Year 7: English - PEEL paragraphs in Persuasive Texts

INTRODUCTION

This website has been created for Year 7 students of Western Sydney high schoolers, developing a flipped classroom experience, whereby students structure their learning through online techniques. Engaging high school students with such learning experiences is essential, to develop their interests and capabilities, particularly during the early years of secondary schooling (Newhouse, 2016). This website focuses on the student to think critically and build on ideas and arguments to respond to compose texts (ACARA, 2016). The outcome EN4-5C will be used for this task, whereby, students will be required to describe and explain qualities of language in their own and others' texts that contribute to the enjoyment that can be experienced in responding to and composing texts and engaging in a wide reading of self-selected texts for enjoyment and share responses individually (ACARA, 2016). Students will be learning how to create a PEEL paragraph relating to a persuasive argument, which will be assessed through a quiz at the end of the lesson. The Rationale will outline how these understandings were achieved throughout the learning experience to support and enhance all students’ learning. Creating a website with curated videos and organising all the elements of knowledge and learning outcomes have been integrated consciously to suit the needs of all students. A Personal Professional Learning Plan has been included to identify the learning experiences I have incurred and how I have developed my skills and understanding in creating this lesson for students.

RATIONALE 

The importance of technology and its use in the classroom has become a part of teachers’ knowledge, which has been applied through the website and other resources for personalised learning (Koh, Chai & Tay, 2014). ICT can be used in the classroom to support imaginative components of tasks, making use of learning online gaming (Newhouse, 2016), also allowing students to learn independently. The use of videos and images enhances the understanding of students to learn the content, along with texts and quizzes. Educators using blended learning methods enhance the acquisition of both cognitive knowledge and practical skills (Forbes et al., 2016). Engaging students through multimodal presentations can comfort the student and make their learning experience easier to learn, thus improving attention, and leading to improved learning performance; in particular for lower-achieving students (Sankey et al., 2010). Game-based educational resources allow students to learn and have peer interactions by promoting students’ goal pursuits and elaborating on their knowledge (Moon and Ke, 2020). Thus, peer interactions through gaming and education are useful as some students learn through games and more through their communication with peers, in discussions and conversations. The short videos embedded on the website assist students in comprehending their understanding of the task required and can make their learning experience easier, by not just reading, but through seeing and listening. This allows instructional elements to be presented in more than one sensory mode (visual, aural, written), which enhances student learning development in the classroom (Sankey et al., 2010). The website is created and is made safely to suit all students and ensure that students are encouraged to work together and independently with the online benefits, to become critical and creative pupils (eSafety Commissioner, 2021). Finally, the use of ICT in the classroom displays the various benefits for students and teachers on how connections can be made through favourable learning environments (Newhouse, 2016).