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
Author’s Purpose Graphic Organiser Pack
Explore the purpose of an author's writing with these Author's Purpose Graphic Organisers.
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Monitoring Comprehension Symbols Worksheet
A 2 page worksheet focusing on the reading comprehension strategy of monitoring.
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Comprehension Monitoring Strategies PowerPoint
Use this Comprehension Monitoring Strategies PowerPoint to guide students through the learning of self monitoring while reading.
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Vocabulary Builder Activity Pack - Upper Years
Use our Vocabulary Builder Activity Pack to help your upper-years students develop their vocabulary skills in a fun and meaningful way!
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Reciprocal Teaching Role Cards
Assign reciprocal style teaching roles to your students during small-group reading sessions with this set of 4 reciprocal teaching role cards.
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Cut and Paste Shades of Meaning Verb Sort
Engage your students in exploring subtle differences between verbs with this set of two cut and paste worksheets.
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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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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.
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Australian Conservationists: John Walmsley – Comprehension Worksheet
Learn about Dr John Walmsley and his conservation work with this 2-page reading passage and accompanying comprehension questions.
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Australian Conservationists: Ian Kiernan – Comprehension Worksheet
Learn about Ian Kiernan and his conservation work with this 2-page reading passage and accompanying comprehension questions.
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Factual Description Text Type Poster With Annotations
Display this factual description with annotations to help students identify the structure of this type of text.
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Emotive Language Task Cards
Get students exploring emotive language examples with this set of task cards perfect for your persuasive writing unit.
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The History of Australia's Parliamentary System - Comprehension Worksheets
Explore the ins and outs of Australia’s parliamentary history with this reading comprehension activity.
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-Less Suffixes Worksheet
Build vocabulary skills with a suffix worksheet featuring the suffix -less.
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Un- and Dis- Prefixes Worksheet
Build vocabulary skills with a prefix worksheet featuring the prefixes Un- and Dis-.
- Free Plan
What is an Affix? Suffix Puzzle Pack
Practice building, reading, and understanding the meaning of words with suffixes with a fun set of printable puzzles for kids.
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Writing a Simile Poem - Worksheet
Experiment with similes by writing a simile poem about a special person.
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Reading Response Journal Task Cards
9 reading comprehension task cards focusing on a different skill.
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10 Fascinating Facts About the Sydney Harbour Bridge – Comprehension Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for an article including ten facts about the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia.
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Figurative Language Flip Book
A flip book template for students to identify examples of figurative language.
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Frida's Fiesta: Layout Confusion – Projects
A project where students apply their measurement and fraction knowledge to determine where furniture goes in a restaurant.
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Welcome to America! – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a country profile from the Year 5 magazine (Issue 2).
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NAPLAN-Style Assessment Rubric – Biographical Texts
Use this NAPLAN-style rubric to assess students’ biography writing as you prepare students for Year 5 tests.
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Suffix -Able - Grammar Worksheet
Transform your students’ vocabulary skills with our skill-building English worksheets, featuring the powerful “-able” suffix
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120 Comprehension Strategy Question Cards
A set of 120 open-ended question cards to help students apply comprehension strategies when reading.
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Editing and Revising Anchor Chart
Use this editing and revising anchor chart to remind your students of the steps involved in revising and editing their writing.
- Plus Plan
Reading Detectives Bookmarks
8 colourful reading detective bookmarks to use during guided reading sessions in the classroom.
- Free Plan
Activating Prior Knowledge - Comprehension Strategy Poster
A poster explaining how to activate prior knowledge before reading.
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Persuasive Speech Writing Task
Practise writing a persuasive text with this speech writing task.
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Improving Persuasive Texts Worksheets
3 pieces of text for students to rewrite in order to make them more persuasive.
- Plus Plan
Comprehension Strategies - Interactive PowerPoint
An engaging 48 slide interactive PowerPoint to use in the classroom when developing comprehension strategies.
- Free Plan
Inference vs Prediction Poster
A poster outlining the similarities and differences between inference and prediction.