3.ten_Nicole+H


 * Year Nine ESL class Term Three **
 * Class Description**

This class is made up of thirteen ESL students, eight NESB and two boys several generations Australian. Seven students have behavioural and emotional issues, and there is an ESL support teacher 60% of the time. Students come from a range of backgrounds: Armenia, Turkey, Lebanon, Afghanistan, China, Hong Kong, Korea, Indonesia and Thailand. Some students have recently graduated from the Intensive Language Centre, and others have been in the country for two to four years. There is a broad range of maturity and ability levels as well as English reading, writing and speaking competence. The Year Nine classes are graded, with this class being 9E4 out of 5 classes. All classes complete the same units and assessment tasks, with modification of activities dependant on the class teacher. This unit was planned to be completed over a five week period, following on from a study of Romeo and Juliet and leading into a novel study.


 * Learning Subject Outcomes and Literary Focus Area**


 * Outcome 2: A student uses and critically assesses a range of processes for responding and composing.**
 * Students learn to:** **2.3** vary their use of the processes of planning, drafting, rehearsing, editing, and publishing to compose appropriately and effectively crafted and sustained texts in a range of modes and media.
 * 2.5** assess the achievements of their own and other’s compositions and responses according to specific guidelines of effectiveness for purpose, audience and context.
 * Students learn about**: **2.13** their own processes of composition and how these processes influence the quality of their texts.
 * ESL Outcome**: **5.6** Demonstrate awareness of how information is organised and presented in English texts.
 * 6.12** Plans and revises writing to enhance its fluency, accuracy and readability.

Audience: using narrative devices to engage the reader.
 * Literary Focus:** Vocabulary: using precise sustained vocabulary


 * Concept:** **The power of precise words**

2. Many narratives follow a pattern that encourages reader engagement. 3. Playing with this structure disrupts reader expectation 4. Communication of ideas and emotions is enhanced by precise vocabulary.
 * Deep Knowledge**
 * 1.** That narratives provide a powerful way for useful information about life, relationships and values to be communicated to an audience.


 * PreTest:** As the previous assessment task involved the writing of a letter to the Prince of Verona, discussing the issues of family loyalty and love, these letters provide an opportunity to evaluate the use of appropriate vocabulary according to the Naplan criteria, and the awareness of audience.

Compose a short story of between 500- 750 words. Make sure you show a clear orientation, complication and resolution. You will be assessed on your ability to communicate a powerful experience to your audience based on imagery and descriptive vocabulary which would appeal to your teenage audience. Your story must revolve around aspects of life inSydney, but the choice of topic and genre is up to you. Some suggestions include: An imaginative recount (based on experience) about first impressions and early experiences inSydney An impossible neighbour The graffiti wall AtLunaPark Missing the last bus Strange people on the bus The Burbs
 * ASSESSMENT TASK**
 * Context:** You have been asked to contribute a short story of about 500-750 words for an anthology entitled “Snapshots of Sydney” which explores the diverse backgrounds, experiences and attitudes of teenagers in our city. This book is being promoted for a teenage audience. Although your story is a narrative, it may be based on your own experience.
 * Task Description:**

The components of a short story The characteristics of each aspect Genre: what it is and what it does Indicators of genre especially with regard to Orientation, complication and resolution Ways to engage the audience such as sizzling starts, building tension, point of view and perspective, dialogue, strong endings and figurative language. Various narrative structures such as the hero’s journey. Specific vocabulary for describing and creating. Metalanguage about narratives and literature
 * What do the students need to know and be able to do to complete the task?**
 * Learning Activities.**


 * 1) Reading aloud in class three short stories: A Tale from Tunisia (very short, funny tale about a guest who comes to dinner); The Emperor’s Flying Machine ( a tale about the way an Emperor from Ancient China handled a new invention) and The Boy Who was Afraid ( a Western story about imagination and character development) and answering questions about the way characters are introduced, genre is made obvious, and the Complications and Resolutions, to ensure all students have a knowledge and familiarity with these concepts.(2 sixty minute lesson
 * 2) Story Beginnings. Examine thirty different one sentence story starters and discuss how so much information is conveyed in the first sentence. Indicators of genre. Choose three and then write the first paragraph of each, continuing on in the same manner.(2 sixty minute lessons)
 * 3) The Dream Journey. This is a guided creative writing task which leads students through a series of landscapes, and they have choices as to how they describe each situation which connects into a whole. It is very medititative and powerful and creates some great writing because students don’t have to worry about storyline; they can just describe each scene. They describe a path, a key, a body of water, a tree, a stranger, a wall and what maybe beyond it.(2 sixty minute lessons)
 * 4) Now take this dream journey and change the genre. It is now either a science fiction story (so set it on another planet, in another time or in an imaginary world); or a crime story (so it needs a detective and a crime and maybe a seedy tone and short abrupt sentences. Write the new story making the necessary changes.( one lesson plus homework)
 * 5) Another descriptive writing exercise: A cloze passage describing a house: the first time fill in the gaps with words to make it an attractive, homely house; the second time make it old, delapidated and ugly.(One lesson)
 * 6) Narrative structure: The Seven Steps to Writing success. Explore the seven steps: Plan for Success; Sizzling starts; Building Tension; Dynamic Dialogue; Show Don’t Tell; Ban the Boring bits; Exciting Endings. Complete short exercises to illustrate each step and discuss links to genre,( 5 lessons)
 * 7) Another narrative structure: The twelve steps of the Hero’s Journey. Look at the Hero’s journey and read through the steps. Then choose a film (any Disney, hero story, science fiction) and match the steps with the events in the film.(2 lessons)
 * 8) Walled City Exercise: another guided writing task where the students create a fantasy city. Now they write a narrative set in their city using the 12 steps of the hero’s journey.(3 lessons)
 * 9) Heywire stories. Listen to the ABC Heywire short non fiction pieces and discuss the structure, style and format. Choose an incident from student’s own life to write about. Model their piece on the Heywire stories from all overAustralia.(2 lessons plus homework)
 * 10) Revision on Orientation, complication and Resolution and Twist. Read two more short stories and locate these elements( 2 lessons)
 * 11) Begin assessment task. (2 lessons plus homework)
 * 12) Publish a selection of stories in the school newsletter.