Predicting Perspectives

Overview

In this first lesson of a four-lesson unit, students are introduced to discursive texts as texts that explore an issue through more than one viewpoint. Having watched the documentary Social Network in the previous session, students use a teacher-provided discursive text about issues explored in the documentary, such as the benefits and risks of social networking, connection and belonging, privacy and data, misinformation, mental health, and corporate responsibility. They learn the four reciprocal-teaching routines and focus on predicting what a text may say next, using evidence to justify their thinking.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• recognise the issue, viewpoints and supporting details in a discursive text
• learn the four reciprocal-teaching routines: predicting, questioning, clarifying and summarising
• make and justify a prediction using clues from the text
• use respectful discussion behaviours and contribute in a group

Success criteria

I can:

• identify the issue and at least two viewpoints
• find details that support each viewpoint
• make a prediction and explain which clues helped me
• use a sentence stem and contribute respectfully to my group

Curriculum links

• English — Language Studies: planning and developing ideas for visual and digital texts
• English — Language Studies: building fluency and control across written, oral, visual and digital modes
• English — Years 9–10: integrating the study of texts and language
• English — Years 9–10: developing more complex text creation and analysis

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook and connection. Teacher displays the question “Overall, has social networking had a more positive or negative impact on society?” on the opening question slide, asks students to position themselves along an agree–disagree continuum, and invites two or three reasons. Students make an initial choice, listen to another perspective and briefly explain their thinking.

2. 5–13 min · What is a discursive text? Teacher uses the discursive-text teaching slides to explain that discursive texts investigate an issue, present multiple viewpoints and use supporting details rather than simply telling readers what to think. Using the teacher-provided discursive text about issues explored in Social Network, model identifying its central issue, viewpoints and supporting details. Students record a definition and label these three features on the discursive text and prediction organiser.

3. 13–23 min · Reciprocal teaching model. Teacher introduces the four routines—predict, question, clarify and summarise—and the possible group roles: predictor, questioner, clarifier and summariser. Using the first chunk of the Social Network-based text in the reciprocal-teaching model slides, think aloud: “The heading and contrast language suggest the text may shift from the benefits of connection to risks involving privacy, wellbeing or misinformation, so I predict the next section will explore one of those risks. My clue is…” Model identifying the issue, viewpoints and supporting details, respectful turn-taking and how to invite another speaker. Students identify the prediction, clue and sentence stem used.

4. 23–35 min · Guided annotation. Teacher distributes the Social Network discursive text and prediction organiser and reads the next chunk aloud, pausing to model annotation of the issue, a viewpoint and a supporting detail. Students read independently, with a partner, or through audio/text-to-speech support, then annotate perspectives from users or communities, critics or researchers, and technology companies or platforms where appropriate, using agreed symbols: I = issue, V = viewpoint, D = detail. Check understanding through questions such as “Whose viewpoint is this?” and “What detail supports it?”

5. 35–50 min · Group predicting practice. Teacher places students in groups of four and displays the routine instructions and sentence stems on the group-practice instruction slides. Students take roles, discuss the Social Network discursive text chunk and complete the prediction box: “I predict that the next part will… because the text has…”. The predictor shares first; other students add, challenge or refine the reasoning respectfully. Groups then compare predictions with the next section of the text and discuss which clues were most useful, including headings, contrast language and references to privacy, algorithms, misinformation, wellbeing, influence or responsibility.

6. 50–56 min · Share and evaluate. Teacher invites selected groups to share a prediction and justification, recording examples of strong evidence-based reasoning on the share-and-evaluate slides. Students give one warm comment and one question about a group’s reasoning, then revise their own prediction if the text evidence changes their view.

7. 56–60 min · Exit ticket. Teacher directs students to complete the final section of the discursive text and prediction organiser independently and collects it at the door. Students identify the central issue in the Social Network text, name two contrasting viewpoints and write one justified prediction about the next section using the sentence stem “I predict… because…”.

Resources

• the complete introduction and teaching slide deck
• Social Network discursive text and prediction organiser
• Note or prompt reminding students that they watched the documentary Social Network in the previous session
• Highlighters or coloured pencils
• Board and markers
• Devices and headphones for text-to-speech or audio reading
• Timer
• Tinted paper or overlays, where available

Assessment

• Listen during modelling and group work for accurate use of issue, viewpoint, supporting detail and prediction, using examples connected to social networking, privacy, algorithms, misinformation, wellbeing, influence and responsibility.
• Check annotations and group explanations for evidence-based reasoning, recognition of contrasting perspectives and respectful participation.
• Use the exit ticket to identify students who can distinguish the central issue and two contrasting viewpoints in the Social Network text and justify a prediction; use responses to form groups and select scaffolds for Lesson 2.

Differentiation

• Provide the text in 14–16-point sans-serif font with wide spacing, tinted paper, short chunks and optional text-to-speech for dyslexic students and others who benefit from accessible presentation.
• Offer a glossary with simple definitions and icons for terms such as discursive, viewpoint, evidence, privacy, algorithm, misinformation, wellbeing and responsibility.
• Allow partner reading, audio reading, oral responses or speech-to-text. Give extra processing time and display sentence stems: “The issue is…”, “One viewpoint is…”, “A supporting detail is…”, and “I predict… because…”.
• Support groups with assigned roles and a teacher conference; extend confident students by asking them to predict a likely counterargument about social networking and identify language in the text that signals it.

Extension

• Predict a likely counterargument to one viewpoint about social networking, such as a claim about privacy, algorithms, misinformation, wellbeing, influence or corporate responsibility, and justify it using two details from the text.
• Identify words or phrases that signal contrast or a change in viewpoint, such as “however”, “on the other hand” or “although”, and explain how they help predict the next section.