The Lives of Animals: Assessment Tasks

Suggestions for Assessment

The range of assessment tasks below are suggestions for ways to synthesise learning from the sequence of lessons based on the text The Lives of Animals.

Teachers could also use evidence from tasks within the lessons to bring together a portfolio of work to show how achievements have been met.

 

Formative Assessment 1 – Extended Response

Students to write an extended response on the following question:

  • How, and to what effect, does the language used in The Lives of Animals influence the reader’s perceptions of animals?

See the ‘Making Comparisons’ lessons for more details.

 

Formative Assessment 2 – Reflective Writing

Students to write a 250-word reflection on ONE of the inquiry questions below:

  • To what extent can literature be used to explore local or global concerns?
  • How powerful is fiction in raising awareness of the plight of animals?

See the ‘Fact as Fiction’ lessons for more details.

 

Formative Assessment 3 – Opinion Piece

Students compose an opinion piece on one of the following topics:

  • A 21st Century education should include an understanding of where meat comes from.
  • Young people need to be given the facts on farmed animal meat production.
  • Alternatives to factory farming need to be encouraged by governments.

See the ‘Animals and Ethics’ lessons for more details

 

Summative Assessment – Analytical Essay.

Students plan and then compose an essay which draws on their knowledge and understanding of the novella, The Lives of Animals.

Students should aim to support ideas with textual evidence as well as identifying and explaining the effect of literary devices. A standard essay structure is recommended (introduction, 3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion).

Students to conclude the lesson by composing an essay which responds to one of the following statements/questions:

  • The Lives of Animals, by J.M. Coetzee, explores the complexities of animal rights.
  • “There, there. It will soon be over.” The Lives of Animals is an exploration of one woman’s deep personal concerns. (see pg. 69)
  • “We have closed our hearts to animals”. (see. pg. 4)

See the ‘Reflections’ lessons for more details.

Voiceless would be delighted to receive any completed student work to feature on the Voiceless website. If parental and student consent is obtained, please email work to: education@voiceless.org.au

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Australian Curriculum alignment

Learning Area: English
Year Level: Year 10
Achievement Standards:

Receptive modes (listening, reading and viewing)

By the end of Year 10, students evaluate how text structures can be used in innovative ways by different authors. They explain how the choice of language features, images and vocabulary contributes to the development of individual style.

They develop and justify their own interpretations of texts. They evaluate other interpretations, analysing the evidence used to support them. They listen for ways features within texts can be manipulated to achieve particular effects.

Productive modes (speaking, writing and creating)

Students show how the selection of language features can achieve precision and stylistic effect. They explain different viewpoints, attitudes and perspectives through the development of cohesive and logical arguments. They develop their own style by experimenting with language features, stylistic devices, text structures and images.

Students create a wide range of texts to articulate complex ideas. They make presentations and contribute actively to class and group discussions, building on others’ ideas, solving problems, justifying opinions and developing and expanding arguments. They demonstrate understanding of grammar, vary vocabulary choices for impact, and accurately use spelling and punctuation when creating and editing texts.
Acknowledgments

This Australian Curriculum alignment statement is based on the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) materials, which are licensed under CC BY 4.0. The material has been modified from the Australian Curriculum website (accessed April 2018).

All activities have been created by educators for educators and are linked to the Australian Curriculum (Version 8.4). We advise teachers to consult the ACARA website for the most up-to-date curriculum outcomes.

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