Unit Plan

Learner Context
Learning Area English
Topic Focus Book Review
Year Level 6/7
School and Class Context 27 Students

The Learning Focus

Concepts:
Understanding book reviews, their meaning and structure.
Deconstructing an example text to understand the structure of a book review
Using a mentor text to review, highlighting awards, language features, and opinions.

The Australian Curriculum

Strand: Language Sub-Strand: Expressing and developing ideas
Content Descriptors
STRAND: LANGUAGE
Sub-Strand: Expressing and developing ideas
YEAR 6: Investigate how vocabulary choices, including evaluative language can express shades of
meaning, feeling and opinion (ACELA1525).
YEAR 7: Investigate vocabulary typical of extended and more academic texts and the role of abstract
nouns, classification, description and generalisation in building specialised knowledge through
language
(ACELA1537).

STRAND: LITERATURE
Sub-Strand: Responding to literature
YEAR 6: Identify and explain how choices in language, for example modality, emphasis, repetition
and metaphor, influence personal response to different texts (ACELT1615).
YEAR 7: Compare the ways that language and images are used to create character, and to influence
emotions and opinions in different types of texts (ACELT1621). Discuss aspects of texts, for example
their aesthetic and social value, using relevant and appropriate metalanguage (ACELT1803).

STRAND: LITERACY
Sub-Strand: Interacting with others
YEAR 6: Participate in and contribute to discussions, clarifying and interrogating ideas, developing
and supporting arguments, sharing and evaluating information, experiences and opinions
(ACELY1709).
YEAR 7: Identify and discuss main ideas, concepts and points of view in spoken texts to evaluate
qualities, for example the strength of an argument or the lyrical power of a poetic rendition
(ACELY1719).

STRAND: LITERACY
Sub-Strand: Interpreting, analysing & evaluation
YEAR 6: Analyse how text structures and language features work together to meet the purpose of a
text (ACELY1711). Analyse strategies authors use to influence readers (ACELY1801).
YEAR 7: Analyse and explain the ways text structures and language features shape meaning and vary
according to audience and purpose (ACELY1721). Compare the text structures and language features
of multimodal texts, explaining how they combine to influence audiences (ACELY1724).

STRAND: LITERACY
Sub-Strand: Creating Texts
YEAR 6: Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive texts, choosing and
experimenting with text structures, language features, images and digital resources appropriate to
purpose and audience (ACELY1714). Re-read and edit students’ own and others’ work using agreed
criteria and explaining editing choices (ACELY1715).
YEAR 7: Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive texts, selecting aspects of
subject matter and particular language, visual, and audio features to convey information and ideas
(ACELY1725).
Edit for meaning by removing repetition, refining ideas, reordering sentences and adding or
substituting words for impact (ACELY1726).

General Capabilities
Literacy
 Grammar knowledge
 Comprehending texts
 Composing texts
 Word knowledge
Critical and creative thinking
 Reflecting on thinking and processes
 Identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
 Analysing, synthesising and evaluating reasoning and procedures
Personal and social capability
 Self-management
 Social awareness
 Social managements

Achievement Standards
YEAR 6
By the end of Year 6, students understand how the use of text structures can achieve particular
effects. They select and use evidence from a text to explain their response to it. 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 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.

YEAR 7
By the end of Year 7, students understand how text structures can influence the complexity of
a text and are dependent on audience, purpose and context. They demonstrate understanding of
how the choice of language features, images and vocabulary affects meaning. They select specific
details from texts to develop their own response, recognising that texts reflect different viewpoints.
Students understand how the selection of a variety of language features can influence an audience.
Students create structured and coherent texts for a range of purposes and audiences. They make
presentations and contribute actively to class and group discussions, using language features to
engage the audience. When creating and editing texts they demonstrate understanding of grammar,
use a variety of more specialised vocabulary and accurate spelling and punctuation.

Learning Experiences
Learning Experience: Prior Knowledge
Prior Knowledge
 Read short text and write review
 Tell students there are 5 elements to a book review – one is a context paragraph and another is
the description of the text.
 Students write a quick review on random picture book – what do they know? What can they do
well? What have they missed?
Resources:
 Picture books
 Book review PowerPoint
Learning Experience: Example reviews
PowerPoint
 Why do we write reviews?
 Title
 Context – what is it? What goes in the paragraph? Title of work, author, awards, plot outline,
top
 Description: What goes in the paragraph? Main events, settings, characters, technical,
descriptive vocab – topic sentence and present tense
 Judgement - What goes in the paragraph? Evaluate quality of work, use quotes, how the reader
feels & experiences, use authors last name, use publishing year and page number for each
quote.
 Recommendation - Topic sentence – final comments about the novel, opinion and POV, hidden
message/moral of the story, who is the book suitable for? No new information.
 Using example of Hatchet, students are to place the review in order and highlight the key
features of each paragraph, making notes on key features.
 Once the review is glued into their English books, students are to use the scaffolding table on
Google Docs to fill in each section with with the review example has provided - wrote the text?
Has the author written any other texts? Where is the story set? Who are the main characters?
What problems do they face? What is a feature of the authors writing style?
 Share information found at the end of the lesson

Resources:
 Book review PowerPoint
 ‘Hatchet’ book review example
 Book Review Scaffolding table – Google Docs
 Student’s English books

Learning Experience: Context & Description

Context
 Example context paragraph – highlight important parts of the context
 Planning doc - Write context information for Once – author, brief plot outline, if its won any
awards
 Model how to begin this paragraph
 Start writing context paragraph – share examples as the students write to help struggling
students.

Description
 Previously mentioned: What goes in the paragraph? Main events, settings, characters,
technical, descriptive vocab – sentence structure, topic sentence and present tense.
 Example – what has the example review written.
 Brainstorm events from Once, students to take notes in the description paragraph sheet on
Google Docs and to use adjectives to describe how some events made them feel.
 Write description paragraph

Resources:
 Book review PowerPoint
 Example book review
 Planning document

Learning Experience: Judgement & Recommendations

Judgement
Previously mentioned: What is a judgement? What goes in the paragraph? Evaluate quality of
work, use quotes, how the reader feels & experiences, use authors last name, use publishing year
and page number for each quote.
 Go through slideshow, explained the judgement paragraph. Look at example review, previously
highlighted on slideshow, making note of how the review was written and how the readers
were mentioned.
 Use slideshow to suggest some judgement features for Once – innocence and imagery
 In planning document, list judgment features of Once and how they relate to the readers, how
the readers feel, connections made etc.
 Write judgement paragraph independently.

Recommendations
 Previously mentioned: What is the recommendation? Topic sentence – final comments about
the novel, opinion and POV, hidden message/moral of the story, who is the book suitable for? No
new information.
 Example – Highlight the key recommendation features in the paragraph.
 In planning document, list recommendations for Once – discuss age group and reasons why
 Discuss message or moral of the book – ideas on slideshow
 Write recommendation paragraph independently.

Resources:
 Book review PowerPoint
 Example book review
 Planning document

Learning Experience: Book Review

Draft
 Students to put together the paragraphs they have written over the lessons to create draft.
Teacher will look over draft to make comments on structure, spelling and punctuation.
 Reiterate the structure, importance of detail and mentioning the readers etc.

Final
 Students to make corrections on their drafts for a final copy.
 Students to complete self evaluation to make personal connections with their learning.

Resources:
 Task sheet and rubric – Google Docs
 Blank draft document – Google Docs
 Blank final copy document – Google Docs