The work samples in this section form the Level 5 part of the assessment map for the Reading dimension of the English domain. Other parts of the assessment map can be accessed by using the menu on the right side of the screen.
The standard below describes what students should know and be able to do when they achieve the Level 5 standard in the Reading dimension.
At Level 5, students read and view imaginative, informative and persuasive texts that explore ideas and information related to challenging themes and issues. They identify the themes and issues explored in these texts, and provide supporting evidence to justify their interpretations. They produce personal responses, for example, interpretive pieces and character profiles. They infer meanings and messages in texts, analyse how social values or attitudes are conveyed, compare the presentation of information and ideas in different texts, and identify cause and effect in informative texts.
The following work samples illustrate the kinds of responses that students typically produce:
Annotations identify for each sample on the assessment map attributes of the student response that relate to specific elements of the standard.
Context
The stimulus for this task was a newspaper article and a follow-up letter to the editor about the work of volunteers who care for native Australian wildlife. The article and letter present some challenging ideas and vocabulary representative of two types of newspaper texts.
Students were given 20 minutes to read the two pieces and respond to a series of questions. They were expected to work without assistance from other students or their teacher.
The key elements of the standard addressed by this task are:
Key elements of Reading Level 5
(Students) read and view imaginative, informative and persuasive texts …
They identify the themes and issues explored in these texts, and provide supporting evidence to justify their interpretations.
They infer meanings and messages in texts, analyse how social values or attitudes are conveyed, compare the presentation of information and ideas in different texts …
Stimulus
This task is from the CSF II English Annotated Work Samples. These Stimulus materials are also available in the English CSF II Annotated Work Samples CD-ROM and pages 64–65 of the English CSF II Annotated Work Samples Booklet (2001). These resources are available in schools.
TEXT A is an article that appeared in a Victorian newspaper.
More than 90 species of native Australian animals are listed as endangered. Some of them may already be extinct. Since 1788 hundreds of species have perished. A band of volunteers is dedicated to reducing the impact of man.
By Michelle Pountney.
(From ‘The Picture Gallery’ Herald and Weekly Times, 22 February, 2000)
TEXT B is a letter that appeared in a Victorian newspaper.
cats roaming the streets at night and sometimes even dogs running around
unsupervised during the day.
We all have a
responsibility to save our wildlife from extinction. Please put a bell on your
cat’s collar to warn birds and other wildlife of its approach. Please lock up
your pet at night and don’t let it run wild during the day.
If
we exercise this care, future generations will thank us.
F. Bryant, Eltham.
Sample
The following sample illustrates the kinds of responses that students typically produce when they have achieved the elements of the standard addressed by this task.
1. Circle the statement that best summaries Text B.
2. Write a word or a phrase from Text B which shows that the writer approves of the workers at the Wildlife Care Network.
3. In Text A the words ‘babies’, ‘foster family’ and ‘brood’ are used to refer to the animals. Why do you think the writer chose these words?
4. Why does the writer of Text A produce statistics about endangered species?
5. Complete the table below to show the differences between Text A and Text B.
| Feature of Text | Text A | Text B |
|---|---|---|
| Type of text | Report | Letter to editor |
|
Type of content: e.g. fact or opinion |
|
|
| Voice of the text |
|
First person or ‘I’ |
| Support for point of view | Supports report with statistics |
|
Annotation
Reading – Level 5
All questions: The student’s responses to questions 1 to 5 demonstrate the ability to locate the main points in the sample texts and make meaningful comparisons between them.
Key element of Reading Level 5
(Students) identify the themes and issues explored in these texts, and provide supporting evidence to justify their interpretations.
They … compare the presentation of information and ideas in different texts …
Reading – Level 5
Questions 1–2: The student makes the most appropriate choice relating to Text B, the letter to the editor, and can readily justify a simple interpretation.
Key element of Reading Level 5
(Students) identify the themes and issues explored in these texts, and provide supporting evidence to justify their interpretations.
Reading – Level 5
Question 3: The student explains the relationship between key words and the writer’s purpose.
Key element of Reading Level 5
(Students) infer meanings and mesages in texts, analyse how social values or attitudes are conveyed …
Reading – Level 5
Question 4: The student recognises characteristics of persuasive text.
Key element of Reading Level 5
(Students) read and view imaginative, informative and persuasive texts …
Reading – Level 5
Question 5: The student compares the two texts demonstrating understanding of different strategies and conventions.
The student’s response to voice confuses person with text type, demonstrating lack of understanding of the relevant metalanguage. The student’s response to ‘Support for point of view’ is too general and omits, for example, the author’s use of quotation. The response, however, constitutes a meaningful comparison in terms of the presentation of the two texts and is typical of responses at this level.
Key element of Reading Level 5
(Students) … compare the presentation of information and ideas in different texts …
Context
The stimulus for this task was a newspaper article and a follow-up letter to the editor about the work of volunteers who care for native Australian wildlife. The article and the letter present some challenging ideas and vocabulary representative of two types of newspaper texts.
Students were given 20 minutes to read the two pieces and respond to a series of questions. They were expected to work without assistance from other students or their teacher.
Answers to questions 1–2 and 5 were answered at the level. See sample at Level 5 for typical responses to these questions.
The key elements of the standard addressed by this task are:
Key elements of Reading Level 5
(Students) read and view imaginative, informative and persuasive texts that explore ideas and information related to challenging themes and issues.
(Students) infer meanings and messages in texts …
Stimulus
This task is from the CSF II English Annotated Work Samples. These Stimulus materials are also available in the English CSF II Annotated Work Samples CD-ROM and pages 64–65 of the English CSF II Annotated Work Samples Booklet (2001). These resources are available in schools.
TEXT A is an article that appeared in a Victorian newspaper.
More than 90 species of native Australian animals are listed as endangered. Some of them may already be extinct. Since 1788 hundreds of species have perished. A band of volunteers is dedicated to reducing the impact of man.
By Michelle Pountney.
(From ‘The Picture Gallery’ Herald and Weekly Times, 22 February, 2000)
TEXT B is a letter that appeared in a Victorian newspaper.
cats roaming the streets at night and sometimes even dogs running around
unsupervised during the day.
We all have a
responsibility to save our wildlife from extinction. Please put a bell on your
cat’s collar to warn birds and other wildlife of its approach. Please lock up
your pet at night and don’t let it run wild during the day.
If
we exercise this care, future generations will thank us.
F. Bryant, Eltham.
Sample
The following samples illustrate the kinds of responses that students typically produce at 4.75 as they progress towards the Level 5 standard.
Newspaper Texts
3. In Text A the words ‘babies’, ‘foster family’ and ‘brood’ are used to refer to the animals. Why do you think the writer chose these words?
4. Why does the writer of Text A produce statistics about endangered species?
Annotation
Reading – 4.75
Question 3: The student attempts to link each word back into the text at a literal level but shows no understanding of the persuasive nature of the vocabulary.
Key element of Reading Level 5
(Students) read and view imaginative, informative and persuasive texts that explore ideas and information related to challenging themes and issues.
Reading – 4.75
Question 4: The student focuses on the information presented without inferring the purpose of including the statistics.
Key element of Reading Level 5
(Students) infer meanings and messages in texts …
Context
The task uses materials from the AIM 2005 Year 7 English Test.
Under test conditions, students read the stimulus material Forests Drink Clouds and responded by selecting answers from multiple choice options.
The key elements of the standard addressed by this task are:
Key elements of Reading Level 5
(Students) read … informative … texts that explore ideas and information …
(Students) identify the themes and issues explored in … texts …
(Students) … identify cause and effect in informative texts.
Stimulus
AIM 2005 Year 7 English Test
This extract is from Australian Geographic Edition Jan–Mar 2004. © Australian Geographic
Sample
The following sample illustrates the kinds of responses that students
typically produce at
4.5 as they progress towards the Level 5 standard.
AIM 2005 Year 7 English Test
Annotation
Reading – 4.5
Questions 21–22 & Question 25: The student uses strategies to locate and infer meaning from key information presented in an informative text.
Key elements of Reading Level 5
(Students) read … informative … texts that explore ideas and information …
Reading – 4.5
Question 23: The student interprets the purpose of an informative article by distinguishing the main ideas presented in the text.
Key elements of Reading Level 5
(Students) identify the themes and issues explored in … texts …
Reading – 4.5
Question 24: The student makes links or connections between ideas within an informative text.
Key elements of Reading Level 5
(Students) … identify cause and effect in informative texts.
Context
The following sample was developed from an AIM 2004 reading test item. Students were given 20 minutes to read and respond to Left with the Baby. They were expected to work without assistance from other students or their teacher. The extract from Left with the Baby by Christine Harris is typical of the kinds of youth fiction studied by students in Year 7.
The key elements of the standard addressed by this task are:
Key elements of Reading Level 5
(Students) … provide supporting evidence to justify their interpretations.
They produce personal responses, for example, interpretive pieces and character profiles.
They infer meanings and messages in texts …
Stimulus
AIM 2004 Year 7 English Test
Sample
The following sample illustrates the kinds of responses that students
typically produce at
4.25 as they progress towards the Level 5 standard.
AIM 2004 Year 7 English Test
Annotation
Reading – 4.25
Question 1: The student refers to appropriate evidence, the Seaton’s recommendation, with the assistance of a structured task, but includes less relevant information about the behaviour of the Seaton children. The response therefore lacks the focus on relevant supporting evidence required in the task and expected at Level 5.
Question 2: The student identifies the main issue, that the Marriots were worried about Zoe’s behaviour, but includes a less relevant observation related to the Marriot’s disorganised lives.
Key element of Reading Level 5
(Students) … provide supporting evidence to justify their interpretations.
Reading – 4.25
Question 3: The student provides a suitable personal response, supported by indirect references to the text. This sample shows achievement of an aspect of the standard with the assistance of prompts.
Key element of Reading Level 5
(Students) produce personal responses, for example, interpretive pieces and character profiles.
Reading – 4.25
Question 4: The student produces a plausible and imaginative character profile, but draws partly on external generalisation rather than the text, for example: ‘She probably is a normal teenager’. The student does not offer supporting evidence without a direct prompt as used in questions 3 to 5.
Key element of Reading Level 5
(Students) infer meanings and messages in texts …
They produce personal responses, for example, interpretive pieces and character profiles.
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