Victorian Curriculum - English Version 2.0 - View levels consecutively down the page

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Level 6

Level 6 Description

The English curriculum is organised under 3 interrelated strands: Language, Literature and Literacy. While each strand articulates the essential skills of English, they should be seen as interlinked and interconnected. Together, the 3 strands focus on developing students’ knowledge, understanding and skills in listening, speaking, reading, viewing and writing...

The achievement standards explicitly link together skills drawn from the 3 strands, and map directly into the sub-strands. Unlike the strands, the achievement standards are organised through the language modes of Speaking and Listening, Reading and Viewing, and Writing. Further information about the connections between the content descriptions and the achievement standards can be found in the ‘Learning in English’ section.

At Level 6, students select language to interact and to acknowledge formality and social distance.

Students engage with a variety of texts for enjoyment and learning. They listen to, read, view and interpret spoken, written and multimodal texts. Texts may include film and digital texts, novels, poetry, non-fiction and dramatic performances. The features of these texts may be used by students as models for creating their own work.

The range of literary texts comprises the oral narrative traditions and literature of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, and classic and contemporary literature from a wide range of Australian and world authors, including texts from and about Asia.

Literary texts that support and extend students in Level 6 as independent readers may include elaborated events including flashbacks and shifts in time, and a range of less predictable characters. These texts may support students’ understanding of authors’ styles. They may explore themes of interpersonal relationships and ethical dilemmas in real-world and imagined settings. Informative texts may include technical information and/or content about a wide range of topics of interest as well as topics being studied in other areas of the curriculum. Text structures may include chapters, headings and subheadings, tables of contents, indexes and glossaries. Language features include complex sentences, unfamiliar technical vocabulary, figurative and idiomatic language, and information presented in various types of images and graphics.

Students create a range of narrative, informative and persuasive texts that may include stories, procedures, performances, reports, reviews, poetry, expositions, explanations and discussions for particular purposes and audiences.

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Level 6 Content Descriptions

Language

Language for interacting with others

understand how language varies as levels of formality and social distance change (VC2E6LA01)
1. recognising language protocols for formal address, for example words used to address principals, heads of state and monarchs
2. discussing levels of language such as slang, colloquial, conversational and formal, and how their appropriateness changes with the situation and audience
3. presenting ideas and opinions at levels of formality appropriate for the context and audience
understand the uses of objective and subjective language, and identify bias (VC2E6LA02)
1. identifying language choices that evoke emotion and judgements in direct and indirect ways, and how they are used to persuade different audiences to take a position and/or action
2. understanding when to share feelings and opinions (for example, in a personal recount) and when to remain more objective (for example, in a factual recount)
3. differentiating between reporting facts (for example, in a factual recount or unedited photograph) and providing a commentary (for example, in an editorial)

Text structure and organisation

explain how different types of texts are typically organised into characteristic stages and phases depending on purposes, recognising how authors often adapt text structures and language features (VC2E6LA03)
1. exploring a range of everyday, community, literary and informative texts, discussing elements of text structure and language features, and comparing the overall structure and effect of authors’ choices in 2 or more texts
2. examining a text to identify strategies such as exaggeration to create humour
3. recognising that texts are organised into stages, such as an introduction, and that introductions may be divided into phases; for example, the introduction stage of a narrative may begin with a phase that is a ‘hook’ or a flashback
4. explaining the characteristic stages and phases in reviews, discussing alternative positions or historical recounts, and identifying any adaptations of typical structures or language features
understand that sequence and cohesion can be created by the intentional use of repetition of text structures, language features and vocabulary (VC2E6LA04)
1. noting how a general word is often used for a more specific word already mentioned (word association), for example ‘Look at those apples. Granny Smiths are my favourite.’
2. recognising how cohesion can be developed through repeating key words or by using synonyms or antonyms

Language for expressing and developing ideas

understand how embedded clauses can expand the variety of complex sentences to elaborate, extend and explain ideas (VC2E6LA05 )
1. investigating how the choice of conjunctions enables the construction of complex sentences to extend, elaborate on and explain ideas, for example ‘The town that was flooded suffered extensive damage.’
2. creating complex sentences with embedded clauses to expand noun groups, for example ‘Hamish studied the rock samples that he had collected on the excursion, to complete his report.’
understand how the choice of verb, elaborated tenses and a range of adverb groups can expand and sharpen ideas (VC2E6LA06)
1. knowing that the simple present tense is typically used to talk about present states (for example, ‘He lives in Darwin.’) or actions that happen regularly in the present (for example, ‘He watches television every night.’) or that represent ‘timeless’ happenings, such as in informative reports (for example, ‘Bears hibernate in winter.’)
2. knowing that there are various ways in English to refer to future time, such as using the auxiliary ‘will’ (for example, ‘She will call you tomorrow.’), using the present tense (for example, ‘Tomorrow, I leave for Hobart.’) and using adverbials of time (for example, ‘She arrives in the morning.’)
3. using precise verbs (for example, ‘slice’, ‘dice’, ‘fillet’ and ‘segment’) rather than general words (for example, ‘cut’)
identify the ways that still images (such as figures, tables, diagrams, maps and graphs), moving images and sound are used in texts to create point of view (VC2E6LA07)
1. observing how sequential events can be represented visually by a series of images, including comic strips, timelines, photo stories, procedure diagrams and flow charts, life cycle diagrams and the flow of images in picture books
2. observing how concepts, information and relationships can be represented visually through tables, maps, graphs and diagrams
3. understanding that images and maps may be sensitive for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and ensuring that a disclaimer is applied or judgement is used about cultural appropriateness and sensitivities
examine how authors use vivid vocabulary and figurative language, such as metaphors, similes, personification, idioms, imagery and hyperbole (VC2E6LA08)
1. exploring how figurative language (for example, metaphors, personification and idioms) can be used to create vivid and less predictable shades of meaning
2. identifying authors’ use of vivid and emotive vocabulary in persuasive texts, for example the vocabulary used in reviews
3. discussing texts, using vocabulary to name text structure, literary devices and language features; for example, using words that name the literary device used in a poem
understand how to use commas to separate a dependent clause from an independent clause (VC2E6LA09)
1. identifying different uses of commas, such as commas and conjunctions between independent clauses in compound sentences

Literature

Literature and contexts

explore their responses to characters and events in literary texts drawn from historical, cultural or social contexts by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors and a wide range of Australian and world authors (VC2E6LE01)
1. discussing the influence historical, cultural and social experiences may have on the meaning of a text and attitudes towards characters, actions and events
2. sharing responses about how heroes are portrayed in science fiction or fantasy and more realistic settings
3. exploring reviews of Australian films

Engaging with and responding to literature

compare language choices, modality, emphasis, repetition and metaphor, and topics, themes or plots in a range of literary texts (VC2E6LE02)
1. exploring texts on a similar topic by authors with very different styles; for example, comparing fantasy quest novels with realistic novels on a specific theme
2. identifying differences in the use of narrator, narrative structure and voice, and language and visual features, between texts and determining how these influence readers or viewers

Examining literature

describe characteristics of literary texts that define an author’s individual style (VC2E6LE03)
1. exploring 2 or more texts by the same author, identifying similarities (for example, subject or theme, characterisation, text structure, plot development, tone, vocabulary, voice, favoured grammatical structures and visual techniques in picture books) and describing the qualities that characterise an author’s style
2. focusing on an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander author and identifying characteristic elements of their writing, for example imagery, theme and language
explain the way authors use sound and imagery to create meaning and effect in prose and poetry (VC2E6LE04)
1. explaining how imagery builds emotional connections and engagement with the story or theme
2. identifying the imagery used in narratives or poetry about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ Country/Place
3. describing the effects of assonance, alliteration and onomatopoeia in a poem
4. explaining the effect of rhythm in ballads

Creating literature

create texts that adapt plot structure, characters, settings and/or ideas from literary texts they have encountered, and experiment with vocabulary and literary devices (VC2E6LE05)
1. creating narratives in written, spoken, multimodal or digital form by adapting character; for example, reimagining the hero in an adventure story
2. creating an autobiography of a character from a text they have explored

Literacy

Interacting with others

use interaction skills and awareness of formality when paraphrasing, questioning, clarifying and interrogating ideas; developing and supporting arguments; and sharing and evaluating information, experiences and opinions (VC2E6LY01)
1. participating in pair, group, class, school and community speaking and listening situations, including informal conversations, discussions, debates and presentations
2. using strategies (for example, pausing, questioning, rephrasing, repeating, summarising, reviewing and asking clarifying questions) when discussing topics
3. recognising that closed questions ask for precise responses, while open questions prompt a speaker to provide more information
deliver structured spoken and multimodal texts to an intended audience for a specific purpose, using appropriate features of voice (VC2E6LY02)
1. experimenting with voice effects such as tone, volume, pitch and pace in formal presentations and recognising the effects these have on audience understanding
2. presenting an argument about an issue from learning area content, which includes claims supported with evidence and examples, careful use of topic-specific vocabulary and selection of persuasive techniques appropriate for audience
3. setting goals for a presentation and monitoring development in a written or digital journal

Phonic and word knowledge

use combined phonological, morphological and vocabulary knowledge to read and write increasingly complex words (VC2E6LY03)
1. using phonic generalisations to read and write complex words with uncommon letter patterns, for example ‘pneumonia’, ‘resuscitate’ and ‘vegetation’
use their knowledge of known words, base words, prefixes, suffixes, letter patterns, spelling generalisations and word origins (etymology), including some Latin and Greek roots, to spell new words, including technical words (VC2E6LY04)
1. using a dictionary to explore word origins, including some Greek roots, in order to spell words; for example, the Greek root ‘ath’ meaning ‘contest’ or ‘outstanding skill’, ‘pent’ meaning the number 5 and ‘dec’ meaning the number 10 inform the spelling and meaning of the words ‘athlete’, ‘pentathlon’ and ‘decathlon’
2. applying accumulated knowledge of a wide range of letter patterns and spelling generalisations to spell new words, for example ‘ratio’ and ‘synthesis’
3. expanding knowledge of prefixes and suffixes, and exploring meaning relationships between words, for example ‘disappearance’, ‘submarine’, ‘subterranean’, ‘poisonous’ and ‘nervous’
4. applying accumulated knowledge of a wide range of letter patterns and spelling generalisations to spell new words; for example, knowing how and why these words are spelt as follows: ‘reliability’, ‘handkerchief’, ‘receive’, ‘lollies’, ‘trolleys’, ‘climbing’, ‘designed’ and ‘emergency’
5. spelling technical words by applying morphemic knowledge, for example ‘metaphorical’, ‘biology’ and ‘biodegradable’

Building fluency and making meaning

select and read different types of texts of varying complexity, integrating phonic, semantic and grammatical knowledge to read accurately and fluently for meaning, re-reading and self-correcting when needed (VC2E6LY05)
1. bringing subject and technical vocabulary and concept knowledge to new reading tasks, and selecting, evaluating and using texts for their pertinence to the task and the accuracy of their information
2. using their knowledge of text structure to navigate the text to locate specific content for a purpose

Texts in context

examine texts, including media texts, that represent ideas and events, and identify how they reflect the context in which they were created (VC2E6LY06)
1. identifying news reports of the same type of event over time and how they reflect their contexts
2. comparing advertising posters for animated children’s films in different countries and explaining the impact of these choices on audience expectations of the film
3. identifying how advertisements for the same products reflect the context in which they were created

Analysing, interpreting and evaluating

analyse how text structures and language features work together to meet the purpose of a text and engage and influence audiences (VC2E6LY07)
1. comparing the structure and language features of different texts, including print and digital sources on similar topics, and evaluating which features best aid navigation and clear communication about the topic
use comprehension strategies, such as visualising, predicting, connecting, summarising, monitoring and questioning, and connect and compare ideas from a variety of sources to build literal and inferred meanings (VC2E6LY08)
1. making connections between the text and their own experiences or other texts
2. making connections between information in print and images
3. using prior knowledge and textual information to make inferences
4. asking and answering questions
5. using graphic organisers to visualise connections, categories and hierarchies of information
6. summarising a text or part of a text

Creating texts

create different types of texts, written and spoken, with developed and organised ideas for purpose and audience, and multimodal elements as appropriate (VC2E6LY09)
1. planning a report on a topic, sequencing ideas logically and providing supporting detail (including graphics, sound and visuals) to enhance audience engagement and understanding
2. creating informative texts for 2 different audiences that explore a topic using text structure and language features for the identified audiences, noting the changes required to appeal to each audience
3. using rhetorical devices, images and modal verbs for persuasive effects, for an identified audience
4. selecting and combining digital tools to create texts
re-read and edit their own texts and the texts of others using agreed criteria and exploring editing choices (VC2E6LY10)
1. discussing the setting in a literary text with a peer during the editing process, and experimenting with literary devices that may enhance the setting
2. re-reading and editing their own and others’ work using negotiated criteria for text structure, meaning and accuracy of grammar, spelling and punctuation, and explaining editing choices as required
write legibly, fluently and automatically for sustained periods (VC2E6LY11)
Content description does not require elaboration.

Level 6 Achievement Standard

By the end of Level 6, students demonstrate the following skills in English.

Speaking and Listening

When interacting with others, students use vivid vocabulary, select language to acknowledge formality and social distance, and use appropriate strategies such as paraphrasing and questioning.

They explore objective and subjective language and identify bias.

When speaking to an audience, students deliver structured spoken texts, exploring topics and text types, including multimodal or digital elements. They select language appropriate for purpose and audience and use appropriate features of voice.

Reading and Viewing

When reading and viewing, students engage with a range of different types of texts for meaning.

They read by integrating phonic, morphemic and vocabulary knowledge; grammatical knowledge such as complex sentences and adverb groups; and knowledge of the multiple uses of commas.

When demonstrating understanding of texts, students explore and compare characters and events, and information and ideas, from different historical, cultural or social contexts to build literal and inferred meanings.

They explain how different types of texts, both print and digital, adapt text structures and language features for specific purposes. They explain the effects of imagery and sound devices in texts. They explain how still images, moving images and sound create point of view.

Writing

When creating written and spoken texts for specific purposes and audiences, students explore ideas and experiment with textual details from texts, and include appropriate multimodal elements. They edit their texts using an agreed set of criteria and explore editing choices.

They use text structures, including repetition, to create sequence and cohesion, sentence structure to expand ideas, and punctuation to create clarity.

They use vivid, emotive vocabulary. They experiment with language features and literary devices.

They write legibly and fluently for sustained periods. They spell new and technical words using phonic, morphemic and grammatical knowledge.