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)
- Free Plan
Identifying Informative Language Worksheets
Explore the types of language found in informative writing using this set of three information reports on a variety of age-appropriate topics.
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Writing Information Reports Teaching Slides
Teach your students the features of information reports using this detailed slideshow targeted at upper primary school students.
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Note-Taking Practice Worksheets
Use this set of note-taking practice worksheets to help your students identify key facts, details and vocabulary when researching information.
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Great White Shark Information Report – Writing Project
Get your students writing a great white shark information report using this age-appropriate fact file and writing scaffold.
- Free Plan
Narrative Plot Structure – Story Mountain Template
Use a story mountain template to help your students write narrative texts.
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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.
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Kangaroo Information Report – Writing Project
Get your students to write a kangaroo information report using this fact file, graphic organiser and writing scaffold.
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Analysing Persuasive Devices Worksheets
Get students analysing persuasive techniques and their effects on audiences with this set of three texts with accompanying questions.
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5 Information Report Writing Prompts
Use this set of 5 writing prompts to assess your students’ informative writing skills.
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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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Information Report Writing Template
Use this information report template to help your students correctly structure their informative writing.
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Year 6 Reading Fluency Passages
Assess student fluency with a printable pack of reading fluency passages for Year 6.
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Comprehension Task Cards Summarising
Practise summarising text with these relevant events-based texts.
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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.
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Figurative Language Poster Pack
Remind your students about the most common types of figurative language with this set of classroom display posters.
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Persuasive Text Writing Prompts - Complete Set
A set of 5 persuasive writing prompts, covering a variety of topics.
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Information Report Fact Files and Scaffolding Sheet
Use this set of 5 fact files and information report scaffold sheet to support your students in writing a detailed and well-structured information report.
- Plus Plan
Recount Writing Scaffold
A one page scaffolding sheet which can be used to write a recount.
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Persuasive Text Type Poster With Annotations
Display this Persuasive text with annotations to help students identify the structure of this type of text.
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Biography Poster With Annotations
Use this biography poster to introduce your students to the structure and language features of biography writing through an annotated example.
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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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Read & Comprehend Worksheets - Celebrity Biography Passages
Download our celebrity biography reading comprehension worksheets to help your Year 4 and 5 students practise reading comprehension skills.
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Comprehension - What are Earthquakes?
A comprehension activity about 'What are Earthquakes?'
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Procedure Text Type Poster With Annotations
Display this procedure text with annotations to help students identify the structure of a procedure.
- Plus Plan
Summarising a Story Graphic Organisers
Use these graphic organisers to help students when summarising a story.
- Plus Plan
Biography Research Template
Provide students with this biography research template to help them gather key life details and take organised notes for writing a well-structured biography.
- Plus Plan
Year 6 Grammar Practice Sheets - Punctuation Concepts
Print and use our Year 6 Grammar Practice Sheets to review a variety of punctuation concepts.
- Plus Plan
Reading Comprehension Strategies PowerPoint - Questioning
A 15 slide editable PowerPoint template explaining the reading comprehension strategy of questioning.
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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.
- Plus Plan
Write a Biography Project
Engage students in an enriching biography project that guides them through researching and writing about a famous person.
- Plus Plan
Summarising Teaching Slides
Teach students all about summarising with 15 teaching slides of summarising goodness.
- 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.