Lesson #2: How can a persons personal, cultural,

Lesson duration 80mins

Stage 6 Year 12
Class YR 12 Advanced
historical, and social context influence their discovery?
English (12 students)
Rationale
Syllabus Outcomes
Syllabus Content
This lesson explicitly scaffolds students to
1.1 comparing and contrasting texts and their contexts
consider how an individuals discoveries 1. A student explains and evaluates the effects of
different contexts of responders and composers on
and their process of discovering can vary
texts.
according to personal, cultural, historical
1.5 generalising about the relationships between context
and social contexts and values
and meaning
Discoveries may be questioned or
challenged when viewed from different
The Area of Studyprovides students with opportunities to
perspectives, a significantly weighted
explore, analyse and experiment with:
component of the Discovery: Area of
Study Content Description. First
how texts are influenced by other texts and contexts.
considering how their own experiences of
discovery differ, and the influences which
An individuals discoveries and their process of discovering can
inform this process of discovery, students
vary according to personal, cultural, historical and social
then research Grays context and begin to
contexts and values. Discoveries may be questioned or
consider how it has influenced his sense
challenged when viewed from different perspectives and their
of discovery. The inquiry approach of this
worth may be reassessed over time. The ramifications of
lesson allows students to elicit deep
particular discoveries may differ for individuals and their
knowledge and higher order thinking in
worlds.
linking Robert Grays context to his texts,
and thus developing a far more
sophisticated understanding of Discovery.
Prior Knowledge
Risk Assessment
Resources
Students have read the 6
Pens/paper
Robert Gray poems set
Ensure that the
Highlighters
for study a number of
environment that
A new environment that students can discover (see Lesson Plan body for suggestions)
times and have jointly
students are taken to
Smartboard with Internet access
analysed all of them in
in the first part of the
Robert Gray: Behind the Scenes Table (Appendix 2.1) = 1xstudent
detail. As such, students
lesson is safe/that
Robert Gray Biographies (Appendix 2.2) = 1xgroup (Bring 6 copies to be safe)
have a comprehensive
students are aware
Yellow + Blue post-it notes = 1 of each x student
understanding of the
of any safety issues
process of discovery in
Appendix 2.3 (Lesson PPT) on board.
Ensure that students
Grays poetry as well as
are able to safely
his nuanced responses
move around the
to his discoveries.
room/between
Students also
groups and from
understand language

devices are used in

New Environment
Grays poetry to create
back to Classroom
meaning, and how these
devices enhance the
sense of discovery that is
expounded. Students
have vast experience
working in collaborative
teams. . Students are
also familiar with using
an inquiry question to
frame their learning.
Learning Outcomes
Time Content/Learning

Experiences

Teaching
Strategies &
Quality Teaching
Elements &
Models of English
Teaching

Class
Organisation
Grouping &
classroom
environment

Assessment
Techniques
What will you use
to assess their
learning

Introduction (Engagement)

Students will know how

to discover a new
environment through
sensory interaction

Students will be able to

compare and contrast
their individual
experiences of discovery

1. Class meets at a location in the school that they have not

previously been to/are not intimately familiar with (e.g. a part
of the agricultural plot, a disused classroom, a room in the
office etc.) with pens/paper.

Authentic learning.
Engagement.

2. Students spend 5 minutes individually discovering this new

environment. As they do, they should write down any sensory
experiences which particularly strike them aim for at least 10
experiences spanning these senses. Students should also
write down how they feel about this environment and note if
this changes at all during the experience.

Kinaesthetic/visual.
Personal
Growth/Aesthetic Model.
Connectedness/
Student direction.

3. Back in classroom: Students pair up and discuss the things

that they saw/their attitudes towards the environment with one
another. Ask students to particularly discuss the different
attitudes and things that they noticed.

Whole class in New

Environment

Discussion
Evaluation
Personal Growth Model.
Connectedness.

Individual work in
New Environment
Back to Classroom
for remainder of
lesson
Pairs: Student choice

Informal: Do group
discussions indicate
an understanding
that individuals

Students will understand

that human beings, as
individuals with different
contextual influences,
will have different
experiences of discovery
according to their
backgrounds. Students
will understand that this
applies to Robert Gray,
and that his discoveries
must have been
influenced by his
background.

2.5

4. Have 1-2 pairs volunteer to share their contrasting

experiences of discovery with the class (find pairs whose
experiences differed vastly).

5. Teacher: Even though we all discovered the same

environment, the things that we noticed and the way that we
felt about this environment were all different. And how could
they not be? We are all individuals with unique backgrounds,
values and attitudes. We are always discovering things in the
light of all our unique idiosyncrasies; emotions, values, and
thoughts. Robert Gray is a human being too and like us, he
has values and attitudes that shape the way that he discovers
the world and communicates these discoveries through his
very personal poetry. Now that we have pulled this poetry
apart and examined the themes that Gray has addressed
through it, we are going to look at Grays background and
examine how his context matches up against these themes.
This will give us a greater understanding of Grays reactions to
and depictions of his discoveries in these poems.

Discussion
Substantive
communication.

Explicit Teaching

Pairs in Whole Class

Forum

Whole class

Links to prior lessons

Body (Exploration/Transformation/Presentation)
1. Place inquiry question on board (PPT slide 1, Appendix 2.3)
Has Robert Grays context had an impact on the way he
discovers the world in his poetry?
2. Students break into groups of 3-4. Distribute Appendix 2.1
(A3 Robert Gray Behind the Scenes Table; 1 per student)
and Appendix 2.2 (Robert Gray biographies; 1 per group) of
students.
Students will be able to
extrapolate the most

3. Read the information at the top of the A3 Behind the Scenes

Table (App. 2.1) aloud to students. Re-cap the themes listed
in the left hand-side column.

Reader Response
theory.
Problematic Knowledge.

Small groups of 3-4

spread around room:
student choice

discover different
things in the same
environment?

contextual information
from the biographies
provided (in light of their
understanding of Gray).
Students will be able to
collaboratively
synthesise the most
important contextual
influences that affect
Grays discovery.

2.5

10
20

10

Students will be able to

make conceptual links
between the authors life
and work.

4.

Advise groups to split their Biographies (App 2.2) among

them. (approx. 1 page each) Students now have 10 minutes to
highlight/annotate anything in the biographies that they can
link to these themes.

5. Groups now have another 20 minutes to collaboratively

discuss the information that they highlighted/annotated and to
fill in the second column (Links: Themes to Context) of their
tables.

Collaborative evaluation
Whole class discussion/
collaboration.

7. Students now identify their 3 favourite themes from the table.

Students should choose the themes that they would feel most
confident discussing in an essay, that have strong contextual
links, and that interest them.

Self-Regulation.

8. Students fill in 3rd column of table (Links to poems)

Conclusion

5
Students will be able to
identify that an authors
life can play a
determinant role in their
work, influencing the
values, ideas, and
emotions that are
communicated through
it.

Rhetorical/Reader
response theory.
Higher Order Thinking.

6. As a class, survey each group and have them discuss what

they believe are the 2 or 3 most important contextual links
(encourage each group to discuss a different element of
Grays context). Groups should add to/alter their tables as this
happens.

15

1. Hand one post-it-note to every student. Ask students to do the

following: Write down the most significant way that you
consider Robert Grays context to have affected his
poetry.
2. Students stick post-it-notes to wall as they leave.

Formative: Are
students highlighting
appropriate parts of
articles?

Collaborative analysis
Deep Knowledge.

Whole Class
Discussion

Formative: Are
students able to
accurately select
the contextual
influences that most
heavily inform what
Gray discovers
through his poetry
and his attitudes
towards these
discoveries?

Independent
Intertextuality.
Higher order thinking /
Deep Knowledge.
Reader-response.

Critical reflection
Deep understanding.

Independent

Formative: (postit-notes) Do
students
understand
relationship
between text and
context?