1

UNIT OVERVIEW: COMPONENTS, EXPLANATION/DETAILS AND LEARNING

EXPERIENCES

COMPONENTS EXPLANATION/DETAILS LEARNING
EXPERIENCES
(provide the number)
Unit Orientation Ask students for a show of hands how
many have seen an elephant. Mention that
they are an endangered animal, and
discuss with students what they think that
might mean. Introduce the focus text, and
discuss the cover of the book. As a class,
create a KWL chart. Walk through the text,
discussing the type of text it is and looking
at the contents page.
Lesson 1

Building knowledge of the
field
This unit will provide students with a range
of texts to increase their background
knowledge of endangered animals.
Engaging activities and research tasks will
help ensure the development of
knowledge, understanding and skills
relating to English and science curriculum
content descriptions.
4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Utilising the non-fiction
focus text
Burnie, D. (2008). Countdown to
Extinction: Animals in Danger! (1st ed.).
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
This text will be used to introduce the topic
of endangered animals. Students will be
required to complete a number of activities
using the focus text.
1, 2, 3

Responding to texts Students are able to comprehend the text
and present a point of view by using
appropriate metalanguage, and reflecting
on the viewpoints of others (ACELT1609)
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 14, 15

Exploring texts Students will be exploring a range of texts,
using books, videos, apps and websites to
help them gain further knowledge and
understanding on the topic.

1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Examining texts including:
Text structure and
organisation
Students understand how texts vary in
purpose, structure and topic as well as the
degree of formality (ACELA1504)
1, 2, 7
Expressing and
developing ideas
Understand how noun groups/phrases and
adjective groups/phrases can be
expanded in a variety of ways to provide a
fuller description of the person, place,
thing or idea (ACELA1508)

Visual and
multimodal features
Students will create a mind map on the
IPads, and will also be using the IPads to
2, 12, 13
2
COMPONENTS EXPLANATION/DETAILS LEARNING
EXPERIENCES
(provide the number)
of texts present their summative assessment.

Extending beyond the
focus text including:

Creating texts
utilising print and
multimodal texts
Students will be required to create a range
of texts throughout this unit.


Assessment
Formative (one
strategy and
instrument)
Students will be required to complete a
writing task of their choice about
endangered animals.
7
Summative (one
strategy and
instrument)
Students will be orally presenting
information on an endangered species
using the IPad as visual support.
14, 15

Significant demonstration
of learning.
By the end of this unit, students will be
able to explain that living things have
structural features and adaptations that
help them to survive in their environment
(ACSSU043). They will also be able to
demonstrate their comprehension and
their knowledge of different text types.
14, 15