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English K-6 Modules Acknowledgement Thanks to the Disadvantaged Schools Component, Department of School Education and Training, for their approval to include material. © Board of Studies NSW 1998 Published by Board of Studies NSW GPO Box 5300 Sydney NSW 2001 Australia Tel: (02) 9367 8111 Fax: (02) 9367 8476 Internet: http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au ISBN 0 7313 1362 3 March 1998 97415 Contents Introduction 5 Meeting the Needs of All Language Learners 7 Modules Early Stage 1 21 Teaching English: Early Stage 1 23 Recount 29 Narrative 37 Procedure 45 Information Report 53 Explanation 61 Discussion 69 Exposition 77 Description 85 Poetry 93 Stage 1 99 Teaching English: Stage 1 101 Recount 105 Narrative 113 Procedure 123 Information Report 131 Explanation 139 Discussion 147 Exposition 155 Description 163 Poetry 171 Response 177 Modules (cont) Stage 2 185 Teaching English: Stage 2 187 Recount 193 Narrative 203 Procedure 213 Information Report 223 Explanation 231 Discussion 241 Exposition 249 Description 259 Poetry 267 Response 273 Stage 3 281 Teaching English: Stage 3 283 Recount 287 Narrative 297 Procedure 307 Information Report 317 Explanation 325 Discussion 335 Exposition 345 Description 355 Poetry 365 Response 371 English K-6 Introduction Introduction Modules This support document has been developed to assist teachers in the use of the revised English K–6 Syllabus. The modules are organised from Early Stage 1 to Stage 3. The modules contain teaching notes, a range of suggested English learning experiences related to each text type for each stage, as well as the reading, writing, talking and listening outcomes for each stage. Indicators have been developed for the learning experiences in these modules and may differ from syllabus indicators. Information in the modules will assist teachers and schools in their planning, programming and assessing. Implications for teaching English in each stage from the current syllabus are also included under the heading ‘Teaching English’. It is expected that teachers will adjust the modules according to the needs of their students, the resource material available and in accordance with school policies and priorities. The Meeting the Needs of All Language Learners section provides background information on differing student needs and implications for teaching. Note: A module for ‘Response’ has not been included for Early Stage 1. Many of the learning experiences in ‘Narrative’ and ‘Poetry’ include ‘Response’ activities. How to Use This Document Teachers could approach the modules in different ways. They may choose to select a text type related to a unit of work and select suggested learning experiences relevant to the unit. And/or Teachers may plan a unit of work that will focus on several of the text types in these modules. Teachers could select suggested learning experiences from a range of text types for a stage. A unit of work on Cats, for example, could include an information report on ‘Cats’, a procedure such as ‘How to Care for Cats’, a poem about cats as well as a narrative about cats. 5 English K-6Meeting the Needs of All Language Learners Meeting the Needs of All Language Learners Modules Language learners have some characteristics that make them similar and some that make them different from one another. It is important for teachers to think about the similarities and differences of the students in their classes. Attention to the diverse needs of students enriches all teaching and learning experiences. This section provides suggestions for adapting and modifying teaching and learning activities to cater for the needs of all learners. It offers advice for teachers to improve the educational outcomes of all students. Students commonly have: ✒ a desire to communicate and express themselves; ✒ a capacity to develop knowledge about, and skills for, using language; ✒ an accumulation of language experiences that begin at birth and are acquired through interaction with a variety of people within social networks; ✒ some understandings about how language operates and the purposes for which it is used; ✒ some competence in language, whether it be in Australian English, languages other than English, Aboriginal English or other dialects of English, sign language, gesture or symbol; ✒ a need to have their particular ways of using language acknowledged and valued as a basis for learning English; ✒ a need to be active learners. Students are also individuals with personal histories and differences that derive from: ✒ membership of a number of social groups, based on ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic background, geographic location and culture; ✒ their physical, sensory, emotional, social, aesthetic and cognitive development; ✒ the maturation and previous experiences of the student at the commencement of school. From the first years of school, strong links should be developed between home and school in order to: ✒ allow teachers and parents to express their expectations of what children will learn; ✒ share knowledge of children’s experiences and language abilities both in and out of school; ✒ foster a working relationship to further the student’s progress in English language learning. The following sections outline some of the issues that teachers need to consider when planning for particular groups of students, for example, for girls or boys, for Aboriginal students or students from language backgrounds other than English. 7 EnglishEnglish K-6 Modules K-6 Girls and Boys Within the context of the social and cultural messages they receive, girls and boys actively develop their own concept of what it means to be masculine or feminine. The attitudes represented in the media, and the attitudes of social groups and of parents, carers, teachers and peers, are significant in shaping girls’ and boys’ expectations about gender. There is a perception among teachers that girls succeed in English whereas boys often need extra encouragement in this area. However, care must be taken to ensure that the interests of girls are not pitted against those of boys and that teachers examine performance to identify which groups of girls and which groups of boys are underachieving. While a focus on the issue of boys’ reading and language skills is important, it should not overshadow the need to provide a range of teaching and learning practices to accommodate the diverse needs of all students. Girls and boys develop their views of themselves as ‘good’ readers and writers based on the models to which they are exposed and the extent to which these are valued in the school and the home. Their own selection of what is appropriate when reading and writing is informed by the texts that Modules are provided for students to read, listen to and view. Among these texts are children’s television programs (including cartoons and advertisements), computer games, suspense movies, video games, magazines targeting both children and teenagers, the Internet and advertisements in supermarkets. The media conveys attitudes about gender roles and is able to use language to convey social messages in particularly powerful ways. Students should be made aware of how gender expectations are shaped in our society. They need to be given critical literacy skills and provided with opportunities to analyse the values, attitudes and language that are used to inform ways of being and interacting as male or female. Implications for Teaching Teachers should: ✒ monitor the texts girls and boys read and write, both at school and at home, ensuring that they encounter a wide range of texts; ✒ consider the physical organisation of the classroom to ensure that both girls and boys gain access to all resources, including computers, toys and practical materials; ✒ reflect on and monitor peer group and teacher/boy/girl patterns of interaction in the classroom; ✒ delegate classroom responsibility equally to girls and boys; ✒ promote classroom behaviour and attitudes between girls and boys that focus primarily on building up each student’s confidence, irrespective of gender; ✒ intervene where necessary to ensure that girls and boys have equal opportunities to take the lead, make decisions and initiate activities and that they show respect for each other’s views; ✒ encourage the critical examination of gender bias in written, oral, visual and electronic texts; ✒ plan learning experiences to discuss how language is used in the media to convey particular social messages; ✒ counteract gender bias by providing examples of instances where the media uses positive gender models; ✒ select gender-inclusive resources and texts; ✒ use gender-inclusive language themselves and actively encourage students to use the same. 8 English K-6Meeting the Needs of All Language Learners Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students Modules The transition between home and school presents many Aboriginal students with the challenge of learning to listen, talk, read, view and write in markedly different contexts. The context of school for Aboriginal students includes a number of significant aspects: ✒ the various roles of schools in the exclusion and attempted assimilation of Aboriginal students over the past two centuries; ✒ the failure until recently to teach Aboriginal views of history, or to value Aboriginal languages and cultures; ✒ differences between students’ home language and school language; ✒ the possible differences between the values of Aboriginal cultures and the values of school in areas such as family and school responsibilities, sharing and competition, independence and authority,