Kieran Buhagiar

3/20/15

Tiered unit (Differentiated by Readiness)

Name and student number: Kieran Buhagiar 2085396
Unit Overview Using story telling as the basis for this unit the students will
work to develop their knowledge and understanding of the techniques used to
narrate and engage an audience. Students will build their oral and literary skills to
write stories enhancing their creativity through an assortment of activities.
Curriculum Area
Content

English

Year 2

Literacy and Language Storytelling, Narratives

Descriptor
Learner

Autism Spectrum Disorder, ESL. Varying levels of text and

differences/disab

performance styles will be utilised to engage all students to

ilities in your

achieve ZPD learning.

class
Achievement

As a result of engaging with the unit, the students will:

standard ACARA

Comprehend texts

or SACE

Navigate, read and view learning area text

objective

Narrate/perform a story

Learning

Use knowledge of sentence structures and words

Students will understand why emphasis is important, how

objectives

to interpret basic subtext/meaning.

know, understand

Students will know - Adjectives and verbs are crucial to

and do

storytelling. Why we tell stories, what the author aims to

achieve, how to tell a good story and what characterisation is.
Students will be able to - Read a story to a group. Create
their own short stories. Analyse subtext and use punctuation

Essential

appropriately.
Authors write for different purposes and audiences.

Questions

What elements can be used to engage an audience and their

open ended - the

imagination?

Big Idea

How can resource be used to enhance the experience of

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storytelling?
Pre-Assessment

Is there a reason authors re-tell stories in different ways?

Attached as Appendices

Readiness Task
lesson 1

Read students a story, deconstruct meaning and techniques.

Issue pre-assessment task.

lesson 2

Characterising sentences by reading them in a specific

characters style. Eg big man, little girl, wolf. Provide a variety
of texts to engage in reading utilising this technique.

lesson 3

Create a character for a narrative; give them a background.

Draw, describe and discuss them.

lesson 4

Put their character into a short story, use quotation marks so

we can narrate them. How might they sound/act?

lesson 5

Explore different ways to read aloud. Use basic techniques as

eye contact, pitch and volume. Use own narratives.

lesson 6

Perform a short excerpt from a text they have looked at using

the techniques taught.

Lesson Plan
Curriculum Area
Learning objective

Know Different characters have different personalities

(from Unit

and emotional qualities, where their character comes from

Overview) for this

and their past.

particular lesson

Year Level 2

Understand The pre-requisites of creating a character,

how their personality is individual and different from all
other characters.
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Do Visualise and draw these characters based on their

Essential questions

traits, describe why and how they are individual.

Who is your character? Where did they come from? What

for this lesson

is unique about them? Can you explain their past?

Lesson number from

unit plan sequence
Suggested content
or outline of lesson
Using the information

Lesson 3 of 6

Length of lesson: 45 mins

1 Whole class: Teacher models own character. Explain

task to imagine characters, describe them and label
their personality and appearance. Have these
characters meet the classmates and interact, how
might they think, walk, talk?

from your preassessment task

design a lesson based
on different levels of
readiness.

Check for
understanding

2 Activity, introduce the tiers: Draw a character and

describe the physical and social elements of these
characters. Build their persona and image throughout
the lesson. Have students meet and interact while
characterising these creations. Think how they will
sound/act, will personalitys clash or merge, why? Tier
1 allows the students to use pre-existing characters to
promote their description and engagement with the
task. They can build on this creation. Tier 2 provides a
template to students to structure the task further.
(Make template available to all students who feel they
need it).
3 Whole class debrief: What did we learn and observe
about our characters, did they all get along? Did they
sound funny, smart or silly? Is it fun to bring characters
to life? If so why dont we do it in the books that we
read? Keep these characters sheets as we will be using
them in a story.
Observe the students descriptions vs their

Visual, verbal,

characterisation, does one accurately reflect the other.

Using the smart board and oral narration to model my own

tactile and

character, his name and personality. Use music to

technological

characterise further.

supports
Instructional

First half of the lesson will be modelled and teacher

approaches

directed, the second half will be purely a student centred

approach as they explore and engage with their characters
with a large emphasis on creativity.
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Resources or

3/20/15

attach as appendices

supplementary
materials
Classroom

Templates for learning impaired children to aid in their

environment

progression to building a character and provide structure

what have you had

to the process. ASD and ESL seated close to the front of

to change to meet

classroom when instructions are given.

student needs

How have you linked the theory of differentiation to your lesson

unit and plan? Use the readings to support your answer.
Differentiation significantly impacts multiple elements including the
overall design of my unit/lesson plan. The unit is created to foster and
develop understanding of the authors intent through studying characters
and narrative structure. The main focus of the lesson is to empower the
children to recognise the significance of characters by exploring persona
and identity through a variety of mediums. In order to facilitate the
learning of all students, differentiation is integrated in a variety of forms.
Scaffolding lessons relative to interest is a strategy used that appeals to
the imaginative and creative styles of the children, engaging them in the
lessons (Jarvis J, 2015). As Conway states the implications of student
engagement are extremely positive Increased student engagement
enhances the positive learning and teaching environment, and both the
teacher and students are able to engage in learning (Conway R, pg. 26).
Those identified through the readiness task, that require further
assistance for learning are permitted the exception to develop their ideas
from pre-existing characters. This enables deeper conceptual
understanding by referencing prior knowledge; simplifying the process
while maintaining the learning objectives (Jarvis J 2015). The unit exhibits
strong emphasis on formative assessment to ensure that the students
progress and understandings are constantly recognised and recorded.
Ongoing assessment informs planning, teaching and feedback for
individual differentiation of the students. This presents the opportunity to
more intricately observe student learning and growth in relation to
individual learning objectives (Tomlinson C. 2001). This is an invaluable
resource to determine individual needs in the classroom and is particularly
beneficial for the students with specific learning needs. Using the
assessment data collected to analyse students strengths in correlation
with their needs we can confidently proceed with differentiation
alternatives (Carol A, 2006)
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How are you catering for the varying levels of readiness?

Readiness specifically refers to students existing knowledge and skill in
relation to the relative tasks they are required to perform (Jarvis J, 2013).
Whether readiness of students varies due to personal reasons, learning
disabilities or lack of pre-requisite skills the unit caters to all these
students by adopting tiered levels of learning. The main purpose of the
readiness task is to identify and differentiate content, process and product
to optimise the learning experience for each student (Tomlinson C 2001).
This assists students to build their skills as they engage in the class
activities with slightly modified styles to achieve the same learning
objectives. For certain students the amount of content, specifically text
can interfere with the interpretations and conceptualisation of these tasks.
Tiered learning activities provide these students with the necessary
assistance. Tier one in the lesson affords students the opportunity to
utilise their pre-existing knowledge, building from a familiar character.
Whether they originate from a text, film, reality or imagination students
will have a familiar base concept from which they can progressively
develop their knowledge and understanding. Tier two provides more
explicit assistance in the form of a template (see appendices). This
template provides structure and support for the students ideas, ensuring
that they can verbalise their thoughts in a coherent form.

Appendices:
Pre-assessment Readiness Analysis
The pre-assessment readiness task will consist of the analysis of a set
text. Students will be read a text and then must record their answers on
the questioning template. Examining students responses will aid in
determining their ability to accurately interpret subtext and meaning.
Additionally it will inform us of the students level of understanding and
analytical skills when deconstructing text. This will enable us to gather
resources that are accessible to all students and achieve learning relative
to their individual zone of proximal development. This information will
empower us to mark beyond achievements in relation to standards of the
curriculum, to recognise their growth and development throughout the
entire course of the unit, acknowledging how much theyve truly achieved.
This will be exemplified through feedback and guidance to promote a
growth-mindset and an engaging learning experience.
Readiness will be assessed by the students depth of response to the
questioning template and the level of writing, punctuation and abstract
thought utilised to explore possibilities within the text. If the students do
not elaborate efficiently on their ideas within their writing, I can make an
educated assumption that the do not have the prior knowledge or abilities
necessary activities and cater accordingly.

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Understanding and knowledge will both be apparent through how students

have answered the questions as opposed to the depth. The questions that
specifically relate to knowledge and understanding will test their abilities
in these fields. By adequately demonstrating the knowledge to respond
correctly to the questions and referencing elements of the text within their
explanation students knowledge will be apparent. An understanding
question will prompt the students to recognise and apply these strategies.
Displaying the skill to understand and replicate the relevant techniques of
punctuation and narrative students will create their own conclusion.
Applying structure and narrative in this alternate context should efficiently
surmise their level of understanding.

The Gruffalo -

Readiness task

Where did this story take place?

__________________________________________________________________________________
What animals did the mouse meet?
__________________________________________________________________________________

What were the animals thinking about when the met the little brown
mouse?

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__________________________________________________________________________________
Who would the mouse meet next if you could add one more character?
__________________________________________________________________________________
Think about what happened in the story and write your own different
ending after the mouse first sees the Gruffalo oh help, oh no! Its the
Gruffalo
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Was the story easy to understand? Did you find this task hard? Circle a
face.
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

Creating your Character! - Tier 2 Activity sheet

Remember to use descriptive language.

Where is your character from? Be creative!

___________________________________________________________________________
Are they big or small?
___________________________________________________________________________
Are they old or young? What age exactly?
___________________________________________________________________________
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What do they do for fun?

___________________________________________________________________________
What do they like to eat?
___________________________________________________________________________

Draw your character in the space below!

Name your
character:________________________________________________________

References:

Jarvis J. (2015). Workshop Resources EDUC4721 Differentiation for

Diverse Learners (Primary R-7). Flinders University, Bedford Park.
Workshop 5.

Tomlinson, C. (2004). How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability

classrooms, 45-51.

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Conway, R. (2014). Australian schools, policy and legislation in

perspective, 15-36.
Jarvis, Jane. (2013) 'Learning To Teach In The Primary School, 52-70.

Tomlinson, Carol A (2006) 'Integrating Differentiated Instruction &

Understanding By Design: Connecting Content And Kids', 59-82.

ACARA Australian Curriculum, Year 2, The Australian Curriculum:

English.
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/english/curriculum/f10?
y=2&s=LA&s=LT&s=LY&layout=1