Pulteney Grammar School - English

Topic:

Red Dog
Creative Writing + Response to text writing

Year
Timing & Duration: Term 2 | 6 weeks

Purpose/Mode(s):

Stage 1: What are the significant concept(s), related key ideas and focussing unit question(s)
Students will understand that Texts are created for a specific purpose, with a particular audience in mind Language use and text structure can impact audience response and evoke particular emotion Our own experiences help to shape who we are today, giving us our own unique identity. Students will know What identity means, and how it impacts our lives and others lives Language choice plays a major role in audience response How to plan, create and edit an imaginative piece of writing How to think critically about other texts and use persuasive techniques to support personal viewpoints Key questions What is identity, and how can it be reflected in various texts, including my own? How can language and text structure create particular meaning, emotion and audience response? What is target audience and purpose? Why are these important for me to know prior to creating my own text?

Stage 2: Using Achievement standard(s) to inform Unit Design and assessment

Criteria Receptive:
Listening Reading Viewing

Achievement standard indicators (check the indicators used)

By the end of Year 9, students analyse the ways that text structures can be manipulated for effect. They analyse and explain how images, vocabulary choices and language features distinguish the work of individual authors. They evaluate and integrate ideas and information from texts to form their own interpretations. They select evidence from the text to analyse and explain how language choices and conventions are used to influence an audience. They listen for ways texts position an audience. Students understand how to use a variety of language features to create different levels of meaning. They understand how interpretations can vary by comparing their responses to texts to the responses of others. In creating texts, students demonstrate how manipulating language features and images can create innovative texts. Students create texts that respond to issues, interpreting and integrating ideas from other texts. They make presentations and contribute actively to class and group discussions, comparing and evaluating responses to ideas and issues. They edit for effect, selecting vocabulary and grammar that contribute to the precision and persuasiveness of texts and using accurate spelling and punctuation.

Productive:
Speaking Writing Creating

Strands and sub-strands:

LANGUAGE
Language variation and change Language for interaction Text structure and organisation Expressing and developing ideas Sound and letter knowledge

LITERATURE
Literature and context Responding to literature Examining literature Creating literature

LITERACY
Texts in context Interacting with others Interpreting, analysing and evaluating Creating texts

Related Content Descriptions

Understand how spelling is used creatively in texts for particular effects, for example characterisation and humour and to represent accents and styles of speech (ACELA1562) Understand that authors innovate with text structures and language for specific purposes and effects(ACELA1553) Present an argument about a literary text based on initial impressions and subsequent analysis of the whole text (ACELT1771) Experiment with the ways that language features, image and sound can be adapted in literary texts, for example the effects of stereotypical characters and settings, the playfulness of humour and pun and the use of hyperlink (ACELT1638) Create imaginative, informative and persuasive texts that present a point of view and advance or illustrate arguments, including texts that integrate visual, print and/or audio features (ACELY1746) Use a range of software, including word processing programs, flexibly and imaginatively to publish texts(ACELY1748)

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General Capabilities
Literacy View, read and comprehend texts Create imaginitive texts Respond and review texts Numeracy Write succintly to adhere to word limits ICT Type, edit and format work appropriately Research content Critical and creative thinking Make creative decisions to create an imaginative piece of work Review texts critically for a certain purpose

Ethical behaviour Respect and value diverse cultures and identity

Personal and social competence Respect others opinions

Intercultural understanding Understand that all individuals are unique and come from diverse cultures. Therefore, we have unique identities.

Cross-curricular priorities: Are embedded in the curriculum and will have a strong but varying presence depending on their relevance
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and culture
Students will read literature based on Aboriginal perspectives.

Asia and Australias engagement with Asia

Students will read literature with relevence to Australias engagement with Asia or vice versa.

Sustainability

Assessment Type and tasks(s):

Attach assessments to unit plan Performance Task(s): Pre-assessment: Students will individually complete a series of questions based on identity and what it means to be Australian or culturally diverse. Formative assessment: Students will complete class based activities throughout the unit for ongoing assessment. Activities will be carried out in class only, and will prepare and build skills to complete the summative assessment tasks. Summative assessment: Students will think imaginatively and creatively to construct their own narrative with underlying themes of identity or culture. Students will be assessed on their ability to use emotive language for a particular purpose and audience, write clearly and coherently, and show evidence of both individual and peer review of work. Students will respond to Red Dog, by completing a film review. Students will be graded on their ability to share with their readers their own personal opinion of the film, a short summary of the film without giving away too much information about sequence of events, and the ability to either persuade or deter readers to watch the film. Students will also be graded on their ability to write clearly and coherently, use appropriate language for a film review, use appropriate style and formatting, and evidence of peer and self review of own work. Other Evidence of Learning:

Feedback: What sort of feedback will students receive? Students will receive feedback during ongoing formative assessment and summative assessment. Feedback given will include positive aspects of the students work and progress, and also ways that the student could work in order to improve and build upon key ideas. Students will also be able to submit drafts of work for summative assessment. Self-assessment: How will students reect upon and self-assess their learning?
Students will partake in peer review of their summative assessment in order to give opinions of suggestions of others work, and receive opinions and suggestions of their own work. Students will be given the opportunity during ongoing assessment to work together to clarify ideas and concepts.

Teaching and Learning

Teaching and Learning Sequence

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Initial lessons Students will be given work-booklet designed for this unit of work that includes all essential information and documents for the overall unit. Students will be pre-assessed by completing a series of questions about identity and culture so that the teacher can see what ideas, values and opinions they already have before the unit gets underway. During the next lessons, students will participate in a brainstorm about identity: What are some of the things that make us who we are? The purpose of this activity is to prepare students for the film, which is set in the Australian outback, where there is a very strong sense of community, culture and identity. This brainstorm will be conducted under the gradual release of responsibility model, where the teacher will first prompt the class to think about some of the things that make us who we are, and the class will have a whole group discussion to contribute initial ideas. Students will then work in small groups, or table groups to contribute further ideas. Finally, students will work individually to contribute their final ideas. Students will be instructed to use three different colour pens during this activity so that the teacher can track progress for ongoing assessment. The next phase of the unit will be watching the film. Students will be given a brief explanation about Red Dog, and instructed what to focus on when watching the film. The film may be stopped at certain points if a particular event occurs that sparks interest amongst students in relation to the themes being focused on during the unit. Students will write down notes of interest in their work-booklets for further discussion after the film. When the film is completed, another brainstorm will be conducted concerning the themes found in the film. The gradual release of responsibility model will also be applied to this task. Students will then complete some comprehension questions about the film, individually, requiring them to think about the events, themes, genre, etc. in greater depth. If needed, the film may be viewed a second time. During the next lesson, students will revisit the notion of identity, and be prompted with a question concerning Red Dog and identity: What role does identity play in the film? What does the film reflect about outback Australia or Australians in general? This activity will be completed individually, and an essential part of formative assessment. This task may also open up ideas for the creative writing task for summative assessment. During the next phase of the unit, students will read a series of stories that have strong sense of identity and culture embedded in them. Stories might include themes from outback Australia, perspectives from Indigenous Australians, and perspectives of Asians living in Australia in line with the cross-curricula priorities of the Australian Curriculum for Australias engagement with Asia. Students will compare and contrast the ideas in these stories with the themes found in Red Dog. The purpose of this section of the unit is to expand knowledge about theme and genre, which will prepare them and give ideas about the creative writing component of their assessment. Students will answer a series of questions about the stories they read, to engage them in a deeper thinking process about their elements, language, identity and theme. The next phase of the unit will begin with the first summative assessment task: A narrative. Students will be given three options: A: You are to write a short story that has some connection to the Australian Outback (just like in Red Dog). Your story does not have to be based completely in the outback, but you must incorporate it into your plot in some form. The way you choose to do this is completely up to you Let your imagination run wild. B: You are to write a narrative based on Australian voices. Think about the way in which the stories of Red Dog were expressed in the film, and try to create your own outback tale incorporating similar themes, symbolism and identity. C: We are all from diverse backgrounds and cultures, so our identities are unique. Your task is to write a narrative that reflects a certain culture, identity or heritage. You may choose to write about elements of your own identity in a fictional story, or from a completely different perspective and set of beliefs all together. In their work-booklets, students will have a series of documents, information and scaffolding frameworks that will guide them through the assessment, however, there will also be opportunities in class for students to be given ideas and prompts to help them think about what they want to achieve. For example, visual learners may respond well if given visual prompts with underlying themes of the Australian Outback, or imagery that reflects emotion, identity or culture. Other students may respond well if given written prompts, including beginning sentences, objects, or other written ideas to get them thinking about where they could take their creative writing task. Before students submit their final creative writing piece, they will be asked to conduct a process of peer review, where each student will swap their work with another student in the class, to give suggestions, opinions and opportunity for the student to review their own work and improve the final product. The final stage of the unit will require students to think critically about Red Dog to write a review about the film. Students will be require to write persuasively to either make their reader want to watch the film, or deter their reader from wanting to watch the film. Students will be provided with a scaffolding framework, giving them ideas and information about what to include within their review. Students will also be encouraged to do wider research to add to their review; for example: Information about the director of the film, information about the awards the film has won, or quotes about the film by reputable papers, magazines or websites. Students will conduct a process of peer review during this assessment, under the same methods used as the creative writing task to improve quality of work. Students will have the option to submit one draft for each assessment task during this unit.

Potential Differentiation

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(consult with G&T teacher)

Related School Resources

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