EMT611 English Curriculum and PedagogyPerry_Caitlin_428670_AT3

Name: Caitlin Perry

SID: 428670

Word Count: 2400 Unit Focus: Historical Fiction Year: 5 Key Text(s): Tom Appleby Convict Boy

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Theoretical Overview

This unit of work will teach Year 5 students the literary genre, historical fiction; the teacher

will use Tom Appleby Convict Boy, to explore this genre. Historical fiction attempts to describe the

world as it was for the period in which the text is set; it does not introduce topics that are outside the

realm of possibility, and depicts characters and situations that are true to life (Russell, 2015, p. 225).

The main aim of historical fiction is to build upon the essence of a historical event. This is achieved

by melding historical facts and events with literary fabrication; the history that the responder is

reading if accurate, but has been embellished by the imagination of the author to provide its

audience with an interesting and engaging story. Historical fiction is not history, but provides

readers the opportunity to experience the genuine feeling of the historical event detailed (Russell,

2015, p. 227).

The ability of a historical fiction author to evoke feelings from its readers is a key concept

explored in Australian Curriculum: English for Year 5. Year 5 students are taught to recognize that

ideas in texts can lead to different types of interpretations and responses, when the text is conveyed

from different viewpoints (Australian Curriculum, Assessment & Reporting Authority [ACARA],

2017, ACELT1610). More specifically, exploring the impact of first person narration on empathy

and conversely, exploring how texts written from different viewpoints can impact on the reader’s

sympathies (ACARA, 2017). To this end, the key textual concepts of historical fiction: point of

view, character and historical context will be explored and taught in this unit of work.

Point of view is the device that allows the subject matter of the text to be brought to the

foreground; it constructs an attitude toward the subject matter that the audience is invited to adopt,

promoting certain attitudes and feelings in response to the text (State of New South Wales

Department of Education, 2016). Bal (2009 as cited in Thomas, 2017) supports this, claiming

“analysing the narrative strategies of who sees, what is seen, and how it is seen, leads to an

understanding of how the reader is positioned to interpret the narrative event”. Teachings on point of

view are centered around lessons 4, 6 and 7, where the students are given the opportunity to first

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understand the literary concept and then demonstrate their understanding in a critical and creative

manner.

Character is the second textual concept explored in this unit, more specifically the distinction

between protagonist and antagonist characters. Character is the core driver of the action and function

of the plot and the most pivotal way for an author to their thematic concerns (State of New South

Wales Department of Education, 2016). The students will explore the textual concept of character in

lessons 2, 3, and 7; it will also form part of the requirements of the students’ own creations in lesson

8.

Moreover, this unit will explore the textual concept of context, in particular historical

context. Historical context refers to the elements, conditions and characteristics of the period of time

in which the text is set (Fleming, 2017). Historical context will underpin the beginning teachings of

this unit, more specifically lessons 2 and 5; in addition, is a core component of the students final

assessment in lesson 8.

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Unit Sequence

Experiencing

1: Known 2: New

Students have not read Tom Appleby Convict

Boy. The teacher reads the title of the text to

the students; asks the students to draw their

current perception of a convict. Around their

picture, students are asked to write any words

or phrases that they currently associate with

convicts. The teacher does not provide further

elaboration or words to the class; this activity

has been designed to assess the students’

current knowledge on the topic of convicts

and the first fleet.

Students have read to chapter eight. Students

watch ABC’s “Behind The News” video on

the First Fleet

http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s3934600.htm;

The teacher states, “The video talked about the

arrival of the First Fleet to Australia. This is a

key historical event for Australia. After

watching the video and from what we have

read so far, were you able make connections

between the information provided and our

class text Tom Appleby Convict Boy? Yes?

What does this tell us about the type of fiction

of our story? Do we think that the information

in our story is ‘made up’, or has the author

depicted characters that are true to life? True to

life. To help us better understand Tom and his

story, let’s learn more about this historical

event!” In pairs, students make a glossary of

historical terms related to the First Fleet.

Students are given four terms by the teacher

and asked to find their definition (the first term

will have the definition given, as a model); in

addition to identifying and choosing four more

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terms themselves. The students present their

glossary as a crossword puzzle; the definitions

act as the ‘clues’. A copy is given to the

teacher, another distributed amongst the pairs

to complete.

Conceptualizing

3: Naming 4: Theory

Students have read to chapter 18. The teacher

will introduce the concept of protagonist and

antagonist characters via direct instruction.

“The objective of today’s lesson is to identify

the protagonist and antagonist characters in

the novel, and to learn their different

features.” The teacher describes the key

features of a protagonist and antagonist. The

teacher reads chapters six and seven. “Which

character do we perceive to be the protagonist

of our story? Which character, the

antagonist?” What elements of the story

allow us to believe this is true? Protagonists

can be fearless, where in the text has Tom

demonstrated courage and bravery?” The

teacher encourages the students to look in

their texts and cite character traits that

confirm their understanding. The students

will complete a character statement activity.

Detailed lesson.

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Students are given a list of the key

characteristics of protagonist and antagonist

characters, they must find evidence in the text

that shows this to be true for Tom Appleby

Convict Boy.

Analysing

5: Functionally 6: Critically

Students have read to chapter twenty-eight.

The students will make a poster about the

HMAS Scarborough. Using descriptions

given in the text, and information researched

by the students, they are to make a cross

section illustration of the ship. The students

may conduct further research if necessary, in

order to annotate their illustrations with

answers to the following questions:

How long did the trip take by ship?

What might life have been like upon

the ship? Why?

How might the sailors and convicts

been affected by poor nutrition and

lack of fresh water on the ship? Do

fruit and vegetables last a long time

without refrigeration?

If people were to make the same

Students have read until chapter 37. The

teacher shows the class Gordon Syron’s

artwork Invasion 1 – An aboriginal

perspective. The teacher leads a conversation

about perspective. “I think the artwork is

depicted from the point of view of the

aboriginals. I think this because it appears

that the picture is draw from the perspective

of someone who is already on the land.” The

conversation is expanded to consider the

thoughts, feelings and perspectives of both

the Europeans and Aboriginals. “I wonder

how both parties might be feeling in this

picture? I think the aboriginals might be

scared; the Europeans might be excited?” The

class is halved; each half is given either the

perspective of the Europeans, or the

perspective of the Aboriginals. In pairs,

students are asked to empathize with their

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journey today, how long would it

take? What accounts for the

difference in time?

Is travelling by boat the most

affective method of transportation

today?

respective group. Students from the

perspective of the Europeans role-play a

conversation that may have occurred between

two people arriving on the shores or

Australia; students from the perspective of

the Aboriginals role-play a conversation that

may have occurred between two Aboriginals

watching the Europeans arrive on their

shores. The pairs perform their role-plays to

the class.

Applying

7: Appropriately 8: Creatively

The students have completed Tom Appleby

Convict Boy. The teacher plays the class an

instrumental version of the Ballad of Botany

Bay,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_Ubz5-

sxLk

The teacher instructs the class to write new

lyrics to the song. The students must write the

song from the point of view of older Tom,

writing a song for his great grand-daughter

Mille. The lyrics must tell the story of Tom’s

The teacher brings into the classroom a

wooden bowl and spoon, similar to those

given to convicts. The students are to write a

story explaining where the bowl and spoon

came from, whom it belonged to, and how it

came to be in the teacher’s possession. They

must write a historical fiction story, which

must feature a protagonist and a prominent

antagonist character. The story is to be

written with a first-person narrator, drawing

on their knowledge of this literary concept.

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journey; depicting how Tom felt being a

chimney sweep, his time on the Scarborough,

and his time being a convict, including

working for Sergent Stanley. The lyrics

should include the different people Tom met

along the way. The lyrics should take into

consideration the thoughts and feelings of the

Aboriginal people, as well as the thoughts

and feelings of his fellow convicts and

Europeans. The lyrics should talk about what

it meant to be a new settler, farming the land

and building a new home and family, and

what happened to Tom after he moved to

Rose Hill. The students will be given the

opportunity to perform their songs to the

class; the teacher will collect the songs for

final assessment.

The stories are to be typed on the classrooms

multimedia devices and submitted to the

teacher for formal summative assessment of

the unit.

Assessment

Experiencing: Diagnostic assessment to assess students’ current level of understanding of

historical context and general knowledge of the period of time, using convict illustrations and

crossword puzzles.

Conceptualising: Formative assessment on the students’ understanding of character and point

of view, performed through assessment of students’ character trait activity and concept maps.

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Analysing: Summative assessment on the students’ understanding of historical context, and

formative assessment of point of view; to be assessed using the illustration of the HMAS

Scarborough and role-plays respectively.

Applying: Summative assessment of the students understanding of character and point of

view, assessed using the students’ song lyrics and historical fiction stories.

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Detailed Lesson

Year 5: Examining Literature

Activity: Read sections of Tom Appleby Convict Boy; students to create concept maps with

examples from the text that illustrate first-person narration. Discuss how first-person

narration can evoke feelings of empathy from its audience.

Lesson Outcome

“Identifying the narrative voice (the person

or entity through whom the audience

experiences the story) in a literary work,

discussing the impact of first person narration

on empathy and engagement” (ACARA,

2017, ACELT1610).

Before Reading

Explain to the students “We have previously

looked at the different types of characters in

stories, today we are learning to identify how

texts written in different narrative voice can

affect how a person feels about these

characters. Let us first identify from whose

perspective the story is written. I am going to

read a passage from the text and I would like

you to consider if you think the text is written

in the first person, or from an outside

narrator.” (Illustration 1). Read the pages

slowly, allowing the students time to

comprehend the content.

During Reading

Teacher Focused: “When I read this passage (Illustration 1), I believe that the text is written

from the perspective of the protagonist Tom, or is written in first-person narration. I think

this, because I was able to identify parts of the passage where the narrator referred to himself

as ‘I’; this is a common characteristic of first-person narration. Another way of identifying

first-person narration, is to look for places in the text where the narrator is speaking about

events they maybe experiencing. When we read novels that are written in first-person, we

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often align ourselves with the feelings and attitudes of the character. This can result in the

reader feeling empathy for the narrator. When I read this passage, I became upset because I

felt sorry for Tom, who has lost his father in the stocks”

Shared Focused: The teacher reads a passage from chapter twenty-two in the text.

(Illustration 2). “What elements of this passage tell us that it is written in first-person

narration? What words has the author used that demonstrates this? Let’s read page 117

together. Please raise your hand and tell me an example of first-person narration on this page.

After Reading

Guided: The teacher asks the students, “What feelings did people feel toward Tom, when

reading page 117?” The teacher makes a list of these feelings on the board.

Collaborative: The teacher puts the class into groups. Collaboratively, the studemts construct

a concept map. The concept map must contain a sentence or phrase from the text that

illustrates the author has used first-person narration. Branching out from the sentence or

phrase, the different feelings the students felt when they read this part of the text.

Adapted from Killen (2015, p. 96).

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Analysis

Text Literary Relevance

I could have sheltered him with my body,

he thought…I will never be a coward

again, he thought desperately. (p. 10)

First-person

narration

Clear evidence of first-person

narration, using “I” to depict

Tom’s internal thoughts and

feelings

Tom felt his lungs begin to rot, and his

eyes streamed with pain and irritation. His

skin burnt with the bites of fleas and bugs

and every tiny beast that lived on human

flesh. (p. 107)

First-person

narration -

empathy

Vivid imagery, describing

the pain that Tom is

experiencing below deck;

written in first-person.

Where would I fly, he wondered, if I could

choose? Only to the past and even a bird

can’t fly there. (p.117)

First-person

narration

Evidence of the use of “I” to

depict Tom’s thoughts;

imagery to describe Tom’s

despair and sadness.

Convict scum, thought Tom. That’s what I

am. But two years ago I was as good as

you…It was the last time Tom would see

the sky for thirteen days. (p. 117)First-person

narration

The use of “I” for first-

person narration, and the

forewarning of future

melancholy experiences by

Tom; bring about feelings of

sadness and anger for the

characters position.

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References

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA]. (2016). Foundation to Year

10 Curriculum: Examining Literature (ACELT1610). Retrieved from:

http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au

Fleming, G. (2017). The importance of historical context. Retrieved 28 May, 2017, from

https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-historical-context-1857069

French, J. (2004). Tom Appleby Convict Boy, Sydney: HarperCollinsPublishers.

Killen, R. (2015). Effective teaching strategies: lessons from research and practice, (7th ed.),

Melbourne: Cengage Learning.

Russell, D. L. (2015). Literature for children: A short introduction  (8th ed.). London: Sage

Publications.

State of New South Wales Department of Education. (2016). Textual concepts and processes

descriptions. Retrieved from: http://www.englishtextualconcepts.nsw.edu.au

Thomas, A. (2017, May). Literary concepts. Retrieved 28 May, 2017, from https://mylo.utas.edu.au

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Criterion 1: Synthesise theoretical knowledge about teaching literature (20%)HD DN CR PP NNYou: You: You: You: You:Briefly explained the key concepts and outcomes for the unit, and what you want student to learn, and what evidence you will collect to determine that learning

Only covered some of the essential elements.

Provided a specific and precise theoretical discussion, by:- providing thoughtful and specific comments about the theory which underpinned the teaching of literature, linking to the concepts and theories from the set text and other secondary literature

Provided a comprehensive theoretical discussion, by:- providing specific comments about the theory which underpinned the teaching of literature, linking to the concepts from the set text and other secondary literature.

Provided an accurate theoretical discussion, by:- providing specific comments about the theory which underpinned the teaching of literature, with links to the set text

Provided a basic theoretical discussion, by:- providing some comments about the theory which underpinned the teaching of literature

Provided a minimal theoretical discussion, by:- overgeneralising about the theory which underpinned the teaching of literature

Criterion 2a: Design a unit sequence which incorporates: a sequence based on the ‘Learning by Design’ pedagogy model (20%)HD DN CR PP NNYou: You: You:Skillfully communicated by:- developing lessons which accurately match all stages of the model- demonstrating deep understanding of the four knowledge processes to develop cumulative, critical and creative learning about literature

Effectively communicated by:- developing all lessons to accurately match the stages of the model - demonstrating an understanding about the four knowledge processes and how to sequence lessons effectively

Communicated by:- developing lessons which accurately match most stages of the model, demonstrating some knowledge about how to sequence lessons

Communicated by:- developing lessons which accurately match some stages of the model

Communicated by:

-providing limited sequencing of lessons

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Criterion 2b: Design a unit sequence which incorporates: explicit teaching of genre features (10%)HD DN CR PP NNYou: You: You: You: You:Skillfully communicated by:

- identifying all the important genre features to be taught and showing an understanding of how to sequence the teaching for cumulative learning.

Effectively communicated by:

- identifying the most important genre features to be taught and showing an understanding of how to sequence most of teaching for cumulative learning.

Communicated by:

- identifying most of the important genre features to be taught and showing an understanding of how to sequence some of teaching for cumulative learning.

Communicated by:

- identifying some of the genre features to be taught and showing an understanding of how to provide an opportunity for cumulative learning about literature.

Somewhat communicated by:

-including limited or unclear opportunities for cumulative learning about the features of the literary genre

Criterion 2c: Design a unit sequence which incorporates: explicit teaching of textual concepts (10%)HD DN CR PP NNYou: You: You: You: You:Skillfully communicated by:

- identifying all the important textual concepts to be taught and showing an understanding of how to sequence the teaching for cumulative learning.

Effectively communicated by:

- identifying the most important textual concepts to be taught and showing an understanding of how to sequence most of teaching for cumulative learning.

Communicated by:

- identifying most of the important textual concepts to be taught and showing an understanding of how to sequence some of teaching for cumulative learning.

Communicated by:

- identifying some textual concepts to be taught and showing an understanding of how to provide an opportunity for cumulative learning about literature.

Somewhat communicated by:

-including limited or unclear opportunities for cumulative learning about textual concepts

EMT611 English Curriculum and Pedagogy AT3 Rubric 2017 16

Criterion 3a: Design a detailed lesson which includes: explicit teaching of the specified outcome from the examining literature sub-strand (20%) HD DN CR PP NNYou: You: You: You: You:Skillfully designed and sequenced each lesson, by:- Including clear, detailed focus of instruction on identified English curriculum content, providing engaging and stimulating opportunities for deep learning about literature to occur. The use of teacher talk and probe questions is directly linked to text excerpts and allows a deep and close study of the focus of concept.

Effectively designed and sequenced each lesson by:- Including a clear and detailed focus of instruction on specified English curriculum content, with teacher talk and probe questions that clearly link to the analysis of the text excerpts

Designed and sequenced each lesson, by:- Including a clear focus of instruction on specified English curriculum content, with teacher talk and probe questions that mostly link to the analysis of the text excerpts

Designed and sequenced each lesson, by:- Including a basic focus of instruction on the specified English curriculum content including teacher talk and probe questions

Loosely designed and sequenced each lesson, by:- Including a limited or unclear description of teaching and learning strategies to be used

- Not teaching the specified outcome

Criterion 2d: Design a unit overview which incorporates an assessment plan for the unit (5%)HD DN CR PP NNYou: You: You:Skilfully designed an assessment plan that: - relates to all of the key ideas and outcomes for the unit, and offers students the opportunity to respond creatively and critically to the concepts in the unit as an ongoing part of the formative assessment integrated into the unit design, as well as a rich culminating task

Designed an assessment plan that:- relates to some of the key ideas and outcomes for the unit and includes a formative assessment approach as well as a worthwhile summative task

Designed an assessment plan that:loosely relates to the key ideas and outcomes for the unit

EMT611 English Curriculum and Pedagogy AT3 Rubric 2017 17

Criterion 3b: Design a detailed lesson which includes: selection and analysis of excerpts from the literature to be used for teaching the chosen concept (15%) HD DN CR PP NNYou: You: You: You: You:- demonstrating of critical and thoughtful sorting and selection of relevant literary excerpts to teach the outcome

- Including accurate analysis of concept being examined

-demonstrating thoughtful sorting and selection of literary excerpts to teach the outcome

- Including mostly accurate analysis of concept being examined

- Selecting relevant literary excerpts to teach the outcome

- Including mostly accurate analysis of concept being examined

- Selecting mostly relevant selection of literary excerpts to teach the outcome

- Including some accurate analysis of concept being examined

- Selecting limited literary excerpts to teach the outcome

- Including limited or no analysis

CommentsCaitlin,You have presented a very strongly written AT3 Unit Design. You have clearly and explicitly addressed your unit criteria of using a historical fiction text to show how the author evokes feelings from its readers, provided students with the opportunity to engage with the text to experience the genuine feeling of the historical event and focused on textual concepts of protagonists and antagonists to develop character in the text. You’ve taught students to recognize that ideas in texts can lead to different types of interpretations and responses, when the text is conveyed from different viewpoints which was also part of your unit overview. Your lesson intentions have been supported by well referenced research. The successful design of your unit is sequentially developed per to the task description and lesson 2 utilized the delivery of historical evidence through a digital text which represented real historical people, events and allowed for point of view to be explored. You indicated the purposes of using assessment throughout the unit. By providing students with engaging and varied lessons you have developed a very comprehensive historical fiction unit of work that would have great teaching implication in a Grade 4-5 class. Well done!

Meree BarberTutor

Grade: HD