Unit Proforma: Accelerated Literacy Teaching Program – Text: The Island by John Heffernan Date: Class: TM6.7

Author’s Purpose: John Heffernan has written a story to address the issue of happiness and how to find it. Sometimes happiness is before your eyes and still cannot be seen or recognized. The character of the blind urchin is used to exemplify this.

Teaching focus/s:Use of allegory to explore an important human issue: happiness

Techniques used by writers , eg simile, personification

How the careful selection of verbs can create images, sensory verbs

How the use of personification and alliteration creates detailed images and develops the

characterization (of the urchin)

The importance of selecting adjectives to create precise descriptions (swirling shells, crinkled

sponges, time-worn pebbles etc)

The significance of the theme position in a clauseeg. In the mornings, in the afternoons

How to analyse and evaluate visual information in illustrated texts

Selected PassageThere was once a hard working tribe that rarely smiled and never laughed.The tribe lived on an island. It was a beautiful island, but the people were too busy to notice. All except one, a blind urchin who slept under the stars.

The urchin heard the sighs of the sea and listened to the whispers of the breeze. He felt the welcome of the sun as it woke the day, and could smell the scent of a storm. He felt the air change when the sea birds wheeled, heard fish as they slid through the bay and knew better than anyone the tickle of sand between his toes.

In the mornings he let the island reveal its treasures. Swirling shells and time-worn pebbles, crinkled sponges, sculptured coral and the twisted limbs of driftwood.

In the afternoons he squatted on the pavement, surrounded by his riches.He held them up for all to see and take. But no-one did. (159 words)

Background Information What is an allegory? =where aspects of story are symbolic to show

larger, abstract concept eg. the blind urchin is the one who can see. Awareness of senses Words = tribe, urchin, reveal, driftwood, drew, tentacle Information report on the senses and how the eye works. Poetry using the senses eg. colour/ feeling poems

Selected Passage

AL goals & Syllabus Outcomes

AL Teaching Sequence

Focus StrandsHighlight Syllabus content

AL: Students are able to participate in literate discussion of the story after building shared knowledgeDET: Learning to Talk and ListenLearning about Talking and Listening

Low Order Literate

Orientation

Talking & ListeningReading and ViewingProducing texts

Writing Spelling Grammar

Respond to text, purpose of text, visual cues, symbolic meaning Literate discussions eg. Urchin - meaning Inferences eg.p.1 We can infer that the tribe are not happy and they

work so hard that they have no time for fun. p.2 We can infer that the urchin had no home, no family, no one who cared for him, no name. p.3 We can infer the urchin has highly developed use of his other senses, therefore maybe he has been blind for a long time, maybe since birth.

AL: Students are able to read the selected text at 90% accuracy or above.DET:

High Order Literate

Orientation

Talking & ListeningReading and ViewingProducing texts

Writing Spelling Grammar

Text highlighting passage – daily. Read after highlighting (modelled, paired, independent) Emphasis on accurate, fluent, expressive reading of passage.

Syllabus OutcomesTeaching Sequence Focus Strands Syllabus content & Learning Experiences

AL: Students are able to participate in literate discussion of the story and discuss how the author created the meanings.DET:

TransformationsTalking & ListeningReading and ViewingProducing texts

Writing Spelling Grammar

Transformation 1- Sentences – punctuation, pronouns repeated and omitted. Words – omit descriptive eg. sighs of, whispers of, welcome of. What

difference is made? What don’t we know? Feeling/thinking verbs – imagery through use of senses = blind Personification – to create interest and imagery.

More than one lesson needed for this transformation as too many goals!

Transformation 2 – Sentences – punctuation, adverbial phrase (when) in theme position

(starts the sentence) Alliteration – eg. swirling shells, but NOT sculptured sponges. Why not? Adjectives – omit. What difference to the writing? Can we paint a

picture without the adjectives? Hyphenated words to add extra imagery. All adjectives are “action” type, not size or colour which we commonly use in our writing. These are much more interesting adjectives.

Creating a list of adjectives, well developed sentence, one “and”.

More than one lesson needed for this transformation as too many goals!

AL: Students learn a process to spell words from the text and understand related spelling strategies. Use these words in context.DET:

Spelling

&

Reconstructed Writing

Talking & ListeningReading and ViewingProducing texts

Writing Spelling Grammar

Chunking strategy for spelling words 4 forms of speller (Phonological, visual, morphemic,

etymological) Differentiated activities eg. Small group playing

concentration (learning to read words out of context), group with teacher using chunking strategy on whiteboards, capable spellers using computers, thesaurus to develop word walls, look up etymology, place words on the 4 Roles charts, create synonyms, find other words with similar letter combinations or generalizations etc.

Use cloze activities and reconstructed writing as assessment

AL: Students understand the author’s choices for writing and use these in own writing (jointly or independently constructed).DET:

Writing Workshops

ModelledJoint Construction

Guided writing

Independent writing

Talking & ListeningReading and ViewingProducing texts

Writing Spelling Grammar

Modelled, from transformation 1, using a farm as setting.Eg. The farmer heard the barking of the dogs and listened to the whispers of the wheat. She felt the warmth of the sun as it sank below the horizon, and could smell the scent of the grazing sheep. She felt the ground tremble when the tractor rumbled by, heard ants as they hurried up the tree and knew better than anyone the kiss of the breeze against her cheek.( 1 lesson, maybe more - use ideas generated by students.)

Guided using a new setting from a brainstormed list eg. snowfields, rainforest, city, school and associated characters eg. skier, bushwalker, business person, teacher. Reminder of senses to be used. (Possible 2 lessons must include sharing time!)

Independent using senses to develop piece of descriptive writing. ( at least 1 lesson, some may continue eg. spelling time, + sharing time)

Modelled, from transformation 2 using the bush to reveal treasures.eg In the evenings she let the bush uncover its treasures. Twisted trees and fire- burnt bark, jagged rocks, painted clouds and the reaching fingers of sunlight. (1 lesson)

Guided using new setting from previous writing (trans. 1) (May need 2 lessons + sharing time.)

Independent using adjectives, including hyphenated ones, to describe a scene. Continue on from previous independent writing if possible. (may need several sessions + sharing time)

Assessment: Talking and Listening (Low order) - through observing literate

discussion among students, use of effective PQR to encourage new vocabulary, new knowledge or inference in students.

Reading (High Orde)r – running records of text at end of teaching sequence, aiming for 90% accuracy or higher from most students. Importance of fluent, expressive reading.

Spelling – cloze activities, reconstructed writing at the end of teaching sequence. Other observations eg. spelling words correctly in own writing.

Writing – independent writing samples collected. Use writing rubric to assess work, looking for well structured sentences, correct punctuation, correct spelling, correct tense, descriptive features taught eg. use of simile and /or personification etc.

Ability to create mood and position the reader expected from some writers plus the correct use of quotation marks if used.

Unit evaluation:

Resources: Cross curriculum connections/COGS