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
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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Formal vs Informal Language Sorting Activity
Engage students in identifying formal vs informal language with this sorting activity that helps build understanding through real-world sentence examples.
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Language and Social Contexts Matching Game
Explore language and social contexts with this fun matching activity that helps students understand how our speech changes depending on the situation.
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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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Australian Conservationists: The Irwins – Comprehension Worksheet
Learn about the Irwin family and their conservation work with this 2-page reading passage and accompanying comprehension questions.
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Developing and Introducing Bills – Comprehension Worksheets
Explore how bills are introduced and developed through the parliamentary process with this differentiated reading comprehension activity.
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Un- and Dis- Prefixes Worksheet
Build vocabulary skills with a prefix worksheet featuring the prefixes Un- and Dis-.
- Free Plan
Prefix Puzzles - Match Up Cards
Practise building, reading, and understanding the meaning of words with prefixes with a fun set of prefix puzzles.
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Words with Suffixes - Word Building Activity
Build words by matching the root word to suffixes and recording the new words on the answer sheet.
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Prefix Bingo
Match prefix words to their definition by identifying the meaning of the prefix and the root word with a fun game of BINGO.
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Malala Yousafzai Biography for Students with Worksheets
Introduce young learners to an inspiring changemaker with this Malala Yousafzai biography for students with accompanying worksheets.
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Greek and Latin Roots Worksheet Set
Practise using vocabulary containing Greek roots and Latin roots with these weekly root word worksheets.
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Frida's Fiesta: Open for Business - Inquiry Project
An inquiry project where students get the opportunity to design their own restaurant.
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Making Connections Grid
A worksheet for students to practise making connections with a piece of text.
- Free Plan
The Secret Society of Vegetable Venerators – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a narrative from the Year 5 magazine (Issue 2).
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NAPLAN-Style Assessment Rubric - Narrative Writing
A NAPLAN-style rubric designed to help teachers to assess students' narrative writing.
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Year 6 Magazine – “What’s Buzzing?” (Issue 2) Task Cards
A set of five literacy rotation task cards to be used in conjunction with Issue 2 of Teach Starter’s Year 6 magazine.
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Literary Recount Text Type Poster With Annotations
A poster about literary recounts, including an annotated example.
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Discussion Text Type Poster With Annotations
A poster about discussions, including an annotated example.
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NAPLAN-Style Assessment Rubric - Procedural Writing
A NAPLAN-style rubric designed to help teachers to assess students' procedural writing.
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Writing a Narrative – Template
A template for students to use when planning a narrative text.
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NAPLAN-Style Assessment Rubric for Poetry
A NAPLAN-style rubric designed to help teachers to assess student's poetry.
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Adjectival Clause Teaching Slides
Teach the power of the adjectival clause with this engaging slide deck designed to help primary school students boost their descriptive writing.
- Plus Plan
Adjective Clause Digital Quiz
Teach your students about the adjective clause with this interactive digital quiz that helps them identify how these descriptive clauses add detail to sentences.
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Difficult Spelling Words – Digital Quiz
Explore difficult spelling words with this interactive digital quiz, where students identify the correct spelling word to match the definition.
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How to Identify Bias Teaching Slides
Teach your students how to identify bias in writing with this engaging slide deck, designed to help upper primary students develop critical reading skills.
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Bias in Writing Worksheet Pack
Teach bias in writing with ease using this engaging worksheet pack designed to help upper primary students recognise and analyse bias across different texts.
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Migrant Life Writing Prompts
Spark thoughtful classroom discussions and meaningful writing about migrant life with these engaging writing prompts for upper primary students.
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Monitoring Comprehension Symbols Worksheet
A 2 page worksheet focusing on the reading comprehension strategy of monitoring.
- Plus Plan
Olympic Host City Bid – Speechwriting Project
Explore the advantages and disadvantages of being the host city for the Olympics in this inquiry and speechwriting task.
- Plus Plan
Magical Story Starters Task Cards
Get your students writing magical stories with this set of story starter task cards.
- Plus Plan
Factual Recount Text Type Poster With Annotations
Display this Factual Recount text with annotations to help students identify the structure of this type of text.