What is this sequence about?
This sequence aims to develop student vocabulary. As students progress through school, they are exposed to a constantly expanding subject-specific and expressive vocabulary. The formal language of school is different to the language students may hear in everyday informal conversations. Thus, teaching vocabulary is critical to building reading comprehension and improving written and verbal communication.
The approach taken in this sequence is to introduce students to the history of the English language and to explore the etymology or origin of English words. Students will be introduced to the meaning of Latin and Greek roots and explore how prefixes and suffixes change word meaning and function. This understanding supports students to apply what they have learned about one word to unlock the meanings and spelling patterns of many words.
The later stages of the sequence focus specifically on Australian English, the inter-relationship between English and Aboriginal languages and formal and informal language.
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Big understandings Australian Standard English continues to evolve and has been influenced by many languages. Vocabulary knowledge supports reading comprehension. Knowledge of word etymology (origin), and morphology (structure) supports vocabulary and spelling skills. |
The sequence has been written by teachers for teachers. It has been designed to provide students with rich, engaging learning experiences that address the Victorian Curriculum. The sequence consists of five flexible stages, including suggested learning intentions.
Overview of stages
1. The History of the English Language
Suggested Learning Intentions
- To develop curiosity and knowledge about how the English language has evolved
- To understand that some English vocabulary comes from words in other languages
3. Developing Word Knowledge: Exploring Affixes and Bases
Suggested Learning Intentions
- To learn the meaning of some common Latin and Greek root words
- To understand how affixes change the meaning and function of words
5. Australian English: Formal and Informal Language
Suggested Learning Intentions
- To understand the difference between formal and informal language
2. Word Analysis to Improve Comprehension
Suggested Learning Intentions
- To explore the meaning and origins of unfamiliar words
- To deepen understanding of word meaning to improve reading comprehension
4. The Family Tree of Australian English
Suggested Learning Intentions
- To explore the evolving inter-relationship between Australian Aboriginal languages and Australian English
Prior knowledge
Before you commence this sequence, it is suggested that you ensure your students are familiar with grammatical terms such as noun, verb, adjective and adverb, affix, prefix and suffix. Provide opportunities for students to build awareness of how word functions alter with word building exercises. For example:
- joy – noun; enjoy – verb; enjoyable, unenjoyable, joyous – adjectives
- sing – verb; singer - noun.
Support students to recognise the base, prefixes and suffixes during word building exercises.
Students will undertake collaborative and individual research throughout this sequence. Ensure your students are familiar with using key words when using online search engines, skimming texts to identify key points and summarising information.
You can find support for building students’ understanding of these concepts in Literacy Teaching Toolkit.
Teaching strategies
The Literacy Teaching Toolkit provides advice on the teaching strategies that you could use in this sequence. These strategies include:
- close reading
- modelled reading
- shared reading
- think, pair, share
- guided writing/writing conferences
- modelled writing
- shared writing
- word cline
- word matrices
The sequence highlights opportunities to apply the High Impact Teaching Strategies (HITS), which are a component of the Victorian Teaching and Learning Model.
Vocabulary
Students should be able to understand and use the following concepts and terms by the end of the learning sequence:
| Etymology | Verb |
| Base word | Adjective |
| Root word | Adverb |
| Morpheme | Standard Australian English |
| Affix | Aboriginal English |
| Prefix | Word derivation |
| Suffix | Greek root |
| Noun | Latin root |
You can find definitions of some of these terms in the Literacy Teaching Toolkit and the Glossary for the English Curriculum. A glossary is also included in the resource section.
It is recommended that the explicit teaching of vocabulary occur throughout this learning sequence. The Literacy Teaching Toolkit provides resources and sample activities to support this practice. In addition, a vocabulary table can be found in the Resources for this sequence.
Assessment
Opportunities for formative and summative assessment are identified at different stages of the learning sequence. Look for the 'Assessment Opportunity' icon.
You may want to develop a rubric to assess students’ progress. A range of Formative Assessment resources are available from the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. This includes a Guide to Formative Assessment Rubrics, a series of modules to support you to develop your own formative assessment rubrics, and sample rubrics across six curriculum areas that demonstrate how you can put formative assessment rubrics into practice in the classroom.
Victorian Curriculum Connections
Level 5
This sequence addresses content from the Victorian Curriculum in English. It is primarily designed for Level 6, but also addresses the following content descriptions from Level 5:
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Content description |
Stage |
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English: Reading and Viewing |
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Understand how to use banks of known words, syllabification, spelling patterns, word origins, base words, prefixes and suffixes, to spell new words, including some uncommon plurals (VCELA312) |
The History of the English Language Word Analysis to Improve Comprehension Developing Word Knowledge: Exploring Affixes and Bases |
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English: Writing |
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Recognise and write less familiar words that share common letter patterns but have different pronunciations (VCELA326) |
Word Analysis to Improve Comprehension Developing Word Knowledge: Exploring Affixes and Bases |
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English: Speaking and Listening |
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Understand that the pronunciation, spelling and meanings of words have histories and change over time (VCELA333) |
The History of the English Language Word Analysis to Improve Comprehension |
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Understand that patterns of language interaction vary across social contexts and types of texts and that they help to signal social roles and relationships (VCELA334) |
The Family Tree of Australian English Australian English: Formal and Informal Language |
The sequence can be used to assess student achievement in relation to the following Achievement Standards from the Victorian Curriculum: English Level 5:
- Students can confidently encounter and decode less familiar words when reading.
- Students select specific vocabulary when writing and use accurate spelling.
Level 6
This sequence addresses content from the Victorian Curriculum in English. It is primarily designed for Level 6 and addresses the following content descriptions:
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Content description |
Stage |
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English: Reading and Viewing |
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Select, navigate and read increasingly complex texts for a range of purposes, applying appropriate text processing strategies to recall information and consolidate meaning (VCELY346) |
The History of the English Language Word Analysis to Improve Comprehension |
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English: Writing |
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Understand how to use phonic knowledge and accumulated understandings about blending, letter–sound relationships, common and uncommon letter patterns and phonic generalisations to recognise and write increasingly complex words (VCELA353) |
The History of the English Language Word Analysis to Improve Comprehension Developing Word Knowledge: Exploring Affixes and Bases |
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Understand how to use banks of known words, word origins, base words, prefixes, suffixes, spelling patterns and generalisations to spell new words, including technical words and words adopted from other languages (VCELA354) |
The History of the English Language Word Analysis to Improve Comprehension Developing Word Knowledge: Exploring Affixes and Bases |
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English: Speaking and Listening |
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Understand that different social and geographical dialects or accents are used in Australia in addition to Standard Australian English (VCELA362) |
The Family Tree of Australian English Australian English: Formal and Informal Language |
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Understand that strategies for interaction become more complex and demanding as levels of formality and social distance increase (VCELA363) |
Australian English: Formal and Informal Language |
The sequence can be used to assess student achievement in relation to the following Achievement Standards from the Victorian Curriculum: English Level 6:
- Students understand how to use knowledge of phonics to decode technical or derived words in increasingly complex texts.
- Students make considered choices from an expanding vocabulary in their writing.
- Students use less familiar words they encounter to create detailed texts.
Level 7
This sequence addresses content from the Victorian Curriculum in English. It is primarily designed for Level 6, but also addresses the following content descriptors from Level 7
|
Content description |
Stage |
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English: Reading and Viewing |
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Use prior knowledge and text processing strategies to interpret a range of types of texts (VCELY377) |
The History of the English Language Word Analysis to Improve Comprehension |
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Investigate vocabulary typical of extended and more academic texts and the role of abstract nouns, classification, description and generalisation in building specialised knowledge through language (VCELA371) |
Word Analysis to Improve Comprehension Developing Word Knowledge: Exploring Affixes and Bases |
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English: Writing |
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Understand how to use spelling rules and word origins to learn new words and how to spell them (VCELA384) |
The History of the English Language Word Analysis to Improve Comprehension Developing Word Knowledge: Exploring Affixes and Bases |
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English: Speaking and Listening |
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Understand the way language evolves to reflect a changing world, particularly in response to the use of new technology for presenting texts and communicating (VCELA391) |
The History of the English Language Australian English: Formal and Informal Language |
The sequence can be used to assess student achievement in relation to the following Achievement Standards from the Victorian Curriculum: English Level 7:
- Students use a variety of more specialised vocabulary and use accurate spelling when creating and editing texts.
Learning Progressions
The Literacy Learning Progressions support teachers to develop a comprehensive view of how literacy develops over time. You can use the Literacy Learning Progressions to:
- identify the literacy capability of your students
- plan targeted teaching strategies, especially for students achieving above or below the age-equivalent expected level in the Victorian Curriculum: English
- provide targeted feedback to students about their learning within and across the progressions.
The Literacy Learning Progressions have been mapped against the Victorian Curriculum F – 10: English. Teachers are advised to familiarise themselves with this map to understand how particular progression relate to the Reading and Viewing, Writing and Speaking and Listening modes and particular curriculum levels in English.