Activity: What’s the Point? – NAPLAN-Style Reading Skills – Year 5

Quick summary: In this lesson, students will complete activities focused on developing the key reading skill of identifying the author’s purpose. Specific reading strategies are modelled in a teacher-led think aloud activity, then students will apply the strategy independently reading a separate section of the same text. Students will then share their work with their peers and reflect on the activity and their own approach to it. This lesson is designed to provide valuable practice for NAPLAN, the national literacy test held in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9*. 

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Learning intention:

• Students can identify the author’s purpose in an unfamiliar text.

21st century skills:

Australian Curriculum Mapping

Content descriptions:

Year 5 English

• Understand how texts vary in purpose, structure and topic as well as the degree of formality (ACELA1504)
• Understand that the starting point of a sentence gives prominence to the message in the text and allows for prediction of how the text will unfold (ACELA1505)
• Identify and explain characteristic text structures and language features used in imaginative, informative and persuasive texts to meet the purpose of the text (ACELY1701)

Syllabus outcomes: EN3-3A, EN3-5B.

General capabilities: Critical and creative thinking, Literacy.

Relevant parts of Year 5 English achievement standards: Students analyse and explain literal and implied information from a variety of texts.

Topic: NAPLAN Preparation.

Unit of work: Faber-Castell – NAPLAN Preparation.

Time required: 60 minutes.

Level of teacher scaffolding: Low – The skills that students require are modelled explicitly in the teacher introduction. Scaffolding will only be required for students who have difficulty accessing standard content for Year 5 level.

Resources required: Student Worksheet – one copy per student. Device capable of presenting a website to the class. Identifying Author’s Purpose Worksheet (editable version), Identifying Author’s Purpose Worksheet (print version). You will also need Page 1 and Page 22 of this document: Faber-Castell – Watercolour Techniques Booklet Pencil Art.

Keywords: NAPLAN, English, author’s purpose, text, main idea, paragraph, audience.

*This lesson plan is not an officially endorsed publication of NAPLAN’s creators and administrators – the ACARA body – but is designed to provide practise for the Australian Curriculum’s compulsory NAPLAN testing scheme.

Cool Australia’s curriculum team continually reviews and refines our resources to be in line with changes to the Australian Curriculum.