Week 3 – Day 3 – Identifying Problems and Resolutions Specific Learning Goals Assessment Plan Materials and Resources Learning Activities, Focus Questions and Teaching Strategies Teaching and Learning Adjustments At the end of the sequence of learning students will be able to: • Identify the main problem and resolution in Edward the Emu. • Understand how a problem creates interest and drives a narrative. • Brainstorm their own animal characters with problems and possible resolutions to prepare for narrative writing. • Observation and anecdotal records of student participation in drama and discussion. • Student story planning template • Checklist: Identifies character, clear problem and solution idea. • Hard copy of Edward the Emu by Sheena Knowles. • Whiteboard and markers • “My Animal Story Plan" template • Animal picture cards or toys Introduction (10 minutes) – What’s the Problem? • Gather students on the mat and explain “Today we’re going to become actors and storytellers. We’ll act out little problems and think about how they might be solved, just like in stories.” • Choose 2–3 simple and relatable mini-problems and act them out with the class and a few volunteers. Examples can include a monkey who can’t reach a banana, kangaroo who forgot how to hop, the lion who lost his roar. After each short skit (30–60 seconds), pause and ask what was the problem? How could it be solved? And how would that make a good story. Connect back to Edward the Emu by asking “What was Edward’s problem? Was it like any of our acted problems? What made it interesting? Explain that today they’ll be creating their own animal character with a fun or unusual problem and thinking about how it gets solved. Main Lesson (25 mins) – Planning and Sharing Ideas • As a class, brainstorm different animals and possible problems they might have. For example, a fish might be scared of the water or a giraffe who’s afraid of heights.
• Display and model the “My animal Story Plan” plan which includes a section to draw the animal, write/draw their problem and write/draw their possible solution. T to model their own example such as “This is Sammy the snake. He wants to play tag but no one knows how to tag him without arms or legs. His friend the kangaroo comes up with a fun way to tag using gentle tail taps”. Use animal picture cards or toys to help students' with choosing an animal. • S to complete their own plan and T to support where required. T to scaffold students' and prompt with open-ended questions such as “what’s your animal’s problem and why is it trucky for them? Or can you use a describing word to show how your animal feels?”. Conclusion (5 mins) – Sharing and Reflection • Invite S to turn and talk to a partner to share their character and problem. T to select 2-3 S to present their ideas to the whole class. As a class, reflect on what made the problems fun or interesting as well as what could happen next in these stories.
• Preview the next lesson “Tomorrow we will explore how to organise our story ideas using helpful words like first, then and finally. These will help our stories flow smoothly from beginning to end.” Whole Class Adjustments • Writing on whiteboard to be left on display. • T to walk around class and target support those that require it. • Use of visual aids such as animal picture cards, toys and images to support comprehension and engagement. Specific Adjustments • Tyrone: T to scribe response to allow for expressing ideas verbally. Incorporate key words into literacy session. Use sentence starters and scaffold prompts to assist with response such as “my animal is a ___. Its problem is ___. The resolution is ___.
• Mirim: Allow access to iPad so she can expand her vocabulary related to her problem and resolution. • EAL students: Use sentence starters and scaffold prompts to assist with response such as “my animal is a ___. Its problem is ___. The resolution is ___. Supply bilingual dictionaries or translation apps during independent work for key vocabulary. Extension Activities

Students illustrate their animal’s problem and solution in a comic strip format with speech bubbles and captions.

Story Problems & Solutions

🧠 Curriculum Links

Learning Area: English
Year Level: Year 2
Strand: Literature
Sub-Strand: Responding to Literature / Creating Literature
Content Descriptions Addressed:

ACELT1591: Discuss the characters and settings of different texts and explore how language is used to present these features in different ways
ACELT1593: Create events and characters using different media that develop key events and characters from literary texts
ACELY1660: Create short imaginative texts that show emerging use of appropriate text structure, sentence-level grammar, word choice, spelling, punctuation and appropriate multimodal elements
ACELY1656: Rehearse and deliver short presentations on familiar and new topics

🎯 WALT — We Are Learning To:

Identify the main problem and resolution in a story.
Understand how a problem drives the plot.
Create an original animal character with a unique problem and think about how it could be solved.

✅ Success Criteria

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

✔ Identify the problem and solution in Edward the Emu
✔ Use drama to act out simple narrative conflicts
✔ Create an animal character with a clear, imaginative problem and solution
✔ Share their ideas clearly with a peer or the class

⏱ Duration

40 minutes

👩‍🏫 Class Context

Class size: 22 students
Setting: Typical Year 2 classroom space with floor area for group mat time
Teacher Focus: Engaging students through drama, storytelling, and open-ended thinking
Classroom Diversity Considered: Mix of EAL learners, 2 students needing individual differentiation, range of literacy abilities

🧰 Materials & Resources

Hard copy of Edward the Emu by Sheena Knowles
Whiteboard and markers
“My Animal Story Plan” student worksheet (includes drawing space, problem and solution prompts)
Animal picture cards or small animal toys as idea prompts
Writing pencils and crayons
iPads (for vocabulary support)
Scaffold Sentence Starters
Assessment checklist (identifies: character named, problem clear, solution logical)

📏 Assessment

Informal observation and anecdotal records during drama segment and partner talk
Collection and review of planning templates
Use of checklist to assess understanding of character, problem, and resolution

🧩 Teaching & Learning Adjustments

Student	Adjustment
Tyrone	Teacher scribes his ideas while he verbalises. Uses sentence starter strip. Key vocabulary pre-taught.
Mirim	Access to iPad for vocabulary expansion. May draw ideas before writing.
EAL Students	Use bilingual dictionary or translation app. Simplified scaffold prompts given. Paired with supportive peer.

Whole Class Strategies:

Visual supports remain displayed (e.g., whiteboard brainstorm)
Animal toys/cards used to prompt idea generation
Teacher circulates, checking in with students exhibiting uncertainty

🧃 Lesson Breakdown

🎬 Introduction (10 mins) – What's the Problem?

Mat Talk – Teacher Introduction
“Today, we’re going to become actors AND storytellers! You’ll help act out little animal problems and think about how they can be solved, just like in real stories.”
Mini Dramas (30–60 sec each)
- Monkey can’t reach banana
- Kangaroo forgot how to hop
- Lion who lost his roar
  Pick 2–3 volunteers for each scenario. After each, pause and ask:
- “What was the problem?”
- “How could we solve it?”
- “Would this make a good story? Why?”
Connect to Text
Briefly revisit Edward the Emu. Ask:
- “What was Edward’s big problem?”
- “How did he try to solve it?”
- “Was that interesting? Why?”
Outline Learning Intention:

“Today we’ll each create our own animal character — but with a twisty or funny problem — and we’ll think of how our story could end with a great solution!”

📝 Main Lesson (25 mins) – Planning and Sharing Ideas

Brainstorm as a Class (on the whiteboard):
- Animal: Fish, Echidna, Koala, Snake, Platypus…
- Problem Examples: Fish scared of water, Koala who’s afraid of heights, Snake who wants to skip rope, but has no hands!
Teacher Modelling – Story Plan (5 mins)
- Introduce the "My Animal Story Plan" paper
- Model an example:
“This is Sammy the Snake. He wants to play tag, but nobody knows how to tag him without any arms or legs. Then, his friend the kangaroo comes up with a game using gentle tail taps! He joins in and has so much fun.”

Show how to draw a simple picture and add labels.
Independent/Supported Student Work (15–18 mins)
- Each student picks an animal (using the toy or card prompts, or their own idea)
- Fill in the story plan: draw character, describe the problem using scaffolded phrases, and give a possible solution
- Teacher roves and supports, using guiding questions:
  - “Can you tell me more about how your animal feels?”
  - “What might go wrong next?”
  - “Who could help your animal?”
  - Student stumped? Prompt gently with an idea or a toy

📣 Conclusion (5 mins) – Sharing and Reflection

Turn and talk to shoulder partner – Share animal and problem/solution idea
Invite 2-3 students to present their quirky character to the whole class
Reflect as a group:
- “What made those problems interesting?”
- “Why do you think having an unusual problem makes a story fun?”
- “What kinds of endings do we like?”
Preview:

“Tomorrow, we’re going to take our amazing animal ideas and learn how to organise them into real stories using ‘first’, ‘then’, and ‘finally’!”

🌟 Extension Activities

Comic Strip/Storyboard
Advanced learners can turn their plan into a three-section comic strip, captioning what happens in each part of the problem and resolution.
Drama Performance
Invite students to re-enact their animal's issue and resolution with a peer using simple props or puppets.
Challenge Prompt
Ask advanced students: “What if the solution causes a new problem? How would your story continue?”

💡 Differentiation Highlights

Continuous language modelling and scaffolding
Visual resources for all learners
Oral storytelling options for students not yet writing
Peer collaboration
Technology support for vocabulary building

📝 Teacher Notes for Reflection

Post-Lesson Questions:

Did students engage with acting out problems?
Were they able to articulate their characters’ problems and solutions?
Did any students surprise you with deep ideas or humour?
Who may need more practice before moving to story sequences?

This lesson invites students to explore story structure through character empathy and creativity, while keeping the tone playful, collaborative and inclusive. The problem/solution focus naturally leads into narrative writing in future lessons.

Let imagination lead the way! 🐍🦘🦁

Story Problems & Solutions

Teaching Instructions

Story Problems & Solutions

🧠 Curriculum Links

🎯 WALT — We Are Learning To:

✅ Success Criteria

⏱ Duration

👩‍🏫 Class Context

🧰 Materials & Resources

📏 Assessment

🧩 Teaching & Learning Adjustments

🧃 Lesson Breakdown

🎬 Introduction (10 mins) – What's the Problem?

📝 Main Lesson (25 mins) – Planning and Sharing Ideas

📣 Conclusion (5 mins) – Sharing and Reflection

🌟 Extension Activities

💡 Differentiation Highlights

📝 Teacher Notes for Reflection

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