NAPLAN — Literacy
NAPLAN — LiteracySample texts for teaching persuasive writingIntroductionThe texts cited in or linked from this web document are suitable for teaching students how to recognise and apply thepersuasive writing techniques used by skilled writers. They were selected to be accessible for Queensland teachers.Several texts are QSA materials and can be accessed via the hyperlink on the title. Hyperlinks or publishing sources of theother sample texts are supplied where possible.These texts are NOT intended to exemplify how students should respond to the National Assessment Program — Literacyand Numeracy (NAPLAN) persuasive writing task. For information about preparing students for the NAPLAN task, teachersshould go to the QSA NAPLAN Test preparation — Literacy page to access the QSA’s Sample writing tests and relateddocuments.Teachers should look for their own examples of persuasive texts. Writing with a persuasive purpose can take many forms.Newspaper editorials, letters to the editor, responses to job selection criteria, speeches for the prosecution or defence incourt trials, political speeches or policy documents are the most recognisable forms. Although advertisements often relyon images and very short texts, some can be models of extended persuasive argumentation. Look for examples ofauthentic texts aimed at school-aged children. Finally, expose students to exemplary samples of writing by otherchildren. Participation as a NAPLAN marker is an excellent way to gain more knowledge about typical student writing.How to use this document1. Identify a focus (an aspect of persuasive writing) that you wish to teach and assess.2. Select a sample text or set of texts exemplifying the persuasive writing focus. The Teaching focus column will help todo this. Many of the texts will use more than one type of persuasive device. The sample texts are clustered in yearlevels, Years 1–3, 4–5, 6–7 and 8–9. Teachers should take these groupings as a guide only. Many of the texts can beused for a number of year levels depending on the teaching and learning needs of students.3. In class, use modelled reading of the sample text to help students to name and describe the persuasive writingtechniques it contains. Discuss the purpose and effect of using the technique, how it serves the writer’s argument.Model for students how you, the teacher, would use the technique in your own writing.4. Introduce the students to a persuasive writing task. Help them to apply their new knowledge of persuasive writingtechniques in their writing. Consider setting shorter writing tasks first, for example:– a short-response task– a group writing task– editing previous written work.In all cases, make sure the students apply their new knowledge of the focus persuasive writing technique.5. Assess student learning. To do this, teachers could use– their own, teacher-devised marking scheme/rubric– the marking rubrics included in the QSA’s scaffolded persuasive writing tasks (e.g. Kids have an opinion too)– the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority NAPLAN 2011 Persuasive writing marking guide.T:\years357\Tests\2011\Test Prep\Persuasions\Sample text\Sample text overview Introduction.fm
Sample texts for teaching persuasive writingYears 1–3Title and sourceDescriptionTeaching focusButterfly SequenceA description of thephysical features and lifecycle of a butterfly using atypical information reportstructure and style.Purpose of text sequence: Differentiate informational and persuasive texts; learn basic persuasive writing featuresText 1: ButterflyButterflyButterflies are insects. Insects have bodies withthree parts and six legs. The parts of the bodyare the head, the thorax and the abdomen.On its head, a butterfly has two eyes, twoantennae and a proboscis. It uses its antennaeas a nose to smell. They also help it to balance.A butterfly uses its proboscis, which is like a longtube, to suck up nectar from plants.A butterfly has four wings attached to its thorax.These are covered by tiny scales. These scales givebutterflies their different colours. Scientists use these colours and the wing patterns toidentify each type of butterfly. A butterfly’s six legs are also attached to the thorax.Inside a butterfly’s abdomen are the organs that help it to digest food and get rid ofwaste. The abdomen also contains its reproductive organs.butterflyLife cycle of a butterflyAn adult butterfly lays eggs whichhatch into caterpillars. A caterpillareats for days until it is ready tochange into a pupa or chrysalis.After several more days, a newbutterfly will hatch from thechrysalis.adultemergingpupa oads/early middle/naplan lit sample butterfly.pdfThis sequence of texts is designed to introduce students to the difference between informational texts and persuasive texts.Students can learn that the task that they are asked to do will influence the type of text they will produce. Some elements ofinformational writing can be adapted for persuasive purposes.Text 1: Informational features Word choices — scientific vocabulary, e.g. proboscis, thorax, antennae Use of a diagram with labels to illustrate print information Use of sentences written as statements with many “being” and “having” verbs, e.g. A butterfly has a head, thorax andabdomen. Different types of sentences and punctuation — statements to add authorityAdapting for persuasive purpose: Establish or build writer’s credibility Scientific vocabulary and positive statements with “being” and “having” verbs can add authority (show that the writerknows what he or she is talking about)Text 2: My favourite animalMy Favourite AnimalButterfliesI think butterflies are the best animal in the whole world. I like thembecause they are beautiful and they have an amazing life cycle.I like butterflies because they have a life cycle that is different fromother animals. A butterfly lays eggs on a leaf. One caterpillar hatchesfrom each egg and grows bigger and bigger until it spins a cocoon ora chrysalis and then a beautiful butterfly comes out. It's amazing!States an opinion andpresents opinions andpersonal experiencesinstead of evidence.Text 2: Persuasive purpose: Appeal to the reader’s emotions Use of highly emotive and evaluative vocabulary Extensive use of personal “thinking” and “feeling” verbs Personal pronouns, I, meaning the author, and, they, referring to butterflies, are used throughoutI think butterflies are beautiful. I love the pretty colours and differentpatterns on their wings. My family saw a Ulysses butterfly atMossman Gorge near Cairns. It had bright blue patterns on itswings. It's the most magnificent animal I have ever seen.There are so many different butterflies to see in the world.They change from a tiny grey egg into such a wonderful creature.They just have to be my favourite animalwww.qsa.qld.edu.au/downloads/early middle/naplan lit sample favouriteanimal.pdfText 3: The world’s bestanimal is The world's bestanimal is Butterflies are the best animal in the world.The best animal in the world should beinteresting and beautiful. Butterflies lookamazing and they have many features thatno other animal has.An embryonic argumenttext; attempts to convincethe reader that butterfliesare the world’s bestanimal.Butterflies are beautiful. They have four wings. Every butterfly has adifferent pattern and colours on its wings. Some butterflies are so specialthat people travel to places just to see them. The Ulysses butterfly hasbeautiful bright blue patterns on its wings. People travel to Mossman Gorgenear cairns just to see a Ulysses butterfly.Butterflies have a special life cycle. Most animals hatch out of eggs or areborn live but caterpillars hatch from eggs, grow bigger, then change insidea chrysalis into beautiful butterflies. Some animals change as they grow,like a tadpole changes into a frog, but it doesn't change into a chrysalisfirst. Some insects like bees change from a pupa into a bee, but bees stingyou. So they aren't as good as butterflies.Butterflies don't hurt anyone or anything They help nature When they flywww.qsa.qld.edu.au/downloads/early middle/naplan lit sample bestanimal.pdf2 Sample text overviewText 3: Persuasive purpose: Positive comparison Use of comparison to establish own point of view, e.g. (i) have many features that no other animal has and (ii) Mostanimals but butterflies Explanations describe some similarities between butterflies and other animals but show negative aspects of otheranimals, e.g. Some insects like bees change from a pupa into a bee, but bees sting you.Persuasive purpose: Present evidence Use of scientific information as evidence for some key points Use of personal experience and generalised statements about people to elaborate and provide evidence
Years 1–3Title and sourceDescriptionTeaching focusSave the planetA letter to the editor of achildren’s magazine thatdevelops a position aboutan issue, how to save theplanet. An editorialintroduction establishesthe context.Persuasive purpose: Appeal to logicHi gangto share yourmyMag we likeplanet. In letAt KIDZsaving theyou canideas aboutYOUR SAY,column, HAVE what you think.knowto have yourother kidswe want youThis monthling.recycsay aboutng from you.rd to heariLooking forwalandSam Southhave your sayDear SamI believe that all children can helpsave the planet by recycling plasticbottles. We use lots and lots ofplastic bottles every day. At ourschool, we use plastic bottles forall sorts of things — water, fruitjuice, milk drinks and evenmedicines. That’s a lot of bottles.We have seen that people don’tbother to put their empty bottles inthe bin. They throw them out carwindows or just drop them as theywalk. These end up in our oceans,rivers and lakes, harming manywater animals. They also make thewaterways look horrible.Even when they are put in the bin,plastic bottles are a problem.Because we use so many plasticbottles and they can takehundreds of years to break down,they clog up the space at thedump. Other things like paper andvegetables break down quicklyand become part of the soil, but notplastic.If we all choose to recycle plasticbottles, they can be reused tomake other things like toys, toolsand even some clothes. This willmean less plastic in dumps andwaterways.Recycling is something kids cando to help the environment. So weshould all start now! Use of sentence order to show logical links between ideasElaboration of some ideas through lists, e.g. water, fruit juice, milk drinks and even medicinesExplanations used to add detail to reasoningClustering of ideas into paragraphsThank youJessicaQSA, 2011 Year 3 Readingpreparation testwww.qsa.qld.edu.au/downloads/early middle/naplan lit sample savetheplanet.pdfMessage in a bottleNational Geographic YoungExplorer: Message in abottle, April 2010, vol. 4, no.6, pp. 10–16.Gives a positive point ofview about recycling andencourages the reader totake personal action inresponse to theinformation provided. Ituses photographs toillustrate the information.Persuasive purpose: Direct appeal to reader Pronoun choices, e.g. you Lower modality is used to soften a direct appeal to the reader, e.g. You could throw , You could recycle Statement of behaviours that readers see as the “right thing”. The choice is yours. Questions that invite a response and “right” answer, according to the author’s position, are used Rhetorical question is asked at the end of the text, e.g. Where will your next plastic bottle end up? Exclamations to emphasise a point, e.g. Your bottle may stay there for hundreds of years!Persuasive purpose: Develop a reasoned argument Cause and effect relationship, e.g. When you recycle plastic, it can be made into something newPersuasive purpose: Engage and call reader to action Contrasting images, e.g. choice of negative images to show the effect of rubbish on the environment and happy childreninvolved in recycling materials to present the positive aspects of recycling. Word choices, e.g. hundreds of years, hurt ocean animals Use of personal pronoun you Use of statements and questions as a call to action, e.g. Where does your bottle go? It’s up to you.Queensland Studies Authority2011 3
Years 1–3Title and sourceDescriptionTeaching focusYes, No, or Maybe SoGives a positive and anegative opinion text foreach of the followingtopics: GPS for all kids All kids should havejobs Time out for kids Robot teachersPersuasive purpose: Take a positionEggleton, J 2009, Yes, No, orMaybe So, Scholastic,Australia (Orange titles)4 Sample text overviewThere are several books inthis series withincreasingly harderreadability and coveringdifferent topics.The various opinion texts provided in this text give teachers an opportunity to have students explore the idea that there canbe more than one point of view about an issue. The models of writing in this book and others in this series of books canprovide initial understandings of persuasive texts, however students need to develop understandings of more than personalopinion when responding to a persuasive writing task.Persuasive purpose: Appeal to logic (logos)Most of the texts in this book: state an opinion then follow with several sentences as evidence to support the opinion restate the initial opinion using a rewording of the ideas in the originalSome of the texts in this book: use cause-and-effect relationships, e.g. If then or when , then make assertions without evidence, e.g. There are better ways to make kids think about the consequences of misbehaving.Having students investigate the texts to evaluate the effectiveness of the logic in each would be a worthwhile activity.
Years 4–5Title and sourceDescriptionTeaching focusKiller shark hunts ourbeachesNewspaper report of a fatal sharkattack.Persuasive purpose: Appeal to values and emotions Emotive vocabulary choices, e.g. Mr Cooper-— innocent victim; the shark — brutal killer Headline to appeal to audience fear of sharksHetland HeadlinerNo. 45Delivered FreeKiller Shark Hunts Our BeachesA huge tiger shark savagely mauled localsurfer, Tom Cooper, only metres fromswimmers at Main Beach, Port Hetland.Mr Cooper was ripped off his surfboard ashe paddled out for his early morning surf.Swimmers watched in horror as thegigantic monster smashed straightthrough the helpless surfer's upper thigh inone enormous bite, leaving its victimshocked and bleeding profusely.The Lifesavers have closed the beach andagain warned swimmers not to ventureinto these waters, particularly in the earlymorning when sharks are known to feed inthis area.As quickly as it began, the attack was over.The massive killing machine swam off,leaving swimmers to wonder about thereason for the senseless attack.Lifesavers dragged Mr Cooper's body tothe beach and into a waiting ambulance.QSAwww.qsa.qld.edu.au/downloads/early middle/naplan lit sample killersharks.pdfSharks need protecting tooSharks need protecting tooOur prejudices against animals that we fear often outweigh our respectfor the moral obligation to care for all creatures. Take for instance theshark. Commonly feared as killers, many shark species are themselvesin danger of extinction due to the malicious practices of some humans.Find outmore5Shark finning is a significant cause of the rapid and massivedisappearance of these magnificent creatures from our oceans. Eachyear, over 100 million sharks are slaughtered due to this mercilesspractice. The numbers of some species have dropped by 90% over thelast 20 years.Join theSharkCrusaders10Finning is the barbaric practice of chopping off the sharks’ fins, oftenwhile they are still alive, and then throwing the doomed creatures backinto the sea. Sharks must keep moving to breathe. Without fins theycannot swim, so they sink to the bottom of the ocean. There they die anagonising death by suffocating or being eaten alive by other fish.15This cruel practice is able to thrive because the sale of shark fins is ahighly profitable commercial venture. Those who kill the sharks do sofor the huge profit gained from the sale of the fins. Used in soups andmedicines, they command high prices. Shark flesh can also be sold butthe profits are far less than from selling just fins. To sell the whole shark,fishermen must carry the bulky shark carcasses back to shore, thusreducing the quantity of fins they can transport. So the fishermen leavethe definned sharks defenceless and dying in the water as they speedback to shore in order to sell the valuable fins.Donatenow2025Activist website (invented) describesthe plight of shark species threatenedby a fishing practice and urgesreaders to take action.Many people will crusade to save cute animals like seal pups frominhumane acts but people are less inclined to want to save man-eaterslike sharks. Clubbing a seal to death and leaving a shark to die afterhacking off its fins are both acts of brutality. Both need to be stopped ifthe human race is to be considered really humane.You can help!Click here to subscribeQSA, 2011 Year 5 Readingpreparation testwww.qsa.qld.edu.au/downloads/early middle/naplan lit sample protectsharks.pdfPersuasive purpose: Appeal to values and emotions Emotive vocabulary choices, e.g. Shark finning — barbaric practices, sharks — magnificent creatures Stark descriptions of the act of finning, e.g. chopping off the sharks’ finsPersuasive purpose: Appeal to intellect through use of reasoning Use of logic to persuade Use of definition of humane and inhumane acts to develop the argument Use of statistics to develop credible argumentPersuasive purpose: Appeal to intellect through use of evidence Use of statistics as evidencePersuasive purpose: Appeal to intellect by managing opposing ideas Use of a publicly held view as an argument against opposing views NOTE: the QSA’s 2011 NAPLAN Preparation Reading tests include one persuasive text for each Year level.Queensland Studies Authority2011 5
Years 4–5Title and sourceDescriptionTeaching focusZoosReading card, part of the NelsonLiteracy Directions Exemplar Card Kit.The card is styled to look like awebsite. It presents informationidentified as the pros and cons ofkeeping animals in zoos. Some of theinformation is in bullet form, whileother sections present paragraphs oftext.Persuasive purpose: Appeal to intellect by managing opposing ideas The Cons section of this text refutes publicly held opposing viewsBrasch, N 2010, Zoos:Nelson Literacy DirectionsExemplar Card, CengageLearning Australia Pty Ltd6 Sample text overviewPersuasive purpose: Appeal to values and emotions Word choices — positive vocabulary choices related to zoos and zoo keepers Image choices — images that support a positive view of zoos and zoo keepersNOTE: While the text is a useful resource for teaching about persuasive texts, the bullet point format in the Prossection of this text should not be used as a model for students’ own writing. Students who write their text inbullet form in the NAPLAN writing test are unlikely to score as well as those who write continuous text inparagraphs.
Years 4–5Title and sourceDescriptionTeaching focusSnow LeopardActivist website (invented) designedto persuade the audience to savesnow leopards. It has three mainsections. The first providesinformation about the snow leopard’sphysical attributes. The second usesan information style of writing to givereasons for saving them. The finalshort section is the obvious call tosave the snow leopard.Persuasive purpose: Appeal to values and emotions emotive language choices, e.g. beautiful animal, exceptional athlete, magnificent catRoar for the Snow LeopardThe snow leopard is in grave danger of extinction.We need to speak out!What’s so special about a snow leopard?Why is it endangered?It’s a beautiful animal.For centuries the snow leopardhas survived in the harsh weatherconditions of its isolated mountainhome. Its survival is under threatas humans begin to take over themountains. People are cuttingdown forests to c
NAPLAN — Literacy Sample texts for teaching persuasive writing Introduction The texts cited in or linked from this web document are suitable for teaching students how to recognise and apply the persuasive writing techniques used by skilled writers. They were selected to be accessible for Queensland teachers.
Traditionally, Literacy means the ability to read and write. But there seems to be various types of literacy. Such as audiovisual literacy, print literacy, computer literacy, media literacy, web literacy, technical literacy, functional literacy, library literacy and information literacy etc. Nominal and active literacy too focuses on
likely to score high on the NAPLAN reading test (i.e., the curve in the graph shifts to the right). Similarly, Figure 4 shows that boys who are read to more frequently are also more likely to score high on the NAPLAN reading test. Figure 3: NAPLAN reading skill by intensity with which the child is being read to at age 4-5 – Girls at age 8-9 3
New requirements for NAPLAN Writing 2011 In 2011, students will be required to write a persuasive text for the Writing section of the NAPLAN Test. Students will be provided with a prompt. The prompt will be the same for all year groups sitting the test – Years 3, 5, 7 and 9.
1. Run through the Lesson 1 Persuasive Writing PowerPoint slides. 2. Outline to students the direction of the teaching and learning program (initial focus is on persuasive writing, then narrative writing). 3. Explain to students that to help prepare them for the NAPLAN writing task, you will be revising conventions surrounding persuasive .
First, AES cannot assess some of the key criteria addressed by the NAPLAN writing test, such as audience, ideas, and persuasive devices (i.e. the logic of an argument). Second, AES is more reliable providing a single holistic score rather than the sum of analytic scores, such as the ten trait scores of the NAPLAN.
Persuasive writing in NAPLAN* Blake Education Persuasive text work sheets (Primary) ISBN 978-1-921852-00-8 A new text type – Persuasive Texts – will be assessed in the national NAPLAN* tests in May 2011. Th
yEar 7 LanguagE convEntionS tESt a naPLan-style Practice Questions Remember to use a 2B pencil only. The spelling mistake in the following sentence has been circled. Write the correct spelling for the circled word in the box. Jenny turned out the lite . P1 This sentence has one word which is used incorrectly.
Beyond Illustration aims to survey recent, pioneering research in the application of visualisation technologies in archaeology, moving beyond the tacit assumption that visualisation is only for teaching and illustration, and employing the computer model as a research tool to generate new archaeological knowledge.
