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Assignment task two: Integrated unit of work and resources on effective

literacy practice.
Where the wild things are by Maurice Sendak.
Year level - 2

The book we chose was Where the wild things are by Maurice Sendak. This paper
will discuss the rationale as to why we have chosen this book, the purpose of our unit
of work and how it will be effective. There are six learning outcomes that will use the
themes in the book to effectively teach a class of grade two students. The
assessment criterion is also provided.

Rationale:
This rationale will focus on what the book is about, what the author did well and why
we chose it. We will discuss the purpose of our unit work and why it will be effective
for a grade two class.
As said above, we chose the book where the wild things are by Maurice Sendak.
This book is about a child called Max, who dresses up as a wild thing, misbehaves
and is sent to his bedroom without dinner. Here his imagination runs wild and he sails
away to a distant land. He meets the wild things, who accept him as one of their own,
appointing him king. Although they have fun, Max eventually decides that something
is missing, and decides to return home. The wild things are devastated, but he leaves
anyway. When he returns home, his supper is sitting in his bedroom still warm.

Sendak successfully captures the imagination through detailed illustrations, and in

combination with written text, he created a visually dynamic story that is full of life.
Studies by Black, Culatta and Hall-Kenyon (2010) show us that students are more
likely to engage if the learning is explicit and the topics are interesting and appealing.

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We chose this book because it engages children through relatable behaviours, as

well as capturing the eye through illustrations, which draw you into the story and
maxs world. We believe it is effectively paired with our teaching and learning
sequence, as it provides an opportunity for our students to expand their creativity
through writing and drawing.

It is important when implementing this learning sequence that we as teachers are

able to actively engage our students. Barratt Pugh, Browne, Cairney, Elderfield,
House, Louden, Meiers, Rivalland, Rohl and Rowe (2005) shows us that we must
capture our learners attention, engage with them and stimulate their interest in the
subject in a consistent fashion. We must also provide deep and meaningful
knowledge so the students will have the ability to engage with explicit learning, not
just busy work (Barratt Pugh et al., 2005, p. 93). Another important aspect is the
necessity to run a classroom with good structure, where all students are participating
and the learning is cohesive, meaning that transitional periods are small and not
abrupt. Structure is important, but we must also be flexible. When learning
opportunities arise, we should use them to benefit the students (Barratt Pugh et al.,
2005).

Learning outcome one: Students use cues from the text to predict the outcomes of
the text, and use these skills to write a narrative piece.
Learning outcome one involves the students writing an imaginative prediction piece.
We are teaching the students about prediction as it gives them the valuable skills to
understand the meaning of the text and what will occur throughout the book based on
their earlier reading experiences (Hill, 2006). This writing exercise works well with the
text as its imaginative nature encourages the students to use their own creativity in
their predictions. The book also connects well with prediction, as the storyline is not
complex and the reader is able to read the early narrative cues to have an estimated

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guess for the ending. The brainstorm that occurs before the students begin their
independent piece of writing relates to the Victorian Curriculum (VCAA Ausvels: Level
2, n.d.) for the code ACELT15889, in that students can compare opinions about
characters, events and settings in and between texts.

Learning outcome two: Students understand the purpose of adjectives and how to
use them to develop their writing.
Learning outcome two is based around the students ability to understand the
concept of adjectives and how they can be used to make their writing interesting.
This learning outcome relates to the book as adjectives are used frequently
throughout the text, but only in a limited way, e.g.: terrible is used repeatedly. This is
beneficial to learning as the students are able to expand on these descriptive terms.
It is important to teach the students about adjectives as it extends their creative
writing skills and expands their vocabulary. The learning outcome involves a think,
pair, share, which supports the idea of social constructivism. Peers are assisting in
the learning process, and through a social context, the students are actively
engaging with their learning (Hill, 2006). As stated by Abidin, Rasidi and Zain
students construct their own meaning by talking, listening, writing, reading and
reflecting on content, ideas and problems (2012, p. 320). This is evident through the
use of paired brainstorming and using different modes of learning.

Learning outcome three: Students are able to translate a written description into a
pictorial representation.
Learning outcome three is based around the childrens abilities to translate their
written descriptions into a pictorial representation. The purpose of this learning
outcome is to determine whether students are able to comprehend the words they
have written in their description, and our way of acknowledging this is through the
students representing this in an image format. Picture books that combine oral

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language and image support children, in that they encourage them to develop their
imagination and blend this with written and spoken language (Hill, 2006). Throughout
the book the illustrations are detailed and allow for good descriptions, giving
examples the students can expand on. In regards to the Victorian curriculum, this
learning outcome relates to ACELT1593, as the students create events and
characters using different media that develop key events and characters from literary
texts (VCAA Ausvels: Level 2, n.d.).

Learning outcome four: Students understand the design and purpose of a report, and
how this particular piece of writing can be used to present factual information.
Learning outcome four is based around research. As the students will create a
report/profile of their own wild thing, this will allow them to understand the purpose of
the report and what the structure involves. The purpose of this learning outcome is to
teach students about factual information and the correct ways to display it. The idea
of the wild things works cohesively as it allows the students to demonstrate their
knowledge of a profile, and do some research into facts such as habitats, without
having to use authentic information for the entire project. This is a great way to
introduce data collection without putting too much pressure on the students.

We are also using technology such as computers, and apps such as iBook author, to
create an audio book. Rather than writing, the students are able to type their
responses and then record an audio version. This ties in with the Victorian curriculum
for code ACELY1674 as the students construct texts featuring print, visual and audio
elements using software, including word processing programs (VCAA Ausvels: Level
2, n.d.). This activity uses audio recording to enhance student learning and supports
a multimodal approach to learning. Boisvert, Rao and Skouge, (2007) shows us that
it can be an inexpensive and personalised way to approach early literacy, and is
highly beneficial for all learners. The internet is a great way to source information,

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particularly in young children as it keeps them actively engaged in the task at hand
(Hill, 2006). It also supports multimodal learning, which gives variety to the students
so they are able to learn in range of alternative ways, and more importantly, learn in a
style that suits them (Alejandre & Moore, 2003).

Learning outcome five: Students will produce a persuasive piece of writing and
understand how it can influence audience point of view.
Learning outcome five supports the learning of persuasive language and how to write
the simplified version of an exposition. The students are to write a persuasive piece
about why they should be king of the wild things, ensuring that they understand the
purpose and importance of the audience they are writing the exposition for.
This outcome involves both shared/interactive writing and independent writing, as at
the beginning of the lesson, the teacher holds the pen but uses the students ideas,
which eventually leads into independent writing, where the student composes their
own ideas (Hill, 2006).
The learning outcome links to the book as the students have the ability to see the
situation from Maxs point of view and then articulate their own views, opinions and
arguments on the matter. At the conclusion of the lesson, the students will proof read
their work and check for spelling errors and punctuation which relates to ACELY1672,
Reread and edit text for spelling, sentence-boundary punctuation and text structure
(VCAA Ausvels: Level 2, n.d.). The necessity for self-correction and proof reading of
the students own work is paramount. As shown in Good and Sadler (2006), the
students in the study benefited from proof reading their own work as it increased their
learning and error detection and correction skills.

Learning outcome six: Students will use oral language to persuade an audience.
Learning outcome six uses oral language to communicate the students ideas. The
purpose of this outcome is to teach the students about the correct techniques when

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speaking publicly, such as eye contact, loud, clear and concise voice, good posture,
and interacting with the audience. This relates to the Victorian curriculum, code
ACELY1667, as the students rehearse and deliver short presentations on familiar
and new topics (VCAA Ausvels: Level 2, n.d.). As they are arguing their stance on
why they should be king of the wild things, it also allows the children to express their
ideas through oral language to their peers. Oral language allows children to access
knowledge in different ways, such as writing, reading and drawing (Hill, 2006). This is
one of the reasons why it is so important to include in our learning sequence. It also
encourages their conversational fluency, which is the ability to communicate meaning
through oral language (Hill, 2006). The book is connected to the learning outcome in
a successful way as Max is king of the wild things, and it gives the students the
opportunity to challenge his position and become king themselves.

As you can see from the above explanations, one of our main objectives was to
teach the children about different writing styles, such as narrative, reports and
expositions, and these are shown in learning outcomes one, four and five. It is
important that children are able to distinguish between different styles of writing so
they can understand their purpose, what they are used for and how the students can
use them in their own writing. This is connected to the Victorian curriculum through
code ACELA1463, as students are expected to understand that different types of
texts have identifiable text structures and language features that help the text serve
its purpose (VCAA Ausvels: Level 2, n.d.). There are vast differences between
narratives, reports and expositions, and by the time the children have finished this
learning sequence, they will be able to understand the differences and have the
ability to write in each particular style. The students are learning how to be a text
user, as they are able to realise that the book is from a narrative perspective, and
also how to be a text critic, as their own work can be used to provide narrative, report
and exposition pieces of writing relating to the text (Hill, 2006).

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Our learning sequence applies to several learning styles, and is inclusive of the
students individualised ways of learning. As shown in Barratt Pugh et al. (2005),
these aspects need to be taken into account, as all children have alternative learning
styles that need to be catered for. Barratt Pugh et al. (2005) states that teachers
need to challenge students to develop their literacy skills and extend their knowledge,
which is shown throughout our learning sequence. This article also shows us that
respect is a key factor in teaching, as being warm and approachable can support
student learning and make them feel comfortable in the classroom environment.
When a strong relationship is built between teacher and student, the development of
the child is supported and this can increase engagement with the task, which results
in a deeper and more meaningful form of learning (Stuber, 2007).

Teaching and Learning Sequence:

Learning outcome one: Students use cues from the text to predict the outcomes of
the text, and use these skills to write a narrative piece.

Show the students the front cover of the book.

Ask the students what they believe the text will entail.
Read the story up until Max sails away in the boat, making sure that the
teacher uses good storytelling skills to keep the children engaged (Hill, 2006).
(Engage)
Ask the students where they think Max is going? What he will do there? Who
do they think hell meet? Will he return home?
Have a discussion with the students about their ideas and write a brainstorm
on the whiteboard. The students may think up their own ideas, or piggyback
off of other students. This is a great way to extend knowledge through support
from the teacher and fellow classmates (Barratt Pugh et al., 2005). (Explore)
Tell the students they will be writing a narrative piece about their predictions
for the rest of the text.

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Emphasise that students will need to write down their events in the correct
order for their writing piece to make sense.
The students will then create a plan, writing down the main ideas for their
narrative prediction piece, focusing on having their ideas in the correct order.
The students will bring their plan to the teacher for evaluation. (Evaluate)
Once corrected the students will then write their final copy.
Students will regroup on the floor. Teacher will read the rest of the text and at
the conclusion, discuss the students predictions and if any of them were
correct.

Learning outcome two: Students understand the purpose of adjectives and how to
use them to develop their writing.

Ask the students if they know what an adjective is.

Tell the students that an adjective is a describing word, and that these words
can be used to make their writing interesting.
Explain to the students that adjectives can describe all aspects of personality
and appearance. (Explicit)
Re-read the book to the students. Ask them to place their hands on their
heads when they hear an adjective (E.g.: terrible). This is using the students
code breaking skills as they are using their phonemic awareness to listen for
words and understand their meaning (Hill, 2006). (Elaborate)
At the conclusion of the book, discuss with the students that the word terrible
was used many times.
Ask the students to do a think, pair, share about their possible words, so they
can expand on each others ideas. The teacher will walk amongst the groups
to assess their concepts. (Explore)
Ask the students what other words could be used instead of terrible.
On the IWB, go onto the website that allows you to build your wild self
(Buildyourwildself, n.d.), and with the students create a wild thing.
Brainstorm all of the adjective words with the students that can describe it and
its personality, and create a poster that acts as a word bank the students can
use.

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The students will then create two sentences about their own interpretation of
a wild thing in their workbooks. The first sentence will describe their wild
things appearance, and the second sentence will describe the personality.

Learning outcome three: Students are able to translate a written description into a
pictorial representation.

The teacher will have written a description of a wild thing on the IWB.
Ask the students to come up one at a time and draw a section of the wild
thing, making sure that they are translating the adjectives from the sentence
into a picture on the IWB. (Engage)
Once they have created the monster, ask the students to think about the
adjective sentence they wrote, and how they would draw their wild thing.
The students will then draw their wild thing on a piece of white paper, based
on their descriptions they made previously. (Elaborate)
If the students have had more ideas and wish to add them to their picture and
their description, they are fine to do so.
Once the students have finished their picture, they are to then write the final
draft of their adjective sentence.

Learning outcome four: Students understand the design and purpose of a report, and
how this particular piece of writing can be used to present factual information.
This class will be held in the computer laboratory.
The teacher is to show an example of what a report is and ask the students
what they think it is used for.
Tell the students reports are a form of informative text, which is used to
present factual information. (Explicit)
Ask the students to research habitats they believe that their wild thing would
live in. Give examples of some habitats such as jungle, desert, bushland,
ocean etc., but ask them to go more in depth. This is using the idea of
meaning maker as shown in Hill (2006), as the children are using their ability

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to read and comprehend information through their research of habitats.

(Explore)
Once the students have found a habitat, ask them to open up the pre-made
report template and get them to fill it in on their computer (see appendix 1).
They are to use their adjective sentences for the personality and appearance
section, and to copy and paste the scanned version of the drawing into the
template.
Encourage the students to use adjectives throughout the report to make it
interesting and to use the research they have conducted in the habitat
section.
The students are allowed to alter the design of their profile to inspire
creativity.
Ask the students to save their documents and to email them to the teacher.
Once each student has emailed their report through, one by one they will be
called to the teachers computer where they will record a short audio piece of
them talking about their wild thing. Once this has been completed, the teacher
will compile all of the students work to create one singular audio book using
the iBook Author app, and the audio book can then be posted on the school
blog for all parents and students to see.
A hard copy of the book will also be printed and placed in the school
classroom as the class book of Wild Things.

Learning outcome five: Students will produce a persuasive piece of writing and
understand how it can influence audience point of view.

Ask the students if they know what persuade means.

Ask the students if they know what a persuasive piece of writing is used for.
Explain to them that it is used to influence the readers point of view.
The teacher will bring up the worksheet for the students persuasive piece
(see appendix 2).
As a class, fill in the persuasive worksheet.
The class topic will be why the students should be allowed to have chocolate
for breakfast. As a class the students will need to think up four arguments.

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Ask the students who the intended audience will be for their class persuasive
piece (the answer is their parents). Explain to them that the audience is
important when writing a persuasive piece, as the writing has to appeal to the
audience. (Explicit)
Once the class worksheet has been completed, and the students understand
the task, they will then fill in their own worksheet with the heading Why I
should be king of the wild things.
Explain to the students that they need to give four reasons why they should
be king of the wild things and that they need to think outside the box.
The students will need to take into account the audience that they will be
trying to persuade (the class of students).
Once students have finished, they will proofread their work, and make
corrections to any errors they have made. (Elaborate)
Remind the students that they will be presenting their ideas to the group in
the next class, so they should be trying to think up interesting, persuasive
writing.

Learning outcome six: Students will use oral language to persuade an audience.

Talk to the students about what makes a good persuasive presentation, and
the important features of being a good speaker (e.g.: eye contact, clearly

spoken etc.) (Explicit)

Tell the students that they will be presenting their persuasive piece to the

class.
Remind them at the end of the lesson the students will vote for who they
thought was the most convincing, and showed good presenting skills. This
person will be crowned king of the wild things (and will be presented with a

crown).
After each student has spoken, the class will be encouraged to give feedback

to what they did well and what they can improve on. (Evaluate)
At the conclusion of the lesson, the vote will take place.

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Assessment Criteria
To assess the students progress, we will use a combination of formative and
summative assessment to evaluate the work produced by the students. Assessment
is important to determine what the students have learnt. We have provided a
scaffolded approach to learning, and through the feedback provided in the formative
assessments, the children have had the opportunity to improve and extend their
learning (Barratt Pugh et al., 2005).

Formative assessment
There will be four types of formative assessment to gauge student learning. The first
formative assessment will be the draft for the imaginative prediction piece from
learning outcome one. When the students approach us to mark their plan for that
particular piece of writing, we will assess whether the students were able to
comprehend the narrative cues in the book and provide an appropriate estimation of
what the book will entail. The students will have written their plan in a cohesive way,
highlighting an understanding of story structure so their writing piece makes sense,
and also use their creativity to write an unusual, imaginative piece.

The second formative assessment will be during the second learning outcome, when
the children are participating in a think, pair, share as part of a class brainstorm.
Whilst we are walking amongst the students, we need to take into account whether or
not the students are able to comprehend what an adjective is and what sort of
adjectives they are able to think of.

The third formative assessment is during learning outcome four, when the students
are asked to make an informative profile. When the students approach us to record

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their section of the audio book, we will assess whether they can distinguish what
makes an informative piece, with questions like What makes this piece informative?
What makes it different from the narrative piece you wrote earlier for your
predictions?
Does research have an impact on an informative piece and why?

The final formative assessment will be during learning outcome five, the persuasive
writing piece. Whilst the students are brainstorming ideas as a class, we will take into
account whether the students are using persuasive language for their arguments and
if they are able to create a stronger and more informed argument than because I
said so.

Summative assessment
There will be two summative assessments; the first will be a combination for learning
outcomes two, three and four. Once the students have completed their
report/profiles, we will assess several different aspects via a rubric (see appendix 3).
For the second summative assessment, which is for learning outcome six, the
students will be evaluated on their oral presentation to the class. This will be
assessed via another rubric (see appendix 4).

Appendices
Appendix 1

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Appendix 2

Appendix 2 Appendix 2 -

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Appendix 2 -

(Manocha, 2013)

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Appendix 3 Report/Profile Marking Rubric

Always

Sometime
s

Rarely

Never

Pictorial representation
matches original
description
Accurately describe
habitat
Interesting adjectives
are used appropriately
throughout report
Ability to read out loud
for recording including
clear, concise
pronunciation
Design is visually
pleasing

Appendix 4 Oral Marking Rubric

Always

Sometime
s

Rarely

Never

Eye contact and

interactions with the
audience
Clear speech and
appropriate volume
Ideas are well
organised and fits the
appropriate style of
writing (exposition)
Use of persuasive
language

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References
Abidin, I. I. Z., Rasidi, F. E. M., & Zain, S. F. H. S. (2012) Students Centered Learning
in Mathematics Constructivism in the Classroom. Journal of International
Education Research, 8(4), 319-329.

Alejandre, S., & Moore, V. (2003). Technology as a tool in the primary classroom.
Teaching Children Mathematics, 10(1), 1-16.

Barratt Pugh, C., Browne, C., Cairney, T., Elderfield, J., House, H., Louden, W.,
Meiers, M., Rivalland, J., Rohl, M., & Rowe, K. (2005). In teachers hand Effective literacy teaching practices in the early years of schooling. Mount
Lawley: Edith Cowan University.

Black, S., Culatta, B., & Hall-Kenyon, K. (2010). Teaching Expository Comprehension
Skills in Early Childhood Classrooms. Topics In Language Disorders, 30(4),
323-338. doi:10.1097/tld.0b013e3181ff5a65

Buildyourwildself (n.d.). BuiLD YouR WiLD SeLF New York Zoo and Aquairum.
Retrieved May 12, 2015, from http://www.buildyourwildself.com

Good, E., & Sadler, P. (2006). The impact of self- and peer-grading on student
learning. Educational Assessment, 11(1), 1-31.
doi:10.1207/s15326977ea1101_1

Hill, S. (2006). Developing early literacy (3rd ed.). Prahran: Eleanor Curtain
Publishing.

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Manocha, R. (2013). Taming the wild things Meditation for kids. Retrieved May 19,
2015, from http://www.beyondthemind.com/taming-the-wild-things-meditationfor-kids/

Stuber, G. (2007). Centering your classroom setting: the stage for engaged learners.
YC Young Children, 62(4), 58 - 59.

VCAA Ausvels: Level 2 (n.d.). AusVELS Level 2 Curriculum. Retrieved May 20,
2015, from http://ausvels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Level2.

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EDF2020 ENGLISH AND LITERACIES 1

ASSIGNMENT 1: MULTIMODAL RESOURCE APPROACHES TO EARLY
LITERACY EDUCATION
ASSIGNMENT 2: INTEGRATED UNIT OF WORK
(Please highlight relevant assignment)
GROUP CONTRACT
If you are intending to submit a group assignment please provide the following
information:
Student Names (maximum of 3 students per group)
1. Holly Atkins

Student No. 2515 8244

2. Michaela Downward

Student No. 2615 6458

Describe in detail what each student intends to contribute to the assignment.

Student 1 and Student 2
Both students shared full responsibilities for the entire assignment. We
completed the essay together to ensure coherency and equal focus and
workload.
Please attach a copy of this contract when submitting your group assignment
and retain a copy for your own records.
Keep in mind that this is a shared assignment so all students in the
group will receive the same mark and grade.

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