Unit Plan 2015 Stage One English Pathways- Assessment Type 2: Text Production

Title of Unit
Curriculum
Area
Developed By

Vocational Writing
English Pathways

Stage
Time Frame

One (Year 11)

5 weeks

Taylor Rubino

Desired Results (Stage 1)

Rationale: In designing an appropriate Stage 1 English Pathways program it is necessary to consider the experiences and
the aspirations of the students. This unit of work focuses on preparing students for the workforce by examining a range of
professional documents. Over the five weeks, students will compose a range of written pieces that will relate to the
workplace or a range of real-world writing scenarios. Students will select the text-types they compose from a range of
prescribed options, allowing them to pursue what is relevant to their own lives or interests. These written pieces will be
presented as a professional portfolio, with a combined word count of 800 words. The documents, which will be drafted,
edited and word processed, are intended to demonstrate professionalism and individuality.
School context: XYZ High School is a safe, caring and orderlyenvironment, which protects and reinforces the rights of
students to learn andteachers to teach. It is a vibrantand lively learning community dedicated toproviding high quality
learning for a diverse rangeof students.Emphasisis placed upon self-directed learning, whichfosters confidence and high
levels of motivation. The student community is diverse: over 62% of theenrolment comes from non-English speaking
backgrounds. Currentlyapproximately 23% of students are School Card recipients.
Class cohort: This course is designed for a class of 20 students, with 15 males and 5 females. These are students who
find the study of literature a challenge and need guidance and support to extend their skills and knowledge. Many
students need improvement in the areas of grammar, spelling and expression. The course has been designed around the
specific needs, interests and aspirations of the students.There are two students in the class that are on modified education
plans they attend support lessons throughout the week where they receive assistance with their classwork from
specialised teachers. These students are able to participate in class activities and learning, yet sometimes need extended
amounts of time to complete work or alternate options for assessment.There are five 45-minute lessons a week, two of
which are double lessons. There is access to computers to research ideas and publish coursework, as well as opportunities
for students to create multimodal assignments and use ICT in their presentations.

Learning Requirements
The English Pathways program aims to establish connections with people in vocational, cultural, or social contexts, through
personal and critical engagement with texts and language. Students analyse the ways in which texts are created for
specific purposes and audiences and compose texts in which language is used for personal, vocational, or creative
purposes.
The unit will address the following learning requirements:

Establish connections with people in vocational, cultural, or social contexts, through personal and critical
engagement with texts and language
Use language skills to interact with other people, and to solve problems
Compose texts that use language for personal, vocational, or creative purposes

Assessment Design Criteria

As part of Assessment Type 2: Text production, students aim to achieve a level of fluency, precision, style, and structure appropriate to
audience and context.
Given the varying levels of literacy within the class, the length of texts produced can vary considerably. The assessment requirements
may be achieved by a number of shorter items if this fits the needs of students as identified by NEPs. The combined assessment
pieces will total a maximum of 800 words.
For this assessment type, students provide evidence of their learning primarily in relation to the following assessment design criteria:

knowledge and understanding

application

communication.
The assessment design criteria addressed in this unit are :
KU2 Knowledge and understanding of the ways in which the creators and readers of texts use language techniques and conventions to
make meaning.
KU3 Knowledge and understanding of the ways in which texts are composed for a range of purposes and audiences.
Ap2 Use of language skills to interact with other people, and to solve problems.
C1 Accuracy, clarity, and fluency of expression.
C2 Use of reading, viewing, writing, listening, speaking, and ICTs to produce a range of texts.

Understandings

Essential Questions

Overarching Understanding
Students will know:
- Professional document format (CV, cover letter, email and
formal letter)
- Terminology, layout and related language
Students will understand:
- The importance of communicating professionalism through
documentation
- More about themselves and how to pursue their interests
- How professional documents are constructed
- How we can entice employers through documentation
Students will be able to:
- Design and produce a series of written pieces for a fictional

Overarching Questions

How do authors use

specific language and
structure to achieve a
desired effect?
How can I demonstrate
professionalism through
my writing?

Topical Questions

How can I best sell

myself through my CV
or cover letter?
Why is sticking to a proforma important and
useful?
What are the essential
features of an effective
vocational document?
What are my own unique

character
Write for the workplace/range of real-world writing scenarios

Related Misconceptions
It isnt important to write professionally online
I cant communicate my uniqueness on paper
Writing formally wont allow employers to understand the real me
My experiences arent relevant to this job
I will have to exaggerate the truth about myself to employers

How can I communicate

my skills and personality
through my writing?
How can I best sell
myself to others without
being arrogant?
How does informal
language hinder my
writing?

skills, talents, interests,

abilities?
Which occupations would
best suit me?
Who would be a fitting
referee for me?

Assessment Evidence (Stage 2)

Performance Task 1 Description
Assessment Task 1
LEARNING
REQUIREMENTS
ADDRESSED:
- Establish connections
with people in vocational,
cultural, or social contexts,
through personal and
critical engagement with
texts and language
- Use language skills to
interact with other people,
and to solve problems
- Compose texts that use
language for personal,
vocational, or creative
purposes

PURPOSE: To introduce your character to a potential employer and express their interest in an available job
position. The job details will be based on the formative job description handed up in previous lessons. The cover
letter should demonstrate both professionalism and individuality.
TASK: In the context of this task, you will take on the role of a fictional character and construct a cover letter to
an employer. The cover letter will outline the characters interest for the role and will include information on the
characters suitability for the job.
STRUCTURE:
1. Personal address details, yours and theirs
2. Introduction: One paragraph that introduces yourself and your expressed interest for the position
3. Main Body: Information on relevant experience and skills
4. Conclusion: A thankful sign off
REMEMBER: Less is more! Be concise, clear, short and sweet with your writing, and this will grab the readers
attention.
The standards addressed in this assignment are: KU2, KU3, Ap3, C1, C2

Assessment Task 2

PURPOSE: Use language skills and techniques to construct a professional piece of vocational writing.

LEARNING
REQUIREMENTS
ADDRESSED:

TASK: Construct a vocational document that demonstrates the appropriate structure and language of the
professional document. You can choose to create one of the following:
- Resume for the fictional character
- Emails to and from the character
- A professional letter from the character to their boss requesting something (i.e. request for leave, request
for pay rise)

- Use language skills to

interact with other people,
and to solve problems
- Compose texts that use
language for personal,

STRUCTURE: The structure of this assignment will depend on the text type chosen.
Resume: personal details, employment history, educational history, volunteer work, awards/certificates, skills
and abilities
Email: appropriate subject line, any CCs, formal greeting, formal language, polite sign-off
Letter: correct layout, readable font, addresses, formal language, polite manner and formal greeting and signoff
The standards addressed in this assignment are: KU2, KU3, Ap3, C1, C2

vocational, or creative
purposes

Other Evidence
Formative assessment:
- Grammar pre-assessment
- Slang, jargon and clich Quiz
- Job Descriptions Research Task
- Drafted professional e-mail thread
- Resume template task
- MyCareerProfile print out
- Cover letter Missing Blanks activity

Resources
-

Smartboard/laptop projection equipment

Guide 5th Ed.
Desks and chairs
URLs
Pens/pencils/paper
Butchers paper
Resume examples
Cover letter examples
Character biographies

- Martin Writers
- Online

Learning Plan (Stage 3)

Overview of unit
-

Outline rationale of unit teacher-directed explanation of assessment tasks. Discussing how

the unit of work relates to workforce and their futures. Teacher should hand out task sheets and
rubrics to all students and explain what is required of them.

Values Walk Teacher sets up an imaginary line that crosses the room. The line goes from
numbers 1-10 (1 representing agree, and 10 representing disagree). Teacher guides class through
some questions/statements that relate to employment or the workforce. Students consider their
views and place themselves accordingly along the line. Teacher should link the statements asked
to the related misconceptions of the unit, to gather information about how particular students are
feeling before beginning the unit.

Online self-guided discovery: Uncovering your skills, abilities and special talents activity
Students use this interactive online resource to help them fine-tune their skills for career
development. Students self-guide this activity and are able to choose the activities they complete,
most of which should help students identify their valuable skills and link them to a variety of
possible occupations. Students also have the opportunity to record and streamline their goals and
aspirations for future employment. Students must print a copy for the teacher.
http://www.myfuture.edu.au/mycareerprofile/interests?activityid=21

Week 1
Aims
(addressing
understandings and
essential questions):
Address related
misconceptions.
Discover own skills,
talents, interests,
abilities.
Learn how to
pursue interests
and map out
career goals.

Students choose the character that they will complete their assignments on. Students can use
self-guided online research if needed to find out more about the characters history, skills,
talents, accomplishments, interests etc. The character could be taken from a novel, TV series, film,
comic book, or perhaps even a celebrity or public figure. Alternately, students can create their own
fictional character.
*Teacher provides students with a graphic organiser template so that students can map out the
characters information. This should enable visual learners to document their findings/creations. Teacher
must approve character before final decision is made.
-

Write a job description (formative piece and pre-assessment). Students choose a job objective
for the character - What are the requirements of that job? What skills should the applicant posses?
Students either hand write or type up the job description that their character is applying for, and
hand up to teacher. Teacher will keep this work as a formative piece, but will also consider it as a
pre-assessment to gather more information about the students grammar and writing skills.

Week 2

General Grammar Pre-Assessment Quiz: blue section is basic grammar; green section is of
intermediate level; and red section relatively difficult. Colours are not explained to students, yet
help the teacher gage which sections the students are struggling with. Teacher uses this short quiz
as a pre-assessment.

Aims

(addressing
understandings and
essential questions):
How authors use
specific language
and structure to
achieve a desired
effect.
Demonstrating and
analysing
professionalism
through writing.
Sticking to a proforma is important
and useful.

Mixed-ability grouping activity - Create an Email (differentiated by readiness, students

mixed up by teacher so that groups have a range of student ability). Groups need to establish
group roles to ensure the task works smoothly (i.e. scribe, reporter, and illustrator). Students use
butchers paper to create a replica of an email. This task is not scaffolded for students, students are
only given a theme for the email, they are not told what to include structurally or grammatically.
Groups draw and write an email and then present back to the class.

Class discusses the parts of the emails that were included or missed during the previous activity.
This leads to a deconstruction of an email template on the board (teacher guided analysis).
Teacher presents students with examples of both poor quality and good quality emails. Teacher
uses Martins (2011) Writers Guide - 'Correspondence' chapter as a tool in this lesson.

Students note-take in books/laptops and record the different elements of the email, as well as the
sort of language the email should use. These notes should end up being a list of Shoulds and
Should Nots that students can keep and refer to later.

Students construct a fictitious email thread that presents as a conversation between two people in
the workplace (not their character). Students have to draw or create the emails using ICT in class

and hand up as a formative piece.

Week 3

Deconstruction of a professional letter (Think, Pair, Share activity) Students are given
an example of a professional letter (several versions of these letters are provided, depending on
literacy levels). Students must read the letter individually, think and record the sorts of language
theyve observed in the writing. Then, students will form pairs and compare observations, and
maybe add more ideas to their list. Then pairs will share their finding with the class and the class
will discuss the sorts of words and phrases the students found useful or important to the overall
function of the letter.

Self-guided online Quiz - Students use this website to take a short quiz on avoiding slang, jargon
and clichs in writing situations http://owlet.letu.edu/grammarlinks/diction/diction2t.html. Class
follows up with a discussion of why to avoid certain terms or phrases when writing a professional
email or letter.

3-2-1 Exit Card: Students complete an exit card and hand up to teacher. E.G. Write down 3 things
to include when writing a professional letter, write down 2 things to avoid when writing an email,
write down 1 activity youve enjoyed doing this week and why.

What is a cover letter? Class discussion and brainstorm how can a cover letter entice an
employer? What should a cover letter include? What structural elements should a letter include
(i.e. address, date etc)

Teacher steps class through what a cover letter should achieve: formal greeting, introduction,
match your skills and experiences with the skills and experiences required by the job, encourage
the reader to read your resume, finish with a call to action (e.g., requesting an interview or asking
to meet)

Fill in the Blanks- Based on previous pre-assessment and formative work, teacher forms
ability groups and places students into three tiers. Each tier is given a different example of a
cover letter some being simpler or more sophisticated than others, yet all have some blanks
missing. Once three groups are established, students break off into pairs. Pairs try to identify the
parts of the cover letter that are missing (e.g. date, formal greeting, addresses etc.). Pairs report
back to class.

Teacher-directed Class brainstorm - How can I best sell myself to an employer? What should
they know about us? Why should we not present as overconfident? Which of my skills are relevant
to this company?

Aims
(addressing
understandings and
essential questions):
How authors use
specific language
and structure to
achieve a desired
effect.
Demonstrating and
analysing
professionalism
through writing.
Sticking to a proforma is important
and useful.
Informal language
can hinder my

writing.
Address related
misconceptions.

Role play activity: Show confidence but not arrogance! Small groups are given a workplacebased scenario (provided by teacher) that demonstrates either arrogance or confidence. Groups
have to come up with a scene that demonstrates one of these two traits, and the class have to
guess which trait they were portraying. This activity is intended to address the learning styles of
some students in the class who like to present ideas creatively. The inclusion of all students in this
activity is encouraged (even if some students would prefer not to have a speaking role).

Students spend time this week working on and drafting their cover letter for assessment
piece 1 (remind students that both assessment pieces should TOTAL 800 words, so they need to
remember to split the words evenly across both tasks) DRAFT DUE MID-WEEK
Cover letter due (first summative piece)

Week 4
Aims

(addressing
understandings and
essential questions):
Sticking to a proforma is important
and useful.
Informal language
can hinder my
writing.
Address related
misconceptions.
How I can best
sell myself
through my CV.
The essential
features of an
effective vocational
document.
Write for the
workplace/range of
real-world writing
scenarios

Whole class discussion about the purpose of a Resume what is the aim of a resume? How can
we communicate our relevant skills through a CV? How can we sell ourselves through this
document? What do the different sections of a resume achieve? the personal details,
employment history, educational history, volunteer work, personal skills, awards/certificates,
accomplishments and interests

Class activity - deconstructing examples of poor quality and good quality resumes (projected on
screen) identifying the sections of a resume and examining the successful points from the
examples.

Biography Comprehension and Resume Templates Activity (readiness tiers are introduced)
Class split into two tiers depending on readiness levels; from there, smaller groups are created.
Groups are given fictional biographies, and students each fill out a resume template by
deconstructing the biographies to fit the necessary information into the resume template. Groups
work together, but hand up individually (formative).
Tier One (low-level readiness): Students from this group will each be given a resume template that is
already partially filled the idea is that the task is slightly scaffolded for these students.
Tier Two (high-level readiness): Students will be required to each fill out the resume template without
prompts. This group will attempt to take all information given in the bio and place it into the appropriate
section of the resume template.
-

Whole class debrief: Come back as a group and discuss choice made. Which parts of the bio
were used for each section of the template?
Working on Assessment Two: Students begin working on Assessment Two: resume/professional
email/professional letter for fictional character

Week 5
Aims
(addressing
understandings and
essential questions):
Design and
produce a series of
written pieces for a
fictional character
Write for the
workplace/range of
real-world writing
scenarios

Identifying relevant referees teacher-guided explanation: Teacher explains the purpose of a

referee. Mentions that a referee is someone is someone who can vouch for someone and knows
them either personally or professionally. For example, Robin would be a great referee for Batman
because they are not only close friends, but have worked together for many years. For students
working on the Resume for Assessment Task 2, they should think about, or create, some relevant
referees for their character.

Working on Assessment Task Two students continue working on final assessment task

Assessment Task Two due either end of this week or early next week