Year 4
The English curriculum is built around the three interrelated strands of language, literature and literacy. Teaching and learning programs should balance and integrate all three strands. Together, the strands focus on developing students' knowledge, understanding and skills in listening, reading, viewing, speaking, writing and creating. Learning in English builds on concepts, skills and processes developed in earlier years, and teachers will revisit and strengthen these as needed.
In Years 3 and 4, students experience learning in familiar contexts and a range of contexts that relate to study in other areas of the curriculum. They interact with peers and teachers from other classes and schools in a range of face-to-face and online/virtual environments.
Students engage with a variety of texts for enjoyment. They listen to, read, view and interpret spoken, written and multimodal texts in which the primary purpose is aesthetic, as well as texts designed to inform and persuade. These encompass traditional oral texts including Aboriginal stories, picture books, various types of print and digital texts, simple chapter books, rhyming verse, poetry, non-fiction, film, multimodal texts, dramatic performances and texts used by students as models for constructing their own work.
The range of literary texts for Foundation to Year 10 comprises Australian literature, including the oral narrative traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, as well as the contemporary literature of these two cultural groups, and classic and contemporary world literature, including texts from and about Asia.
Literary texts that support and extend students in Years 3 and 4 as independent readers describe complex sequences of events that extend over several pages and involve unusual happenings within a framework of familiar experiences. Informative texts include content of increasing complexity and technicality about topics of interest and topics being studied in other areas of the curriculum. These texts use complex language features, including varied sentence structures, some unfamiliar vocabulary, a significant number of high-frequency sight words and words that need to be decoded phonically, and a variety of punctuation conventions, as well as illustrations and diagrams that support and extend the printed text.
Students create a range of imaginative, informative and persuasive types of texts including narratives, procedures, performances, reports, reviews, poetry and expositions.
(source: www.australiancurriculum.edu.au)
Achievement Standard
Receptive modes (listening, reading and viewing)
By the end of Year 4, students understand that texts have different text structures depending on purpose and context. They explain how language features, images and vocabulary are used to engage the interest of audiences. They describe literal and implied meaning connecting ideas in different textsÂ
They fluently read texts that include varied sentence structures, unfamiliar vocabulary including multisyllabic words. They express preferences for particular types of texts, and respond to others' viewpoints. They listen for and share key points in discussions.
Productive modes (speaking, writing and creating)
Students use language features to create coherence and add detail to their texts. They understand how to express an opinion based on information in a text. They create texts that show understanding of how images and detail can be used to extend key ideas.
Students create structured texts to explain ideas for different audiences. They make presentations and contribute actively to class and group discussions, varying language according to context. They demonstrate understanding of grammar, select vocabulary from a range of resources and use accurate spelling and punctuation, re-reading and editing their work to improve meaning.
(source: www.australiancurriculum.edu.au)
- Plus Plan
Forms of Poetry Posters with Annotations
A set of 9 annotated posters to use when introducing structured forms of poetry.
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Informative Texts Writing Task - Eagles
A writing activity to help students construct an informative text based on factual information.
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Informative Texts Writing Task - Elephants
A writing activity to help students construct an informative text based on factual information.
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Persuasive Text Type Poster With Annotations
A poster about the persuasive text type, including an annotated example.
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Comprehension Task Cards - Distinguishing Between Fact and Opinion
A set of comprehension task cards to help students distinguish between fact and opinion when reading.
- Free Plan
Persuasive Writing Checklist (Simplified Version)
A checklist for students to use when proofreading and editing their persuasive writing.
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Comprehension Task Cards Summarising
Practise summarising text with these relevant events-based texts.
- Free Plan
Readers' Theatre Script - Three Billy Goats Gruff
A script which can be used during readers' theatre or Drama sessions, aimed at students 6 years and over.
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Narrative Text Type Poster With Annotations
Display this narrative text with annotations to help students identify the structure of a narrative.
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Summarising Teaching Slides
Teach students all about summarising with 15 teaching slides of summarising goodness.
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5 Persuasive Writing Prompts
Inspire your students through these relevant persuasive writing prompts.
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Inflectional Endings - Spelling with Suffixes Worksheets
Spell words with the inflectional endings -ed, -ing, -s, -es and -ies with a pack of printable practise worksheets covering inflected endings.
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Inference Comics - Worksheet
Use this set of comic strips when teaching your students how to infer information from everyday situations.
- Free Plan
Persuasive Text Planning Template (Using OREO)
A planning template for students to use when writing a persuasive text.
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Recount Writing Planning Template
A template for students to use when planning a recount.
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Procedure Text Type Poster With Annotations
Display this procedure text with annotations to help students identify the structure of a procedure.
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Find the Adverbial Phrases Worksheet
Use this simple yet effective adverbs worksheet to assess students’ ability to identify adverb groups (adverbial phrases) in sentences.
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NAPLAN-Style Assessment Rubric - Informative Writing
A NAPLAN-style rubric designed to help teachers to assess students' informative writing.
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5 Narrative Writing Stimulus Sheets
Writing stimulus sheets with a narrative focus.
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Biography Text Type Poster With Annotations
A poster about the biography text type, including an annotated example.
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Let's Get Ready to Rock! – Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for the information report from the Year 3 magazine (Issue 2).
- Free Plan
Readers' Theatre Script - What's My Pet?
A script which can be used during readers' theatre or Drama sessions, aimed at students 6 years and over.
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Topic Sentence Starter Cards
A pack of 32 narrative, persuasive and report writing sentence starter cards.
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Modal Language Interactive Activity
Explore the language of modality with your students using this digital game perfect for your persuasive writing lessons.
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Finding the Main Idea - Comprehension Task (Thunderstorms)
A task to use when teaching your students reading comprehension strategies.
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Persuasive Writing Bump It Up Wall – Year 4
A visual display for your classroom to help students 'bump up' their persuasive writing.
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Verb Groups Worksheet
Review verb groups with this 3-page worksheet.
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Rhetorical Questions Interactive Activity
Explore rhetorical questions with your students using this digital game perfect for your persuasive writing lessons.
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Poetic Devices PowerPoint
A 23 slide editable PowerPoint template to use when introducing students to poetic devices.
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What Causes the Seasons? Explanation Text Writing Task
Use this scaffolded writing task to have students write about how seasons change.
- Free Plan
Bumping-Up Procedure Texts Worksheet
Download these procedural writing worksheets to get your students bumping-up some simple procedure texts.
- Plus Plan
Narrative Writing Visual Prompts Presentation
A 19 slide teaching presentation containing visual narrative writing prompts.