Learning Areas
Context
English
Texts and contexts (Everyday texts, Literature)
(Outcomes 1.4, 2.4), Language (Outcomes 1.7,
2.7, 1.8, 2.8), Strategies (Outcomes 1.11, 2.11,
1.12, 2.12)
Questions explored in
this program include:
Mathematics
Pattern and Algebraic reasoning (Outcome 2.11)
Society and Environment
Time, Continuity and Change (Outcomes 1.1,
1.2, 1.3, 2.2), Societies and Cultures (Outcome
1.7)
Essential Learnings
• What is a family and
who makes up my
family?
• What are the roles
and responsibilities of
family members?
• Have family roles and
expectations changed
since arriving in
Australia?
Identity
Students develop new understandings, skills and
knowledge about their identity and role within the
family group.
• What role does
my family play in
community/cultural
groups?
Interdependence
Students develop new understandings, skills and
knowledge required to critically understand the
family systems to which their lives are connected
and to participate positively within them.
Focusing on the
family allows for the
development of English
language which is
critical to exchanges/
interactions in the
community. It also
provides an opportunity
to have students’
own families and
experiences valued.
Teachers will need to be
aware that ‘family’ may
be a sensitive issue for
some families.
Futures
Students develop new understandings about
family and apply this to evolving roles.
Equity
Multicultural perspective
New arrivals have a range of life experiences and
understandings about family. These experiences
and perspectives are acknowledged and
respected. The contribution of culturally diverse
families to Australian society is also valued.
NAP
New Arrivals Program Teaching, Learning and Assessment Programs
ESL Scope and
Scales
Working within
Scale 1–6
Band
Primary Years
Year Levels
Year 3–4
New Arrivals Program
Evidence
• Ask and respond to
oral questions about
family.
My Role in
my Family
Developing an
Autobiography
• Identify roles of self
and other family
members.
• Identify as members
of cultural group,
and local and wider
community.
• Oral and written
autobiography.
Timeline
4 weeks at commencement of New Arrivals
Program, 10 lessons per week. Total of 40
hours.
My Role in my Family Developing an Autobiography
Teaching and Learning Cycle
My Role for my Family – Developing an Autobiography
i
Bu
l
g
din
Fie
e
h
t
ld
Mo
• Set up Little Books.
• Use photos to practise
using pronouns.
fie l d C
ontinu
the
Co
ns
tru
• Editing.
• Jointly construct simple autobiography
of one student, drawing attention to
structure and language features.
n
New Arrivals Program Teaching, Learning and Assessment Programs
i
• Language activities, practise/
consolidation.
• Orally and in writing expand timelines.
ctio
ct
in g
NAP
nt
ru
ui
e b ld
I
de
st
• Use comprehension questions and critical
questions (why, who) to draw out types of
information in each section of the text.
• Text construction.
• Evaluation.
on
ng
• Excursions and recount.
• Presentation.
ec
• Examine purpose, structure, language
features of simple autobiographies.
• Identify and discuss family activities using a
range of resources.
en
g/D
• Oral autobiography (teachers, BSSOs)
• Family tree activities.
ep
lin
• Timeline activities.
• Use models, graphs, drawings, language charts
to develop language about size, ages, height,
types of families including comparatives.
nd
del
Jo
Co
t
n
i
n
ru
st
c
o
ti
n
My Role in my Family Developing an Autobiography
Overview of language taught in the
teaching, learning and assessing program
A summary of the language mostly pertaining to a description as taught in the following teaching, learning and assessing program.
The metalanguage that students may need in order to discuss the above language features is bolded.
Text in context
Language
Genre
• Explore the purpose,
structure and language
features of an autobiographical
recount.
• Structure of an autobiography:
-orientation
-sequence of events
-conclusion/comment.
• Noun groups with:
-epithet
-describers
-number.
• Language to organise the
text:
-conjunctions to sequence
(eg First, Next).
• Verbs/Processes:
-action (doing)
-mental (thinking)
-relational (being).
• Language to build cohesion:
-reference items
-articles
-pronouns
-word sets
-classification of families
-composition of families.
• Comparatives / comparisons /
expressions to compare.
• Language to expand
information:
-linking and binding
conjunctions.
NAP
Field
• Circumstances and clauses
- expressions of:
-time (when)
-place (where)
-manner (how)
-with whom
-cause (why).
• Everyday and technical
vocabulary.
New Arrivals Program Teaching, Learning and Assessment Programs
Tenor
• Modality:
-frequency.
• Interpersonal meaning
-feelings, attitudes
-names to refer to people
-culturally specific
references.
• Subjectivity (eg express
opinions).
• Speech functions:
-question (wh, yes/no)
-statement.
• Verbal elements:
-pronunciation
-intonation.
• Relationship between writer
and audience.
Mode
• Tense:
-primary tense (eg present,
past)
-secondary.
• Passive voice.
• Subject verb agreement.
• Foregrounding:
-time, place
-human.
• Coherence:
-link between title, contents
page and sections
-topic sentences.
• Print conventions:
-handwriting
-punctuation
-spelling – plurals.
• Multimodality:
-link between text and
illustration.
-tables, graphs
-layout.
My Role in my Family Developing an Autobiography
Building the Field
In Building the Field, the main objective is to connect with the prior knowledge of the students, develop cultural
understandings and the everyday and technical language related to the family.
The activities on the left column will provide particular
development in these areas
Activities
Little Books
• Each child makes their own My family
book to record the following information
as the unit progresses. The pages are
numbered and can be illustrated and
have a border. Sections include:
-Title page
-Contents
-Fmily words
-A picture of family members
-People in my family
-A definition of a family
-Jobs that family members do
-Places I go with my family
-Special family occasions
-A family tree
-My wishes for the family
-What I have learnt about families).
Genre
• Structure of book.
Field
Tenor
Mode
• Coherence:
-link between
title, contents
page and
sections.
• Print
conventions.
• Multi modality:
-link between
print and
illustration.
Supplementary and extension
activities. Comments are in italics
Throughout the unit teachers remain
sensitive to the particular family
situations of individual students.
At any time use vocabulary and topic
language for spelling and word building,
decoding, coding, word patterns, jumble
words, word chains, jumbled sentences,
cloze sentences etc…perhaps in the
form of a learning contract.
This program lends itself to cross-age
tutoring with mainstream classes or
working with older NAP students.
• Set up an expanding chart to record
new vocabulary (eg family words,
action processes). Continue to add to
vocabulary chart throughout.
NAP
New Arrivals Program Teaching, Learning and Assessment Programs
My Role in my Family Developing an Autobiography
NAP
New Arrivals Program Teaching, Learning and Assessment Programs
My Role in my Family Developing an Autobiography
NAP
New Arrivals Program Teaching, Learning and Assessment Programs
My Role in my Family Developing an Autobiography
The activities on the left column will provide particular
development in these areas
Activities
Introduction to family
• Ask key questions including:
-What is a family?
-Who is in your family?
-How many people in your family?
-What country does your family come
from?
-How long have you been in Australia?
• During discussion, note what is known
and what the children would like to learn
about and record onto a large chart.
Leave on display for future reference and
ongoing recording.
• Draw and list family members. Share in
groups and display when finished.
Field
Tenor
Mode
• Cohesion:
-reference items
(eg pronouns)
-word sets (eg
family relations)
• Processes:
-relational (eg to
be, to have)
-action (eg
come/came,
born, lived).
• Speech
functions:
-Questions (wh,
yes/no)
-statements.
• Foregrounding:
-human
elements (eg
Mum, My
family)
-phrases of time
and place (eg In
my family there
are).
• Copy family member names into
personal word banks
• Primary tenses:
-past tense
-subject verb
agreement.
• Complete a word find for names of
family members.
With beginning speakers:
• Conjunctions (eg
and, because).
• Causal
relationships (eg
because of the
war, because we
had to leave).
• Circumstances:
-when (eg in
2001, since
2001)
-where (eg in
Sudan)
-how (eg by
plane).
• Everyday
and technical
vocabulary:
-family (eg
father, mother,
brother)
-countries
(eg Vietnam,
Congo)
-continents (eg
Africa, Asia).
NAP
Supplementary and extension
activities. Comments are in italics
Genre
New Arrivals Program Teaching, Learning and Assessment Programs
• Interpersonal
meanings:
-names to refer
to people.
• Verbal elements:
-intonation
-pronunciation.
• Secondary
tenses (eg I
have been in
Australia).
• Passive voice (eg
was born).
• Print
conventions:
-handwriting
-spelling
-punctuation.
• Use BSSO support
• Look at family members in picture
dictionaries
• Cut and paste pictures from
magazines of ‘family groups’ and
label individuals as family relations,
with help
On-going activity:
• Make reading flash cards for sight
word recognition and add to as
the unit progresses. They can be
grouped, displayed on a wall or as a
hanging mobile. Groupings include
family member names, names of
relatives, numbers, comparative
describers, pronouns, action
processes etc…
Extension activity:
• Word process a short text on family
(eg My name is … . I come from … .
There are … in my family).
My Role in my Family Developing an Autobiography
The activities on the left column will provide particular
development in these areas
Activities
Pronouns
• Children bring in photographs of their
families from home if they have them or
to draw them if not.
• Use pictures/drawings to revise nouns to
do with family and practise pronunciation.
• Introduce pronouns that can be
substituted for nouns.
• Children sit in a circle and show their
photo/drawing and talk about their
families through leading questions:
-What is the photo about?
-Who is this person?
-What is his/her name?
-Is this person with you in Australia?
-Do you live in the same house?
-Do you miss that person?
• Children practise substituting pronouns
for nouns.
Genre
Field
Tenor
Mode
Supplementary and extension
activities. Comments are in italics
Pronoun chart referred to as required.
• Reference items:
-personal
pronoun
participant
singular (eg I,
you, he, she, it)
-personal
pronoun plural
(eg we, you,
they, us)
-personal
pronoun object
(me, you, him,
her, it, us,
them).
• Processes:
-relational
-action.
• Circumstances:
-when (eg in
2002)
-where (eg in
Iran)
-how (eg by
boat)
-with whom/what
(eg with my
aunty).
• Word sets (eg
family relations).
• Conjunctions (eg
and, because).
• Speech
functions:
-questions (eg
wh, yes/no)
-statements.
• Coherence:
-topic sentences
introduced (eg
This is a photo
of my family).
• Interpersonal
meanings:
-names to refer
to people
-culturally
specific
references
-feelings/
attitudes (eg
happy, sad,
angry, miss).
• Tenses
-primary
-secondary
-subject verb
agreement.
Encourage learners to give several
pieces of information in response to
leading questions.
Different brainstorming techniques can
be used throughout the program (eg Mr
Pete’s questions—Julia Atkins.
- Can you tell me more?
- What else?
- Can you give me an example?).
Talking about the family needs to be
handled sensitively. While it is important
to allow/learn expressions for a range of
feelings, some students may be upset
by thinking about who they miss.
• Verbal elements:
-pronunciation.
• As a class and individually complete
sentence exercises relating to pronouns
and family members.
NAP
New Arrivals Program Teaching, Learning and Assessment Programs
My Role in my Family Developing an Autobiography
Family Nouns and
Pronouns
Nouns
Pronouns
Mother
She
Father
He
Sister
She
Brother
He
Grandmother
She
Grandfather
He
Aunt
She
Uncle
He
Cousins
They
Thao
I me
Family
We
NAP
New Arrivals Program Teaching, Learning and Assessment Programs
Nouns and Pronouns
Singular
Nouns
Pronouns
Other
Mother
She, her
The
They
Father
He, him
Them
Sister
She, her
Those
Brother
He, him
These
Grandmother
She, her
This
Grandfather
He, him
We
I
Aunty
She, her
Me
Uncle
He, him
My Role in my Family Developing an Autobiography
10
The activities on the left column will provide particular
development in these areas
Activities
Size of families
• Ask key questions:
-How many people in your family?
-Who has the largest family?
-How many people in the largest family?
-Who has the smallest family?
-How many people in the smallest
family?
-Which families are the same size?
• As a class do tally tables, graphs and
answer questions about sizes of families.
• Using BSSO support, the children work in
small groups to complete the worksheets,
graphs and questions.
NAP
Genre
Field
• Conjunctions:
-linking (eg and,
but).
• Noun groups:
-numbers (eg
one family)
-describers (eg a
small family, the
smallest family).
• Comparatives (eg
bigger than, the
biggest, more,
less, the same,
different from).
Tenor
• Speech
functions:
-questions (eg
wh, yes/no)
-statements.
Mode
• Print
conventions:
-capitals for
names
-spelling plurals
(eg one family,
two families).
Supplementary and extension
activities. Comments are in italics
This activity links with Numeracy strand
in mathematics.
Extension activity:
• Activities/worksheets can be
completed independently.
• Multimodality (eg
tables, graphs).
• Processes:
-relational (eg is,
are, has, have).
New Arrivals Program Teaching, Learning and Assessment Programs
My Role in my Family Developing an Autobiography
11
Tally Tables and Graphs
NAP
New Arrivals Program Teaching, Learning and Assessment Programs
My Role in my Family Developing an Autobiography
12
The activities on the left column will provide particular
development in these areas
Activities
Height, age
• Children make plasticine models of their
families.
• Question children orally:
-Who is the tallest member of your
family?
-Who is the shortest/smallest?
• Order family members in the family
models according to age and height to
later provide data for making individual
graphs.
NAP
Genre
Field
Tenor
Mode
Supplementary and extension
activities. Comments are in italics
Supplementary activities:
• Conjunctions:
-linking (eg but,
and).
• Comparatives:
-taller/shorter
-younger/older
-the tallest/the
shortest
-taller than/
shorter than
New Arrivals Program Teaching, Learning and Assessment Programs
• Speech
functions:
-questions (eg
wh, yes/no)
-statements.
• Each child draws a picture of their
family and labels each member with
their name and creates a class big
Family book.
• Compare the families in the class.
• Make individual hanging graphs
of family members. Each child is
given a cardboard circle cut-out (15
cms diameter) for each member of
their family. The circles are stapled
together and displayed in the
classroom.
My Role in my Family Developing an Autobiography
13
The activities on the left column will provide particular
development in these areas
Activities
Kinds of families
• Using a variety of big illustrated books
about families from the school library, the
teacher reads and directs discussion of
different kinds of families using leading
questions such as:
-Can you describe this family?
-Is this family a … family?
-Does this family include a …?
• Scribe new words onto charts as
vocabulary arises.
• Deconstruct noun groups using red for
nouns and using other colours for epithet,
describer, classifier, to show the basic
elements of a noun group.
NAP
Genre
Field
• Cohesion:
-classification of
types of families
-composition
(whole/parts of
a family).
• Noun groups:
-epithet (eg one)
-describers (eg
large, small)
-classifiers (eg
extended,
nuclear, step,
adopted, half).
Tenor
Mode
Supplementary and extension
activities. Comments are in italics
Extension activities:
• Processes:
-relational (eg
am, is, isn’t,
are, have, has,
don’t have)
-action (eg left,
came, married,
separated,
lived).
New Arrivals Program Teaching, Learning and Assessment Programs
• Statements and
questions.
• Foregrounding:
-human element
(pronouns).
• Children are asked to give their
reasons for why they would prefer to
live/or not live in a very big family.
• Some students could be encouraged
and supported to construct ‘if’
clauses about possible family
scenarios or to give an opinion about
their family experience.
Supplementary activity:
• Children cut pictures of different
people from magazines and create
posters showing different family
compositions.
My Role in my Family Developing an Autobiography
14
NAP
New Arrivals Program Teaching, Learning and Assessment Programs
My Role in my Family Developing an Autobiography
15
The activities on the left column will provide particular
development in these areas
Activities
Family tree
• Model own simplified family tree. Discuss
the relationships. Use BSSOs to translate
and/or help to use picture dictionaries.
• Children then complete own Family Tree
onto the proforma.
• Display and discuss in whole group.
Genre
• Conjunctions:
-linking (eg but,
and).
Field
• Noun groups.
• Comparatives (eg
younger, older).
• Relational
processes.
• Circumstances:
-time (eg in
1998).
• Participants:
-human
elements.
Tenor
• Interpersonal
meanings
(eg I love my
Grandma. I miss
her very much).
• Verbal elements:
-pronunciation
-eye-contact.
Mode
• Primary tenses:
-past tense
-subject verb
agreement.
• Print
conventions:
-handwriting
-spelling
-punctuation (eg
capitals).
• Foregrounding of
participants.
Supplementary and extension
activities. Comments are in italics
Children are encouraged to seek
information about their families with
their families.
Children can use their own photos/
drawings as a resource for this activity.
Extension activity:
• Using computer programme
Inspiration children make a concept/
mind map of family members
choosing an object, person or animal
to portray each family member and
label with appropriate name.
• Use of visual text.
NAP
New Arrivals Program Teaching, Learning and Assessment Programs
My Role in my Family Developing an Autobiography
16
The activities on the left column will provide particular
development in these areas
Activities
Participants, processes, circumstances
• Present a fictitious story of a family who
has migrated to Australia (eg A Family
Story).
-use leading questions (Who,
What, Why, When, Where, How) to
understand the text
-underline the processes in green,
the participants in red and the
circumstances in blue.
• List all the participants, processes and
circumstances.
Genre
Field
Mode
Supplementary and extension
activities. Comments are in italics
Extension activity:
• Conjunctions:
-linking (eg but,
and)
-binding (eg
because).
• Cohesion:
-word sets
related to family
-reference items
(eg pronouns,
definite article).
• Participants (eg
my family).
• Processes (eg
came, wanted to
join).
• Circumstances
(eg to Australia).
• Complete written comprehension either
in small groups (with support) or as a
class.
• Speech
functions:
-questions (eg
wh, yes/no)
-statements in
response to
questions.
• Foregrounding:
-human
elements
(participants)
-circumstances
(eg once upon a
time).
• Interpersonal
meanings:
-attitudes/
feelings (eg
missed, happy).
• Tenses:
-primary—past
(eg cleaned)
-secondary (eg
was cleaning,
wanted to join).
• Subjectivity
(eg I think the
grandfather is
kind).
A Family Story
Once upon a time
in Australia there
lived a family of five
people. The family
came from a country
called India. They
came to Australia
because they
wanted to join their
Ausntie, Uncle and
cousins.
NAP
Tenor
Participants
Human
• a family of five
people
• the family
• they
• their Auntie,
Uncle and
cousins.
New Arrivals Program Teaching, Learning and Assessment Programs
Processes
Action
• lived
• Introduce:
-stages of the text
-text coherence: introduction, topic
sentences and conclusion and the
links between them.
Circumstances
• came.
Time
• Once upon a
time.
Mental
• wanted to join.
Place
• in Australia
• from a country
called India
• to Australia.
My Role in my Family Developing an Autobiography
17
The activities my family does together are:
ACTIVITIES
In the Home
Adults
Children
Outside the Home
Adults
Children
Ball games
Playing with animals
Helping one another
Having running races
Sharing drinks and food
Going for a ride in the car
Watching TV
Visiting family and friends
Playing all sorts of games together.
Going to the movies
Celebrating special days, like birthdays
and religious days.
Playing games together
Cooking together
Going to the swimming pool
Making things
Running, walking in the country.
Having parties
Going to buy icecream
Singing and dancing
Sking and fishing
Going to the beach, park and Zoo.
Reading stories together
Laughing together and jumping and
having play fights.
Drawing
Talking together
Children have friends over
Adults have friends over
NAP
New Arrivals Program Teaching, Learning and Assessment Programs
My Role in my Family Developing an Autobiography
18
The activities on the left column will provide particular
development in these areas
Activities
Activities that families do
• Using a variety of fiction and non-fiction
books, in pairs and with assistance,
children label pictures of family activities
both in the home and outside the home.
• Share and discuss findings.
• Helping to extend language needed to
name and explain the activity, record the
activities onto a large chart.
• Answer questions to identify personal
activities:
-What are some of the fun activities that
your family does together?
-Which activities are at home?
-Which activities are outside the home?
• Record as activities onto the large chart.
NAP
Genre
• Conjunctions:
-binding (eg
because).
Field
Tenor
• Noun groups.
• Statements.
• Processes:
-action
-relational.
• Modality:
-frequency.
• Causal
relationships.
• Circumstances
and clauses of
time (eg Every
week when we
go to the beach).
• Topic specific
vocabulary.
• Referencing (eg
This book shows
a family going on
a picnic).
New Arrivals Program Teaching, Learning and Assessment Programs
• Interpersonal
meanings:
-opinions.
• Verbal elements:
-pronunciation.
Mode
• Foregrounding:
-pronouns
-human
elements
-phrases of time
and place.
• Primary tense:
-present
-past.
Supplementary and extension
activities. Comments are in italics
Picture storybooks from the library
about families can be displayed in class.
Also utilise autobiographies from other
classes.
Extension activity:
• Summarise the activities that you
do as a family as information in a
paragraph. Give reasons.
• For beginners:
-art activities
-games, songs, stories
-rhymes and chants
-maths activities.
Additional details about these activities
are available in ‘Beginning ESL–support
material for teaching New Arrivals’ (Dept
of Ed Vic).
My Role in my Family Developing an Autobiography
19
Continued...
The activities on the left column will provide particular
development in these areas
Activities
Special family occasions
• Read Trish Cookes So Much and discuss
in relation to own family. Involve the class
in illustrative role plays.
• Make a class Big Book based on this
story with own family members and
theme.
• Talk about family special occasions,
festivals, birthdays, weddings etc.
• Watch video showing special events from
different cultures. Discuss, record new
vocabulary (eg DECS video Celebrations
(1995)).
Genre
Field
Tenor
Mode
Supplementary and extension
activities. Comments are in italics
Supplementary activities:
• Conjunctions:
-binding (eg
when, after).
• Noun groups.
• Processes:
-action
-relational
-mental.
• Technical
vocabulary (eg
Ramadan, Tet
New Year).
• In small groups, discuss video in relation
to own family. Each group reports to
the whole group. As a class record the
events that are celebrated in families
and communities onto a poster for future
reference.
• Celebrate with a class party with ‘family
food’.
• Speech
functions.
• Interpersonal
meaning (eg I
like).
• Verbal elements.
• Modality:
-frequency.
• Foregrounding:
-time (eg Every
year)
-place (eg In
Vietnam).
• Primary tense:
-simple past
-simple present.
• What kind of food do you eat in your
family for:
-breakfast
-lunch
-dinner
-snacks?
• Explain names for different meals (eg
dinner, supper, tea).
• Using pictures, list and discuss food.
Compare food of different cultures.
• What is your favourite family food?:
-Invite children to bring a meal that
they usually have at home to share
with others for a class party. Notes
to be sent home in translation, as
required. Teacher also brings a
‘family meal’.
This activity is more meaningful if there
is also another purposeful reason for
the celebration (eg end of term, end of
topic, or graduation time)
Parents/BSSOs can be invited into
class to share cultural celebrations.
Rooms can have displays of costumes,
artefacts etc.
NAP
New Arrivals Program Teaching, Learning and Assessment Programs
My Role in my Family Developing an Autobiography
20
The activities on the left column will provide particular
development in these areas
Activities
Genre
Visa Cards
• Children make a Little Book called a visa.
Each page has a heading:
-Name
-Age
-Date of birth
-Family member names
-Country
-Date of arrival in Australia
-Transport to Australia
-Role in the family
-Goal for the future.
• Enter information under each heading.
BSSO support may be required.
Field
Tenor
Mode
Supplementary and extension
activities. Comments are in italics
Visa book headings could also be on an
A4 sheet.
Extension activities:
• Interview another student.
• Make a who, what, why, when gameboard using information from the
visas and play the game.
• Dice game:
Divide into small groups each with an
adult/older child as leader. Question
cards are given to each child to
match numbers on the dice. Each
child throws dice in turn. If dice lands
on number:
1.Who are the members of your
family?
2.What is your role in your family?
3.Why did your family come to
Australia?
4.When did you arrive in Australia?
5.How did your family come to
Australia?
6.All questions.
• Compare migration experiences of
children.
NAP
New Arrivals Program Teaching, Learning and Assessment Programs
My Role in my Family Developing an Autobiography
21
Continued...
The activities on the left column will provide particular
development in these areas
Activities
Jobs and Responsibilities
• As a class, brainstorm jobs within the
home.
• Using picture dictionaries, BSSO support
and mime, students and teacher act out
the different jobs and responsibilities.
• Model sentence structure for subject verb
agreement and move children from using
to present continuous to simple present
verbs.
• Facilitate discussion using key questions:
-What is your role in the family?
-What is the role of each family member
?
-What do they do?
-What do we do to help one another?
Genre
Field
Tenor
Mode
Supplementary and extension
activities. Comments are in italics
Extension activities:
• Conjunctions
(eg because, if,
when).
• Processes:
-action (eg
wash, clean,
vacuum).
• Speech
functions:
-statements
-questions.
• Primary tense:
-simple present
-present
continuous.
• Causal relations:
-condition (eg if I
am sick).
• Modality:
-frequency (eg
sometimes,
never).
• Print
conventions.
• Circumstances
and clauses:
-time
-place
-manner
-with whom.
• Interpersonal
meanings (eg I
like, I don’t like).
• Verbal elements:
-pronunciation.
• Survey Jobs in my Home can be
done with partners or independently.
• Role plays of family members
performing jobs.
• Use selected videos/TV shows (The
Simpsons, Arthur, Barbar) that depict
family life to compare and contrast
with student’s own experiences of
family roles/responsibilities and
expectations.
• Begin to develop critical awareness
of media stereotyping.
• Children contribute to table Jobs in the
Home.
NAP
New Arrivals Program Teaching, Learning and Assessment Programs
My Role in my Family Developing an Autobiography
22
The activities on the left column will provide particular
development in these areas
Activities
Genre
Field
Tenor
Mode
Excursion to Migration Museum
• During excursion, use key questions for
exploration and discussion:
-Who were the first migrants to come to
Australia?
-Why did they come?
-What was life like for them? (conditions,
jobs, activities, etc).
Back in the classroom
• Discuss and compare family life then
scaffold joint construction of a simple
recount.
Consultation with Museum staff prior to
excursion is essential.
It is important to emphasise the positive
contribution of migrants to Australian
society.
• Recount
structure.
• Language to
organise text:
-conjunctions
-noun groups
-topic words.
• Conjunctions
(eg and, but,
because).
NAP
Supplementary and extension
activities. Comments are in italics
• Noun groups.
• Causal relations
(eg because they
were poor).
• Circumstances
and clauses:
-time
-place.
• Statements/
questions.
• Subjectivity/
objectivity (eg We
had a wonderful
time. It was a
wonderful day).
• Tense:
-past (eg went,
saw).
• Print conventions
including lay-out.
• Comparatives.
• Processes:
-action
-relational.
New Arrivals Program Teaching, Learning and Assessment Programs
My Role in my Family Developing an Autobiography
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NAP
New Arrivals Program Teaching, Learning and Assessment Programs
My Role in my Family Developing an Autobiography
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Modelling/Text Deconstruction
In Modelling/Deconstruction, the main objective is to develop students’ understandings of the purpose, structure and
language features of the autobiography genre.
The activities on the left column will provide particular
development in these areas
Activities
Life Timeline
• Model a pictorial flow chart of family
events in time order.
• Model completion of a linear timeline
proforma.
• Children complete their own, with
support.
Genre
Field
• Processes:
-action (eg went,
born, came).
• Circumstances:
-place (eg in
Vietnam).
Modelling of autobiography
• Orally model own simplified
autobiography.
• Invite students, staff, mainstream peers
to share their own ‘stories’.
Tenor
• Speech
functions:
-statements.
Mode
• Primary tense:
-past (eg went)
-present (eg
live).
Supplementary and extension
activities. Comments are in italics
This timeline activity builds on previous
learning.
Supplementary activity
• Using coat hanger and cardboard,
children draw own family portrait,
writing details of life on strips of
cardboard, join them together in
sequence and display.
Guest speakers (eg BSSOs) model
own timeline/flow chart, speak to it and
ask/answer questions.
• Introduce a model of a simple written
autobiography on OHT or butcher paper
similar to the one to be jointly constructed
later (eg A Family Story).
NAP
New Arrivals Program Teaching, Learning and Assessment Programs
My Role in my Family Developing an Autobiography
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Modelling/Text Deconstruction continued...
The activities on the left column will provide particular
development in these areas
Activities
Genre
Field
Deconstruction of an autobiography
• Examine the purpose of an
autobiography:
-What is an autobiography?
-Who will be the author?
-What does the author want to say?
-Who will read it and why?
• Examine structure of an autobiography.
• Draw attention (by means of colour
coding) to participants, processes and
circumstances.
• Examine language features relating to
time order and time.
• Review/introduce clause constructions
with varying sentence beginnings:
-First we moved to Lebanon
-In 1999 we came to Australia
-When we arrived, we lived in
Melbourne.
NAP
Tenor
Mode
Relate use of these language features
to purpose of an autobiography.
• Relationship
between writer
and audience.
Extension activity:
• Make My Little Book of Big Questions
pertaining to autobiography genre.
• Processes:
-action
-relational.
• Text structure:
-introduction
-events in
sequence
-conclusion.
• Participants.
• Conjunctions
(eg Firstly, Then,
After, That, Later,
Finally).
• Circumstances
-time (eg In
1999).
New Arrivals Program Teaching, Learning and Assessment Programs
Supplementary and extension
activities. Comments are in italics
• Primary tense:
-past
-future.
• Foregrounding:
-clauses,
circumstances,
conjunctions of
time, place and
manner.
My Role in my Family Developing an Autobiography
26
The activities on the left column will provide particular
development in these areas
Activities
Text comprehension
• Use existing autobiographies to identify
information in different sections of the
text.
• Introduction
-Who is the author of this
autobiography?
-How many people in this family?
-Who are they?
-Where is this family from?
• Sequence of events
-When was this person born?
-What were the important events?
-When did they happen?
-What does this family enjoy?
-What role does the author have in the
family?
Genre
Field
Tenor
Mode
Supplementary and extension
activities. Comments are in italics
Extension activities:
• Text structure.
• Cohesion:
-reference items.
• Conjunctions to
join clauses.
• Participants:
-noun groups.
• Statements and
questions.
• Processes.
• Subjectivity (eg I
think that …).
• Causal relations
(eg because
there was a war).
• Circumstances
and clauses:
-time
-place
-manner
-with whom.
• Modality:
-frequency.
• Verbal elements
-pronunciation.
• Fore-grounding
of human
elements and
expressions of
time, place and
manner.
• Model and encourage the use of
critical questions to draw out the
purpose and function of particular
language features/patterns. For
example, the participant - verb participant pattern.
• Develop sentences with dependent
clauses.
• Summary
-What is the best part of the author’s life
so far?
NAP
New Arrivals Program Teaching, Learning and Assessment Programs
My Role in my Family Developing an Autobiography
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Joint Construction
In Joint Construction, the teacher and students construct a written argument together. Through this process, the teacher
scaffolds the students’ choices and at the same time moves them towards independent construction.
The activities on the left column will provide particular
development in these areas
Activities
Review of life timeline
• Children sit in a circle and using a white
hat they provide facts of their lives to
date.
Genre
• Conjunctions to
expand clauses.
Field
• Participants:
-noun groups.
Tenor
• Statements and
questions.
• Processes:
-relational
-action.
• Using the Life timeline and with the
assistance of the BSSOs, each child is
helped to think about the significant event
recorded for each year of their lives and
orally repeat or expand on information in
the timeline.
• Circumstances.
• Draw attention to sentence-starters,
highlighting what is fore-grounded as
either participant or circumstance.
• Structure of an
autobiography.
• Participants:
-noun groups.
• Processes.
• Causal relations.
• Circumstances
and clauses.
• Primary tense:
-present
-past.
• Print
conventions:
-handwriting
-letter formation
-spelling
-punctuation.
• Children write sentences or paragraphs
about these events.
Joint construction of text
• Using an example of one child’s timeline,
teacher and students together (teacher
asking leading questions), construct a
simple autobiography on large sheet of
paper.
Mode
• Statements.
Supplementary and extension
activities. Comments are in italics
Children have been filling in each page
of their own ‘Little Book My Family’ as
Unit progresses. The contents of this
book are referred to at any stage.
Children who are not at the stage of
writing independently are assisted by
BSSO’s who scribe for them.
• Fore-grounding:
-human
elements (eg
My Mother)
-circumstances
-conjunctions
(Then, Next).
• Tense:
- past tense
- subject/verb
agreement.
NAP
New Arrivals Program Teaching, Learning and Assessment Programs
My Role in my Family Developing an Autobiography
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Joint Construction continued...
The activities on the left column will provide particular
development in these areas
Activities
Genre
Field
Tenor
Mode
• Coherence:
-links between
sentences/
paragraphs.
• Highlight introduction paragraph, main
events in time order, and concluding
paragraph (or statement).
Supplementary and extension
activities. Comments are in italics
Add to lexical chain list as needed.
• Print conventions
and lay-out.
Lexical Chains for the Topic Family
Family Names
Mother
Mum
Mama
Father
Dad
Papa
Sister
Brother
Aunt
Uncle
Cousin
Grandmother
Grandma
Granny
Grandfather
Grandpa
Relationships
Daughter
Son
Niece
Nephew
Relatives
Relations
Family tree
NAP
Describers
Adopted
Half-sister
Half-brother
Step-mother
Step-father
First wife
Second wife
Little
Big
Elder
Eldest
Youngest
Nuclear
Extended
Middle
Past Tense
Born
Came
Arrived
Had
Did
Went
Left
Decided
Traveled
Flew
Lived
Separated
Divorced
Died
New Arrivals Program Teaching, Learning and Assessment Programs
Conjunctions
First
Second
Next
Finally
Then
Because
But
So
As well as
If
And
Or
Pronouns
I
He / She
We
They
Me
He
She
It
We
They
My
His
Her
Our
Their
Meta-language
Clause
Process
Participant
Circumstance
Describer
Noun / Thing
Pointer
Conjunctions
Theme
Present
Continuous
Processes
Living
Playing
Eating
Singing
Dancing
Praying
Fighting
Sweeping
Cleaning
Talking
Sleeping
Visiting
Celebrating
Shopping
Loving
Working
Learning
My Role in my Family Developing an Autobiography
29
Independent Construction
In Independent Construction, students independently construct an argument as the summative task for this topic for this
teaching, learning and assessing program.
The activities on the left column will provide particular
development in these areas
Activities
Text construction
• Using all information/resources to date,
children commence task of independent
construction of autobiography referring
to models, charts of lexical items, picture
dictionaries, graphs etc.
Editing
• The written text is conferenced by
teacher and peers, as a group or one
to one, eliciting more information and
adding suggestions.
Presentation
• All children read/present their
autobiographies to a variety of
audiences.
Genre
Field
• Language to
organise text:
-conjunctions
-noun groups
-clauses.
• Noun groups:
-numbers
-describers
-qualifiers.
• Cohesion:
-reference items
-word sets.
• Processes:
-action
-relational.
• Comparatives.
• Causal relations.
• Circumstances
and clauses.
Evaluation
• Children identify:
-three things you have learnt about
your role in the family/or the process of
writing an autobiography
-two interesting things
-one question.
NAP
New Arrivals Program Teaching, Learning and Assessment Programs
Tenor
• Statements.
• Interpersonal
meaning:
-feelings
-attitudes
-names.
Mode
• Foregrounding:
-human
elements
-phrases and
clauses of time,
place, manner.
• Coherence:
-links between
sections.
• Tense:
-simple past
-present tense.
• Print
conventions:
-handwriting
-spelling
-punctuation.
Supplementary and extension
activities. Comments are in italics
Some children may only be able to
make a pictorial representation of major
life events with the teacher or BSSO
scribing simple clauses to be copied by
them.
Children can learn to take pictures of
themselves and scan these for inclusion
in their autobiography. Other children
are assisted in this process by cross–
age tutors.
Final copy may be presented as a
published work and then collated into
a class big book with digital images of
authors OR made into individual small
books with visual images/illustrations/
photos of children.
Some children with lesser English
language ability can answer these
questions orally with the help of a
BSSO.
My Role in my Family Developing an Autobiography
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NAP
New Arrivals Program Teaching, Learning and Assessment Programs
My Role in my Family Developing an Autobiography
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NAP
New Arrivals Program Teaching, Learning and Assessment Programs
My Role in my Family Developing an Autobiography
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