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
Recount Writing Planning Template
A template for students to use when planning a recount.
- Plus Plan
Reading Comprehension Strategies PowerPoint – Making Connections
A 14 slide editable PowerPoint template explaining the reading comprehension strategy of making connections.
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Writing Editing Checklist
Now your students can make sure that they check everything when they are editing their work... no mistake gets left behind!
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Text Connectives Posters for Upper Primary Students
Display this set of 8 grammar posters to remind students the types and examples of sentence connectives and conjunctions.
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Perfect Punctuation Volume 1 – Worksheet Book
A workbook packed with 50 punctuation activities for use in the classroom.
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Informative Texts Writing Task - Eagles
A writing activity to help students construct an informative text based on factual information.
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Distinguishing Between Fact and Opinion - Comprehension Task
A task to use when teaching your students reading comprehension strategies.
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Topic Sentence Starter Cards
A pack of 32 narrative, persuasive and report writing sentence starter cards.
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Action, Saying, Thinking and Relating Verb Poster
A poster giving the definition and examples of action, saying, thinking and relating verbs.
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Persuasive Writing Checklist - Structure, Language and Features
A checklist for students to use when proofreading and editing their persuasive writing.
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Biography Writing Checklist – Structure, Language and Features
A checklist for students to use when proofreading and editing their biography writing.
- Free Plan
Explanation Text Writing Task – Why Do Volcanoes Erupt?
A scaffolded writing task for students to complete when learning about the explanation text type.
- Plus Plan
Writing A Procedure Poster
Display this poster in your room as a visual reminder of the structure of a procedural text.
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Year 5 Reading Worksheets - The Business of Bees
Read and learn about bees, pollination and honey production with a reading comprehension passage and worksheet pack.
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Discussion Text Type Poster With Annotations
A poster about discussions, including an annotated example.
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Readers' Theatre Script - Radio Talk
A script which can be used during readers' theatre or Drama sessions, aimed at students 8 years and over.
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Informative Paragraph Starters - Topic Sentence Cards
20 topic sentences to be used at the beginning of an informative paragraph.
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What Causes the Seasons? Explanation Text Writing Task
Use this scaffolded writing task to have students write about how seasons change.
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Malala Yousafzai Biography – Read and Respond Worksheet
A comprehension activity related to a biographical text.
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Story Ideas Sentence Starter Pack
Use this story ideas kit to help your students choose a topic to write about.
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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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Comprehension - What are Earthquakes?
A comprehension activity about 'What are Earthquakes?'
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Common Spelling Rules PowerPoint
Boost your students' spelling skills with an instructional slide deck teaching the different spelling rules.
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All About Me! - Simile Poem Poster and Template
Get to know your students and explore poetry at the same time with this simile poem scaffolding template.
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Writing Narrative Texts PowerPoint - Year 5 and Year 6
A 20 slide editable PowerPoint template to use when teaching your students about the structure and language features of narrative texts.
- Plus Plan
Upper Primary Handwriting Sheets
Fifteen handwriting sheets for upper primary.
- Plus Plan
The Moon Landing - Historical Recount Structure Sorting Task
A sorting task to help students learn about the structure of a historical recount.
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Informative Texts Writing Task - Firefighters
Guide your students through writing an informative essay about Firefighters with a printable Fact File writing prompt and writing scaffold worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Persuasive Writing Bump It Up Wall – Year 6
A visual display for your classroom to help students ‘bump up’ their persuasive writing.
- Plus Plan
Writing A Recount Poster
Display this poster in your room as a visual reminder of the structure of a recount.
- Free Plan
Comprehension - Should Smart Phones be Allowed in Classrooms?
Decide if cellphones should be allowed in class and boost comprehension skills with a reading passage and comprehension test.
- Free Plan
Comma Task Cards