Empower Your Classroom with a Comprehensive Study of Genre!

Dive into the depths of genre and perspective with this expertly crafted 5-week unit designed specifically for NSW DET Stage 2 teachers. Using the captivating mentor texts Iceberg by Claire Saxby and Earth’s Incredible Oceans by Jess French, this unit offers students a hands-on exploration of the conventions and diversity within genre, supported by structured, in-depth activities.

In this unit, students will analyse and categorize texts based on purpose, subject matter, form, structure, and language choices. They’ll deepen their understanding of genre and experiment with textual elements to create original works. Genre serves as the core concept, with rich explorations into perspective and context, allowing students to grasp and manipulate the structure and language of texts to suit various purposes.

Why This Unit Stands Out This unit is not only comprehensive but also flexible, offering opportunities for schools and teachers to adapt additional textual concepts to suit unique classroom needs. The resource includes an editable PowerPoint, a printable PDF, a Google Slides presentation link, and thorough teaching notes—everything you need to make implementing this unit seamless and effective.

Learning Intentions:

• Understand the conventions of genre and their use in grouping texts.
• Experiment with language and structure to transform the genre of a text.
• Apply an understanding of a text’s purpose to create genre-specific writing.

Success Criteria Highlights:

• Group texts by purpose, subject, and form, demonstrating an understanding of genre’s diverse applications.
• Analyse language choices to support text purpose and identify structural elements that serve a text’s function.
• Create and revise multimodal texts, including informative diagrams, with attention to genre conventions.

This resource goes beyond simply teaching genre—it equips students with a nuanced understanding of how structure and language shape a text’s purpose and meaning.

They’ll identify genre-specific characteristics, apply these in their own writing, and learn to skillfully revise based on constructive feedback.

With this unit, you’ll provide your students with a deep understanding of genre, encouraging critical thinking, creativity, and the skills needed to communicate effectively across various genres.

Bring your teaching to the next level and make genre come alive in your classroom!

Attribution is given to: © State of New South Wales (Department of Education), 2023.