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
Koala Information Report – Writing Project
Get your students writing a koala information report using this age-appropriate fact file and writing scaffold.
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Explanation Text Type Poster With Annotations
Display this explanation text with annotations to help students identify the structure of an explanation.
- Free Plan
Comprehension - Should Smart Phones Be Allowed in Classrooms?
Decide if cellphones should be allowed in class and boost comprehension skills with a reading passage and comprehension test.
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Persuasive Writing Bump It Up Wall – Year 6
A visual display for your classroom to help students ‘bump up’ their persuasive writing.
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Advertisement Worksheet – Milton Mentor
A comprehension worksheet for a persuasive magazine advertisement about a digital personal assistant.
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Summarising a Story Graphic Organisers
Use these graphic organisers to help students when summarising a story.
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Compound-Complex Sentence Test
Assess your students' understanding of compound-complex sentences with a printable Compound-Complex Sentence Test.
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Narrative Text Type Poster With Annotations
Display this narrative text with annotations to help students identify the structure of a narrative.
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Prefixes and Suffixes PowerPoint
Learn prefix and suffix concepts with an interactive teaching presentation.
- Plus Plan
Write a Biography PowerPoint
Use this age-appropriate biography PowerPoint to teach your students about the purpose, structure and features of biographical texts.
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Narrative Plot Structure Diagram
A plot diagram for students to refer to when planning their narrative writing.
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Year 6 Magazine - What's Buzzing? (Issue 1)
A beautifully designed, 26-page reading magazine specifically designed for Year 6 students.
- Free Plan
Persuasive Topic Cards - Upper Grades
A set of persuasive topic cards for upper primary.
- Plus Plan
Biography Writing Bump It Up Wall
Use this visual display in your classroom to help students ‘bump up’ their biography writing.
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Components of Poetry PowerPoint
An editable PowerPoint to use when teaching the essential components of poetry.
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Comprehension Task Cards - Distinguishing Between Fact and Opinion
A set of comprehension task cards to help students distinguish between fact and opinion when reading.
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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
The Sinking of the RMS Titanic - Historical Recounts Comparison Task
A comprehension task to enable students to compare literary historical recounts and factual historical recounts.
- Plus Plan
Fiction and Non-Fiction Cloze Activities
A set of 7 fiction and non-fiction cloze worksheets with answer sheets.
- Plus Plan
Comprehension - What are Earthquakes?
A comprehension activity about 'What are Earthquakes?'
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Write a Persuasive Letter Project
Help your students write a persuasive letter to their school principal with this engaging project that builds essential writing skills while making learning meaningful.
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Peer Editing Checklist Pack
Encourage thorough peer reviews by providing your students with printable peer review checklists for informative, persuasive, and narrative writing.
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Sentence Cohesion Worksheet Pack
Use this sentence cohesion worksheet pack to teach your students about how to write clear sentences containing strongly connected ideas.
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Cohesive Devices Teaching Slides
Explore cohesive devices with this engaging teaching slide deck designed to help primary students understand and use them confidently in their writing.
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Cohesive Devices List
Download this cohesive devices list for your students to refer to when writing a variety of text types.
- Plus Plan
Objective and Subjective Language Digital Quiz
Spark deeper thinking about objective and subjective language with this interactive digital quiz that helps students distinguish between fact, opinion and biased opinion in real-world texts.
- Plus Plan
Australian Immigration – Analysing Infographics Worksheet
Explore Australian immigration trends with your students by analysing a kid-friendly infographic and answering guided questions.
- Free Plan
Word Detective Worksheet - Context Clues
Assign our Word Detective Worksheet to give your students extra practice in using context clues to find the meaning of unfamiliar words.
- Plus Plan
Persuasive Letter Prompts Task Cards
Use these persuasive letter prompts to get your students writing convincing persuasive letters on a variety of topics.
- Plus Plan
Biography Poster Project Cut-Outs
Download this biography poster project containing engaging cut-outs that help students design an eye-catching and informative display about a person of their choice.
- Plus Plan
Editing and Revising Checklist Pack
Download this editing and revising checklist pack to support your students when revising and editing their written work.
- Plus Plan
Inspiring Story Starters Task Cards
Get your students writing inspiring stories with this set of story starter task cards.