macmillan classroom library teaching and learning … publishes award-winning resources across key...

The Legends of League series shares the personal stories of inspirational National

Rugby League (NRL) players, from their childhoods to making it in the NRL.

This teaching and learning support provides students with opportunities to

respond to and engage with the texts (print or digital), and to explore the

genre of biography and its associated text structures and features through an

approach that supports integrated inquiry, with learning experiences focusing

on rich content taught through inquiry and investigation. This assists students’

development of deep conceptual understandings and information literacy skills.

Macmillan Classroom Library Teaching and Learning Support

Rugby League Reads: Legends of League: Teaching and Learning Support (ISBN 978 1 4586 4904 1) © Suzan Hirsch/Macmillan Publishers Australia 2014

First published in 2014 byMACMILLAN EDUCATION AUSTRALIA PTY LTD15–19 Claremont Street, South Yarra 3141

Visit our website at www.macmillan.com.au

Copyright © Macmillan Publishers Australia 2014Text © Suzan Hirsch and Macmillan Education Australia 2014

All rights reserved.

Macmillan Library Teaching and Learning Support framework developed by Charlotte Forwood and Sharon McCormack.Some text on pages 2, 3, 4, 7, 11, 20 and 21 is adapted from text written by Sharon McCormack.

The Five E Instructional Model is adapted from the work of Rodger Bybee at the biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) and is based on the experiential learning philosophy of John Dewey and the experiential learning cycle proposed by David Kolb.

Copying of this work by educational institutions or teachersYou may reproduce pages within this book in accordance with the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) and provided the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to the Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act. Licence restrictions must be adhered to.

Any copies must be photocopies only, and they must not be hired out or sold.

For details of the CAL licence contact: Copyright Agency Limited, Level 15, 233 Castlereagh Street, Sydney, NSW 2000. Telephone: (02) 9394 7600. Facsimile: (02) 9394 7601. Email: [email protected]

Reproduction and communication for other purposesExcept as permitted under the Act (for example, any fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review), no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, communicated or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. All inquiries should be made to the publisher.


IntroductionMacmillan publishes award-winning resources across key disciplines, which

explore a range of topical issues pertinent to the world today. Macmillan resources

are thought-provoking and build awareness about historic, scientific, geographic,

economic, cultural and political issues at local, national and global levels.

Macmillan Classroom Library Teaching and Learning Support enables a flexible

approach to using Macmillan resources in the library or classroom:

• Library – Texts and activities can be used to support classroom topics in

library sessions.

• Inquiry learning – Texts and activities can be incorporated within the

learning and teaching sequence of a topic.

• Literacy – Texts and activities can be used in literacy sessions.

FrameworkMacmillan Classroom Library Teaching and Learning Support uses the Five E

Instructional Model to give students the opportunity to explore the key concepts

and issues that are introduced in the student resources. The model enables

teachers to draw upon Library resources to help build students’ knowledge and

skills about a topic, and enables students to move through a learning process that

contains the following elements:

e1 Engage – Students are introduced to the topic presented in the

student resources.

e2 Explore – Students are provided with experiences that enable them

to explore their understandings of the topic.

e3 Explain – Students explain their understandings, building on their

prior knowledge and experience. Often, vocabulary is introduced at

this stage to help students describe the topic.

e4 Elaborate – Students are provided with the opportunity for

further investigations, which confirm, apply and deepen their

understanding of the topic.

e5 Evaluate – Students reflect upon and evaluate their learning of

the topic.

The learning cycle provides the opportunity for students to explore a topic in

depth, in order to develop a deep understanding of key concepts and issues.

Within each element of the learning cycle, an overview is provided that outlines

the content-based and information literacy strategy skills that will be developed

through the activities. Each activity within the learning cycle is supported by a

focus, which assists in the assessment of students’ knowledge and skills related

to the topic.

2

Rugby League Reads: Legends of League: Teaching and Learning Support (ISBN 978 1 4586 4904 1) © Suzan Hirsch/Macmillan Publishers Australia 2014 3

The Legends of League series shares the personal stories of National Rugby League

(NRL) players. In these biographies, students read about the lives of many

inspirational players, from their childhoods to playing in the NRL. Students learn

about the players’ challenges and triumphs, and are introduced to people who have

supported these players to become true legends of the game. Each text profiles

three players, linked by a common theme. In each profile, a significant person

who contributed to that NRL player’s success is introduced. Each book ends with

challenges relating to the book’s theme, set by the three players profiled.

Curriculum focus

English, Health and Physical Education, Civics and Citizenship

Activities For the Legends of League series, students will be involved in the following activities:

e1 Engage: Activities introduce the topic and engage students through the texts.

1. Brainstorming Rugby League page 4

2. Information walk Worksheet 1 page 11

e2 Explore: Activities provide students with the opportunity to explore the central topic across all of the texts within the series.

1. Exploring biographies page 5

2. Recommending books page 6

3. Exploring Legends of League Worksheet 2 page 12

4. Features of a biography Worksheet 3 page 13

5. Book review Worksheet 4 page 14

e3 Explain: Activities enable students to explain their new understandings about the topic through investigating information presented in the texts.

1. Who supports NRL players? page 7

2. Interviewing techniques page 7

3. I’m an author! page 8

4. Group roles Worksheet 5 page 15

5. Interview questions Worksheet 6 page 16

6. Interviewing for a biography Worksheet 7 page 17

7. My biography plan Worksheet 8 page 18

e4 Elaborate: Activities allow students to further investigate the texts and deepen their understandings of the topic.

1. Presenting my biography page 9

2. Grouping stories page 9

3. Legends’ challenges page 9

4. Marking grid Worksheet 9 page 19

e5 Evaluate: Activities provide students with opportunities to evaluate their learning.

1. Powerful images page 10

2. Learning journey map Worksheet 10 page 20

3. Individual self-assessment Worksheet 11 page 21

About Legends of League

e1


Engage Overview: Brainstorming what they already know about Rugby

League stimulates students’ interest in and knowledge of the code. Students share this information with their peers, before working in small groups to create mind maps.

Content-based focus: Students will use their current knowledge to brainstorm what they know about Rugby League.

Information literacy strategy focus: Students will summarise and articulate facts about Rugby League, using a mind map.

1. Ask each student to write six specific facts about the game of Rugby League in the ‘Give away’ column of the table on Worksheet 1 . For now, they leave the ‘Take away’ column blank.

2. Have students conduct an information walk. Play music and ask students to walk around the classroom with their copy of Worksheet 1 and a pen. When the music stops, ask students to give a high-five to the closest person – they then become partners. Next, ask each student to read the facts in their partner’s ‘Give away’ column and choose one piece of information that they find interesting and do not have on their list. Students add their partner’s interesting fact to the ‘Take away’ column on their worksheet. Upon completion, play the music again and have students repeat the process with a new partner. Repeat this until students have six facts in the ‘Take away’ column of Worksheet 1 . Through this process, students should have increased what they know about Rugby League and discussed the game with six peers.

3. Divide students into groups of four. Ask them to brainstorm, discuss and record all the things they know about Rugby League on a mind map. They should consider the football code, clubs, players, uniforms, fans, season and rules. Remind students to include all the information they gathered on their information walk.

Alternatively, using an interactive whiteboard or data projector, model to students how to create a mind map using Mind42. After you have signed into Mind42, a ‘Mind map manager’ page will open by default. Type ‘Legends of League’ into the input field and press the ‘Create’ button. The root node of a new mind map will appear. Click on the arrow in the menu to create a child node, and call it ‘Clubs’. Show students how to add sibling nodes for the other categories, such as players, and how to use the buttons on the menu to add links, add attachments, create nodes or delete nodes. Give students time to experiment with the online mapping tool. Discuss with students which features of the online tool they will use to create a mind map.

Engagement activity 1: Brainstorming Rugby Leaguefocus: Students brainstorm, share and record what they know about

Rugby League.

4

e2


Explore Overview: Students explore and investigate the layout,

structure and language features of a biography text.

Content-based focus: Using a Legends of League title, students will read about three NRL players and explore a particular theme – community, cultural diversity, education, family, health and wellbeing, or mateship.

Information literacy strategy focus: Students will browse and read texts for meaning, examine the structure and language features of a biography, and write a book review.

1. Divide students into groups of six. Within each group, allocate one of the six Legends of League books (either in print or digital format) to each student: Community, Cultural Diversity, Education, Family, Health and Wellbeing and Mateship. Draw attention to the layout of the books – three players per book, title and contents pages, player profiles, significant person feature at the end of each player’s biography, and ‘Legends’ challenges’.

2. Explain to students that they will be making a presentation to the group about their title. Ask each student to look at and read the cover, back blurb, contents page, series introduction and book introduction. Then ask students to browse through the book, looking at the layout, headings, pictures and captions. Students can refer to the checklist on Worksheet 2 as they browse.

3. After exploring the book, in their groups of six, have students take it in turns to ‘introduce’ and promote their book to their group. Students can use Worksheet 2 as a guide when they present and should be given 1 minute of speaking time each. Ask students to state which players their book features, what the theme is about and their opinion on what features and/or photos look interesting.

Explore activity 1: Exploring biographiesfocus: Students explore the layout and language features of the books in the

Legends of League series.

e2


Explore activity 2: Recommending books focus: Students read the three biographies in their Legends of League book and

explore their views on the title in a book review.

Explore … continued

1. Have students read the three biographies in their allocated Legends of League book. (Allow students the option of swapping books with another student in their group before reading.)

2. As they read, have students use Worksheet 3 as a checklist to identify the structure and language features of the biographies.

Biography structure Biography language features

•Openingstatementintroducestheperson

•Openingstatementexplainswhytheperson is known

•Lifeeventsareorderedandpresentedchronologically

•Headingsmaybeused

•Photographsareoftenincluded,withfactual captions stating when, where, who, what and why

•Closingstatementexplainshowthisperson will be remembered or which direction the person’s life is heading in

•Referstoindividuals

•Containsdateslinkedtospecificevents

•Writteninpasttense

•Mayincludedirectandindirectspeechand quotes from other sources

•Writteninthirdperson

•Includestimeconnectivestolinkideas

•Eventsaremorethanalistoffacts;theyare anecdotal in style and they engage the reader

3. Once students have finished reading, have them use Worksheet 4 to write a book review of their Legends of League title. Students should consider:

•thefeaturedplayers

•thesimilaritiesanddifferencesbetween the three players in the book

•thefeaturesofthebooktheyenjoyedor didn’t enjoy

•whotheywouldrecommendthe book to.

4. Have students swap their book reviews and read one another’s reviews. After reading the five other book reviews in the group, students will have an overview of the whole Legends of League series. Ask students to choose the Legends of League title they would like to read next.

6

e3


Explain Overview: Students explain how the significant people featured in

the profiles supported the Rugby League players in their lives and careers. Students also explain how authors gather information for a biography. They then showcase their understanding of the biography genre by writing their own biography.

Content-based focus: Students will explain how information for a biography is collected and how a biography is written using specific language features.

Information literacy strategy focus: Students will conduct interviews and write a biography of a family member.

1. In the same groups of six from the Explore task, ask students to discuss and explain the different ways players received support from the significant people featured at the end of each biography.

2. Ask students to work together to group the significant people into appropriate categories – such as ‘family’, ‘club/work colleagues’, ‘friends’ and so on – justifying their choices. Prior to the discussion, allocate each student in each group one of the following roles:

•TheLeader keeps the group focused on the task and reminds other students of their roles.

•TheRecorder records the group’s categories and lists players within each category.

•TheTimekeeper warns students if they are taking too long to discuss one aspect and reminds them how

much time they have left to complete the task.

•TheNoise monitor keeps students from talking over the top of one another and reminds them to take turns when sharing ideas. The Noise monitor also ensures students are using their inside voices.

•TheEncourager gives feedback to team members and ensures all members participate and are heard.

•TheReflector keeps track of how the group worked together on the task and reports back to the team.

Students can use Worksheet 5 to remind themselves of their roles.

3. Have each group present their categories and justifications to the class.

4. Have each group complete the self-evaluation component of Worksheet 5 .

Explain activity 1: Who supports NRL players?focus: Students identify the different ways NRL players are supported.

Explain activity 2: Interviewing techniquesfocus: Students explain the different ways authors can obtain information to

write a biography.

1. Ask students to consider and discuss how the authors of the Legends of League series may have collected the information from the NRL players featured in the series. Together, discuss and explain how interviews can be used. Use one of the Legends of League biographies as a focus for the class, either by sharing it on an

interactive whiteboard or by providing students with copies of it. Using either a shared reading or round robin reading strategy, read sections of the text together. After each section, brainstorm the open-ended questions the authors may have asked the player in order to get the information included in the profile.

Explain … continued

e3


Collate a list of these questions on the board. Add to the list of questions as you continue to read the biography. Worksheet 6 can be used to explore types of questions used in interviews – closed, open, multiple choice and so on – and to allow students to rehearse the different question styles.

2. As a class, group the questions you recorded on the board into different topics or themes. Ask students to explain how grouping questions together may be helpful when conducting an interview.

Explain activity 3: I’m an author!focus: Students explain their understanding of biographies by planning, writing

and presenting their own biographies.

1. Re-examine the structure of a biography, modelling another biography from the Legends of League series. Ask students to identify and explain the purpose of each language feature, as you read together.

Explain to students that they will now demonstrate their understanding of this genre of writing by creating their own biography of a family member, such as a parent, sibling or cousin.

2. Have students create a set of interview questions to collect more information about their nominated family member’s life, from family members or friends. They can use Worksheet 7 to plan their interview.

3. Have students conduct their interviews.Students should collect as much information about their family member’s life as they can.

4. Have students plan the main events of their biography and the possible images they may need to collect or create. They should use their interview responses and Worksheet 8 .

5. Have students write their biography and edit it carefully. They should use their planning guide ( Worksheet 8 ), the biography features checklist ( Worksheet 3 ) and the Legends of League biographies as a guide.

6. Have students collect appropriate photos for their biography OR create (paint or draw) realistic images of their family member’s life if they do not have access to photos. Instruct them to write appropriate informative captions for each image. Students can look at the captions in the Legends of League books for examples.

7. Ask students to choose a presentation mode for their biography, such as:

•apodcast

•aphotostory

•avideodocumentary

•aPowerPointpresentation

•awebsite.

Ensure that students include the text of their biography in their presentation, either in written or oral form.

8

e4


Elaborate Overview: Students present their biographies and receive feedback and

questions from peers in order to elaborate on their life story and on their choices of language features and presentation mode. They also elaborate on their understanding of biographies by completing comprehension tasks.

Content-based focus: Students will present their biographies, answer questions from peers and categorise students’ biographies into themes.

Information literacy strategy focus: Students will present to a group of students and use oral language skills to ask and answer questions. Students will examine the themes of the biographies in Legends of League and those presented by their classmates.

Elaborate task 1: Presenting my biographyfocus: Students present their

biographies to an audience to analyse. They answer questions from their peers to elaborate on the research and writing process for their biography, and to evaluate the end product.

1. Provide students with the opportunity to share their biographies with the class, in a way that is appropriate for their chosen presentation mode. While watching or listening to the presentations, ask students to assess each other’s biographies, using the grid provided on Worksheet 9 . They will need a fresh sheet for each presentation. After each biography, allow time for the audience to ask the presenting student questions about their biography and their presentation mode, allowing students to elaborate on the biography process.

Elaborate task 2: Grouping storiesfocus: Students revisit the themes

of the Legends of League series and categorise their own biographies into themes.

1. Revisit the Legends of League themes by reading the introduction on page 5 of each book in the series. As a class, discuss what themes could be used to group the students’ own biographies. Ask students to consider and discuss whether the

Legends of League book themes would be appropriate for their biographies. Determine a set of suitable themes as a class and have each student nominate which theme best suits their biography.

Elaborate task 3: Legends’ challengesfocus: Students elaborate on their

understanding of the Legends of League biographies, as well as their own biographies, by completing challenges.

1. Ask students to complete the ‘Legends’ challenges’ on pages 30 and 31 in the Legends of League book they read during the Explore activities, to elaborate on their understanding of the theme.

2. After they have completed the challenges, ask students to create activities for their own biography, linked to its theme. Remind students to look at the Legends of League challenges for ideas and to design activities that their peers can complete individually.

3. Have students swap their biographies and challenges with a partner and complete each other’s challenges.

e5


Evaluate Overview: Students reflect upon and evaluate what they have learnt

about themselves, about elite Rugby League players and about writing biographies. Students express their new understandings and skills through the evaluation activities.

Content-based focus: Students will reflect on their learning and express their understandings of what they have learnt.

Information literacy strategy focus: Students will record their learning in different forms.

Evaluate activity 1: Powerful imagesfocus: Students select appropriate

images to accompany biographies.

1. Ask students to examine photos of one of the NRL players featured in Legends of League. Have students select which photo they would choose as the most appropriate to represent that player’s life story and the theme of the book. Ask students to write a paragraph justifying their choice, considering:

•howandwhytheimagerepresentsthe theme of the book

•howandwhytheimagebestrepresents the player’s life.

2. Give students an A3 cardboard photo frame (centre removed). Ask students to paste a piece of paper inside the frame and on it paint a picture of their chosen family member which reflects the theme of their biography. On the picture frame, ask students to write a reflection (words or phrases or sentences), sharing what they have learnt about their family member through the biography writing process.

Evaluate activity 2: Learning journey mapfocus: Students reflect upon their

learning across the range of activities.

1. Review with students the activities that they undertook in the Explore, Explain and Elaborate stages. Have students discuss the things they did during each activity.

2. Provide each student with a copy of Worksheet 10 . Tell students that they will be reflecting on the different activities they have taken part in, to identify what they have learnt. Ask students to consider the following questions for each activity:

•WhatdidIlearninthisactivity?

•Whathelpedmylearning?

•Howdidthisactivityhelpmeunderstand more about Rugby League and the NRL players featured in Legends of League?

Ask students to record in words and pictures what they learnt. When students have finished, ask them to share their findings with the class.

Evaluate activity 3: Individual self-assessmentfocus: Students evaluate their

learning of concept-based skills and literacy skills.

1. Provide each student with a copy of Worksheet 11 . Read aloud the list of skills that have been developed across the activities. Discuss with students how they have been developing these skills, and have them identify when they applied these skills in their learning. Have students read through the statements and reflect upon each one. Ask them to decide on their current skill level and record it on the worksheet by using highlighter pen or coloured pencil to colour in the appropriate box.

10


Worksheet 1 Information walk

Date: Name:

In the ‘Give away’ column of the table, write six facts you know about the game of Rugby League. During your information walk, collect six new facts from your peers and write them in the ‘Take away’ column of the table.

Give away Take away


Worksheet 2 Exploring Legends of League

Date: Name:

I have explored and read the Legends of League book: ____________________________

Book section Tick when explored

Comments to prompt your presentation

Front cover

Back cover

Contents page

Series introduction – page 4

Book/theme introduction – page 5

Layout of the book

Photographs

Captions

Legends’ challenges

Which players are featured in the book?

In your own words, explain the book’s theme.

What is interesting about this book? Why may people want to read it?


Worksheet 3 Features of a biography

Date: Name:

The purpose of a biography is to give an account of someone’s life.

Biography structure ✔or ✗ Biography language features ✔or ✗

Does the opening statement introduce the person?

Does the biography refer to individuals?

Does the opening statement explain why the person is known?

Does the biography contain dates linked to specific events?

Are the life events ordered and presented chronologically?

Is the biography written in past tense?

Have headings been used? Are direct and indirect speech and quotes from other sources included?

Are photographs included, with factual captions stating when, where, who, what and why?

Is the biography written in third person?

Is there a closing statement explaining how this person will be remembered or the direction the person’s life is heading in?

Are time connectives used to link ideas?

Are the events presented anecdotally, in an engaging manner (rather than simply being a list of facts)?


Worksheet 4 Book review

Date: Name:

Title of book:

Introduce the book (name of the book, authors, etc).

Summarise the book (including the theme and the three players’ life stories, their similarities and differences).

Share your favourite and least favourite parts of the book.

Give a recommendation (e.g. ‘If you are interested in _______________, you will love this book because …’ OR ‘I recommend this book to anyone who …’).


Worksheet 5 Group roles

Date: Name:

Write the allocated person’s name next to each role before completing the task.

After you have finished the task, ask each person to evaluate his or her performance in the role by writing a sentence in the self-evaluation box.

Role description Allocated person

Self-evaluation

The Leader keeps the group focused on the task and reminds other students of their roles.

The Recorder records the group’s categories and lists players within each category.

The Timekeeper warns students if they are taking too long to discuss one aspect and reminds them how much time they have left to complete the task.

The Noise monitor keeps students from talking over the top of one another and reminds them to take turns when sharing ideas. The Noise monitor also ensures students are using their inside voices.

The Encourager gives feedback to team members and ensures all members participate and are heard.

The Reflector keeps track of how the group worked together on the task and reports back to the team.


Worksheet 6 Interview questions

Date: Name:

A closed question can be answered with one word, such as ‘yes’, ‘no’ or a number.

Example: Have you scored a try?

Write three closed questions the authors may have asked the player.

An open question encourages an extended response.

Example: Can you tell me about the first try you scored in the NRL?

Write three open questions the authors may have asked the player.

A multiple-choice question gives several answers as choices.

Example: Which try were you most proud of?

a) the try you scored in the Grand Final

b) the try you scored in the State of Origin match

c) last week’s try against the Brisbane Broncos, which won the game

Write one multiple-choice question the authors may have asked the player.

True or false questions can be answered by using the words ‘true’ or ‘false’.

Example: Is it true or false that you scored a try during your first NRL match?

Write a true or false question the authors may have asked the player.

DiscussWith a partner, discuss the

advantages and disadvantages of each type of question.


Worksheet 7 Interviewing for a biography

Date: Name:

Family member chosen for biography:

Plan the interviews you will conduct for your biography.

Interview intentions – What do you want to find out?

Interview sample – Who will you interview? How many people will you interview? How will you make sure you interview a range of people?

Interview questions – What questions will you ask?

Interview method – How will you ask the questions (for example, by phone, in person)? How will you record the answers?


Worksheet 8 My biography plan

Date: Name:

Possible biography title:

Section Summary of main facts, including dates

Possible features (e.g. fact files, ‘Did you know?’ boxes, quotes, photos, maps)

Introduction

Key events (in chronological order)

Conclusion


Worksheet 9 Marking grid

Date: Name:

Presenter:

Listen to the biography being presented. Read each descriptor and tick the column that shows how well you think the descriptor was achieved.

Descriptor Strongly agree

Agree Not sure Disagree Strongly disagree

The biography was informative.

The biography was entertaining.

The biography used the correct structure.

The biography used appropriate language features.

The biography included appropriate photographs and features.

The biography was well presented and the student used the appropriate hardware and software well.

Comments:

Recommendations:

Compliments:


Worksheet 10 Learning journey map

Date: Name:

Reco

mm

endi

ng

book

sI’m

an

auth

or!

Who

sup

port

s

NRL

pla

yers

?Pr

esen

ting

my

biog

raph

y

Expl

orin

g bi

ogra

phie

sIn

terv

iew

ing

tech

niqu

esG

roup

ing

stor

ies

Lege

nds’

chal

leng

es

Pow

erfu

l im

ages


Worksheet 11 Individual self-assessment

Date: Name:

Read the statements and decide on your level of skill for each. Colour in the box that applies to you, using a highlighter pen or coloured pencil.

✔ Yes, I can apply this skill.? I’m not sure how to apply this skill.✘ No, I cannot apply this skill.

In the comments box, write any information you would like to share with your teacher about the choice you made.

Skills ✔ ? ✘ Comments

I can brainstorm and create a mind map showing what I know about Rugby League.

I can read for meaning.

I can read biographies from a Legends of League book and write a book review.

I can identify the structure and language features of a biography.

I can develop and conduct interviews to find out about a family member’s life.

I can write a biography about a family member.

I can use appropriate software and hardware to create an engaging presentation for my peers.

I can confidently present to a group or class during a discussion or presentation.

I can categorise information into groups or themes.

I can explain the types of questions used in interviews and surveys.

I can paint or draw an image of a family member to represent their biography.

macmillan classroom library teaching and learning … publishes award-winning resources across key...

Documents