General Submission Information

Please format assessments using 12-point font and 1.5 spacing.

All assessments must be submitted electronically. Turnitin plagiarism detection software is used to check all written assessments. It is the responsibility of all students to ensure that their submitted work is in a format compatible with Turnitin software for plagiarism checking. Submissions must meet the required file type and formatting specifications outlined in the assessment guidelines. Failure to submit work in an acceptable format may result in delays in processing your submission and potential penalties for non-compliance with assessment requirements. If you are unsure about the file format or have technical difficulties, it is your responsibility to seek assistance before the submission deadline. Students should be careful to check that they submit the correct file for an assessment as no re-submissions will be accepted after the due date and time, including instances where students upload an incorrect file. It is not the responsibility of unit staff to contact students who have failed to submit assessments. If you have any missing items of assessment, it is your responsibility to contact the unit convenor.

Students can use Turnitin’s Originality Report as a learning tool to improve their academic writing if this option is made available in the unit. Word limits are strictly applied. Work above the word limit will not be marked.

Special Consideration / Late Penalties

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day to late submissions, up until the 7th calendar day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a mark of ‘0’ (zero) will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue.

Important to note:

• Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs) will be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special consideration application.
• Students should not request an informal arrangement from their tutor, lecturer or Unit Convenor (or equivalent).
• Where an application for Special Consideration is approved and the outcome is an extension to the due date of a task, submissions that are received after the new due date will be subject to late penalties that are calculated from the new due date. This only applies where the outcome is an extension to the due date – see the Special Consideration Policy for a schedule of all possible outcomes.
• A Special Consideration outcome may result in a new question or topic.

Applications must be made via Service Connect.

Marking

All assessments are marked using a rubric.

Marking of all assessments is moderated by the Unit Convenor.

University Policy on Grading

Assignments will be awarded grades ranging from HD to F according to guidelines set out in the University's Grading System and University Assessment Policy.

To attain a pass or higher grade in Professional Experience a student must obtain a satisfactory in both the Professional Experience component and a pass or higher grade in the academic component. For Professional Experience units the Professional Experience Evaluation Report is marked as Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory. The Macquarie Teaching Performance Assessment (MQTPA - in final WIL/PEx units) is marked as Not met, Met or Exceeds.

Results

Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed because they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit Service Connect.

Withdrawing from this unit

If you are considering withdrawing from this unit, please seek academic advice via Service Connect before doing so as this unit may be a co-requisite or prerequisite for units in the following sessions and may impact your course progression.

Prescribed and recommended readings

Compulsory text:

Derewianka, B & Jones, P. (2023). Teaching language in context (3^rd ed.). Oxford University Press.

Some literary texts for children will also be set as compulsory readings, and advised on iLearn.

Highly recommended text: 

Thomas, D., & Thomas, A. (Eds.) (2021). Teaching and learning Primary English. Oxford University Press.

Additional recommended texts:

Adam, H. (2021). Transforming practice: Transforming lives through diverse children's literature. Primary English Teaching Association Australia.

Beck, I.L., McKeown, M.G., & Kucan, L. (2013). Bringing words to life: Robust vocabulary instruction (2^nd ed.). The Guildford Press.

Carnine, D.W., Silbert, J., Kame’enui, E.J., Slocum, T.A., & Travers, P.A. (2017). Direct instruction reading (6^th ed.) Pearson. [Chapter 21: Direct instruction in content area reading, pp. 234–275]

Cremin, T. (2023). Teaching English creatively (3rd ed.). Routledge.

Derewianka, B. (2020). Exploring how texts work (2^nd ed.). Primary English Teaching Association Australia.

Flint, A.S., Kitson, L., Lowe, K., Shaw, K., Humphrey, S., Vicars, M., Rogers, J., & Ware, S. (2020). Literacy in Australia: Pedagogies for engagement (3^rd ed.). Pearson.

Graham, S., MacArthur, C.A., & Hebert, M. (Eds). (2018). Best practices in writing instruction (3^rd ed.). Guildford Press.

Hammond, J., & Miller, J. (Eds.) (2015). Classrooms of possibility: Supporting at-risk EAL students. Primary English Teaching Association Australia.

Harper, H., & Feez, S. (Eds.)(2021). An EAL/D Handbook: Teaching and learning across the curriculum when English is an additional language or dialect. Primary English Teaching Association Australia.

Henderson, R. (Ed.)(2019). Teaching literacies: Pedagogies and diversity (2nd edition). Oxford University Press. 

Humphrey, S., Droga, L., & Feez, S. (2012). Grammar and meaning (2^nd ed.). Primary English Teaching Association Australia.

Humphrey, S. & Vale, E. (2020) Investigating model texts for learning. Primary English Teaching Association Australia.

Johnston, R. R. (2017). Australian literature for young people. Oxford University Press, Australia. 

McDonald, L. (2017). A literature companion for teachers (2nd ed.). Primary English Teaching Association Australia.  

Milton, M. (Ed.) (2017). Inclusive principles and practices in literacy education. Emerald Publishing Limited.

Morgan, A-M., Comber, B., Freebody, P. & Nixon, H. (2014). Literacy in the middle years: Learning from collaborative classroom research. Primary English Teaching Association Australia.

Richardson, J.S., Morgan, R.F, & Fleener, C. (2012). Reading to learn in the content areas (8^th ed.). Cengage Learning.

Rose, D., & Martin, J. R. (2012). Learning to write, reading to learn: Genre, knowledge and pedagogy in the Sydney School. Equinox.

Simpson, A., White, S., Freebody, P., & Comber, B. (2013). Language, literacy and literature. Oxford University Press.

Stuart, M., & Stainthorp, R. (2015). Reading development and teaching. SAGE.

Wing Jan, L. & Taylor, S. (2020). Write ways. (5^th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Wolsey, T.D. & Lapp, D. (2016). Literacy in the disciplines: A teacher’s guide for Grades 5 – 12. Guilford Press.

Zbaracki, M. (2015). Writing right with text types. Oxford University Press.

 

Information about the unit iLearn site

This unit has a full web presence through iLearn. Information for students about access to the online component of this unit is available at https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/index.php. You will need to enter your student username and password. Please do NOT contact the Unit Convenor regarding iLearn technical help. Assistance is available from IT Helpdesk: via email onehelp@mq.edu.au or Ph: 9850 4357 or 1800 67 4357. On Campus: Ground floor at 18 Wally’s Walk.

 

Lectures  

Lectures will be available on the web through the Echo360 component. You must listen to and view all lectures. PowerPoint slides will be available in the Echo360 section. You are encouraged to create your own notes, however, rather than only downloading slides. 

Structure 

The unit structure can be found in the university timetable: Creating your timetable - Enrolling | Macquarie University, Sydney (mq.edu.au)

The unit will be delivered using a combination of lectures and tutorials. There will be a weekly 1-hour lecture. All lectures will be recorded and available in Echo360. Weekly 2-hour tutorials/workshops will be held for 'weekday attendance' [internal] students, while 'infrequent attendance' [external] students will have one full-day on-campus session and one full-day online session (divided into manageable sections).

In tutorials and at the on-campus session and online session (as relevant to their enrolment mode), students will discuss issues and questions arising from the lectures and prescribed readings. They are expected to base their arguments/discussions on evidence from published research and other relevant material. Students are required to participate in small group activities and whole class discussion, to read the weekly material in advance, and to complete brief tasks either as individuals or in pairs. Sometimes short 'homework' tasks will be set, which also need to be completed as tutorial preparation. The weekly program for the unit of study with the accompanying readings/ preparation will be available on the unit iLearn site.

Module 1 Introduction: Language, literacy and children’s literature 

This module will provide an orientation to the unit, and revisit some of the key knowledge that students are expected to bring to this unit from earlier ones, with a focus on this knowledge as foundational for supporting students to engage with and create effective imaginative, persuasive and informative texts in Years 3-6. 

Module 2 Reading for learning and student engagement 

This module helps students understand the explicit teaching and assessment of reading comprehension appropriate to learners in Years 3-6. Based on research evidence related to teaching reading, students develop ability to design units of work and teaching plans that incorporate children’s literature alongside other quality multimodal texts and the effective use of literacy teaching strategies, including ICT that cater to learner diversity. 

Module 3 Writing in the later primary school years 

This module draws on research evidence about writing pedagogies to help students understand the explicit teaching of writing appropriate to the level of young learners. It also develops students’ knowledge of a range of resources and strategies, including ICT to support literacy learning and provide additional support to cater for student diversity. 

Module 4 English teaching for all capabilities, and revision

This unit focuses on understanding the pervasive nature of literacy and its role in everyday situations, and the importance of home and community literacy practice. It will raise students’ awareness of specific strategies to cater for students of diverse abilities, including students with EALD (English as an Additional Language or Dialect). 

For further details, please refer to the iLearn site, where a detailed unit schedule with readings will be made available.