Language
Stage 4 & 5
(Stage 4: yrs 7 & 8 / Stage 5: yrs 9 & 10)
The following activities are general in nature and are intended to be additional activities. For specific content related to your child’s class, can you please refer to the relevant Google Classroom.
How to use this resource:
- Choose a shed that interests you and view the animations/films.
- Use the stimulus ideas provided to craft a piece of writing
Year 7 might like to look at the ‘Myths and Legends’ shed; Year 8 the ‘Fantasy’ shed.
Black out Poetry – “Steal Like an Artist!”
- What is a 'black out poem' and how do I create one? Scholastic
- How to teach black out poetry.
- 5 Tips for creating black out poems
- The easy guide to black out poetry
- Blackout poetry - extension ideas
How to:
- Look at examples from the websites provided or by googling ‘Black out poetry’
- Use the pages of an old book you don’t mind repurposing – you could make it a work in progress and use many pages in the same book for different blackout poems
- Magazines and newspapers work equally as well
- Follow the steps outlined in the Scholastic website, the ‘How to teach blackout poetry’ website and ‘The Easy Guide to Blackout Poetry’ website to create your blackout poem
- Decide on a platform to share your creation.
Dear Poet – an initiative from poetry.org
Use this lesson plan to engage with a range of poets and their poetry, develop your understanding of poetic techniques and write a letter to a poet.
TedED Series: Playing with Language
Contains links to a variety of TedED videos and lesson ideas with ways to engage.
Wide Reading
NSW DoE suggested texts by stage
Select a novel from the school library or town library. Use the list provided on the DoE website to guide your choice.
Ideas for working with a novel:
- Choose a main character and construct a character profile
- Select a significant passage and re-write it from a different character’s perspective or in a different tense – what is the impact of these changes?
- Choose a significant passage and construct a story board
- Write the opening passage to a sequel of the book you selected
- Write a book review
Viewing
NSW DoE suggested texts by stage
and Clickview
Select and view a film from the DoE list provided (films and documentaries can be accessed by students on Click View).
Ideas for working with a film:
- Grid analysis – complete a grid with the following headings: Similarities (what does the film remind you of?), Surprises (what happens that you were not expecting?), Puzzles (what questions remain unanswered) and Patterns (what recurring motifs did you see?)
- Choose a character and write their backstory
- Write a review of the film, or write a newspaper article about an incident from the film
Complete past papers (answers available at the link provided)