Year 6
The English curriculum is built around the three interrelated strands of language, literature and literacy. Teaching and learning programs should balance and integrate all three strands. Together, the strands focus on developing students' knowledge, understanding and skills in listening, reading, viewing, speaking, writing and creating. Learning in English builds on concepts, skills and processes developed in earlier years, and teachers will revisit and strengthen these as needed.
In Years 5 and 6, students communicate with peers and teachers from other classes and schools, community members, and individuals and groups, in a range of face-to-face and online/virtual environments.
Students engage with a variety of texts for enjoyment. They listen to, read, view, interpret and evaluate spoken, written and multimodal texts in which the primary purpose is aesthetic, as well as texts designed to inform and persuade. These include various types of media texts including newspapers, film and digital texts, junior and early adolescent novels, poetry, non-fiction and dramatic performances. Students develop their understanding of how texts, including media texts, are influenced by context, purpose and audience.
The range of literary texts for Foundation to Year 10 comprises Australian literature, including the oral narrative traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, as well as the contemporary literature of these two cultural groups, and classic and contemporary world literature, including texts from and about Asia.
Literary texts that support and extend students in Years 5 and 6 as independent readers describe complex sequences, a range of non-stereotypical characters and elaborated events including flashbacks and shifts in time. These texts explore themes of interpersonal relationships and ethical dilemmas within real-world and fantasy settings. Informative texts supply technical and content information about a wide range of topics of interest as well as topics being studied in other areas of the curriculum. Text structures include chapters, headings and subheadings, tables of contents, indexes and glossaries. Language features include complex sentences, unfamiliar technical vocabulary, figurative language, and information presented in various types of graphics.
Students create a range of imaginative, informative and persuasive types of texts such as narratives, procedures, performances, reports, reviews, explanations and discussions.
(source: www.australiancurriculum.edu.au)
Achievement Standard
Receptive modes (listening, reading and viewing)
By the end of Year 6, students understand how the use of text structures can achieve particular effects. They analyse and explain how language features, images and vocabulary are used by different authors to represent ideas, characters and events.
Students compare and analyse information in different and complex texts, explaining literal and implied meaning. They select and use evidence from a text to explain their response to it. They listen to discussions, clarifying content and challenging others' ideas.
Productive modes (speaking, writing and creating)
Students understand how language features and language patterns can be used for emphasis. They show how specific details can be used to support a point of view. They explain how their choices of language features and images are used.
Students create detailed texts elaborating on key ideas for a range of purposes and audiences. They make presentations and contribute actively to class and group discussions, using a variety of strategies for effect. They demonstrate an understanding of grammar, and make considered vocabulary choices to enhance cohesion and structure in their writing. They use accurate spelling and punctuation for clarity and make and explain editorial choices based on criteria.
(source: www.australiancurriculum.edu.au)
- Plus Plan
Comprehension - MP3 Players and Your Hearing
A comprehension activity about "MP3 Players and Your Hearing".
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Comprehension - The Great Wall of China
A comprehension activity about The Great Wall of China.
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Reading Comprehension Strategies PowerPoint - Questioning
A 15 slide editable PowerPoint template explaining the reading comprehension strategy of questioning.
- Free Plan
Persuasive Text Planning Template (Using OREO)
A planning template for students to use when writing a persuasive text.
- Plus Plan
Persuasive Texts Writing Scaffold
A one page scaffolding sheet which can be used to write a persuasive text.
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Activating Prior Knowledge - Comprehension Strategy Task Cards
A set of 12 task cards to help students activate their prior knowledge before reading.
- Free Plan
Activating Prior Knowledge - Comprehension Strategy Poster
A poster explaining how to activate prior knowledge before reading.
- Plus Plan
Editing Symbols Chart
Use this editing symbols chart to help simplify the proofreading process for your students.
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Comprehension Strategies - Interactive PowerPoint
An engaging 48 slide interactive PowerPoint to use in the classroom when developing comprehension strategies.
- Plus Plan
Descriptive Writing Poster With Annotations
A poster outlining the main points and structure of a descriptive text.
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Biography Template Pack
Download this biography template pack to help students structure engaging biographies with differentiated layouts suited for various writing projects.
- Plus Plan
Information Report Fact Files and Scaffolding Sheet
Use this set of 5 fact files and information report scaffold sheet to support your students in writing a detailed and well-structured information report.
- Plus Plan
Comprehension Chatterbox
A fun reading comprehension strategy activity for students to use after reading a text.
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Read and Roll - Comprehension Dice Game
A fun reading comprehension strategy game to play in the classroom during literacy groups.
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Tropical Cyclone Cloze Worksheet
A cloze worksheet about tropical cyclones.
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MP3 Players and Your Hearing Cloze Worksheet
A cloze worksheet about MP3 players and hearing.
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Giant Squid Cloze Worksheet
A cloze worksheet about the giant squid.
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In My Eyes (Poem) - Comprehension
A comprehension activity using poetry.
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Comprehension - Tia's Tantrum
A comprehension activity using a narrative text.
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Year 5 Reading Comprehension Worksheets - Superstitions
Learn about common superstitions and beliefs with a printable reading comprehenion passage for Year 5.
- Plus Plan
Information Report Writing Template
Use this information report template to help your students correctly structure their informative writing.
- Plus Plan
Paragraph Study Grammar Interactive PowerPoint
Interactive PowerPoint presentation allowing teachers and students to learn and revise grammar by highlighting paragraphs.
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5 Information Report Writing Prompts
Use this set of 5 writing prompts to assess your students’ informative writing skills.
- Plus Plan
Writing Information Reports Teaching Slides
Teach your students the features of information reports using this detailed slideshow targeted at upper primary school students.
- Plus Plan
Information Report Structure Worksheet – The Apple iPad
Teach your students about information report structure with this cut-and-paste sequencing worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Year 5 Reading Worksheets - The Business of Bees
Read and learn about bees, pollination and honey production with a reading comprehension passage and worksheet pack.
- Plus Plan
Compare and Contrast - Comprehension Task
A task to use when teaching your students reading comprehension strategies.
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Recalling Facts - Comprehension Task
A task to use when teaching your students reading comprehension strategies.
- Plus Plan
Plan Your Own Adventure - Writing Template
Students use a template to help them plan stories with alternative pathways for their friends to read.
- Plus Plan
Understanding Sequence - Jack and the Beanstalk
A worksheet to use when teaching students how to understand sequence when reading.
- Plus Plan
What are Bushfires? Cloze Worksheet
A cloze worksheet about bushfires.
- Plus Plan
Rio de Janeiro - Comprehension Task
A comprehension task that encourages students to apply a range of comprehension skills when finding out interesting fun facts about Rio.