English - Unit 1: The Great School Debate - LESSON PLANS - Year 5

Tired of spending your weekends planning? Transform your Year 5 English lessons with this complete, 9-week inquiry-based unit that brings critical thinking, collaboration and the excitement of formal argument to life!

Step into the world of "Unit 1: The Great School Debate", a comprehensive English unit designed to save you time and deeply engage your Year 5 students. This unit focuses on building a strong foundation in understanding persuasive language, structuring logical arguments, using evidence effectively, developing rebuttal skills and delivering convincing arguments through formal debate.

Packed with creative, hands-on activities, this unit will transform your classroom into a dynamic, inquiry-based learning space where students don't just learn about persuasion—they become skilled debaters, researchers, critical thinkers and confident public speakers working together as articulate teams.

What's Inside?

This 9-week unit is meticulously planned to help you deliver exceptional English lessons with confidence. You will find:

• 9 Weeks of Engaging Lesson Plans: Guide your students through a journey of discovery, from becoming 'Persuasion Detectives', competing in 'Modality Power-Up' games, physically building 'Argument Burgers', acting as 'spies' to predict opposing points, planning structured rebuttals, mastering vocal delivery techniques and taking centre stage at the final 'Great School Debate'.
• Australian Curriculum Aligned: This unit is fully aligned with the Year 5 English curriculum. It explicitly covers key content descriptors including AC9E5LA02 (Differing Ideas/Sources), AC9E5LA03 (Text Features/Stages - Persuasive), AC9E5LA05 (Complex Sentences), AC9E5LY02 (Interaction Skills), AC9E5LY03 (Persuasive Text Features), AC9E5LY06 (Plan/Create/Edit Persuasive Texts) and AC9E5LY07 (Plan/Rehearse/Deliver Presentations).
• Hands-On & Experiential Learning: Foster genuine understanding with interactive and creative activities that make persuasive concepts memorable and impactful. Imagine your students engaging in role-play rebuttals, learning PEEL structure through visual models, analysing persuasive devices in real-world examples, giving peer feedback during rehearsals and experiencing the thrill of presenting a structured, evidence-based argument.
• Built-in Assessment & Differentiation: Effortlessly monitor student progress through natural observation opportunities embedded in each activity. Every lesson includes clear support and extension tasks to cater to all learners in your classroom.
• Early Career Connections: Expose students to potential future pathways by weaving career education into every lesson. Connect activities to the work of a Lawyer, Politician, Journalist, Researcher, Speechwriter, Marketing Manager or Fact-Checker.
• Summative Assessment Task: Conclude the unit with a comprehensive "The Great School Debate" task, complete with a student-friendly rubric for marking.

Cover Your Entire Year of English!

This is Unit 1 of a comprehensive 4-unit bundle for Year 5. Together, these four units cover key aspects of the Year 5 English Curriculum, providing you with a full year's worth of engaging, high-quality English lessons focusing on:

1. The Great School Debate (Persuasion & Presentation)
2. Our Community's Legends (Narrative & Multimodal Storytelling)
3. The Novel Investigation (Literary Analysis & Context)
4. The Language Codebreakers (Grammar, Vocabulary & Spelling)

Stop the endless search for resources and reclaim your time.

Download "Unit 1: The Great School Debate" today and ignite a passion for critical thinking, articulate expression and the power of reasoned argument in your classroom!