Rich Texts Semester 2
Knowledge Rich Texts are chosen for students in Years 5 and 6 based on a variety of considerations. First considerations are the links to the unit of work which is either Science or HASS (Humanities and Social Sciences). They may also connect to other areas of the curriculum, including Technologies, Arts, Physical Education or Social and Emotional Learning. Texts are also carefully considered based on rich vocabulary, language structures, and complexity of plot or storyline.
All of these elements contribute to supporting students to develop background knowledge, vocabulary and comprehension. Other components of the WPS literacy block are also linked to this quality text through developing students’ ability to decipher complex sentence structures and text plots.
These texts also lend themselves to various writing prompts including persuasive (Climate Change)
Snow - Gina Inverarity
Snow’s life is no fairytale. As she grows up her path will take her into the mountains, over misty passes, desolate gorges and alpine rivers, as well as to the city, where she will make her case for the return of what is hers. This text is a futuristic innovation on Snow White which takes place in the future when climate change has impacted the whole planet. It also connects to Earth and Space Science themes revolving around climate, changes to the Earth's surface, and adaptations of living things.
This text connects to the Sustainability curriculum context. Students in these year levels are also expected to read texts which explore themes of interpersonal relationships and ethical dilemmas. Snow includes language which is specific to a particular point in time to enables learners in this age group to understand that English changes over time. It includes complex sentences and figurative language.
The Science of Unbreakable Things - Tae Keller
How do you grow a miracle?
For the record, this is not the question Mr. Neely is looking for when he says everyone in class must answer an important question using the scientific method. But Natalie's botanist mother is suffering from depression, so this is The Question that's important to Natalie. When Mr. Neely suggests that she enter an egg drop competition, Natalie has hope. Eggs are breakable. Hope is not.
This text contains links to the scientific process. It also contains complex language, vocabulary and sentence structure. The Science of Unbreakable Things will also provoke conversations and understandings around empathy and interpersonal relationships. The characters in this text are relatable to student at this year level.
Planet Earth is Blue - Nicole Panteleakos
Twelve-year-old Nova, who in non-verbal and has autism, is eagerly awaiting the launch of the space shuttle Challenger--it's the first time a teacher is going into space, and kids across America will watch the event on live TV in their classrooms. Nova and her big sister, Bridget, share a love of astronomy and the space program. They planned to watch the launch together. But Bridget has disappeared, and Nova is in a new foster home.
This text is linked to both the Earth and Space Science theme and Social Emotional Learning. Throughout this text, students are exposed to characters who are complex and unpredictable. It provides students with perspectives from characters with complex needs and circumstances. It also provides complex language features to support language comprehension development and provides students with a storyline which includes first person letter formats with narrative structures. Once again, exposure to ethical dilemmas as well as complex interpersonal relationships.
Students will be exploring Australian poems including The Man From Snowy River, Waltzing Matilda and My Country. Students learn about personification and imagery, and apply the previously learnt concepts similes and metaphors.
Writing Semester 2
Wanguri Primary School has a 2-year genre scope and sequence which can be found in the links below. Genres are taught using a 5-week explicit teaching focus which includes the teaching of literary devices, grammar and punctuation and text structure which is heavily scaffolded.
Included below are:
– The genres taught in this year level
– Mentor texts to guide students about what should be included and what it ‘looks’ like in a text
– Ideas for teachers and families about how to teach the specific Story Features being taught in class
Term 1
Narrative
Narrative Type: A Wishing Tale
Story Feature: Openings and Endings
Persuasive
Devices: Argumentative nouns and verbs, exaggeration, repetition, metaphors, similes, rhetorical questions, modality
Writing: Paragraphs, topic sentences, 2nd person perspective
Term 2
Narrative
Narrative Type: A Portal Tale
Story Feature: Characterisation
Reports
Devices:
Term 3
Narrative
Narrative Type: Conquering the Monster
Story Feature: Dialogue
Explanation
Term 4
Poetry
Devices: During reading – exposure to personification, imagery
Writing Focus: personification, imagery, similes and metaphors – focus on setting for narrative (setting)
Persuasive
Narrative Type: A Portal Tale
Story Feature: Characterisation
Narrative
Narrative Type: A Warning Tale
Story Feature: Suspense