Step 1: Define the Lesson Goal

Lesson Focus:

Year 7 English – Analysing Les Murray’s Driving Through Sawmill Towns.

Lesson Goal:

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

• Identify key poetic devices in Driving Through Sawmill Towns (e.g., imagery, alliteration, metaphor).
• Analyse how Les Murray evokes a sense of place in the poem.
• Express their own interpretations through discussion, creative response, or written analysis.

Why this goal works for UDL:

• Covers knowledge (identifying devices), skills (analysing meaning), and expression (communicating response).
• Allows multiple entry points (visual, verbal, creative, or analytical).
• Ensures students engage at different levels of complexity.

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Step 2a: UDL Variables – Engagement

How to Support Student Interest and Motivation:

✔ Provide choice to capture interest:

• Visual Entry: Show photographs of small sawmill towns and ask students to describe the mood and atmosphere.
• Sound Entry: Play a soundscape (e.g., chainsaws, birds, trucks) and ask students what story or feeling comes to mind.
• Text Entry: Provide just the title and ask students to predict what the poem is about.

✔ Offer collaborative learning options to sustain effort:

• Think-Pair-Share: Discuss key images and themes after reading.
• Small Group Analysis: Each group annotates a stanza and presents their thoughts.
• Creative Response Groups: Students choose between writing a stanza, sketching a visual response, or recording a dramatic reading.

✔ Incorporate self or group reflection to support self-regulation:

• Personal Reflection Journal:
  • Have you ever driven through a small town? How did it make you feel?
  • What parts of this poem connect with your own experience of Australia?
• Exit Ticket: Students write one insight and one question they still have about the poem.

Anticipating Barriers to Engagement & Strategies to Overcome Them:

🚧 Potential barriers:

• Poetry can feel intimidating or abstract.
• Some may struggle with Murray’s dense imagery.
• Students might not relate to rural Australia.

✅ Strategies:

• Use images, sounds, and real-world connections to make it tangible.
• Offer multiple ways to engage before reading.
• Encourage personal connections to place and movement.

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Step 2b: UDL Variables – Representation

How to Make Content More Accessible:

✔ Present information in multiple ways:

• Text Options: Provide a standard, bolded-keyword, and annotated version.
• Audio Option: Play a dramatic reading or let students record their own.
• Visual Supports: Use images of sawmill towns, dusty roads, and rural landscapes.

✔ Clarify vocabulary and scaffold language:

• Pre-teach key terms (e.g., sawmill, bark-peelers, hardwood).
• Use word associations and sentence starters for analysis.
• Provide highlighted poetic devices with explanations.

✔ Activate background knowledge:

• Ask students: Have you ever driven through a small country town?
• Compare the poem’s themes to a song, film, or short story.

Anticipating Barriers to Comprehension & Strategies to Overcome Them:

🚧 Potential barriers:

• Dense imagery and figurative language may be difficult to grasp.
• Abstract poetic devices may be hard to identify.
• Some students may lack connection to rural Australia.

✅ Strategies:

• Provide multiple versions of the text (annotated, audio, visual).
• Break down figurative language using highlighted examples.
• Use real-world comparisons to make themes relatable.

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Step 2c: UDL Variables – Action & Expression

How to Support Students in Demonstrating What They Know:

✔ Use different tools for physical action:

• Speech-to-text software for students who prefer dictating responses.
• Sticky notes or mind maps to arrange key themes.
• Digital annotation tools for highlighting poetic devices.

✔ Allow for multiple media for expression:

1. Analytical Response – Short literary analysis.
2. Creative Writing Response – Write a poem inspired by the style.
3. Artistic Response – Create a drawing, painting, or digital collage.
4. Dramatic Interpretation – Record a dramatic reading with sound effects.
5. Group Podcast Discussion – Record a 5-minute analysis conversation.

✔ Guide students in goal-setting:

• Provide a checklist or timeline to keep students on track.
• Peer feedback sessions to encourage constructive critique.

Anticipating Barriers to Expression & Strategies to Overcome Them:

🚧 Potential barriers:

• Some may struggle with traditional essay formats.
• Others may feel self-conscious about sharing creative work.
• Some need more structure to organise their responses.

✅ Strategies:

• Provide multiple response formats (written, spoken, visual).
• Offer structured templates for organising ideas.
• Encourage collaborative peer feedback to build confidence.

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Step 3: Implement the Lesson and Reflect

Key Questions to Ask During Instruction:

• Are students using the available options, resources, and tools effectively?
• Where are students getting stuck, and what adjustments can be made?
• Is the lesson staying focused on the intended goal?

📌 Real-time adjustments:

• Offer extra scaffolding where needed.
• Encourage alternative participation formats.
• Adjust pacing if students need more time.

Post-Lesson Reflection Questions:

✔ Did all students progress toward the goal? How do I know? ✔ How did my design reduce barriers? ✔ What adjustments should I make for the next lesson?

📌 Next Step: Document these insights to refine the lesson for future use.

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