Year 11 English Unit Overview: Haves and Have Nots

Unit Title: Haves and Have Nots Essential question: Year-level: 11 Duration: 10-week school term
How does literature repress and equivalent
empower people?
Curriculum: Classroom setting: Teaching and learning team:
Australian Curriculum: Year 11 teachers serve as overseers of this unit of work. They provide Year 11 teachers, Teacher Librarian,
QCAA Senior Syllabus models and scaffolds for students to use as they negotiate and navigate Learning Support teachers.
the overall topic of the unit: Haves and Have Nots. Teachers work with the
Teacher Librarian to provide students the skills, tools and resources to
empower students to answer their essential question.
Unit Overview: Assessment overview:
Students explore how texts reflect the values of the society in which they were written. By analysing literature through the lens Students can negotiate the mode and
of social justice and inequality, students explore how power is unequally distributed in society. By examining different types of audience for their assessment. Options
literature, students learn how literature can silence but also empowers the voiceless. They examine these texts with a backdrop include analytical essay, persuasive
of power and dreams and evaluate how authors use textual features to explore the concept of power, corruption and the speech, infographic, online literary
pursuit of personal dreams. journal article, textual intervention.
See Appendix C for example task.
Learning Intentions and links to AC Content Descriptors:
1. Analyse the language, style that writers use and how is creates personal style 9. Write literary articles or a persuasive speech (ACEEN051) (ACEEN052)
(ACEEN041) (ACEEN053)
2. Explain why what makes an archetypal narrative/documentary. Explain what a 10. Appropriately reference infographics/analytical essays/public speeches
subversion of a genre looks like (ACEEN042) (ACEEN054)
3. Explain the similarities and differences in how affluence and poverty are portrayed in 11. Effectively plan a piece of assessment and make necessary changes to it to
different texts. (ACEEN043) meet genre requirements with accurate and appropriate spelling, punctuation
4. Compare conventions of narratives, news articles and Tweets (ACEEN044) and grammar (ACEEN055) (ACEEN056)
5. Compare the traditional publication of The Great Gatsby to the graphic novel version 12. Explain the similarities and differences in how affluence and poverty are
and the film adaptations of The Great Gatsby (ACEEN045) (ACEEN049) portrayed in different texts (ACEEN057)
6. Examine how the media uses language to vilify and commend criminals (ACEEN047) 13. Analyse film adaptation of The Great Gatsby to determine why some parts
7. Examine why narrative structures are sometimes subverted (ACEEN048) were included, excluded or otherwise changed (ACEEN058)
8. Explain how a text would be adapted to suit different audiences (primary school 14. Explain how the media’s portrayal of people effects their lives and the social
students, peers, public audience) (ACEEN050) justice they receive (ACEEN059)
Learning Activities
Murdoch (2019) highlights the importance of
providing students with background knowledge so
their inquiry can be effective. Engagement in the
early stages of an inquiry is also essential for
students to not become overwhelmed by the lack
of traditionally structured unit delivery (Peck,
2010).
Show students news clips about inequality and
characters/houses from two film adaptations of
The Great Gatsby. Think/Pair/Share: What are the
major themes/ideas in the text? Generate a list of
key vocabulary terms and create a wordcloud.
How many slaves work for you?
Students use slaveryfootprint.org to begin
understanding modern income inequality
Dot-to-dot connections Students spread key
vocabulary terms across a page and make
potential connections between them
KW part of the KWHLAQ (graphic organiser).
Students complete a digital individual KWLAQ
Resources
Framing the inquiry
Quotes about the power of
literature
Examples of income inequality
(YouTube/movie or book posters)
Wordcloud.com – Key vocab
terms organised in a relevant
shape. This will feature on a class
blog so it can be referenced again
Students establish Inquiry Journal
to track progress and process of
their inquiry. Can be tangible or
digital, must be submitted as part
of final assessment.
Tuning in
Slavery website
Vocab terms on pieces of paper.
Anchor chart to display them
KWLAQ charts (digital).
Question strategies and sample
questions (in italics)
Process questions:
- How do I feel about this topic?
- How does society decide what is
fair?
- What else do I want to know
about the topic?
Process questions:
- What do I already know about this
topic?
- What is my current thinking on
this topic?
- What do I want to find out?
- What do others know and want to
find out?
Essential question:
- Why do some people have while
others have not?
Factual questions:
Teacher
Teacher questions:
- What are the aims of this inquiry?
- How can students show their skills
and understanding?
- What are my students’ attitudes
towards social justice and
inequality?
Collate list of key vocabulary terms,
then use this to guide students in
generating inquiry questions.
Learning Intentions: 5, 12, 13
Teacher questions:
- What do my students already know
about this topic?
- What levels of inequality have they
experienced?
- How can I engage them in a
potentially distant topic?
- How can I balance guiding with
explicit teaching in the critical
initial stages of an inquiry?
Learning Intentions: 1, 3, 12
Learning Activities
chart in Class OneNote (so teacher can track
progress) that shows their levels of understanding
of the topics.
Questions Generating
Students will use a Place for Wonder and QFT to
generate individual inquiry questions.
Haves in Literature
Students read the description of Gatsby’s and the
Buchanan’s mansions and compare them to the
Valley of Ashes.
Inquiry Circles
Teacher Librarian hosts Inquiry Circles wherein
students work in separate roles related to the
inquiry process.
A Day in the Life
Students complete a visual diary of either a rich or
a poor a character and explain what a day in their
life is like. Compare and complete a Venn diagram
Numeracy
Students plot rental rates and hotel prices on 5th
Avenue from the Upper West Side to the Bronx
and research the average income across the
length of the street. They calculate how much
income drops in each suburb
Tweets from Chapter 6
Resources
QFT Framework and question
generating activity based on A
Place of Wonder
Finding out
About/Point chart. Students
determine what the text is about
and what the author’s point is.
Relate this to key vocabulary
terms to KWLAQ chart.
Teacher Librarian’s Inquiry Circles
resources, including Boolean
operators, database navigation
and identifying key words. SMELL
resources for evaluating sources
Padlets with resources on The
Great Gatsby and non-fiction
texts, and information on income
inequality, poverty, socio-
economic differences
Income statistics for 5th Avenue.
List of significant
buildings/residences and prices
of hotels per night. Students will
use their new inquiry skills to
answer this question.
Question strategies and sample
questions (in italics)
- What is income equality?
- Where does inequality exist?
- What words describe income
inequality?
Show students Kinds of Questions
chart to generate their own inquiry
question
Generative questions strategies:
- Questions Quadrant
- Think and Search
- Author and You
- See-Think-Wonder
Overall question:
How is income inequality
represented across different types of
texts?
Generic Questions:
- What does poverty
look/feel/sound like?
- How is poverty defined?
- How is ‘rich’ defined?
- How is wealth portrayed in
fiction?
- Why do writers write about haves
and have nots?
- What is the dominant reading of
wealth/class in The Great Gatsby?
- How do people become rich?
Situated questions:
Teacher
These activities are suggestions only.
The teacher will make any necessary
adjustments, in response to the data
they gathered from students during
the ‘Tuning In’ phase.
This section is also more extensive than
others as it is the stage where students
are exploring and collating sources to
answer their inquiry question.
Teacher question:
- How do these resources enhance
students’ understanding of the
topic?
- What important skills will students
need to undertake this task?
- How will students know they have
answered their question?
Learning intentions:
2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 12, 14
Learning Activities Resources Question strategies and sample Teacher
questions (in italics)
Students write a series of paper-based Tweets - What background do these writers
that explain how characters are feeling at the end Gatsby Tweet Activity have?
of Chapter 6. - What motivated Petry and
Fitzgerald to write about class?
Exploring poverty in fiction
Students read extracts from The Street by Anne The Street extracts
Petry. They identify words/phrases that explore What is similar and different about
what poverty looks/feels/sounds like. how income inequality is
represented in different texts?
Graphic Novel adaptation -How does this differ across fiction
Students examine the 2009 graphic novel of The The Great Gatsby graphic novel and non-fiction?
Great Gatsby to understand how genres can be by Nicki Greenberg To what extend does reality reflect
subverted and how this influences the portrayal fiction and vice versa?
of concepts, ideas and issues
Transformative Questions:
Social Media and bias - Who benefits from these cases?
Students examine a series of ‘news’ articles from Traffic offences lead to suicide - What aspects of American history
social media to explore how wealthy offenders contribute to these injustices?
are characterised when compared to offenders Jenner charged with - Whose voice is silenced in
from low socio-economic positions. misdemeanour literature?
- Whose voice is silenced in real life
Haves and Have Nots in the News examples of class differences?
Students examine news sites to gain an Kids for Cash scandal
understanding of how socio-economic status
influences the justice system. They specifically ‘Affluenza’ case
look at the disparity in consequences between
wealthy offenders and offenders from poor socio- Sentencing longer for POC
economic backgrounds.
Trayvon Martin case
Social Media – a force for change
Students examine how social media can give a Social Media as a change tool
voice to the voiceless and bring about progressive
social change
Learning Activities Resources Question strategies and sample Teacher
questions (in italics)
Retweet Gatsby Tweet Activity
Students make new tweets, this time taking into
consideration what they have learnt about social Students can add original and
media. They can tweet to enact change, they can reworked tweets to inquiry
tweet to demonstrate their understanding of journals to demonstrate inquiry
media bias. process

5 Whys
An effective way to know when enough
information or data has been gathered in order to
solve a problem or answer a question. Students
will examine their sources against the 5 Whys in
order to determine which sources are the most
relevant to their inquiry question.
KWHLAQ Chart
Students will add to the LA parts of their charts.
SMELL analysis
Students evaluate their sources using the SMELL
method to refine their digital literacy skills.
Sorting out
5 Whys template
KWAHLAQ charts
SMELL method of digital
information evaluation
Evaluative Questions:
- SMELL Test
- 5Ws and 1H
Transformative GeSTE Window:
-Whose voice is promoted?
-How does this source compare with
the dominant values of society?
Expressive GeSTE Window:
- How does this source make me
feel?
- What action do I want to take in
light of this source?
A key characteristic of the Inquiry
Circle is students’ questions driving
investigations and ongoing planning.
Therefore, these activities are
suggestions and may need to be
expanded/adapted/dismissed as each
classroom teacher sees fit.
Teacher question:
How do different representations of
income inequality contribute to
students’ overall understanding of the
issue?
- How do these sources connect
to The Great Gatsby?
- How are students expanding
their knowledge of the topic?
- How have students’
perspectives changed?

Learning intentions:
14, 10, 6

Going further
Formative assessment: Infographics about income Generative questions: Students are working independently,
Infographics about inequality inequality so the teacher is guiding them through
Learning Activities
Students are given options about what kind of
infographic to create. Ideas: How poverty and
class is depicted in literature/the consequences of
income inequality/other topics to be negotiated.
They use the information from Inquiry Circles and
extracts from literature, plus their own research,
to complete it.
Final Assessment
Students are given a choice of assessment types.
Options:
• Literary article (analytical)
• Textual intervention (creative)
• Persuasive speech (analytical)
• Infographic (informative)
• Interactive image (hybrid depending on
context)
• Other to be negotiated
Resources
Infographic checklist
Inquiry Task Sheet
Students will need access to
Visme.com or Piktochart.com or
other infographic-generating
software.
Websites that support the
creation of assessment items.
Question strategies and sample
questions (in italics)
- What makes an effective
infographic?
- Why are infographics effective?
- Does this infographic add to my
knowledge?
- How can an infographic call
people to action?
- How relevant is this infographic to
the topic?
Teacher
the final phases by conferencing with
them, reminding students of
requirements and assisting with
technical aspects of assessment items.
Learning intentions:
9, 10, 11, 14

Individual inquiry task presentation
Students decide how they will share their
artefacts with the public.
Options include:
• Publishing infographics, interactive
images and literary article on class blog
• Upload persuasive speech to YouTube
• Perform persuasive speech on
assembly/TED talk/public speaking
competition
• Publish textual intervention to fan fiction
sites
Making Conclusions
Students will need access to the
class blog and the technical skills
to upload their content to it.
A YouTube log in and the
technical skills to create their
own channel and upload their
work to it
Fan Fiction sites. Help navigating
the rules and requirements of
uploading their work to a public
forum.
IT HelpDesk
Process questions:
- What medium am I most
comfortable with?
- What overall point do I want
to express?
- What do I want the public to
do with this information?
Situated GeSTE Window:
- Which final product will best
convey the new digital and
evaluative skills I have
learned?
Transformative GeSTE Window:
Teacher questions:
- How has this inquiry enhanced
students’ understanding of
income inequality?
- What new technical skills have
students learnt? How can they
transfer these to other
subjects/life beyond school?
- How can I support students
who want to enact measurable
change in the world?
Learning intentions:
9, 10, 11, 12
Learning Activities
KWHLAQ Chart
Students complete the Q part of the chart and the
class collates the questions to answer them
together.
Peer review activities
Students can provide feedback to their peers via
the comments section of the class blog or the fan
fiction site they have used. They can ask questions
or write comments in response to students’
YouTube channel.
Create a 2-minute video that will serve as a guide
to future Year 11 students that outlines the
positives and negatives of their Inquiry Learning
experience and offer helpful tips.
Complete evaluation of the inquiry via a
anonymous survey
Resources
Peer support: students who
are YouTubers helping others
Taking Action
KWHLAQ charts
Students complete a gallery walk
of KWHLAQ charts and compile
final list of what they have learnt
and new questions that have
risen in their inquiry journal
Access to class blog for all
students.
Technical know how of
commenting on others’ YouTube
channels.
Personal devices, digital storage
for their artefacts.
Surveymonkey.com
Question strategies and sample
questions (in italics)
- How will I give a voice to
those who are silenced?
Expressive GeSTE Window:
- How have I conveyed my own
voice and feelings in my work?
Process Questions:
- What aspects of this inquiry
came naturally to me?
- Which ones did I struggle
with?
- What technical skills did I
gain?
- Which technical skills require
further refinement?
- What information would be
helpful for next year’s cohort?
Teacher
Teacher questions:
- What did the class struggle
with?
- What were their strengths?
- How can I mitigate against
future students struggling?
- How proud are the students?
- How might I do things
differently next time?
- How can I gain authentic and
thoughtful feedback from
students?
Students will re-examine learning
intentions and assess how well they
achieved them
Appendix C - Assessment Task
Learning Context:

Throughout this unit, you have examined various pieces of literature related to poverty, wealth, class differences
and income inequality. The central question you have sought to answer is:

How is income inequality portrayed in literature?

You have been examined how poverty and wealth are represented in different types of texts including:
-novels
-documentaries
-graphic novels
-Tweets
-news reports

Individual Inquiry Task:

You have set out to answer your individual inquiry question about income inequality in literature. It is time to
share your skills and knowledge with a wider audience by publishing a digital artefact. You have various options
you can use to present your findings:
• Create and publish an infographic, interactive image or literary article on class blog
• Write, perform and upload persuasive speech to YouTube
• Perform persuasive speech on assembly/TED talk/public speaking competition with an accompanying
multimodal presentation
• Publish textual intervention to a fan fiction site
• Another method as negotiated with your teacher

Your digital artefact should demonstrate your understanding of the causes and consequences of income
inequality and how it is represented in and should explicitly answer your inquiry question.

The target audience for your digital resource will be dictated by the type of resource you choose to create. For
example, if you upload a persuasive speech to YouTube, your audience is YouTube users. If you deliver a speech to
a school assembly, your target audience is teachers and students.

To carefully follow the inquiry process, you should provide constructive feedback to your peers via digital
comments sections, response videos or written feedback. You will need to provide evidence of this process.

You will also need to submit a reflection on your inquiry journey that includes the following:
-what you found challenging about the process
-what parts were easy
-tips for students about to undertake an inquiry
-what new skills and knowledge you have developed
-how you feel about income inequality in light of your inquiry

Submit the following:

1. Digital artefact
2. Inquiry Journal – physical or digital
3. Peer Feedback
4. Reflection