English - Unit 3: The Novel Investigation - 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 deep literary analysis, collaborative investigation and the excitement of curating an exhibit to life!

Step into the world of "Unit 3: The Novel Investigation," 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 applying comprehension strategies, analysing literary elements like point of view and author's craft, researching historical and cultural context, forming justified opinions with textual evidence and presenting analysis through a creative multimodal exhibit.

Packed with creative, hands-on activities, this unit will transform your classroom into a dynamic, inquiry-based learning space where students don't just read a novel—they become insightful literary detectives, critical analysts and engaging museum curators working together to uncover layers of meaning.

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 launching the investigation with 'See, Think, Wonder' charts, diving deep with comprehension strategies like visualising and connecting, stepping into characters' shoes with 'Point of View Remixes', becoming 'Context Detectives' to research the novel's world, analysing the author's craft through 'Imagery Hunts' and art responses, forming opinions using PEEL paragraphs and designing, building and presenting their findings at the final 'Literary Exhibit'.
• Australian Curriculum Aligned: This unit is fully aligned with the Year 5 English curriculum. It explicitly covers key content descriptors including AC9E5LE01 (Historical/Social/Cultural Contexts), AC9E5LE02 (Presenting Opinions on Literary Texts), AC9E5LE03 (Point of View), AC9E5LY01 (Text Reflects Time/Place) and AC9E5LY05 (Comprehension Strategies). It also implicitly addresses AC9E5LE04 (Imagery Effects).
• Hands-On & Experiential Learning: Foster genuine understanding with interactive and creative activities that make literary analysis concepts memorable and impactful. Imagine your students participating in 'Character Hot Seat' role-plays, creating visual responses to imagery, conducting guided research into the novel's background, writing analytical paragraphs backed by evidence, giving peer feedback during exhibit planning and experiencing the pride of curating and presenting their own interactive museum station.
• 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 Museum Curator, Literary Critic, Historian, Researcher, Exhibition Designer, Journalist, Detective or Teacher.
• Summative Assessment Task: Conclude the unit with a comprehensive "The Literary Exhibit" task, complete with a student-friendly rubric for marking.

Cover Your Entire Year of English!

This is Unit 3 of a comprehensive 4-unit bundle for Year 5. Together, these four units cover all 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 3: The Novel Investigation" today and ignite a passion for deep reading, critical analysis and creative expression in your classroom!