Years 5-6 Auslan Syllabus
Years 5-6 Syllabus
Years 5-6 Band Level Description
In Years 5 and 6, Auslan learning builds on each student’s prior learning and experiences with language. Students communicate and work in collaboration, and with support from teachers and peers, in purposeful, creative and structured activities involving signing and viewing. They interact in Auslan to exchange information and ideas relating to their interests, school and local environment, and engage with Auslan-using communities in person or via secure digital access. They work independently and/or in groups, with support. They use signed, digital and multimodal resources to extend their learning.
Students engage with a range of visual and multimodal texts that may include stories, posters, notes, invitations and procedures. They use their English literacy knowledge to identify Auslan structures and features. They understand that some words and expressions are not easily translated, and that communication and identity reflect diverse cultural practices, behaviours and values.
Years 5-6 Achievement Standard
By the end of Year 6, students initiate and use strategies to maintain interactions in Auslan that are related to their immediate environment. They collaborate in activities that involve the language of planning and problem-solving to share information, preferences and ideas. They use strategies to locate and interpret information and ideas in texts, and demonstrate understanding by responding in Auslan or English, adjusting their response to context, purpose and audience. They create texts, selecting and using a variety of signs, depicting signs (DSs), non-manual features (NMFs) and signing spaces. They sequence information and ideas, and use conventions appropriate to text type.
Students apply rules of signs, pace and signing space to develop fluency. They use modelled structures when creating and responding in Auslan. They compare language structures and features in Auslan and English, using some metalanguage. They show understanding of how some language reflects cultural practices and consider how this is reflected in their own language(s), culture(s) and identity.
Content Descriptions
Interacting in Auslan
initiate and sustain modelled exchanges in familiar contexts related to students’ personal worlds and school environment
discussing aspects of their school experience, using familiar lexicalised fingerspelled signs, for example,
FS:MON MR SMITH GIVE PT+c BOOK THAT NEW
On Monday Mr Smith gave me a new book.
discussing opinions in pairs or in groups, using NMFs and eye gaze to gain and hold attention or to finish a turn, for example,
THEATRE GOOD, LONG DS:FAST-REPEAT NMF:EYES-WIDENING
I liked the theatre performance, but it was sooo long.
SCHOOL SWIMMING RACE, GOOD BAD, PRO2 THINK WHAT?
What did you think about the swimming carnival?
discussing experiences and their associated feelings, for example,
DEAF PERSON WILL VISIT SCHOOL PRO1 EXCITED MEET
I am excited to meet the deaf visitor.
POSS1 FRIEND DIFFERENT SCHOOL PRO1 SAD
I am sad because my friend moved to a different school.
comparing weekend or holiday routines, interests and activities, using signs associated with time, sequence and location, for example,
REGULAR SUMMER PRO1(PL) GROUP MOVE BEACH STAY WEEK(THREE)
We go to the beach for 3 weeks in summer.
WEEKEND PRO1 GO-TO DS:FAST-REPEAT CAMP
I go camping on weekends.
expressing preferences in relation to places or things using abstract space, for example,
PT+lf PAST SCHOOL OKAY PT+rt NEW SCHOOL BETTER
My previous school was okay, my new school is better.
describing relationships between members of their families or between classmates, for example,
PRO3 POSS1 COUSIN PRO1(PL) GOOD FRIEND
She’s my cousin; we’re good friends.
using discourse markers in conversation to indicate understanding, attention or consideration, for example,
SURPRISE
oooh (with appropriate intonation)
INCREDIBLE
No way!
WOW
Wow!
UM
um
interviewing deaf peers or other Auslan users, showing agreement or disagreement or asking for clarification, for example,
PRO1 AGREE
I agree.
PRO1 AGREE-NOT
I don’t agree …
THAT RIGHT (CORRECT)?
Is that right?
RIGHT (CORRECT) PRO1?
… am I right?
- gaining the attention of an individual or a group, for example, by flashing classroom lights, waving tapping or pointing to alert third parties
following protocols for interrupting conversations, for example, when to walk between signers, waiting for eye contact and pauses in signing and using language such as EXCUSE or SORRY INTERRUPT
monitoring their own and each other’s learning, for example, by making comments such as
SURPRISE KNOW-NOT PRO1
I didn’t know that …
THANK-YOU PRO2 EXPLAIN CLEAR
Thank you – that was really clear.
participate in activities that involve planning and negotiating with others, using language that expresses information, preferences and ideas
- working collaboratively to plan a performance or presentation, for example, on aspects of Deaf culture or Auslan or a presentation about cyber safety
- allocating responsibilities and organising the completion of shared tasks, such as the creation of an online game or board game or a class project
PRO2 THINK BEST THIS FIRST, FINISH, NEXT …
Do you think we should do this first and when that’s done, next …
THAT FIRST IMPORTANT THAT SECOND
That’s more important than this. - expressing preferences in relation to roles and responsibilities in shared learning activities, using statements such as
PRO1 HANDWRITING PRO1 LIKE-NOT RATHER TYPING
I don’t like handwriting; I prefer to type it.
PRO1 WANT-NOT DRAW, PRO1 WANT TAKE MANY PHOTO
I don’t want to do the drawing; I’d rather take photos. - organising real or imagined activities or an event such as a class party, talent show or a trip overseas, using expressions related to place, time and numbers, for example,
THAT SHOW WHEN WHAT DAY?
What date is the show?
PEOPLE THERE, HOW MANY?
How many people will be there? - playing games that involve detailed information exchange, such as Guess who?, asking for and supplying descriptions, for example,
PT+f HAVE GLASSES?
Does yours have glasses?
HAVE-NOTNo. - carrying out simulated transactions in different contexts, for example, playing a ‘restaurant’ game or a food shopping game
Mediating meaning in and between languages
locate and process information and ideas in a range of signed, visual and multimodal texts, and respond in different ways to suit purpose
- identifying key information in procedural or descriptive Auslan texts and responding to signed comprehension questions, for example, watching a signed video about the water cycle and then participating in a game show style quiz to answer questions
- collecting information from peers about interests, preferences and routines, and presenting findings to the class using visual supports/graphic organisers, for example, presenting about how students get to school each day
- paraphrasing the content of selected Auslan texts such as community announcements and relaying the information to others
- reading or viewing First Nations Australian authors’ stories in Auslan or English and comparing words, formulaic expressions and sentences
- finding information about events such as a meeting to discuss creating more community green spaces or details of an upcoming Deaf community event and creating a signed advertisement or promotional video with English captions
- viewing a narrative signed text and responding by drawing a storyboard that identifies and sequences key events
- viewing Auslan stories and providing a signed summary of the plot, main characters and key message of the story
- comparing different kinds of Deaf expression, such as handshape poems or art, indicating with which they connect more and why
- engaging with different examples of Deaf humour, such as Deaf jokes, and comparing them with examples of humour in spoken English or in silent films or mime
apply strategies to interpret and convey meaning in familiar signed and visual cultural contexts
- reading and transcribing short, glossed texts, including indicating understanding that there are markings to show NMFs and spatial locations
- translating segments from popular children’s texts such as fairytales or short stories into Auslan, considering why some elements cannot be translated literally
demonstrating the use of a bilingual online dictionary such as Signbank by looking up various meanings of a word, for example, ‘run’ and comparing variation in signs for the concept in different contexts, for example,
BATH DS:HANDLING TAPS RUN
To run the bath
AND
To run out of pens
RUN WANT SCHOOL-CAPTAIN
To run for school captain
- using resources such as Signbank to identify words which might not have a direct sign equivalent, for example, jewellery, pets and other collective nouns
- finding and using phrases that have direct translations between Auslan and English, for example, Goodnight or Happy birthday
- creating bilingual texts for younger children such as a digital Auslan-English dictionary of school-specific vocabulary or online vocabulary games
- shadowing a story in Auslan, noticing phrases and concepts which do not translate directly
Creating text in Auslan
create and present a range of informative and imaginative signed, visual and multimodal texts using a variety of modelled structures to sequence information and ideas, and using fingerspelling (FS), lexical signs, depicting signs (DSs), non-manual features (NMFs) and signing space, appropriate to text type
- presenting information in Auslan to the wider school community, for example, a short skit to promote healthy habits, Harmony Day in the school, promoting community events such as a Deaf Festival or an upcoming swimming carnival using visual support
- assembling a signed information pack about their school to support newly arrived deaf students, including a signed glossary of key people and places and simple directions to navigate the school website
- explaining a favourite game, highlighting key Auslan terms and supporting information with pictures, gestures and demonstrations
- creating a class presentation or video, locating and describing, in Auslan, a specific First Nations Country/Place location in a local or regional context, or elsewhere in Australia
- planning, rehearsing and delivering short presentations about a topic of their choice, taking into account context, purpose and audience, for example, promoting recycling or a dream holiday
- creating the next scene, a new character or an alternative ending for a signed fable, short story or cartoon
- creating and performing an adaptation of a story with 2 or more characters, using elements of CAs such as eye-gaze change, body shift and head orientation change
Understanding systems of language
apply knowledge of signs, pace and signing space to develop fluency in familiar contexts
identifying body-anchored signs, such as HEAD or HAND, and signs that are not body-anchored, such as HAVE or STOP, and understanding that non-body-anchored signs can be located in space around the signer
- identifying where a signer has established a location in space, for example, through pointing, non-body-anchored signs, verb movement changes, or use of referents
- noticing that in a suite of connected signing, a sign will often be produced differently to the way it is shown in a dictionary
- recognising the different handshapes used by each hand in 2-handed signs
- recognising the use of dominant and non-dominant hands in other Auslan users
- identifying some NMFs in a signed text such as movements of the eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth, cheeks, shoulders and body
- signing at a constant speed with pauses for emphasis, for example, when recounting an event or giving instructions
- using some patterning in non-lexicalised fingerspelling
applying variations in iconic signs such as BANANA, which can be the iconic shape or the movement of peeling
use knowledge of modelled grammatical structures and formulaic expressions to compose and respond to texts, using appropriate textual conventions
- identifying and using examples of each type of DS in an Auslan text; entity DS, handling DS and size and shape specifiers (SASS) DSs
- experimenting with the use of CAs to represent words, thoughts or actions of a referent, through eye-gaze change, body shift, head orientation change, and matching facial expressions
- using fully-lexical signs that are in the dictionary and have a standard handshape, movement and location to compose signed texts
- understanding that some partly-lexical signs cannot be listed in a dictionary in all forms as they change their form each time they are signed, such as DSs
understanding that sometimes Auslan signers have information about how a verb happens through NMFs not separate signs, for example, WRITE-carelessly, and this is known as manner
using adverbs to modify adjectives using NMFs, for example, REALLY or VERY, whereby changes in mouth patterns and movement of signs can intensify adjectives, for example, RED NMF:EYES-WIDENING , PLEASE NMF:SMILING-HEAD-NODDING, TALL NMF:EYES-WIDENING
expressing timing of verbs such as signing WATCH versus WATCH DS:SLOW-REPEAT, or using lexical signs WATCH AGAIN
- understanding that parts of a sentence can be signed simultaneously in Auslan, making it hard to establish word order
compare some Auslan structures and features with those of English, using some familiar metalanguage
keeping a class poster to record different ways that English words are borrowed in Auslan, for example, the use of fully fingerspelled words, such as FS:NOUN, the fingerspelling of the first letter of corresponding English words, for example, FS:F for father, or abbreviations of English words, for example, state names such as FS:SA, TAS
- building metalanguage to comment on grammar and vocabulary, for example, comparing adverbs used to express emotions in Auslan such as raising an eyebrow to show questioning or lowering the eyebrows to show surprise with equivalent English terms
- recognising that Auslan signs have been influenced by international signed languages, in a similar way to English borrowing words from other languages
- identifying and comparing features of particular types of Auslan and English texts, for example, comparing language that expresses emotion in a narrative text
- analysing samples of types of text noticing choices signers have made in the production of their text, for example, the amount of CAs they use
- comparing the use of gestures across signed and spoken languages and discussing similarities and differences
Understanding the interrelationship of language, culture and identity
recognise that language reflects cultural practices, values and identity, and that this impacts on communication
- recognising that using Auslan impacts on the cultural experiences, perspectives and identity of Deaf and hard of hearing people
- preparing a presentation on the use of Auslan in the wider community, for example, in news broadcasts, live theatre and emergency announcements, the visibility of Auslan-English interpreters and Deaf interpreters
- exploring how different technologies are used by deaf people to support social and community networks including direct or mediated communication through the use of interpreters
- exploring, in Auslan or English, how language and culture are expressed through First Nations Australians’ song, dance or artworks, considering similarities and differences with an aspect of the cultural expressions of the Deaf community
- investigating the signed languages used by deaf and hard of hearing members of First Nations Australians’ communities
- identifying the diversity of the Australian population, including Auslan users who are deaf, deafblind, those who are hard of hearing and hearing people such as a child of deaf adult (CODA) and interpreters
- describing how Auslan has been passed down through generations, including that Auslan is often passed on through schools and social settings rather than from parents, and how it has been recorded, for example, video footage
- recognising that the ownership of Auslan rests with the Deaf community who are the Custodians of the language and that signs evolve naturally
- researching and presenting a biography, profile or pictorial report on people or places significant to the Deaf community, for example, Eugene Salas and the original South Australian Deaf Society/Mission building
identifying sign language use around the world using data from Ethnologue, for example, by identifying and labelling countries on a world map with correct naming of the sign language used, such as France = LSF