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
Opinion Writing Worksheets — 'Life on the Road'
Contemplate life on the open road with these opinion writing worksheets that help students construct a piece of writing backed by their personal reasons and opinions.
- Plus Plan
Using Context Clues to Determine Word Meaning Worksheet
Practise defining unfamiliar words by looking for context clues within a sentence.
- Plus Plan
Click or Clunk Strategy Poster and Desk Mat
Explore the click and clunk reading strategy with your students using this poster and desk mat set.
- Plus Plan
Word Whizz - Spelling Game for Kids
Play ‘Word Whizz’, a fast-paced spelling game for kids that encourages quick thinking and correct spelling.
- Plus Plan
'Let's Eat, Grandma!' - Commas Save Lives Poster Pack
Display a ‘Let’s Eat Grandma, Commas Save Lives!’ poster to remind your students of the importance of including commas in their writing.
- Plus Plan
The Three States of Matter – Year 5 Reading Worksheets
Use a Year 5 Reading Comprehension passage and worksheet to teach your students about the three states of matter.
- Plus Plan
Australian Conservationists: Tim Flannery – Comprehension Worksheet
Learn about Tim Flannery and his conservation work with this 2-page reading passage and accompanying comprehension questions.
- Plus Plan
Magical Story Starters Task Cards
Get your students writing magical stories with this set of story starter task cards.
- Plus Plan
Summarising Teaching Slides
Teach students all about summarising with 15 teaching slides of summarising goodness.
- Plus Plan
What Causes the Seasons? Explanation Text Writing Task
Use this scaffolded writing task to have students write about how seasons change.
- Plus Plan
The History of Halloween – Comprehension Worksheet
Learn about the history of Halloween with a printable reading comprehension passage and questions.
- Plus Plan
Debating and Scrutinising Bills - Comprehension Worksheets
Explore how bills are debated and scrutinised in the Australian Federal Parliament with this differentiated reading comprehension activity.
- Plus Plan
Developing and Introducing Bills – Comprehension Worksheets
Explore how bills are introduced and developed through the parliamentary process with this differentiated reading comprehension activity.
- Plus Plan
Prefixes and Suffixes PowerPoint
Learn prefix and suffix concepts with an interactive teaching presentation.
- Plus Plan
Common Spelling Rules PowerPoint
Boost your students' spelling skills with an instructional slide deck teaching the different spelling rules.
- Plus Plan
Roll to Create a Silly Book Title – Differentiated Writing Activity
Print a differentiated literacy activity using dice and a chart to create a silly book title and storybook.
- Plus Plan
Writing Explanation Texts PowerPoint
A 33-slide editable PowerPoint template to use when teaching your students about explanation writing.
- Free Plan
Biography Brochure Template
A brochure template to use when writing biographies.
- Plus Plan
Frida's Fiesta: Open for Business - Inquiry Project
An inquiry project where students get the opportunity to design their own restaurant.
- Plus Plan
Blast Off with Space Rex 2000 – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a fake advertisement from the Year 5 magazine (Issue 2).
- Plus Plan
J. K. Rowling Biography and Worksheet
Download this J.K. Rowling biography and worksheet, designed to help students learn about the life, education and writing career of the world-famous author.
- Plus Plan
Poetry Poster with Annotations
Use this poetry poster to introduce your students to the structure and language features of poems through an annotated example.
- Plus Plan
Cause and Effect - Scenario Worksheet
A worksheet and answer sheet to use when teaching students the cause and effect comprehension strategy.
- Plus Plan
Editing Symbols Chart
Use this editing symbols chart to help simplify the proofreading process for your students.
- Plus Plan
Biography Template Pack
Download this biography template pack to help students structure engaging biographies with differentiated layouts suited for various writing projects.
- 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.
- Plus Plan
Narrative Writing Poster
A poster to encourage your students to think about narrative writing.
- Plus Plan
Writing a Narrative – Template
A template for students to use when planning a narrative text.
- Plus Plan
NAPLAN-Style Assessment Rubric for Poetry
A NAPLAN-style rubric designed to help teachers to assess student's poetry.
- Plus Plan
When to Use Formal and Informal Language Teaching Slides
Teach your students when to use formal and informal language with this engaging set of teaching slides designed to help students confidently distinguish between language styles in real-world contexts.
- Plus Plan
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.
- 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.