Australia · ACARA Content Descriptions
Year 3 English
This course develops students as critical readers and versatile writers by exploring diverse text types and language structures. It focuses on how authors use specific techniques to influence audiences and how students can apply these same tools in their own creative and informative compositions.
Worlds of Wonder: Narrative Craft
Students explore the architecture of stories, focusing on how character development and setting create immersive experiences for the reader.
Analyzing how authors use internal and external traits to make characters feel real and relatable.
Investigating how descriptive language and sensory details transport a reader into a specific time and place.
Examining the sequence of events from orientation to resolution and how authors build tension.
The Art of Persuasion
An investigation into how writers use emotive language and rhetorical devices to influence opinions and advocate for change.
Recognizing the use of high modality, rhetorical questions, and emotive adjectives in texts.
Learning to organize ideas into a logical sequence using the OREO method or similar frameworks.
Adapting tone and vocabulary to suit different audiences when trying to persuade.
Unlocking Information
Focusing on the features of non-fiction texts and how they organize complex information for a reader.
Using text features like glossaries, indexes, and subheadings to locate information efficiently.
Analyzing how diagrams, maps, and photographs complement the written word in factual texts.
Taking information from multiple sources and rewriting it in the student's own words.
The Mechanics of Meaning
Developing a deep understanding of grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary to improve clarity and expression.
Moving beyond simple sentences to use compound and complex structures for better flow.
Mastering the use of commas, quotation marks, and apostrophes to guide the reader.
Exploring prefixes, suffixes, and synonyms to expand vocabulary and improve spelling.
Speaking with Confidence
Developing oral communication skills through formal presentations, group discussions, and active listening.
Practicing how to listen for main ideas and ask clarifying questions during a presentation.
Focusing on volume, pace, and eye contact to engage an audience during a speech.
Learning the rules of turn-taking and how to build upon the ideas of others in a group.
Poetry and Performance
Exploring the musicality of language through various poetic forms and learning to perform them aloud.
Investigating alliteration, onomatopoeia, and rhyme and their effect on the reader.
Using figurative language to create vivid mental pictures for the audience.
Using expression and gesture to bring a poem or script to life for an audience.