Tomorrow When The War Began by John Marsden: Year Nine Text Unit

YEAR NINE TEXT unit
Tomorrow When the War Began by John Marsden
Introduction
Content:
As Australian citizens, students will explore the history of Australia’s connection in the Asia-
Pacific region looking in particular at the experiences of prisoners of war in WWII and our
role in conflicts in Korea, Vietnam and Papua New Guinea. This exploration will develop
students’ skills in making text to world connections that ensure understanding of the themes
of a fiction text in this case Tomorrow When the War Began. Students will learn about the
effect on theme and pace of plot structure in novels. They will also revise and develop their
understanding of narrative viewpoint, exploring the effects of retrospective first person in
relation to the novel and in their own writing, creating a retrospective first person narrative of
their own. Students will analyse the characters in the novel and their relationships and learn
about the ideas and messages that these characters represent and how these are conveyed by
the writer. The particular style of action novels will be analysed, alongside other action texts,
looking particularly at the use of verbs and adjectives and the balance of action and dialogue
and the pacing of plot to create tension for the reader. Students will explore the themes of the
text in particular the effects of conflict, the need for resilience in conflict and the relationship
between particular characters and the handling of conflict. Students will express their views
individually and in groups regarding historical viewpoints and understanding of textual
events. They will also display oral skills in group and individual activities regarding
characterisation and plot as well as the ability to evaluate the work of their peers. Students
will use the persuasive structure to plan and execute an analytical text response under exam
conditions.
Key Terms:
Retrospective first person narrative, plot structure, characterisation, action genre, dialogue,
tension, conflict, moral responsibility, invasion, democracy.
Aims and Objectives:
Skills – Students will be able to
 Research effectively – scanning and skimming for key information

 Consolidate their skills in independent reading using strategies of connecting to the
text, predicting, questioning and visualising.
 Consolidate and develop skills in structuring a text response
 Consolidate and develop ability to write reflectively and analytically for reflective
piece and analytical text responses
 Communicate effectively with their peers and construct new planning strategies.
 Conference and peer assess written tasks as required.
Knowledge – Students will know
 Invasions have a negative impact on indigenous peoples.

 Australia’s identity is partly based on war time experiences in the Asia Pacific region.
 The plot of the novel.
 The key quotes that sum up characterisation in the novel.
 Key quotes that address themes of the novel.
 Relationships between main characters and how they impact on plot development.
Understanding – Students will understand
 Writers use action novels to explore themes surrounding the causes and effects of
conflict.
 Effects of writing from a retrospective first person narrative viewpoint.
 How relationships develop and change in times of stress.
 How the text explores personal development and growth in times of conflict.
 How crisis brings out the best and worst in others.
 How it is difficult to define moral behaviour in times of war.
 That friendship and family can be catalysts for action.
 Australia’s isolation and vulnerability regarding the rest of the world.
Learning Activity Student Product Formative/Summ

ative
Students to read to chapter four by end of  Reading of text
introductory activities. practising
Reminder of reading strategies – students independent
to use text coding to connect with text – reading
text to self, text to world, text to text, strategies
questioning, predicting, visualising,
noting with particular reference to plot.
Class discussion of ‘conflict’ – what does  Class generated
it mean? What does it look and feel like? posters in small
groups based on F
Discuss history of invasions and how conflict.
people were dispossessed and how these  Personal
invasions affected people in the long run. reflection.
American Indians, Indigenous peoples –
dispossession leading to alcoholism, lack
of education, destruction of culture, loss
of history, second class citizens
Discuss and research Australia’s  Oral

experience of conflict in Asia Pacific presentations in
region Discussion of novel in historical groups – about
context. incident of F
Set research task for class folder. invasion of a
Revisit research skills – skimming, country
scanning, looking at topic sentences etc.
experiences of prisoners of war in WWII
and our role in conflicts in Korea and
Vietnam and Papua New Guinea.
 Research.
 Preparation of an individual page
on a pre-selected topic for class
file.
Examples:
 World War Two and Australia’s
role
 Conflict and combat roles for men
and women over the past 100
years
 The importance of friendship,
family and community
Australia and Asia – a genuine
relationship
Small group discussion about the impact  Mind mapping
of role of trauma and fear in our lives. activity –
Mind mapping activity – groups of three groups of three
1. What key events have shaped and F
influenced your life?
2. What are you afraid of?
3. What have been the most frightening
and difficult experiences of your life and
how have these experiences affected you?
4 How have you dealt with these
experiences?
 Draft and final
Alternatively, students to stand up and written
talk about embarrassing incidents. reflective piece.
 Peer reflection S
Students select an event which has had a sheets
significant impact on their lives and write completed.
a personal reflective narrative. Teacher to
model brainstorm and draft – discussion
of vocabulary, structure of text, use of
narrative viewpoint (first person).
Peer conferencing of drafts using
questions to support students to evaluate
use of descriptive language, dialogue,
tenses, narrative viewpoint etc.
Teacher to have small group conferences  Individual F

to discuss reading of novel – sharing of student notes on
questions, t-s, t-t t-w coding. Students to chapters – from
keep notes from these discussions – conferencing
allowing for independent thinking as class and group
reads the novel activities
During reading ask students if they have F

questions about the text - whole group
discussion.  Directed class
discussion
Teacher gives students quote lists,

students have to find quotes, and analyse F
– who said them, what do they mean,  Analysis of
what characterisation/themes they relate quotes
to.
Characters allocated to small groups –  Group
groups of two and three. Students to discussion
explore how each character viewed the  Individual notes F
events of the novel differently from each on characters
other – reporting back to class – character  Drafted, typed
notes. Choose one character and write a and printed
profile of them. profile for class
Focus on their personality, ability to deal anthology.
with stress and conflict, relationships with
others and role in the plot.
Hot-seating students as characters – class

creates questions to ask key characters .
Can lead to journal entries by characters.
Groups of three students to create theme

posters – present to class and post on  Theme posters
classroom wall. Key themes: and group oral F
How relationships develop and change in presentation.
times of stress.
How the text explores personal
development and growth in times of
conflict.
How crisis brings out the best and worst
in others.
How it is difficult to define moral
behaviour in times of war.
Students to view the film Tomorrow  Analysis
When the War Began after reading the comparing
novel. opening of both
Discuss the two genres and how they deal novel and film.
with the same content differently.
Look specifically at the opening of each
text – compare and contrast the timeframe  Discussion and
of both texts, setting, characterisation and analysis of film F
the impact of these differences on the and written
viewer. Individual dot point list of the techniques.
obvious differences/similarities between
the two texts.  One page
One page analysis of the film text and its comparison of
treatment of the original text for the class analysis of film
file. and written text.
Focus specifically on the opening scenes
from each genre
Re-familiarise students with the TEEL  TEEL plan
structure. completed in
Provide agreed thematic and character class.
based topics.  TEEL text
Set up TEEL planning grid for use when response
text response is completed under strict completed
exam condition. under formal
exam S
conditions.
 Assessment
using standard
rubric.
Resources.
 The novel.
 Wikipedia.
org/wiki/Tomorrow When the War
Began.
 www.vcaa.vic.edu.au
 Wantirna English wiki.
Links to Australian Curriculum:
 Understand that roles and relationships are developed and challenged through
language and interpersonal skills.
 Understand that authors innovate with text structures and language for specific
purposes and effects.
 Identify how vocabulary choices contribute to specificity, abstraction and stylistic
effectiveness.
 Explore and reflect on personal understanding of the world and significant human
experience gained from interpreting various life matters in texts.
 Analyse text structure and language features of literary texts and make relevant
comparisons with other texts.
 Review and edit students’ own and others’ texts to improve clarity and control over
content, organisation and literary devices.
 Present an argument about a literary text based on initial and subsequent analysis of
the whole text.
Year Nine Team 2014

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YEAR NINE TEXT unit

Tomorrow When the War Began by John Marsden

Aims and Objectives:

Skills – Students will be able to

 Research effectively – scanning and skimming for key information

Knowledge – Students will know

 Invasions have a negative impact on indigenous peoples.

Understanding – Students will understand

Learning Activity Student Product Formative/Summ

Discuss and research Australia’s  Oral

Teacher to have small group conferences  Individual F

During reading ask students if they have F

Teacher gives students quote lists,

Hot-seating students as characters – class

Groups of three students to create theme

Year Nine Team 2014

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