Engaging Language Session

Overview

This 120-minute session in Russian language for Year 6-9 students at CLS (Russian language), focusing on key grammar, cultural understanding, reading comprehension, and communicative skills, is aligned with the Australian Curriculum (v9) for Languages and tailored for a class of 7 students. The lesson incorporates explicit teaching, scaffolded reading, interactive discussion, multimedia, and individual reflection. It follows the teacher’s structure and promotes inclusive, differentiated learning.

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WALT (We Are Learning To)

• Use punctuation correctly in simple and compound Russian sentences.
• Understand and discuss the life and impact of K.I. Chukovsky.
• Improve vocabulary and comprehension through collaborative reading.
• Reflect on different educational experiences and express recommendations orally.

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Success Criteria

• Students can identify and correctly use commas in Russian sentences, including in compound sentences.
• Students demonstrate understanding of Chukovsky's biography and communication style with children.
• Students accurately answer comprehension questions related to the memoir text.
• Students prepare and deliver a short oral book recommendation using target expressions.

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Australian Curriculum Alignment

Languages Strand:

• Communicating: AC9LA6U02 - Use knowledge of grammatical structures and formulaic expressions to compose and respond to texts using appropriate punctuation and textual conventions.
• Understanding: AC9LA6U02_E1, AC9LA6U02_E10 — Applying grammatical rules to build and connect ideas, including punctuation in sentences.
• Intercultural Understanding: Reflecting on cultural context and variations in language use.

The lesson's grammar focus on punctuation, reading comprehension, and cultural reflection aligns tightly with the Communicating and Understanding substrands in the Australian Curriculum for Languages (Russian) for Years 6-9.

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Lesson Plan

1. Welcome and Warm-up Discussion (15 minutes)

Purpose: Set a collaborative tone and activate students’ engagement through personal connections to reading.

• Attendance check.
• Using Slide 1 of the PPT, pose the open question in Russian:
  “Кто какую книгу сейчас читает?” (What book are you reading right now?)
• Students share titles, genres, and reading languages orally.
• Use follow-up prompts from Slide 2:
  • “Почему ты выбрал(а) эту книгу?” (Why did you choose this book?)
  • “На каком языке ты читаешь?” (In what language are you reading it?)
  • “Ты бы посоветовал(а) эту книгу другу?” (Would you recommend this book to a friend?)

Differentiation: For students with limited oral skills or dyslexia, allow sharing by drawing a picture of the book cover or writing key words first. Provide sentence starters on the board.

Extension: Encourage advanced learners to explain their book’s plot or themes in more detail.

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2. Grammar Focus: Punctuation in Sentences (20 minutes)

WALT: Use punctuation correctly in simple and compound sentences in Russian.

• Present concepts from Slides 3-4 illustrating punctuation rules in простое (simple) and сложное (compound/complex) sentences.
• Guide students to complete a punctuation exercise inserting commas into Russian sentences.
• Review answers collaboratively, discussing why commas are needed and introducing the link to Week 10 goal of direct speech formatting.

Success Criteria: Correctly insert commas in provided examples; explain punctuation reasoning.

Differentiation: Provide sentence strips with missing commas for kinesthetic learners to physically place commas. Use colour-coding for clauses to scaffold understanding.

Extension: Invite advanced students to create their own complex sentences using correct punctuation.

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3. K.I. Chukovsky: Biography & Video (15 minutes)

WALT: Understand the life and communication style of K.I. Chukovsky.

• Display Slide 6. Introduce Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky’s biography briefly (birth/death dates, real name Николай Корнейчуков).
• Watch archival video “Чуковский в гостях у детей” (1960).
• Conduct guided reflection discussion using questions:
  • How does he communicate with children? What emotions do you notice?
  • Каким он вам показался? Что удивило в его манере общения с детьми?
  • Why do you think children loved him?

Success Criteria: Students articulate observations about communication style using relevant vocabulary.

Differentiation: Use subtitles or transcript for students who benefit from reading support. Offer sentence frame templates for responding.

Extension: Research and share on another famous Russian children’s author and compare communication styles.

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Break (10 minutes)

• Supervised student break on ground floor (ping-pong, billiards).
• Ensure prompt return.

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4. Reading Task – Memoir by Lidia Chukovskaya and Post-Reading Comprehension (50 minutes)

WALT: Improve vocabulary and comprehension in Russian through guided reading and discussion.

• Read pages 36–38 aloud from the textbook, taking turns.
• Pause to highlight and clarify new vocabulary: наставник (mentor), интеллигенция (intelligentsia), самоучитель (self-taught guide), вызубрить (to cram).
• Conduct whole-class discussion with comprehension questions:
  • Как Чуковский получил образование?
  • Какой порог ему удалось преодолеть?
  • Каким способом он учил жену и детей?
  • Как дочь описывает их дом?

Success Criteria: Students answer questions in full sentences orally or in writing. Use new vocabulary appropriately.

Differentiation: Offer dyslexia-friendly reading options: e.g., text printed in Arial font, larger size, on coloured paper to reduce glare. Provide vocabulary lists and visuals. Pair stronger readers with peers for support.

Extension: Students write a short paragraph describing their own learning experience, comparing it to Chukovsky’s.

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5. Reflection and Wrap-Up (10 minutes)

WALT: Reflect on learning and make cultural-linguistic comparisons.

• Prompt reflection:
  “Что ты узнал(а) сегодня о Чуковском? Можешь ли ты сравнить то как он получал образование с тем, как ты его получаешь?”
• Assign Homework from МРРЯ Workbook: exercises 8–10 (pp. 17–18) and 1 A, B, C (p.21).
• Homework oral task: prepare a short book recommendation using expressions studied.

Success Criteria: Student reflections show personal engagement; homework prepared carefully.

Differentiation: Provide sentence starters or graphic organisers for reflections and oral preparation.

Extension: Encourage advanced learners to incorporate additional descriptive language or cultural references in their book recommendation.

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Additional Notes

• Class size of 7 allows focussed support and interaction.
• Use of technology: projector for slides and video enhances multisensory learning.
• Multimodal resources: text, video, oral discussion caters to varied learning styles.
• Explicit links to future learning (Week 10 direct speech) build coherence.
• Homework bridges class learning to independent practice, preparing for oral communication.

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This lesson plan systematically embeds the Australian Curriculum (v9) framework into CLS Russian language teaching. It balances grammatical accuracy, intercultural understanding, and communicative competence in an age-appropriate, scaffolded manner that suits the weekly, mixed-level context of CLS classes.

If desired, I can also provide a formatted PowerPoint slide outline or printable handouts matching activities and vocabulary for seamless classroom implementation.