The Impact of the Year Level Description in AC:English

The Year Level Description within the Australian Curriculum: English should be the first step in planning with the content. It frames the range of contexts and opportunities for the content to be taught. The information contained in the YLD differs between year levels, however there are similarities between Years 3 & 4 and Years 5 & 6.

The second paragraph in each YLD frames the opportunities for students to communicate. This range impacts on content related to interacting with others, presentations, the sharing of texts created and even reading!

The third paragraph frames the range of texts that students need opportunities to engage with either through listening, viewing or reading. This impacts on content related to the Literature strand, the creation of texts and reading/viewing. It also describes the purposes students need to learn. It shifts at Year 4 from entertain as a purpose to aesthetic purposes!

The fifth paragraph describes the text structures and language features of texts students at that year level should read to support and extend them to become independent readers. This impacts on content related to reading and comprehension. It describes both imaginative and informative text types. Very useful when purchasing readers!

The last paragraph refers to text students should be given opportunity to create. Create meaning written, spoken and digital. This directly relates to any content descriptions where students create a text - sub strands such as Creating Literature, Create Texts and even Interacting with Others!

Have a look at the fantastic way that teacher, Tom Light from Geographe PS captured this information pictorially using "Sketchnote"!

The first photo represents the "Communicate" paragraph!

This photo represents the text types students engage with:

Thanks so much for sharing, Tom! We would love to see any other ways teachers have captured this information to assist with planning!