Tamara Draper

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EDLA309: LITERACY EDUCATION 2

Assignment 2
RATIONALE
For my two literacy plans, I chose to focus on the cross-curricular link, science, and more
specifically, Living things have lifecycles (Australian Curriculum, 2015). My first text is called
Echidna, and provides information regarding the life cycle of the echidna, and other
interesting information, and my second choice is a multimodal text about the lifecycle of the
ladybug. Each text conveys appropriate information about lifecycles, and thus relating to the
Australian Curriculum, and they would engage year four students through the exciting way
in which the information is displayed. The text is written in an interesting way, and has
many associated images for children to enjoy. The multimodal text also displays many
colourful images, with a song playing behind the narrator, as a form of entertaining through
audio.
In my first lesson plan, I use the instructional strategy read aloud in my before reading
section. Reading aloud to children is a very important activity as it has many associated
benefits. The teacher is able to be the role model for reading, while the students are able to
listen to aspects such as tone, and pace. These aspects will mould a childs reading ability as
they will attempt to imitate their teacher. Reading aloud also gives children background
knowledge, and this helps them to make sense of what they see, hear and read (Koralek,
2005). As the child is listening, they are also hearing new words, putting them into context,
and ultimately extending their vocabulary.
The reading comprehension strategy I used for lesson plan one was Determining the main
idea/summarising, which is important as to understanding what the text is about. Students
were to discover the main ideas through acknowledging aspects such as headings, pictures,
and bolded and italicised words, and these would help them to gain an overall meaning of
the text itself. By using this text-processing skill, students would link different pieces of
information together to form an insightful knowledge and understanding of what the text is
about, what the text is conveying, and its importance (Wilawan, 2012).
The overall reading comprehension focus for my first lesson plan is Skimming and Scanning
for information, which is what I wanted students to learn how to do. It can be difficult to
know which parts of a text to pay more attention to, and which part to quickly skim
through, but once this strategy is learnt, it can become very useful. Skimming and scanning
is not only a faster way to read through a text, but it is also a helpful way to evaluate the
usefulness of content, as there is a link between skimming and scanning and evaluation
(Herring, 2006). Students would be using this technique to discover the main ideas in a text,
although this strategy is also useful when a large piece of content is presented.
In my second lesson plan, I used the reading comprehension strategy, Compare and
Contrast, with an overall comprehension focus being Comparing information. Comparing
and contrasting texts can support students in making connections between new content,
old content, and even their own background knowledge and experiences (Dreher and Gray,
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2009). Placing this information in a Venn diagram allows students to further their
understanding of structure, as they are structuring their information coherently into one
place. This can also help their vocabulary, as students must create succinct and clear
sentences in the Venn diagram that does not overlap with information they have compared
and contrasted with.
Within the second lesson plan, I included one of the semiotic systems, linguistics, as it
contributes to meaning making in a multimodal text. Examples of linguistics include
vocabulary, generic structure and grammar of oral and written language, and these can be
important in a multimodal text in achieving the specific purpose of the text (Anstey, 2012).
In the YouTube clip, The Lifecycle of a Ladybug, linguistics are very important, as the
information conveyed is the area in which students will learn most from, as they are trying
to understand information about ladybugs to compare with old content.
When creating these lesson plans, some teaching strategies seemed to work better than
others in regard to linking strategies with my overall focus and literacy learning intention. In
deciding on strategies to use for different lessons, I considered the benefits relating to the
instructional strategies, reading comprehension strategies, and thinking routines. Each
strategy came with benefits, such as guided reading, which allows students to firstly gain an
understanding of the text, and have the reading modelled to them before they are required
to read the text themselves. I decided on these strategies as they linked well with my plan
for my lesson, and with my overall focus for each lesson.

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Lesson 1
Lesson Focus: Reading Comprehension: Skimming and Scanning for information
AusVELS Domain(s): Reading and Viewing
Date: 25/08/2015
Grade(s)/Year level(s): Grade/Level 4
Duration of the Lesson: 60 minutes
AusVELS Substrands Dimension(s): (ACELY1692)
Finding the main idea of a text
Cross curricular Links:
Scope and Sequence:
Science
Biological sciences. Living things have lifecycles.
(ACSSU072).
Learning Outcome(s)/Standard(s):
During this Lesson, students will use headings, images, and bolded words to find important ideas in the
text. The students will use this information to elaborate on the timeline at the bottom of each page of
the text, and draw images that associate with the information.
Success Criteria:
I am doing well if I can understand how to find important information in a text, and create an informative
timeline about the echidna.
Text: Echidna Life Cycles of Australian Animals By Greg Pyers
BEFORE READING
2-5 minutes
WALT:
We are learning to find main ideas of an information text through skimming and scanning
Questions:
What could this book be about? (Echidnas, life cycles, Australian animals)
How do you know what it is about before reading it? (Title, images)
What do you already know about echidnas? (native Australian animal, mammal, appearance
spikey, long nose)
How do we find important ideas in a text? (Titles, headings, pictures, bolded/italicised words)
INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY:
Read aloud
Model effective reading
Ask students to listen for tone of voice, and pace of reading
DURING READING
10-15 minutes
READING COMPREHENSION STRATEGY:
Determining important ideas/summarising
Read pages 4-9 aloud to students Refer to Appendix 1
Pause during reading to discuss which are the important ideas of the echidna life cycle
Write ideas on whiteboard
AFTER READING
THINKING ROUTINE
Headlines Quick summaries of the big ideas or what stands out
Explain activity to class:

25-30 minutes

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Students summarise important parts of the text about the echidna lifecycle in groups of 4-6
refer to ideas already written on the whiteboard
Students work in groups to create an echidna timeline poster using the timeline in the text, and
the important ideas they have come up with
Prompt class with questions, such as, How could we elaborate on the first step in this timeline?
and go through possible answers with them

Success Criteria:
I am doing well if I can understand how to find important information in a text, and create an informative
timeline about the echidna.
FOCUS GROUP During consolidating and practice
Focus Group: 4-6 students at Sentence Level Meaning
THINKING ROUTINE
Headlines Quick summaries of the big ideas or what stands out
Guided reading with students amount of support depending on their ability and confidence
Allow the students to determine the important information in the text
Ask prompt questions to support students:
- What do you think the important information is in this text? The headings, the pictures,
the bolded words, the italicised words
- What information could we use on this page to help us elaborate on the echidnas lifecycle?
When the echidna forms her burrow (August or September), what the echidna uses to form
her burrow (leaves and grass)
Use the gradual release of responsibility to allow for group discussions
Success Criteria:
I am doing well if I can understand how to find important information in a text.
LESSON CONCLUSION

10-15 minutes

Questions:
What have you learnt today about echidnas that you didnt already know?
What did you use in the text to find the main ideas?
How was skimming/scanning through the text useful, instead of reading the entire text?
Ask students to demonstrate their work/knowledge from the lesson

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Lesson 2
Lesson Focus: Reading Comprehension: Comparing information
AusVELS Domain(s): Reading and Viewing
Date: 25/08/2015
Grade(s)/Year level(s): Grade/Level 4
Duration of the Lesson: 60 minutes
AusVELS Substrands Dimension(s): (ACELY1692)
Making connections between the text and
students own experience and other texts
Cross curricular Links:
Scope and Sequence:
Science
Biological sciences. Living things have lifecycles.
(ACSSU072).
Learning Outcome(s)/Standard(s):
During this lesson, students will watch a video about the life cycle of a ladybug, and compare and
contrast this to the life cycle of an echidna. The students will use this information and information from
their own experiences to create a Venn diagram of the differences and similarities between the two life
cycles.
Success Criteria:
I am doing well if I can understand and express the similarities and differences between the life cycle of an
echidna and the life cycle of a ladybug in a Venn diagram.
Text: Echidna Life Cycles of Australian Animals By Greg Pyers
The Life Cycle of a Ladybug - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvHWxDjfFB8
BEFORE READING
2-5 minutes
WALT:
We are learning to compare and contrast two different texts and create a Venn diagram displaying this
information
Questions:
What do you already know about ladybugs? (They have spots, they can fly, they are small)
What do you think we might learn in this video The Life Cycle of a Ladybug? (How ladybugs are
born, what ladybugs eat, how long a ladybug lives for)
How do you think this could be similar/different to the life cycle of an echidna?
Play YouTube video for students (The Life Cycle of a Ladybug) Refer to Appendix 2
DURING READING
10-15 minutes
READING COMPREHENSION STRATEGY:
Comparing and Contrasting
Discuss facts learnt from the video write on whiteboard
Play video again for students, asking them to this time record information in their book as they
watch it
Pause throughout video to allow students to write down important information
Tell students to keep an open mind to possible links (similarities and differences) between the
echidna text, and the ladybug video
Semiotic system:
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Linguistic (vocabulary, generic structure and grammar of oral and written language)
It is important to focus on the vocabulary used in the text and the multimodal text comparing
and contrasting terminology used

AFTER READING
25-30 minutes
THINKING ROUTINE
5VIPS Five Very Important Points Explain activity to class:
In groups of 4-6, students will compare and discuss their important points from the YouTube
video Refer to Appendix 2
Students will work in this group to create a Venn diagram comparing the life cycle of an echidna
to the life cycle of a ladybug use important points
Prompt class with questions, such as, What were the similarities/differences between the two
different life cycles? and Did the echidna and ladybug both come from an egg?
Success Criteria:
I am doing well if I can understand and express the similarities and differences between the life cycle of an
echidna and the life cycle of a ladybug in a Venn diagram.
LESSON CONCLUSION

10-15 minutes

Questions:
What have you learnt today about ladybugs that you didnt already know?
How does comparing and contrasting information help us?
Whats another way we can display this information, other than a Venn diagram?
Ask each group of students to read out at least one comparison from their Venn diagram
Allow other students to further fill in their Venn diagram as they learn new information from peers

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APPENDIX 1

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Tamara Draper
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APPENDIX 2

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Reference List
Anstey, M. (2012). Using Multimodal Tactual Texts during the Inquiry Process. PETAA paper,
184(1), 1-12.

Assessment Research Centre, University of Melbourne. (2012). Progression of Reading

Development PRD. Retrieved from
http://leo.acu.edu.au/mod/folder/view.php?id=1038044

Australian Curriculum. (2015). Retrieved from

http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/Browse?a=E&a=M&a=S&a=H&a=G&a=ENB
&a=CNC&a=da&a=dr&a=ma&a=mu&a=va&a=DI&a=DE&a=HPE&y=4&layout=2&bro
wseLayout=2#page=2

Dreher, M., & Gray, J. (2009). Compare, Contrast, Comprehend: Using Compare-Contrast
Text Structures With ELLs in K-3 Classrooms. The Reading Teacher, 63(2), 132-141.

Herring, J. (2006). A Critical Investigation of Students and Teachers Views of the Use of
Information Literacy Skills in School Assignments. School Library Media Research,
9(1), 17-19.

Koralek, D. (2005). Reading Aloud with Children of All Ages. Reading is Fundamental, Inc. 16.

Pyers, G. (2002). Echidnas. Carlton, Victoria: Binara Publishing Pty Ltd.

The Lifecycle of a Ladybug. (2011, November 14). [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvHWxDjfFB8

Wilawan, S. (2012). Fostering Main Idea Comprehension among EFL Learners through
Cognitive and Metacognitive Strategies. International Journal of Humanities and
Social Science, 14(2), 46-47.

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