Lesson: Children of the World

Grade Level: 5
Prior Knowledge/Learning
Students have looked at the Four Roles of a reader and are able to apply the skills
they have learnt to gain meaning from a text.
Students have considered children live differently all around the world.

Rationale:
This lesson is designed to encourage students to compare their lives to that of
another child living in a different part of the world.
Students will be able to apply their Reading Comprehension skills in a relevant
and meaningful way.

Learning Outcomes (ACARA)
English
Language for interaction
Understand how to move beyond making bare assertions and take account of differing
perspectives and points of view. (ACELA1502)

Literature and context
Identify aspects of literary texts that convey details or information about particular social,
cultural and historical contexts. (ACELT1608)

Examining Literature
Recognise that ideas in literary texts can be conveyed from different viewpoints, which can lead
to different kinds of interpretations and responses. (ACELT1610)

Interpreting analysing and evaluating
Navigate and read texts for specific purposes applying appropriate text processing strategies, for
example predicting and confirming, monitoring meaning, skimming and scanning. (ACELY1702)

Use comprehension strategies to analyse information, integrating and linking ideas from a
variety of print and digital sources. (ACELY1703)

Health and physical education
Being healthy, safe and active
Explore personal and cultural identities and how they change and adapt to different contexts and
situations. (ACPPS051)

Plan
Content/Methodology Time
Allocation
Read the text with the students individually or as a whole class
depending on the chosen text.
- Pause before you read, during and at the end to ensure
15 mins


predictions can be made and discussions about the text,
language, images etc can be had.

Students are then going to draw comparisons between their lives and
that of the child in the story. Draw two columns on the board one titled
similarities and the other differences. Have students identify specific
examples of these from the text and create discussions around their
suggestions. Focus on evidence provided in the text as a reference
point for discussion.

Students will then use the ideas on the board and write a reflection on
the similarities and differences between them and the child they read
about. Students should be encouraged to think about how that child
feels based on what they read and how they would feel if it was them.
This writing should not be overly focused on writing conventions
instead should be an avenue for reflection.




20 mins






25 mins
Resources
- Text e.g. Mirror by Jeannie Baker a great text to use as it
shows the direct comparison between the two childrens lives.
- Whiteboard, literacy books


Differentiated Learning:
Students who may need some extra assistance with this task will be given
subheadings to prompt their ideas and under which they will be able to write
answers to the activity.
The subheadings would be as follows (these are flexible based on the chosen text
and the discussions had at the beginning of the class):
- What are some differences you notice between the way you live and the
child in the story? Use examples from the text.
- What are some similarities you notice? Use examples from the text.
- How do you think the child feels about how they live?
What language is used to make you think that?

As an extension students could write a short piece as if they were living as the
child they read about.