English / Foundation / Literature / Examining literature

Curriculum content descriptions

Identify some features of texts including events and characters and retell events from a text (ACELT1578)

Elaborations
  • identifying some features of culture related to characters and events in literary texts, for example dress, food and daily routines
  • listening, responding to and joining in with rhymes, poems, chants and songs
General capabilities
  • Literacy Literacy
  • Critical and creative thinking Critical and creative thinking
ScOT terms

Text structure,  Retelling

Video

'Sing a song of sixpence' sung by Teddy Rock

Watch and listen to Buzz, Belle and Bop perform the nursery rhyme 'Sing a song of sixpence' in this animated music video. Find out where the king was, what the queen was doing and what happened to the maid. Have fun retelling the story.

Video

'This old man' sung by Teddy Rock

Watch and listen to Teddy Rock perform the nursery rhyme 'This old man' in this animated music video. Then have some fun with counting and rhyme as you create and perform new verses for the song.

Video

'It's raining, it's pouring' sung by Teddy Rock

Watch and listen as Buzz, Belle and Bop sing the nursery rhyme 'It's raining, it's pouring' in this animated music video. Next, see if you can think of some other things that might happen to the old man.

Video

Hey diddle diddle' sung by Teddy Rock

Watch and listen as Buzz, Belle and Bop perform 'Hey diddle diddle' in this animated music video. Then try to create your own sentences that include pairs of words that sound the same at the end (rhyme).

Video

How to retell a story (for kids)

A short video (1:48) for students explains how to retell a story focusing on characters, setting and major events.

Video

Why is it useful to have a big bad wolf character in stories?

Watch this clip to hear Andy Griffiths explain why it's good to have villains in stories. How can the "big bad wolf" character help to move the story along? Think about some of the stories you've read lately. Which characters were the "big bad wolf" characters and what did they add to the stories? 

Video

'Incy Wincy Spider' sung by Teddy Rock

Watch and listen to Buzz, Belle and Bop perform the traditional nursery rhyme 'Incy Wincy Spider' in this animated music video. Use the rhyme, sung with a rock beat by Teddy Rock, to discuss, order and retell events.

Interactive

Storyboard: Flutter-by friends!

Explore the title and picture on the cover of 'Flutter-by friends!' Then make a prediction about the storyline. Listen to the story and follow as each word is underlined. Find out if your prediction matches the storyline. Put the jumbled events of the story in the right order.

Interactive

Syllabus bites – responding to literature

A web page with information, teacher guides and resources on responding to texts. This resource supports the NSW English K-10 syllabus.

Interactive

Make it happen: give away a bike

It’s time to give away a bike that you have outgrown. Create a notice to find someone to give your bike to. Include a statement, photo and important details such as contact address and phone number. Select places to put up the notice. Consider the replies to your notice when deciding who to give the bike to. Look for the ...

Interactive

Make it happen: plan a party

Prepare an invitation to your birthday party. Include a statement, photo and important details such as address, phone number and reply date. Choose items of food to buy for the party. Use a map to select shops where you can buy the food you need. Complete a photo album of the party by selecting captions to match the photos.

Interactive

My day: Li: level 1

Help Li by selecting the best texts for different parts of his day. Choose the correct text in a range of activities such as helping Li make up his mind about which bus to take to school, and what to choose for a healthy lunch from the menu. This learning object is one in a series of six objects.

Interactive

Make it happen: find a dog-walker

Honey the dog needs someone to walk her in the mornings. Create a notice to find someone to walk Honey. Include a statement, photo and important details such as contact address and phone number. Select places to put up the notice. Consider the replies to your notice when deciding who is to walk Honey. Look for the dog-walker ...

Interactive

Make it happen: find Honey

Honey is missing. Create a notice to let people know your dog is lost. Include a statement, photo and important details such as contact address and phone number. Select places to put up the notice. Consider the replies to your notice when deciding where to look for Honey. Look for Honey at the locations on the map. Check ...

Interactive

Dragon's jumble: dream: four parts

Help a dragon remember what happened in his dream. View four pictures from a recount. Place the pictures in the correct order. Choose sentences to match what is happening in the pictures. Add temporal connectives such as 'to begin with', 'after that' and 'last of all' to show the order of events. Watch an animation of the ...

Interactive

My design: talking dinosaur: create own text

Design a talking dinosaur to present at show and tell. Create your dinosaur by selecting from a range of elements such as mood, size and colour. Choose a voice and background picture for your dinosaur. Decide on a name that suits your talking dinosaur. Add a note about your dinosaur. Watch the animation. You can change ...

Video

Teddy Rock's 'Twinkle, twinkle little star'!

Sing along with Buzz, Belle and Bop as they perform 'Twinkle, twinkle little star' in this animated music video. Then have some fun exploring rhyme and description as you create your own verse for this classic nursery rhyme.

Video

Changing ideas and discovering themes in stories

Have you ever started out with an idea for a story and later realised you wanted to change it? You're not the only one! In fact, changing your mind is all part of the process of writing. Listen as author Tony Wilson explains how the idea for his book 'The Cow Tripped over the Moon' changed over time. What was his initial ...

Video

Listening for rhythm with author Tony Wilson

Tony Wilson says that listening to rhyming books is like listening to music. How are they similar? Read a rhyming book out loud or ask someone to read one to you, and see if you can hear the rhythm. Can you clap along to it? Think about rhythm when you write your next story. Can you write something that has a beat?

Video

The Buyungurra who didn't listen

Listen as Bianca McNeair shares the story of "The Buyungurra who didn't listen". This is a traditional story that Bianca's mother told her when she was growing up. Bianca uses words from the Malgana language, which is spoken in the area around Shark Bay in Western Australia.