Unit plan English
C2 C / Name / Teen representation in new media texts / Year Level / 8Teacher / Unit / 1
Class / Duration / 5 weeks
Unit Outline
In this unit students listen to, read and view a variety of multimodal news media texts, including digital texts. They explore representations of teens in the texts to produce close readings of excerpts selected from them.
Curriculum intent: / · Content descriptions
· Language/Cultural Considerations
· Teaching Strategies
Language / Literature / Literacy
Language for interaction
Understand how rhetorical devices are used to persuade and how different layers of meaning are developed through the use of metaphor, irony and parody
Metaphor, irony and parody are all elements of language that are used once a firm grounding of language, its nuances and its manipulation can be understood. EAL/D students may not have had sufficient time in English culture to understand the English interpretations of these.
Text structure and organisation
Analyse how the text structures and language features of persuasive texts, including media texts, vary according to the medium and mode of communication
The nuances inherent in certain words will not necessarily be understood by EAL/D students. Students in the Beginning and Emerging phases of English language learning will be developing a repertoire of everyday vocabulary rather than investigating nuanced language.
Use spoken activities to model such language choices and to allow students the opportunities to use these language structures before writing.
Use vocabulary building exercises such as word clines to consider the emotional effect and strength of certain words against others.
Use everyday vocabulary as headings under which students can write alternative words, accompanied by a symbol (such as a + or –) to show whether these carry positive or negative connotations.
Enable students in the Beginning and Emerging phases of English language learning to use more simplistic vocabulary until they have mastered this.
Understand how cohesion in texts is improved by strengthening the internal structure of paragraphs through the use of examples, quotations and substantiation of claims
The appropriateness of quoting sources and the use of punctuation differ from culture to culture.
Explicitly model the conventions around the use of examples, quotation and substantiation of claims.
Understand how coherence is created in complex texts through devices like lexical cohesion, ellipsis, grammatical theme and text connectives
Cohesive devices such as lexical chains and ellipsis require developed academic language. EAL/D students in the Beginning and Emerging phases of English language learning will be using simple cohesive devices until they have developed sufficient skills to use these.
Allow opportunities for oral activities that develop these skills.
Enlarge a section of text and highlight cohesive devices (using different colours). Note that lexical cohesion also works on subtle cultural levels. For example, some may find a clear relationship between ‘popcorn’ and ‘movie’, while others may not. Give students in the Beginning and Emerging phases of English language learning the opportunity to practice simple cohesive devices before requiring them to engage in more advanced activities.
Expressing and developing ideas
Analyse and examine how effective authors control and use a variety of clause structures, including clauses embedded within the structure of a noun group/phrase or clause
Students in the Beginning and Emerging phases of English language learning still trying to master simple clause structures will find this task difficult.
Punctuation differs from language to language, and some languages have no punctuation.
Ensure that students have a firm understanding of simple clauses and sentences before attempting to explain complex sentences that contain embedded clauses.
Explicitly model the punctuation required for an embedded clause, and explain that this is an easy way for students to identify such clauses.
Understand the effect of nominalisation in the writing of informative and persuasive texts
Nominalisation removes the person or thing responsible for the action and leaves information in an abstract form, for example, ‘evaporation’ refers to the process by which a liquid is turned into vapour.
This may be confusing for some EAL/D students in the Beginning, Emerging and Developing phases of English language learning.
Provide charts that show the process and the nominalised form side by side (for example the process of turning liquid into vapour – evaporation), and encourage students to translate these words into their first language where possible.
Investigate how visual and multimodal texts allude to or draw on other texts or images to enhance and layer meaning
Intertextuality relies upon the audience sharing cultural capital with the author. EAL/D students may not have seen/read/heard many of the texts that teachers assume will be well known.
If there are intertextual references, ensure that all students have seen the reference in its original form and then explicitly show the links between texts.
Recognise that vocabulary choices contribute to the specificity, abstraction and style of texts
This is an area where teachers can give great insights into language choice for EAL/D students.
Consider texts in English and across curriculum areas, and how language becomes more abstract as it becomes more academic. Unpack these abstractions, modelling thought processes to assist EAL/D students to understand how these can be understood. / Responding to literature
Understand and explain how combinations of words and images in texts are used to represent particular groups in society, and how texts position readers in relation to those groups
These are areas where EAL/D students can be actively drawn into conversations, demonstrating varying values and viewpoints, and discussing country, identity and culture.
Use students as a resource to deepen this discussion if they are happy to participate.
Recognise, and explain differing viewpoints about the world, cultures, individual people and concerns represented in texts
Intertextuality relies upon the audience sharing cultural capital with the author. EAL/D students may not have seen/read/heard many of the texts that teachers assume will be well known.
If there are intertextual references, ensure that all students have seen the reference in its original form and then explicitly show the links between texts. / Texts in context
Analyse and explain how language has evolved over time and how technology and the media have influenced language use and forms of communication
EAL/D students may not be able to show the depth of their understanding if they are required to respond in extended written or spoken text.
Provide alternative methods of explaining this information, such as graphic organisers, a teacher interview, or creation of a multimedia response.
Interacting with others
Interpret the stated and implied meanings in spoken texts, and use evidence to support or challenge different perspectives
Many cultures do not expect students to challenge texts. The writer is seen as ‘expert’. In some cultures, challenging viewpoints is a dangerous activity. This means that some students may experience difficulty and/or reticence in both challenging perspectives and in justifying this opinion.
Modal verbs tend to be acquired late in the EAL/D learning progression and are an important feature of effective academic writing.
When introducing the task, explain that this is culturally acceptable in Australia and show public examples (such as editorials) where this occurs regularly.
Provide models for how this response can be structured, including the language features required.
Give extra support around modal verbs.
Interpreting, analysing, evaluating
Analyse and evaluate the ways that text structures and language features vary according to the purpose of the text and the ways that referenced sources add authority to a text
This is an opportunity for useful work around language, its structure and its meanings for EAL/D students.
Explicitly address these structures, language features and purposes.
Apply increasing knowledge of vocabulary, text structures and language features to understand the content of texts
Use comprehension strategies to interpret and evaluate texts by reflecting on validity of content and the credibility of sources, including finding evidence in the text for the author’s point of view
EAL/D students will be at different points on the EAL/D learning progression so comprehension
Identify EAL/D students’ levels of reading comprehension and provide support as appropriate.
Introduce new comprehension strategies, such as inferring, using explicit teaching around familiar texts.strategies should not be assumed.
Explore and explain the ways authors combine different modes and media in creating texts, and the impact of these choices on the viewer/listener
Creating texts
Experiment with text structures and language features to refine and clarify ideas to improve the effectiveness of students’ own texts
In order to edit, students need to have the linguistic resources to identify mistakes. Errors are usually indicative of students’ positions on the EAL/D learning progression and reflect what they have yet to learn.
Provide opportunities for peer editing or editing with the teacher which can be informative activities for EAL/D students.
Photocopy or print out their work, cut up the sentences and investigate together what effects can be created by manipulating the sentence or word order.
General Capabilities and Cross-curriculum priorities
Literacy
Students will develop skills in:
· Text knowledge: comprehend texts through listening, viewing and reading
· Text knowledge: compose texts through writing and creating
· Grammar knowledge: understand and create texts using text features and grammar
· Visual knowledge: understand and interpret visual knowledge.
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) capability
Students will develop skills in:
· Investigating with ICT to select appropriate and efficient sources of digital information in response to identified needs, inquiries and research questions.
Critical and creative thinking
Students will develop skills in:
· inquiring through identifying, exploring and clarifying information
· generating innovative ideas and possibilities
· analyse, evaluate and synthesise information
· reflecting on thinking, actions and processes
Personal and social capability
Students will develop skills in:
· social awareness: identify and understand others’ emotions and viewpoints
· social management: use listening skills, cooperate and communicate effectively with others cooperate and communicate effectively with others.
Relevant prior curriculum
Students require prior experience with:
· analysing how point of view is generated in visual texts by means of choices, for example gaze, angle and social distance
· comparing the ways that language and images are used to create characters, and to influence emotions and opinions in different types of texts
· analysing and explaining the ways text structures and language features shape meaning and vary according to audience and purpose
· using comprehension strategies to interpret, analyse and synthesise ideas and information, critiquing ideas and issues from a variety of textual sources
· comparing the text structures and language features of multimodal texts, explaining how they combine to influence audiences.
Curriculum working towards
The teaching and learning in this unit works towards the following in Year 9:
· comparing and evaluating a range of representations of individuals and groups in different historical, social and cultural contexts
· analysing and explaining how text structures, language features and visual features of texts and the context in which texts are experienced may influence audience response
· evaluating the social, moral and ethical positions represented in texts
· analysing and evaluating how people, cultures, places, events, objects and concepts are represented in texts, including media texts, through language, structural and/or visual choices.
Supportive learning environment
Differentiation
What do your learners already know, do and value? Where do the learners need and want to be? How do the learners best learn?
Consider the individual needs and values of all students, including EAL/D, Gifted and Talented and Special Needs, and provide learning experiences that are accessible to and respectful of the diversity of students’ cultural backgrounds.
Start from where your students are at and differentiate teaching and learning to support the learning needs of all students. Plan and document how you will cater for individual learning needs.
The learning experiences within this unit can be differentiated by increasing the:
· frequency of exposure for some students
· intensity of teaching by adjusting the group size
· duration needed to complete tasks and assessment.
For guided and/or independent practice tasks:
· student groupings will offer tasks with a range of complexities to cater for individual learning needs
· rotational groupings that allow for more or less scaffolding of student learning.
Feedback
How will I inform learners and others about the learner’s progress?
Feedback is information and advice provided by a teacher, peer, parent or self about aspects of someone’s performance. The aim of feedback is to improve learning and is used to plan what to do next and how to teach it. Teachers and students use feedback to close the gap between where students are and where they aim to be. Teachers use self-feedback to guide and improve their teaching practice.
Establish active feedback partnerships between students, teachers and parents to find out:
· what each student already knows and can do
· how each student is going
· where each student needs to go next.
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Ensure feedback is timely, ongoing, instructive and purposeful.
Feedback may relate to reading, writing and speaking throughout the unit. In this unit this may include:
· students’ analysis and synthesis of how words and images are used and combined in news articles to position readers
· students’ use of specific vocabulary and complex sentences to construct paragraph responses
· students’ use of inferential comprehension strategies, including three level guide, main idea and inferring meaning, to gain an understanding of texts beyond literal meaning
· students’ ability to evaluate texts and reflect on the credibility of sources and validity of their content, particularly texts located on the internet
· students’ capacity to respond in full and to justify their responses to questions by incorporating quotes or evidence from texts.
Use feedback to inform future teaching and learning.
Reflection on the unit plan
Identify what worked well during and at the end of the unit for future planning. Reflection may include:
· activities that worked well and why
· activities that could be improved and how
· monitoring and assessment that worked well and why
· monitoring and assessment that could be improved and how