Across the seas

STAGE 3 INTEGRATED ENGLISH UNIT

Unit duration: 10 weeks

O utcomes
En3-2A composes, edits and presents w ell structured
and coherent texts
En3-3A
uses an integrated range of skills, strategies
and know ledge to read, view and comprehend a w ide

range of texts in different media and technologies
draw s on an appropriate range of strategies
En3-4A

to accurately
spell familiar and unfamiliar w ords w hen
composing
texts

En3-5B
discusses how language is used to achieve a
w idening
range of audiences and context

En3-6B uses know ledge of sentence structure,

grammar, punctuation and vocabulary to respond to

and compose
clear and cohesive texts in different media

and technologies
En3-7c
thinks imaginatively, creatively, interpretively
and critically
about information and ideas and

identifies
connections
betw een texts w hen responding

to and composing texts

EN 3-8D identifies and considers how different

view points
of their w orld, including aspects of

culture,
are represented in texts.

UNIT DESCRIPTION

In this unit of work students will explore the concept of

Forced migration by examining a variety of childrens
stories including the rabbits by john marsden, the
peasant prince by lee cunxin, the littlest refugee by anh
do and ziba came on a boat by liz lofthouse.
Students will learn to use metalanguage to respond to
multimodal texts in addition to developing their
understanding of biographical/thematic texts.
Throughout the unit students will engage in shared and
guided reading of the text boy overboard by morris
gleitzman.

Stage three integrated unit - Across the seas

Weeks 1 & 2
VCOP, Reading &
Comprehension

Vocabulary
lunges, missile, buzzard,
glinting, stern, quivering,
ancestors, land mine,
anxiously, indignantly,
bemused, grim, frantically,
persecute, abandon,
miserable, bold, relegated,
grief, accusingly, numb,
cassettes, confiscate

Connectives
TBA

Openers
TBA

Punctuation
TBA

Boy Overboard
Chapters 1-9
Complete daily
comprehension tasks. See
accompanying teacher
booklet for
comprehension questions
to be displayed on the
IWB.

The Rabbits by John Marsden & Shaun Tan

Quick Write Have you ever had a guest stay at your house? What was the experience like? Did you enjoy it? Why/Why not?

Writing

Discuss what an allegory is (short poem, story or picture which can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning). This book is
clearly not about rabbits. What do you think it is about? What was life like for the Aboriginal people before British colonisation?
In small groups develop a mind map about the story, focusing on the main themes (family, loss, displacement).
Daily activity: Prepare a page and illustration for each student to analyse in pairs. Students should answer the following
questions.
- What can you see in your picture? Discuss the link between the illustrations and the text? Do any objects or characters in your
illustration have a symbolic meaning? How does the picture make you feel?
Write the word migration on the board and ask if students know what it means. Define and discuss global migration. Complete
reading and comprehension sheets from British Colonisation Unit over the course of the week developing student understanding
of exploration and migration. Why would Great Britain want to move its criminals to another part of the world? What impact do
you think this might have had on Aboriginal people?
Assign each student a convict using the convict database. Students must research their convict, including age, crime and why
they were sent to Australia. Students then write a diary entry about their experiences as a convict in the First Fleet documenting
their journey and initial impressions of Australia.

Stage 3 2016

Castle Cove Public School

Stage three integrated unit - Across the seas

Weeks 3 & 4
VCOP, Reading
&
Comprehension

Vocabulary
horrified, grit, hurtles,
ploughs, anguish,
hesitates, refugee, fleeing,
triumph, scowl, hysterical,
exaggerating, frantically,
fatal, tense, stern, convoy,
overwhelmed, smuggler,

Connectives

Openers

Punctuation

TBA

TBA

TBA

Boy Overboard
Chapters 10-18
Complete daily
comprehension tasks. See
accompanying teacher
booklet for comprehension
questions to be displayed
on the IWB.

The Peasant Prince by Li Cunxin and Anne Spudvilas

Quick Write What is your greatest ambition? How would it feel for this to come true?

Writing

How would you describe Lis childhood? Study the setting and clothing of the characters in the story. What inferences can you make about
the society in which they live, from these elements? How does their life contrast to yours? Create a pictorial Venn diagram showing the
similarities and differences between Lis life and your own.
Put yourself in Lis situation at the time he left his family home. He was eleven years old, had moved to a new and unfamiliar city, didnt know
anybody, lacked confidence in his training at the Bejing Academy and was experiencing overwhelming home sickness. Yet on the other
hand, Li was being given the opportunity to change his financial circumstances and realise his dreams. What would Li be feeling at this point
in time? How would you feel in the same situation? Write a diary entry or letter home from the perspective of Li, describing his experiences at
the Beijing Academy.
Visual literacy: study the colours used by the illustrator in the early part of the story. What message is conveyed through these colours? At
what point in this story do these colours change? How is this related to Lis experiences? Study the colours used on the double spread of Li
dancing in America. What emotional message is conveyed? Through the judgement of colours alone, what part of the story is Li at his
happiest? Why do you think this is the case, in relation to the narrative?
Examine the metaphors within the text soared like a bird, graceful as a pheasant, powerful as a dragon.
Persuasive writing: Mistakes teach the most valuable lesson (quote from Li Cunxin). http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-09/maos-lastdancer-li-cunxin-speaks-to-one-plus-one/6452556
Examine the autobiographical genre as a text type: http://www.pegiwilliams.com.au/pdfs/teachernotes/9780143301646.pdf
Read the following Chinese fables from the story and explain the moral of the fables and how they apply to Lis life: The frog in the well (p.43),
The Emperor and the cricket (p. 54), The Millet dream (p.164), The Archer (p.182).
Students could begin composing a biography of their own life, looking at their family upbringing and home life.

Stage 3 2016

Castle Cove Public School

Stage three integrated unit - Across the seas

Weeks 5 & 6
VCOP, Reading
&
Comprehension

Vocabulary
frustrating, compound,
splintery, furious, frantically,
squirming, clamouring,
churning, helplessly,
departure, ballistic,
startled, restrain, scowls,
gloomily, protest,
indignantly,

Connectives

Openers

Punctuation

TBA

TBA

TBA

Boy Overboard
Chapters 19-27
Complete daily
comprehension tasks. See
accompanying teacher
booklet for comprehension
questions to be displayed
on the IWB.

Ziba Came on a boat by Robert Ingpen

Quick Write What do you remember from when you were younger? Think about where you lived, what you played and how you helped your
family.

Writing

Before reading the book, discuss who Ziba might be and how she might be feeling based on the image from the front cover. Why are there
only two images on the front cover? What might the story be about?
What does Ziba remember about her home, what did it look like, what did she play and how did she help her family? Create a venn
diagram to compare similiaries and differences between Ziba and yourself.
Write about Zibas life in Australia? What do you think will happen to her when she arrives? Will she be happy/unhappy?
See BTN activity sheet re. migrants/refugees. Watch the relevant videos and complete suggested activities.
Read Najembas story and identify the push and pull factors that contributed to her migration. Re-read Ziba came on a boat and list the
factors in her story of migration according to the push and pull theory.
HOMEWORK TASK: Students interview a member of their own family to discover their migration story. (Use the interview question scaffold
worksheet). Interview questions could include: What is your name? What year did you come to Australia? What country did you come from?
Why did you come to Australia? How did you feel leaving your home country? How did you get to Australia? What problems or dangers did
you encounter on your journey to Australia? Describe your experience when you first arrived in Australia? How did you feel arriving?
Read the Heartland poem at http://members.ozemail.com.au/~irenelesley/public_html/Heartland.htm
Home is where the heart is write a response to this statement. Do you agree or disagree?
Comprehension activities based on immigration law can be found at: http://www.harmony.gov.au/schools/teachers/lesson-plans/lessonplan-kofis-story/
Read Refugees by David Miller. In what ways were the ducks experiences similar to those of human refugees.
Australia demonstrates a responsible commitment to the needs of refugees seeking asylum in this country. Do you agree or disagree with
this statement?

Stage 3 2016

Castle Cove Public School

Stage three integrated unit - Across the seas

Weeks 7 & 8
VCOP, Reading
&
Comprehension

Vocabulary
perspiration, despair,
exaggerating, writhe,
spectators, congealed,
scalding, generous,
dehydrated, distressed.

Connectives

Openers

Punctuation

TBA

TBA

TBA

Boy Overboard
Chapters 28-35
Complete daily
comprehension tasks. See
accompanying teacher
booklet for comprehension
questions to be displayed
on the IWB.

The Arrival by Shaun Tan

Quick Write Have you ever been to a different country? What were your first impressions? What things did you find challenging?

Writing

Discuss the cover and title. Make predictions about the content.
At the end of reading the text teacher directs discussion to arrive at 10 facts and 10 questions:
-10 facts about which the class can be certain, e.g. it is a man going on a trip
-10 questions that the class have not yet resolved, e.g. Why are there so many birds? Is he a refugee?
What does the word theme (authors message) mean? In small groups develop a mind map about the story, focusing on the themes within
the book (migration, belonging, language barriers, home sickness, separation from family).
Daily activity: Prepare a page and illustration for each student to analyse in pairs. Students should answer the following questions.
- What can you see in your picture? Discuss the link between the illustrations and the text? Do any objects or characters in your illustration
have a symbolic meaning? How does the picture make you feel? Display suggestion: https://au.pinterest.com/pin/371335931749912779/
-Students should also suggest one word to sum up the theme of their page.
Students are given a set of pages for which they must write the text of the story. These are combined to make a class book.
Students write a page of dialogue between a resident and a new arrival to role play.
BTN Refugee Intake: http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s4309018.htm Write a letter from the perspective of the migrant to his wife and child.
Try to use strong adjectives to describe the setting and emotions.
Persuasive writing: Asylum seekers should be allowed into Australia or Should Australia accept refugees who arrive by boat:
http://trclassroom.weebly.com/the-little-refugee.html
Create a brochure welcoming migrants to Australia (think of Jamal and Bibi). Why should they come to Australia? What opportunities does
Australia provide for migrants? What should they expect?
Discuss the concept of visual literacy with the class. Students create a short wordless comic to convey a message or narrative using their
understanding of visual literacy techniques.

Stage 3 2016

Castle Cove Public School

Stage three integrated unit - Across the seas

Weeks 9 & 10
VCOP, Reading
&
Comprehension

Vocabulary
criticising, vicious,
persecution, survivors,
smirking, uncertain,
orphans, productive,
citizen, ecstatic,
paralysed, refugee,
protocols, stagger,
creased.

Connectives

Openers

Punctuation

TBA

TBA

TBA

Boy Overboard
Chapters 36-42
Complete daily
comprehension tasks. See
accompanying teacher
booklet for comprehension
questions to be displayed
on the IWB.

The Little Refugee by Ahn Do/ Weird-o

Quick Write If you could live anywhere in the world where would you live? Why? What would be the pull factors write at least three.

Writing

Discuss the cover and title. Read the text, paying close attention to the visual literacy aspects.
As a class, list the situations that are encountered by Anh Dos family on their journey by boat. Consider how you might feel in that situation?
Who could help you or who could you help in this situation?
Write down 10-15 things that you would take with you if you had to flee your home like Anh Do. They must be able to fit in a backpack and
be carried by you. Explain your reasoning for each item.
Graffiti Wall students write everything they have learnt about human rights and refugees on a large piece of butchers paper (graffiti).
View the interactive about Vietnam refugees and their journey: http://www.nma.gov.au/interactives/tlf/hong_hai/
Students complete tasks from The Little Refugee Thinkers key grid: http://www.treksntrails.info/the-little-refugee-thinkers.pdf
Create a character profile of Ahn Do: http://ops2infolit.global2.vic.edu.au/category/activities/
Students create a haiku poem based on the experiences of refugees: http://ourwritingjourney.weebly.com/national-refugee-weekreflections-by-stage-3.html
Students research and write a biography about the life of someone who has migrated into Australia. (Students may choose to work with a
partner to share the workload). The presentation will include:
-Background of an individuals migration journey
-An annotated map showing journey taken and significant happenings on the way
-A timeline of the journey
-A factual reflection of thoughts, feelings, and physical happenings along the journey.
-Any other significant occurrences
Students may wish to create a storybook to simplify the biography of their chosen person in a similar style to Anh Do.
Students consider all the stories read and compare and contrast the main characters and their lives by listing similarities and differences.
(Anh, Li, Ziba, Jamal).

Stage 3 2016

Castle Cove Public School

Stage three integrated unit - Across the seas

Stage 3 2016

Castle Cove Public School