CURRICULUM 1A - ENGLISH (2H 2018)

ASSIGNMENT 1: PROFESSIONAL TASK – LESSON PLANNING & SEQUENCING

Student Name: Denize AMOR, SID: 17010809

RATIONALE:

The following three consecutive lesson plans have been designed with the intent of being delivered as the first three
lessons of a larger poetry unit for Stage 4 (Year 7) students. The overarching objectives of these three lessons are for students to
develop their knowledge of the relevant metalanguage for the poetry unit, and learn how tone can be used in poetry to shape
meaning and represent a specific time, place or event. In this sequence, students will learn to identify and discuss poetic
techniques and how a poet conveys emotion in text. In addition to this, students will have the opportunity to embed emotion
into their own compositions by emulating established writers’ styles and techniques.

The first lesson in this sequence is designed to allow students to recall existing knowledge, establish poetry related
metalanguage and create the foundational work required for lessons two and three. This lesson begins with a K-W-L exercise in
which students can list what they already know about poetry and what they want to learn. This is followed by a metalanguage
activity within which students must match a poetry term or technique with the corresponding description and example.
These activities present relevant vocabulary and concepts to the students using the front loading strategy which
promotes clarity of the lesson, opportunities for students to construct meaning, and the gradual release of responsibility onto
students for their learning as students will learn the required metalanguage to explore and deconstruct poetry in a following
lesson (Reach Associates, n.d.).
Additionally, these activities allow teachers to conduct an informal pre-assessment as students are required to
demonstrate their existing knowledge of poetry terms and techniques. The K-W-L exercise can also inform teachers of specific
learning goals students may have in relation to poetry and further inform future teaching-learning sequences and activities.
The final activity in this lesson involves students visualising what comes to mind when they hear the word ‘home’ and
when they listen to the Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s poem ‘We Are Going’. The images that students visualise and draw in this activity
will be used at in a later lesson to unpack themes and tone. This visualisation activity directly addresses syllabus outcomes as
students organise ideas and consider the ways the poet’s choice of content and language have shaped meaning to position them
in relation to the subject of the text.

The second lesson allows students to engage more deeply with the text by exploring the life of the poet and annotating
the poem itself. This lesson aims to give students context of the poem by exploring the life of Oodgeroo Noonuccal. By reading
the resource and constructing a timeline of significant events of the poet’s life, students can develop a clearer understanding of
the influences behind the poet’s literary works.
This lesson also includes activities which reinforce students’ knowledge of language as they are required to use their
definitions of homework words and their knowledge of poetry terms and techniques to annotate and analyse the poem. This will
not only demonstrate students’ development of language knowledge and skills, but also give students the opportunity to closely
study the ways in which elements such as imagery, theme and tone can be used to create meaning in text. This lesson is
particularly important in the overall context of the unit as students will not just learn the individual elements but rather, how
these elements work together to create meaning (Boas & Gazis, 2016).

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 The third lesson is designed to check students’ retention of the metalanguage, and an opportunity for them to explore
how emotion can be embedded into text using poetry techniques. The lesson begins with an interactive activity where relay
cards are used as prompts for students to link poetry terms and techniques with the corresponding descriptions and examples.
The following activity requires students to brainstorm emotions that they link to the images they draw in the first lesson in
response to the prompt ‘home’ and the poem. The words they brainstorm in this exercise will act as a guide for the poem that
they will be required to create at the end of this lesson, after exploring how emotion can be embedded into text using a variety
of techniques. Examples will be provided to help scaffold students’ compositions and allow them to emulate styles and
techniques.

Language shapes peoples’ understanding of themselves and the world. As such, the English K-10 Syllabus was created
with the aim of enabling students “to understand and use language effectively, appreciate, reflect on and enjoy the English
language and to make meaning in ways that are imaginative, creative, interpretive, critical and powerful.” (Board of Studies
NSW, 2013). The syllabus has a particular focus on the learning continuum of students as they progress through Early Stage 1
right up until Stage 5.
In the context of the following three consecutive lesson plans, there are specific content and text requirements for
Stage 4 students to read, listen to and view a variety of texts which become increasingly sophisticated as they progress through
the stage. These requirements stipulate that students must study a wide variety of poems including texts which give students an
experience of a “widely defined Australian literature, including texts that give insights into Aboriginal experience in Australia”
(Board of Studies NSW, 2013). As such, the following sequence of lessons focus on the poem ‘We Are Going’ by Oodgeroo
Noonuccal. Oodgeroo was an Indigenous woman who is was inspired by Aboriginal rights movements to write. Her work
includes links to Indigenous experiences, languages and cultures. Therefore, the study of her poems can provide students with a
rich experience which encompasses both the study of literature and links to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and
cultures.
In the reference to the following three lesson plans, students will study ‘We Are Going’ with a particular focus on how
the poet conveys tone and emotion in the text. The lessons have been designed with to address the following outcomes:
 responds to and composes texts for understanding, interpretation, critical analysis, imaginative expression and pleasure
(EN4-1A)
 effectively uses a widening range of processes, skills, strategies and knowledge for responding to and composing texts
in different media and technologies (EN4-2A)
 makes effective language choices to creatively shape meaning with accuracy, clarity and coherence (EN4-4B)
 identifies, considers and appreciates cultural expression in texts (EN4-8D).
These outcomes are address throughout the three lessons as students are given opportunities across different activities in
class to expand their knowledge of vocabulary, text structures and languages features to understand texts, experiment with
languages forms and features, use a range of strategies to organise information, ideas and arguments, explore the ways a
composer’s choices of content and language shape meaning, and understand how texts can represent particular groups in
society and position readers in relation to those groups.

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LESSON ONE:
Class: Year 7 (Stage 4), Time: 60 minutes

Outcomes
A student
 effectively uses a widening range of processes, skills, strategies and knowledge for responding to and composing texts
in different media and technologies (EN4-2A)
 identifies, considers and appreciates cultural expression in texts (EN4-8D)

Materials
 Whiteboard markers
 ‘Poetry Terms and Techniques’ worksheet + Powerpoint
 Projector or Smart Board
 Blank A4 papers and pencils

Procedures:
TIME ORGANISATION TEACHING/ LEARNING ACTIVITIES
Housekeeping:
Teacher allows students to enter the classroom. Students are to sit in their seating arrangement.
Students are to take out books and pens while the teacher is marking the roll.
7mins Whole Class
Introduce Lesson (WALT – What Are Learning To…):
Introduce topic and explain links to poetry unit. Outline lesson by writing headings for each
activity in a corner of the whiteboard in the form of a checklist.
K-W-L exercise:
Students are to draw three columns in their notebooks with the following headings: ‘What I Know
About Poetry’, ‘What I Want to Know’ and ‘What I have Learned’.

8mins Individual Allow students to think about what they already know and what they want to know/what they
want to learn throughout the course of this unit. Prompt students to think about any poetry-
related terms and techniques they may already know or have heard of. Instruct students to leave
the ‘What I have Learned’ column blank for them to add notes at the end of each following
lesson.
Metalanguage:
Pairs Distribute sheets to all students. Students are to work in pairs with the person sitting beside them
to match each poetry term/technique with a description and example. Advise students to work in
pencil to allow for corrections later.
15mins
Whole Class Use a projector and PowerPoint slides to display each answer set. Students are to correct their
own sheets. Select one student to read each slide aloud. Discuss each answer and brainstorm 1-2
other examples for each technique.
Show me, don’t tell me:
Provide students with a two blank A4 pieces of paper and pencils. Explain to students that they
will be prompted to draw the images that they visualise in response to a keyword or text.

Part A - Instruct students to fold their A4 sheet in half (so that there are two A5 halves). Instruct
students to close their eyes and clear their minds. Ask the question: “What comes to mind when
you think of home?” Give the students one minute to consider the question and visualise ideas,
then give two-three minutes to draw the images they saw on one of the papers. If required,
prompt students to think about ideas such as a home as a country or city, landscapes, flags, food,
20mins Individual
places, people, etc. Select students to share their ideas. Identify similar ideas and images which
appear amongst the students’ work. Instruct students to paste the sheet into their books to be
used for a follow-up activity.

Part B - Explain to students that this time they will close their eyes and listen to a poem. Instruct
all students to close their eyes and clear their minds. Teacher to read the poem ‘We Are Going’ by
Oodgeroo Noonuccal aloud. Afterwards, students are to draw the images they visualised. Identify
similar ideas and images which appear amongst the students’ work. Instruct students to paste the
sheet into their books to be used for a follow-up activity.

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 Homework
Instruct students to log into Google Classroom. Explain that the words that have been posted
there (subdued, tribe, bora ground, estate agent, strangers, corroboree, sacred, ceremony, tales,
Dream Time) are for them to look-up and define for homework:
10mins Whole Class
Summarise lesson + WILT (What I Learned Today…)
Summarise the lesson. Set the expectation that students are also to add some notes to their K-W-
L table in the ‘What I have Learned’ column about what they learned in this lesson.

Dismiss students.

Evaluation/ Extension
To evaluate this lesson:
 Students will be required to present definitions of homework words in the following lesson;
 Students will be required to demonstrate knowledge of poetry terms and techniques in the following lessons;
 Information recorded by students in the K-W-L activity can be used to compare knowledge at a later stage of the unit to
evaluate academic progress.

LESSON TWO:
Class: Year 7 (Stage 4) Time: 60 minutes

Outcomes
A student:
 responds to and composes texts for understanding, interpretation, critical analysis, imaginative expression and pleasure
(EN4-1A)
 effectively uses a widening range of processes, skills, strategies and knowledge for responding to and composing texts
in different media and technologies (EN4-2A)

Materials
 Whiteboard markers
 Oodgeroo Noonuccal handouts
 ‘We Are Going’ poem handout
 Projector or Smart Board

Procedures:
TIME ORGANISATION TEACHING/ LEARNING ACTIVITIES
Housekeeping:
Teacher allows students to enter the classroom. Students are to sit in their seating arrangement.
Students are to take out books and pens while the teacher is marking the roll.
5mins Whole Class
Introduce Lesson (WALT – What Are Learning To…):
Recap previous lesson. Introduce lesson and explain links to poetry unit. Outline lesson by writing
headings for each activity in a corner of the whiteboard in the form of a checklist.
About the poet:
Students are to form groups of four or five people. Distribute Oodgeroo Noonuccal handouts.
Each group is to read the worksheet and identify key events in Oodgeroo’s life.
12mins Groups
As a class, construct a timeline of significant events on the whiteboard. Give each group
whiteboard markers to add their contributions to the timeline. Discuss the contributions each
group made.
Homework:
8mins Whole Class Select students to share their definitions for the homework words. Encourage the class to offer
any additional information or alternative definitions they found.
Annotate text: ‘We Are Going’:
Distribute poem sheets to all students. Instruct students to think about what they know about the
information they have just learned about the poet and refer to the definitions of their homework
20mins Whole Class
words as they read the poem. Select a student to read the poem aloud.

Ask students if they can identify any poetry techniques in the poem. Discuss their ideas.

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 Using a projector, display the poem on a whiteboard. As a class, annotate the poem together and
PowerPoint slides, display and discuss annotations for the poem. Students are to copy the notes
directly onto the sheet.
Comprehension:
Students are to form groups of four or five people to answer the following questions about the
poem:
 Identify the theme/s present in the poem.
 What is the poet’s tone?
10mins Groups  Why were the members of the tribe in ‘We Are Going’ felt confusion when they returned
to the place in the poem?
 Why do they feel a strong sense of loss? Use evidence from the poem.

Give the class ample time to discuss and formulate responses, then come together as a whole
class to discuss answers.
Homework + Dismissal
5mins Whole Class Students are to write a paragraph about what they think the poem is about. And how the poem
makes them feel.

Evaluation/ Extension
To evaluate this lesson:
 Students will be required to demonstrate knowledge of poetry terms and techniques in the following lessons;
 Assess students’ responses in comprehension task

LESSON THREE:
Class: Year 7 (Stage 4), Time: 60 minutes

Outcomes
A student:
 responds to and composes texts for understanding, interpretation, critical analysis, imaginative expression and pleasure
(EN4-1A)
 makes effective language choices to creatively shape meaning with accuracy, clarity and coherence (EN4-4B)

Materials
 Whiteboard markers
 Emotions in Poetry worksheet

Procedures
TIME ORGANISATION TEACHING/ LEARNING ACTIVITIES
Housekeeping:
Teacher allows students to enter the classroom. Students are to sit in their seating arrangement.
Students are to take out books and pens while the teacher is marking the roll.
5mins Whole Class
Introduce Lesson (WALT – What Are Learning To…):
Recap previous lesson. Introduce lesson and explain links to poetry unit. Outline lesson by
writing headings for each activity in a corner of the whiteboard in the form of a checklist.
Metalanguage Relay Game:
Teacher is to randomly distribute poetry terms and techniques relay cards to all students. The
cards prompt students link metalanguage, descriptions and examples. Students are to listen to
their peers and read their cards aloud upon hearing the prompt for their card.
Individual/Whole
15mins
Class For example:
First person: “I have the first card. Who has the definition for simile?”
Second person: “I have the definition: When two things are compared using words ‘like’ and ‘as’;
Who has an example of onomatopoeia?”
Third person: “I have the word: BOOM!” And so forth…
Unpack the images:
15mins
Students are to revisit the papers they used to draw visualisations of their ideas in response to

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 Individual home and the poem in Lesson One. On the other half of each of the folded papers, students are
to brainstorm emotions evoked by the images they have drawn. Discuss how certain images may
be linked to certain emotions and experiences. For example, students may link emotions such as
happiness with the simple image of a pot or cooking utensils because they link the image to their
parents’ homemade meals. Identify similar emotions which appear amongst the students’ work.

Emotions in poetry:
Distribute ‘Emotions in Poetry’ worksheet to students. As a class, work together to create an
Whole Class example which incorporates an emotion into each technique.
Create your own poem:
Students are to construct a poem of 8-15 lines which includes at least 3 different poetry
techniques. The topic for the poem is ‘home’ and students are to use their images and emotion
20mins Individual brainstorms to assist.

Encourage students to focus on a specific tone/emotion that they want to convey and what type
of language they would use in their compositions.
Homework
Students are to complete their poems to be checked by the teacher next lesson.
5mins Whole Class
Dismiss students.

RESOURCES

Poetry Terms & Techniques (Worksheet):

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Poetry Terms & Techniques (PowerPoint):

Oodgeroo Noonuccal (Handout):

(Excerpt taken from: http://assets.readingeggsassets.com/teacher_resources/rex/writing/pdfs/upper/oodgeroo_noonuccal-fp-

cdfa6399.pdf)

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‘We Are Going’ (Poem Handout):

Metalanguage Relay Game (Cards):

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Emotions in Poetry (Worksheet):

REFERENCES

Boas, E. & Gazis, S. (2016). The Artful English Teacher. Kensington Gardens, Australia: The Australian Association for the Teaching
of English.

Noonuccal, O. (1964). We Are Going: Poems. Brisbane, Australia: Jacaranda Press

NSW Department of Education. (2016). Deconstructing Poetry. Retrieved from https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-

learning/student-assessment/smart-teaching-strategies/literacy/reading/stage-4/interpreting-poetry/deconstructing-
poetry

NSW Department of Education. (2016). Interpret Poetry. Retrieved from https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-

learning/student-assessment/smart-teaching-strategies/literacy/reading/stage-3/interpret-poetry

NSW Education Standards Authority (Previous Board of Studies NSW). (2013). English K-10 Syllabus. Sydney, Australia: Board of
Studies.

Oodgeroo Noonuccal. (n.d.) Retrieved 20 August 2018, from

http://assets.readingeggsassets.com/teacher_resources/rex/writing/pdfs/upper/oodgeroo_noonuccal-fp-cdfa6399.pdf

Reach Associates. (n.d.) Front Loading. Retrieved from http://www.reachassoc.net/library/files/frontloading.pdf

Williams, M. (2004). Tapestry: Poetry for Secondary Students. Milton, Australia: John Wiley & Sons.

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