JULIA WOODALL EDUC4720 STUDENT I.

D: 2137284

ASSIGNMENT 1: TIERED LESSON

Name & Student Number: JULIA WOODALL, 2137284
Curriculum (Learning) Area of Lesson: ENGLISH
Specific Topic of Lesson: NARRATIVE READING AND RESPONSE
Year Level: 8

LESSON CONTEXT
SCHOOL CONTEXT: The class consists of students of whose literacy skills have a large gap. There
are some who have significantly low literacy skills and those who are high achievers and need
extra challenge to engage in the content.

LESSON CONTEXT: This lesson is part of a 3 week unit which focuses on the structure of a
narrative text, reading the text and responding to the narrative by writing a short story
narrative based on the core text, The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan. This topic has two double
lessons and a single lesson per week, each lesson being 45 mins long. As a part of this unit,
students are exposed to a multi-modal text for analysis, as the The Lost Thing is an illustrative
text as well as the short film. This text also discusses themes such as belonging,
identity/individuality, creativity, and conformity, requiring students to think critically about
societys values as well as their own. Being a picture book as well, the illustrations add an
additional level of complexity for analysis, requiring both critical and creative thinking; this also
provides an avenue of engagement for students with lower literacy levels as the text isnt
particularly word heavy. The weekly breakdown is as follows:

Week 1: Breaking down the structure of a narrative, specifically focusing on the chronological
order of the plot, as well as breaking down setting, character, climax and resolution. We have
also read the text as a class, and watched the short film. We have discussed how the
illustration/moving picture assists with telling the story and how often the pictures are more
informative than the text itself.

Week 2: This week we have been focusing on the core text, The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan.
Specifically discussing what is a theme? and brainstorming themes which are specific to the
text such as: belonging, individuality, creativity, and conformity. An investigation of where
these themes are represented or discussed within the text is also completed. The students also
spent time breaking down and analysing the setting, a futuristic world, and how this informs the
themes.

Week 3: The lesson outlined in this template takes place in the second lesson of Week 3,
however it is the first double lesson of the week. The single lesson at the beginning of the week
was spent discussing character profiles and words of description (adjectives), to build
confidence in vocabulary use and understanding of character for the summative task and
scaffold for the double lesson. In the double the class is spent focusing on the two main
characters within the text as well as the setting and how these juxtapose against each other.
The summative assessment task is introduced and is to be completed by the end of Week 3
JULIA WOODALL EDUC4720 STUDENT I.D: 2137284

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
AS A RESULT OF ENGAGING WITH THE LESSON, STUDENTS WILL UNDERSTAND THAT:

1. Students will understand that texts can represent the voice of both the majority and the minority
through language features and illustration. Adapted from (ACELA1548) & (ACELY1735)

2. Students will understand that cultural and social representations in texts can challenge the values of
individuals or communities. Adapted from (ACELT1626)

KNOW (e.g. facts, vocabulary, dates, information) BE ABLE TO (DO) (Skills, processes)

- The structure of a narrative text (character, - Demonstrate understanding of character profiles

setting, plot & theme), specifically referring to within texts and breakdown characters to inform
The Lost Thing. analysis through brainstorming and mind-mapping.

- Adjectives used to describe main characters - Participate in group discussion and collaboration to
within the text and how these develop different perspectives and ideas through
compare/contrast with the other investigation and evaluation.

- That illustrations inform the text just as much - Create a narrative piece as a response to the text,
as the written word. representing an alternate perspective to show how
the plot may change depending on the point of view
of the narrator. Targeting (ACELT1632).

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
1. Why do the voices of the minority need to be heard?
2. Why do some authors use illustration within texts to enhance meaning? Adapted from (ACELA1548)

PRE-ASSESSMENT OF INDIVIDUAL STUDENT READINESS

- At the beginning of each week, students are given a short pre-assessment task to gauge an idea
of the areas of learning which still need to be covered, or perhaps re-addressed. Three
questions are asked of the students referring specifically to key concepts related to Narrative
Texts, such as structure, theme and with specific reference to the core text The Lost Thing. (See
Appendix 1.)
- Before this lesson, the pre-assessment completed at the start of Week 3 revealed that a small
number of students were still unclear about the specific structure of a narrative especially
regarding the text. This readiness will be addressed during this lesson when introducing the
summative assessment task.
- Also as a lesson closure task at the end of the first single lesson in Week 3, students were asked
to indicate a Traffic Light (Monceaux, 2017) of readiness
- An informal pre-assessment is completed at the beginning of each lesson in this unit. Head,
Hips and Tails is a short, fun activity where students are asked a question and given three
options for an answer, in which they answer by indicating their head, hips or tail. This gives the
teacher an idea of the readiness of students, who may or may not have been engaging last
lesson etc. This is also a warm-up task which gets the students minds, and bodies moving and
engaging before we begin going through course content. (See Appendix 2.)
JULIA WOODALL EDUC4720
LESSON PLAN
TIME ALLOCATION LESSON SEQUENCE
LESSON OPENING: HEADS, HIPS
5 mins AND TAILS
PREZI RESOURCE:
https://prezi.com/twlmm2tvlp9a/
differentiation-the-lost-thing/
30 mins RE-WATCH THE LOST THING
SHORT FILM
as students follow along with
their own book version.
FILM: Available on iTunes
15 mins GROUP DISCUSSION
*FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
THROUGH OBSERVATION*
RESOURCE:
Australian Centre for the Moving
Image (ACMI). (2015). Shaun
Tans The Lost Thing: From Book
to Film, Education Resource. State
Government of Victoria.
10 mins PRESENT FINDINGS TO THE CLASS
STUDENT I.D: 2137284
EXPLANATORY NOTES
- This provides the basis of the pre-
assessment for todays lesson, to gauge
an idea of the readiness (Sousa &
Tomlinson, 2011, pg. 85) of students.
This lesson opening allows students to warm
up their minds to be ready to learn during
todays lesson.
This will be only the second time the students
have watched the film during class. A short
discussion will take place after the movie
finishes to ask whether students have taken
anything different away from the film that they
may not have noticed the first time.
- Groups are organised based on inclusivity
(Jarvis, 2015), where the mixture of
students present different perspectives
and discussion can present new ideas to
the group not considered prior.
Brainstorm character profiles, with guiding
questions on the Prezi (Appendix 2):
1. What words would you use to describe this
character?
2. Why do you think the Lost Thing has a hard
shell-like exterior?
3. Why do you think the boy noticed the Lost
Thing when nobody else did?
4. How has the boy changed in the time since
he last saw the Lost Thing? (ACMI, 2015, p.
7)
5. Are there any other characters within the
text that are similar to this character?
How?
6. How does the setting influence their
personalities or behaviours?
* Two groups are to discuss the Boy and two
groups are to discuss The Lost Thing.
- Each member from each group is required
to present at least one or more points
from the mind-map to the class, so that
JULIA WOODALL EDUC4720
5 mins INTRODUCE LEARNING TASK AND
GO THROUGH ASSESSMENT
RUBRIC
(See Appendix 3.)
Construct a short narrative piece,
written from the perspective of
the Lost Thing, rather than the
boy. Taking into account
everything we have discussed in
prior lessons, especially the break
down character profiles and
themes an in-depth consideration
of narrative voice should be
evident within the students
writing.
20 mins STUDENTS SPEND THE REST OF
THE LESSON PLANNING AND
WORKING ON TASK
5 mins LESSON CLOSURE: WHIP
AROUND
STUDENT I.D: 2137284
each student is included and engaged
within the class discussion
- Break students into different groups based
on their readiness.
- Each level has been grouped by Traffic
Light colours (Monceaux, 2017), as pre-
determined by the pre-assessment
(further details in Explanation)
- This task is also tiered based on Blooms
Taxonomy (Huitt, 2011), as outlined
within the task description:
TIER ONE (LOWER LEVEL) RED GROUP:
BLOOMS: UNDERSTANDING & ANALYSE
Group conference is spent analysing three
different scenes from The Lost Thing to build
further understanding of narrative structure.
They can then move onto the task: Breaking
down one scene from The Lost Thing and write
a short piece in the perspective of The Lost
Thing, assisted with guiding questions. Teacher
breaks down the task instructions within the
group to assist understanding of requirements.
TIER TWO (MIDDLE LEVEL) YELLOW GROUP:
BLOOMS: ANALYSE & APPLY
Re-write a series of scenes from The Lost Thing
in the perspective of The Lost Thing rather than
the main protagonist, guiding questions are
also provided.
TIER THREE (HIGHER LEVEL) GREEN GROUP:
BLOOMS: ANALYSE, APPLY & CREATE
Re-write a series of scenes from The Lost Thing
in the perspective of The Lost Thing, as well as
an addition scene, either a prequel or sequel,
guiding questions are also provided.
-Students who are in the Red, and Yellow
group are also given the option to complete
the next level task, as a way of encouraging
a growth mindset (Jarvis, 2017)
- This lesson closure is short and informal
but gives students a way of resolving their
learning for the day, and by answering
JULIA WOODALL EDUC4720 STUDENT I.D: 2137284

aloud, other students may gain further

understanding of topics they may have
found difficult during the lesson.
LESSON CLOSURE/ CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING
How will you know whether students have achieved your lesson objectives?

- WHIP AROUND: Standing at their tables, before anyone can leave, students are thrown a soft ball
and are required to say something that they may have learned today, with prompts being on the
smart board. For example:
Today I learned that three characteristics of *insert character here* are
OR
In my short story I plan to write about
- This lesson closure indicates whether students have achieved the lesson objectives as it engages
students in recalling what they have learnt during this lesson, giving myself an idea of what areas of
the lesson they engaged the most with (group discussion or narrative planning), and perhaps how I
need to direct my next lesson.

EXPLANATION:
When planning the unit, text selection is a significant choice to make considering the class context. The
literacy levels of the class are varied with a wide gap with some students below expected level and
others far exceeding the expected level. Choosing The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan was a calculated
decision, as it is visual, in both formats (illustrative text and short film) and allows students with a lower
literacy level to still engage with a text that as it isnt word heavy but still has dense meaning. The pre-
assessment completed at the beginning of each lesson, as well as lesson closure forms the basis of
gauging the readiness of students within this unit of work. Traffic Light indicators (Monceaux, 2017) are
a useful strategy to break the class into tiered groups, however I, the teacher, may alter these depending
on results of other forms of pre-assessment and formative assessment completed throughout the
lesson. Different strategies of differentiation have been employed during this lesson targeting inclusive
grouping (Jarvis, 2015, p. 157) as well as readiness (Sousa & Tomlinson, 2011, pg. 85), through different
forms of grouping. During the group discussion, groups are organised based on inclusivity, where the
mixture of students present different perspectives and discussion can present new ideas to the group
not considered prior to this engagement. Through ongoing formative assessment (Jarvis, 2017)
completed through teacher observation during this activity, the grouping of the tiered summative task
may change.
When planning the tiered summative task (outlined above), each level was grouped by Traffic Light
(Monceaux, 2017) colours, a differentiating strategy that the students are already familiar with; in which
those who are ready to work independently are Green, those who may need some guiding questions but
JULIA WOODALL EDUC4720 STUDENT I.D: 2137284

are still ready to work independently are Yellow, and those who require group conferencing and teacher
guidance before they can move onto the task are Red. The results of the pre-assessment indicated that
some students required either one-on-one or group conferencing to further develop their knowledge of
the narrative structure, especially regarding the text. This formed the first tier of my task. As the Red
group is a lower literacy group they were only required to analyse and interpret one scene from the text
in their narrative response. The Yellow group is capable of working independently, interpreting a series
of scenes (not just one), but may require guiding questions to guide them during the planning stage. The
Green group is capable of working independently with a task that requires an extra challenge, where
they are asked to interpret a series of scenes as well as add on an additional scene, either a prequel or
sequel. The task sheets are colourful and easy to read so students do not become lost within the
instruction, and the colour engages their brain straight away. They are the same for all students with the
instructions for each Traffic Light on the same sheet, encouraging a growth mindset (Dweck & Yeager,
2012, p. 302), showing students that if they feel ready to complete the next level extended task, that
they are completely free to do so, unrestricted by the group they are in, as it is flexible and ever
changing in terms of readiness.

REFERENCES:

Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI). (2015). Shaun Tans The Lost Thing: From Book to Film,
Education Resource. State Government of Victoria.

Dweck, C & Yeager, D. (2012). Mindsets that promote resilience: when students believe that personal
characterisitics can be developed. Educational Pyschologist, vol. 47, no. 4

Huitt, W. (2011). Bloom et al.'s taxonomy of the cognitive domain. Educational Psychology
Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved [10/03/2017],
<http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/cognition/bloom.html>

Jarvis, J. (2017). LECTURE: Assessment in a Differentiated Classroom. Module 3: Ongoing Assessment to

Inform Differentiation. Flinders University.

Jarvis, J. (2015). Inclusive classrooms and differentiation. Learning to teach in the secondary school.
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Monceaux, A. (2017). Traffic Lights as an Indication of Readiness. EDUC4721 Workshop. Flinders

University. [01/03/2017]

Sousa, D. & Tomlinson, C. (2011). Differentiating in response to student readiness, Differentiation and
the brain: how neuroscience supports the learner-friendly classroom, Solution Tree Press, Bloominton.
JULIA WOODALL EDUC4720 STUDENT I.D: 2137284

CHECKLIST OF ASSIGNMENT COMPONENTS:

Completed lesson context explanation
Completed clear learning objectives and essential questions for the lesson
Complete, step-by-step lesson description, with brief notes explaining how the lesson represents an
example of a tiered lesson to address readiness
Explanatory 1-2 paragraphs clearly linking your lesson planning decisions to the topic content (and citing
sources as appropriate)
Supplementary materials (e.g., copies of directions, handouts, etc. provided to students)
Copy and/or description of preassessment task used to assign individual students to appropriate tiers
Evaluation/ assessment criteria (e.g., rubric or checklist used to guide evaluation of student work)
EDUC4720/1 EDUC9406 2017. Tiering format adapted from Tomlinson (1999)