Year 6 English

Year 6 students have continued to build their reading and writing skills in English. Students have worked on expanding their vocabulary and understanding how words are formed, helping them to make sense of new and more complex words when reading. We have also continued daily reading practice, where students read aloud with a partner to build confidence, accuracy and expression. These regular routines are helping students become more fluent and independent readers.

In our class novel, Us Mob Walawurru, students have been having thoughtful discussions about friendship, family, identity, belonging and standing up for what is right. Students are making connections between the characters’ experiences and responding to key moments in the story. Students have been learning how to write more detailed and connected sentences, and have started putting these skills into longer pieces of writing. Students are working on a factual recount about the 1967 Referendum. This has included building background knowledge, note taking, co-constructing paragraphs as a class, modelled writing, and independent writing tasks. Students are developing their ability to organise information clearly and use factual language to explain the significance of this event in Australian history.

Students thoughts from the book “Us Mob Walawurru”.

"I loved how Us Mob Walawurru used real ideas from First Nations culture and turned it into narrative writing. It is teaching us about a new culture while reading a book that most of us really love!!" - Evelyn

"I have learnt that in Aboriginal culture, you must ask for permission from the Ancestors to enter another country.". - Peyton

"I learnt that Aboriginal people have their own language and traditions." – Shuyu

"I like Us Mob Walawurru because it is interesting." – Andy

"I learnt about Indigenous laws and how they connect to their land/country, such as asking permission before entering another tribe’s country/land." – Trang

"What I loved about the book was how strong their connection to country was and how much they care about their land. What I learned from this book was to take care of our country/land and respect the First Nations people." – Emily 

"I loved how the book told us about the land and Aboriginal culture. It told me how powerful their connection was to their land." -Karen

"In the book Us Mob Walawurru, I learnt about the Indigenous map and where their land is." – Christopher

"I learnt what life was like as an Indigenous person." - Austin