Christmas in Australia (differentiated reading)

Objective & content

One reading about Christmas in Australia, written at three levels: Support (A1+), Core (A2-) and Stretch (A2+). Each level fits on one A4 page, with a strip of photos, the text and its questions (multiple choice, true or false, and one sentence to complete). The topic is the same at every level: Christmas in summer, lunch outside with a barbecue, prawns and pavlova, Bondi Beach, Santa in shorts, and Carols by Candlelight in Melbourne. The higher levels add more detail, such as Santa arriving by boat at Mooloolaba and "Christmas in July". The answer key for the three levels and the teacher notes are on page 4. 20 to 25 minutes.

Pedagogical guide

Pupils often imagine Christmas with snow; this text shows them the same holiday on the other side of the world, and the surprise keeps them reading. Because the three texts share one topic, the whole class can talk about it together at the end, even when groups read different levels. Every answer is in the text, so pupils learn to go back and find the line. The Support text has 6 questions, Core has 7 and Stretch has 8; a few key answers come with a short reason ("It's in Sydney."), which helps when you correct them aloud.

Suggested procedure

1. (3 min) Ask: "When is Christmas in Australia: in winter or in summer?" Take a few guesses.
2. (5 min) Hand out the level that suits each pupil or group. Pupils read the text alone.
3. (10 min) Pupils answer the questions, alone or in pairs, and underline the line in the text that gives each answer.
4. (5 min) Correct with the key on page 4. Then each group tells the class one thing that surprised them.

Adaptations

[S] Give the Support text (A1+). Read it aloud once before pupils answer, and let them work in pairs.

[A] Give the Stretch text (A2+). Ask pupils to compare: "What is the same as Christmas in your country? What is different?"

Materials & prerequisites

One copy of the right page per pupil (page 1 Support, page 2 Core, page 3 Stretch), in colour or in the low-ink version; keep page 4 for yourself. Pupils should know the seasons, food words and the present simple; the Core and Stretch texts also use a few past simple verbs, and Stretch has "has been".