge  List the ways in which the carousel ride changed Jo’s life. . understand that effective organisation of ideas in imaginative, informative and persuasive texts enhances meaning  Colour the simple and the strong book sentences . understand that choice of vocabulary that describe the same feelings. impacts on the effectiveness of texts  Ask members of your family what they think was the Understand and apply knowledge of language most amazing invention of the past seven years. forms and features Share what you have learnt. . understand that paragraphs are a key  Cloze passage activities. organisational feature of written texts (ACELA1479)  Who am I? Match up the characters with the clues. . identify and use grammatical features, eg  Describe the main characters from the story. pronouns, conjunctions and connectives, to accurately link ideas and information  Complete a book report. Understand and apply knowledge of vocabulary  Design a new cover for the book. . experiment with vocabulary choices to engage the listener or reader

Respond to and compose texts . use grammatical features to create complex sentences when composing texts

Stage 2 - Thinking imaginatively, creatively and interpretively Students: Engage personally with texts . share responses to a range of texts and identify features which increase reader enjoyment . respond to texts by identifying and discussing aspects of texts that relate to their own experience Develop and apply contextual knowledge . discuss how authors and illustrators make stories exciting, moving and absorbing and hold readers' interest by using various techniques, for example character development and plot tension (ACELT1605)

Understand and apply knowledge of language forms and features . identify and discuss how vocabulary establishes setting and atmosphere Respond to and compose texts . create literary texts that explore students'

own experiences and imagining (ACELT1607) . justify interpretations of a text, including responses to characters, information and ideas, eg 'The main character is selfish because …'

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