Written Language - Reading
Conceptual understandings:
- Different types of texts serve different purposes.
- What we already know enables us to understand what we read.
- Applying a range of strategies helps us to read and understand new texts.
- Wondering about texts and asking questions helps us to understand the meaning.
- The structure and organization of written language influences and conveys meaning.
Learning Outcomes:
Related Ziptales Materials:
Learners:
- develop personal preferences, selecting books for pleasure and information
- read texts at an appropriate level, independently, confidently and with good understanding
Use the Timeless Tales Multiple Choice questions to enable learners to demonstrate understanding of texts.
- recognize a range of different text types, for example, letters, poetry, plays, stories, novels, reports, articles
- identify and explain the basic structure of a story—beginning, middle and end; may use storyboards or comic strips to communicate elements
- make predictions about a story, based on their own knowledge and experience; revise or confirm predictions as the story progresses
- realize that there is a difference between fiction and non-fiction and use books for particular purposes, with teacher guidance
Use the Happy Schools texts to identify the difference between fiction (e.g. Is This Bullying?) and non-fiction texts (e.g. How to make our school a happy school).
- recognize and use the different parts of a book, for example, title page, contents, index
- understand sound–symbol relationships and apply reliable phonetic strategies when decoding print
- use a range of strategies to self-monitor and self-correct, for example, meaning, context, rereading, reading on, cross-checking one cue source against another
- discuss personality and behaviour of storybook characters, commenting on reasons why they might react in particular ways.
- discuss their own experiences and relate them to fiction and non-fiction texts
Learners relate their own experiences to those of the characters in the Happy Schools videos.
- participate in collaborative learning experiences, acknowledging that people see things differently and are entitled to express their point of view
- wonder about texts and ask questions to try to understand what the author is saying to the reader.
Use the Puppet Plays and Timeless Tales to guide a discussion about the message that the author is trying to convey in each story.
Written Language - Writing
Conceptual understandings
- We write in different ways for different purposes.
- The structure of different types of texts includes identifiable features.
- Applying a range of strategies helps us to express ourselves so that others can enjoy our writing.
- Thinking about storybook characters and people in real life helps us to develop characters in our own stories.
- When writing, the words we choose and how we choose to use them enable us to share our imaginings and ideas.
Learning Outcomes:
Related Ziptales Materials:
Learners:
- engage confidently with the process of writing
Use Story Machine to inspire engagement with the writing process.
- write about a range of topics for a variety of purposes, using literary forms and structures modelled by the teacher and/or encountered in reading
- use graphic organizers to plan writing, for example, Mind Maps®, storyboards
- organize ideas in a logical sequence, for example, write simple narratives with a beginning, middle and end
- use appropriate writing conventions, for example, word order, as required by the language(s) of instruction
- use familiar aspects of written language with increasing confidence and accuracy, for example, spelling patterns, high-frequency words, high-interest words
- use increasingly accurate grammatical constructs
- write legibly, and in a consistent style
- proofread their own writing and make some corrections and improvements
- use feedback from teachers and other students to improve their writing
- use a dictionary, a thesaurus and word banks to extend their use of language
- keep a log of ideas to write about
- over time, create examples of different types of writing and store them in their own writing folder
- participate in teacher conferences with teachers recording progress and noting new learning goals; self-monitor and take responsibility for improvement
- with teacher guidance, publish written work, in handwritten form or in digital format
Oral Language - Listening and Speaking
Conceptual understandings
- Spoken language varies according to the purpose and audience.
- People interpret messages according to their unique experiences and ways of understanding.
- Spoken communication is different from written communication—it has its own set of rules.
Learning Outcomes:
Related Ziptales Materials:
Learners:
- listen attentively and speak appropriately in small and large group interactions
- listen to a variety of oral presentations including stories, poems, rhymes and reports and respond with increasing confidence and detail
- pick out main events and relevant points in oral texts
- follow multi-step directions
Provide opportunities for learners to follow multi-step directions using the Puzzle Palace activities.
- retell familiar stories in sequence
- anticipate and predict when listening to text read aloud
- use language for a variety of personal purposes, for example, invitations
- express thoughts, ideas and opinions and discuss them, respecting contributions from others
- participate in a variety of dramatic activities, for example, role play, puppet theatre, dramatization of familiar stories and poems
- use language to explain, inquire and compare
- recognize patterns in language(s) of instruction and use increasingly accurate grammar
Listen to the Make and Do instructional texts to improve recognition of the language of instruction.
- begin to understand that language use is influenced by its purpose and the audience
Improve understanding of how language use is influenced by purpose and audience by comparing the Storytime and Timeless Tales imaginative texts and the Happy Schools persuasive / informative texts.
- understand and use specific vocabulary to suit different purposes
- hear and appreciate differences between languages.
Visual Language - Viewing and Presenting
Conceptual understandings
- Visual texts can expand our database of sources of information.
- Visual texts provide alternative means to develop new levels of understanding.
- Selecting the most suitable forms of visual presentation enhances our ability to express ideas and images.
- Different visual techniques produce different effects and are used to present different types of information.
Learning Outcomes:
Related Ziptales Materials:
Learners:
- view visual information and show understanding by asking relevant questions and discussing possible meaning
- discuss their own feelings in response to visual messages; listen to other responses, realizing that people react differently
Study the visual messages in the Timeless Tales to encourage learners to discuss their own feelings about the information being conveyed and listen to other opinions.
- realize that visual information reflects and contributes to the understanding of context
Use the Tell the Story activities in Puzzle Palace to develop an understanding of how visual information contributes to the understanding of context.
- recognize and name familiar visual texts, for example, advertising, logos, labels, signs, ICT iconography
Explore the iconography used to classify the visual texts on the Ziptales website. Discuss possible reasons for the selection of the images to assist recognition.
- observe and discuss familiar and unfamiliar visual messages; make judgments about effectiveness
Encourage learners to make judgments about the effectiveness of the visual messages in the Timeless Tales illustrations e.g. the three images showing Captain Hook falling in Peter Pan.
- discuss personal experiences that connect with visual images
- use actions and body language to reinforce and add meaning to oral presentations
- select and use suitable shapes, colours, symbols
and layout for presentations; practise and develop writing/calligraphy styles
- realize that text and illustrations in reference materials work together to convey information, and can explain how this enhances understanding
- with guidance, use the internet to access relevant information; process and present information in ways that are personally meaningful
- use appropriate terminology to discuss visual texts, for example, logos, font, foreground, background, impact
Encourage learners to use appropriate terminology whilst discussing the visual features of the Ziptales website e.g. logo, fonts, foreground images, background colours etc.
- view a range of visual language formats and
discuss their effectiveness, for example, film/video, posters, drama
- realize that effects have been selected and arranged to achieve a certain impact, for example, the way in which colour, lighting, music and movement work together in a performance
Use the Puppet Plays to discuss how colour, lighting, music and movement work together to create a performance.
View the Behind the Scenes digital documentary to explore further about how to put on a puppet play.
- observe and discuss visual presentations; make suggestions about why they have been created and what the creator has been aiming to achieve.
