Presenters notes - Reader : Both

Hello my name is Elise Connolly, and I am

Tania Briggs. We are here today to discuss a
critical investigation of supporting an EAL
learner within the context of a geography unit
and the teaching of the literacy skills within
the unit plan.

Presenters notes - Reader : Elise

It is a small government primary school

with a total of 364 students.

23% of students are Indigenous

students or have a Indigenous
background.

4% of students speak English as an

alternative language.

In regards to the socio-educational

advantage (ICSEA) of the school, the
majority of students sit within the
middle and bottom quarter.

Presenters notes - Reader : Tania

Our students name is Taiba. She is from

Afghanistan and has been living in
Australia since she was 6 years old.

Her first language is Pashto which is one

of the two national and most popular
languages spoken in Afghanistan (All
Graduates Interpreting & Translating,
n.d.). It is also the language her mum
and dad both primarily speak at home.

She is becoming a good verbal communicator and has good visual comprehension.
 Afghanistan has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world currently estimated at about 31%
of the adult population (over 15 years of age). Female literacy levels are on average 17% largely
due to the cultural differences which exist between men and women with women being
expected to stay at home and not study (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organisation, 2016).

Taibas mum can read very little English and Taiba has difficulty reading fluently and spelling, yet
she is a motivated student and is engaged in her learning as she has always had an interest in
learning and wants to become a teacher herself.

Focus text of the unit

- The selected text for the unit focus in

one small island.

- Was written by Alison Lester and Coral

Tulloch.
Brief overview of the unit being taught

General Capabilities & Cross-Curriculum Priorities

Sustainability why is our environment important and why is it important to take care of it? (Introduced
species, impacts of people and their choices on the environment) e.g. through the book issues of
endangered animals, degradation of the land, and conservation can be addressed.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures why is the land important to Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Our unit also supports achievement of the general capabilities, especially in terms of: literacy through
teaching and learning strategies that will be described in this presentation and numeracy through
reading of maps, creation of a timeline, conduction of surveys, representing results of research findings.

Teaching Strategies
Code breaking practices:

Word wall Students create as a class and throughout the duration of unit. Photographs and drawings
added next to words supports Taiba.

Front loading vocabulary Students are asked to go through the book and identify any words they are
not familiar with. The words students identify are then discussed in pairs and as a whole class prior to
reading the text.

Creating a personal glossary of geographical terminology relating to sustainability This can be added to
throughout the unit and accompanied by drawings etc. There is an glossary in One Small Island that
students can refer to if they wish.

Have a go books - Students use their own personal book to attempt to spell unfamiliar words. The
teacher can have a look at these books and suggest strategies for supporting the student to spell
accurately.

These strategies are particularly supportive of Taiba who has difficulty spelling and reading fluently.

Pragmatic/Text users:

Text transformation - Students use what they know from the perspective of the sealers and scientists in
the text and create a role play and poster, thus, transforming the text into a different genre. Taiba, (and
all students), will be able to work in groups for this activity and support each others understanding of
the knowledge gained from the text.

Text meaning practices:

SQR3 strategy This strategy supports students comprehension skills as it helps students to develop a
deeper understanding of the information in the text. This will be an especially important strategy to
support Taiba who despite having excellent comprehension of visual information requires support for
comprehending written text.

Critical practices:

Circle of questions As a class students will brainstorm questions on the topic of sustainability. The
questions will be placed into categories and each group will look through the text to seek answers to
their questions. They will then discuss how they can find answers to their questions if the text did not
offer sufficient explanation. This strategy will also support Taiba to locate relevant information in the
text through working with others.