Create and edit literary texts that adapt plot structure, characters, settings and/or ideas from texts students have experienced, and experiment with literary devices | Year 6 English

What students learn in AC9E6LE05

Students learn to create and edit literary texts that adapt plot structure, characters, settings and/or ideas from texts students have experienced, and experiment with literary devices. They move from recognising the feature to explaining how it works in context, then applying it deliberately in their own reading, speaking, writing or multimodal creation.

Core idea: In English, choices in language, structure, literature and mode create meaning for a particular audience and purpose. A strong answer names the choice, gives evidence and explains the effect.

Success looks like

identify the relevant feature, strategy or text choice
use precise English metalanguage
support the answer with specific evidence
explain the effect in context
apply or revise the choice for a new audience and purpose

Key vocabulary

evidence: a short, specific detail from the text
viewpoint: the position from which events or ideas are represented
effect: the response or interpretation created by an author's choice

Use these terms only when they help explain the actual example. Avoid dropping metalanguage into an answer without showing the evidence.

Concept model and worked thinking

Use the evidence-to-effect routine

What to notice	How to test it	Evidence of mastery
create and edit literary texts that adapt plot structure, characters, settings and/or ideas from texts students have experienced, and experiment with literary devices	create and edit literary texts that adapt plot structure, characters, settings and/or ideas from texts students have experienced, and experiment with literary devices	student explains the effect or reason
second context	apply the same idea in a new text	student transfers the idea
check	explain the effect with evidence	student justifies with precise evidence

Name the feature, strategy or choice.
Quote, describe or point to the exact evidence.
Explain what the evidence does for meaning, clarity, representation, relationship or audience response.
Check the explanation against the purpose of the whole text or task.

Worked transfer

Take an unseen example linked to this outcome. First identify the relevant choice, then rewrite, annotate, compare or present it in a second context so the idea is not only memorised.

Teacher prompt: What changed, what stayed the same, and how do you know the new version still suits the audience and purpose?

Curriculum coverage and elaborations

Content description: create and edit literary texts that adapt plot structure, characters, settings and/or ideas from texts students have experienced, and experiment with literary devices

Descriptor focus: create and edit literary texts that adapt plot structure, characters, settings and/or ideas from texts students have experienced, and experiment with literary devices

Common misconceptions

Retelling replaces analysis — Use brief evidence and explain how the author created an effect.
Personal opinion needs no evidence — A strong response connects preference or interpretation to text details.
One feature proves the whole claim — Look for patterns across language, structure, viewpoint and context.
Context becomes stereotype — Keep claims specific to the text and evidence.

Guided learning activities

1. Annotate a model example

Students highlight the exact words, sentence parts, text features, visual choices or spoken moves connected to the descriptor.

2. Compare two versions

Students compare a weaker and stronger version, then explain which choices improve meaning, clarity, credibility, cohesion or audience effect.

3. Create, justify and revise

Students create a short response or text using the focus skill, justify the key choice and revise one part after feedback.

Revision Notes

Exam routine: feature or strategy → evidence → effect → context → check.

Important questions

Identify the exact feature or strategy in create and edit literary texts that adapt plot structure, characters, settings and/or ideas from texts students have experienced, and experiment with literary devices. Answer with precise evidence and a short explanation.
Point to the evidence that supports the answer. Answer with precise evidence and a short explanation.
Explain how the choice changes meaning, effect, clarity or audience response. Answer with precise evidence and a short explanation.
Apply the idea in a fresh sentence, text extract, discussion or multimodal example. Answer with precise evidence and a short explanation.
Revise one answer or created text using the success criteria. Answer with precise evidence and a short explanation.

Support, core and extend

Support: provide a short model, limited choices and sentence stems such as “The feature is …”, “The evidence is …”, and “This affects meaning by …”.
Core: use an unseen example and require evidence plus a context-specific explanation.
Extend: compare two texts, modes, audiences or drafts and evaluate which choices are most effective.

AC9E6LE05 Teacher Slides

Project the fixed branded slide deck one slide at a time. Use it with the same evidence-to-effect routine taught in this topic guide.

Open Classroom View

How to use this unit

Learn from the Topic Guide and fixed Teacher Slides, complete the Worksheet, use Practice for supported feedback, then take the Test when ready.

🎥 Optional Video Lesson

The SkillrHub lesson remains the primary learning resource. This optional video reinforces the explanation; you can complete the lesson and practice without watching.

Back to the lesson

Before you watch:

Pause after each worked example.
Try the examples yourself.
Return to the SkillrHub lesson before continuing.

Recommended: Pixar in a Box: Story Structure

Khan Academy Labs / Pixar — Consider how a story’s structure guides an audience before planning an adaptation.

As you watch: How does changing the order of events change the way a story works?

Load video player Loads YouTube in this lesson. See the video notice below.

Try it: Adapt a story you know by changing a character’s decision. Plan how that choice changes the middle and ending, then draft and edit one scene.

Video unavailable, inaccurate or unsuitable for this year? Report a video problem to SkillrHub by email. You can continue with the written lesson and practice resources.

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Curriculum equivalents: Victoria, NSW and international

Curriculum equivalents for And edit literary texts that adapt plot structure, characters, settings...

Mapped skill: create and edit literary texts that adapt plot structure, characters, settings and/or ideas from texts students have experienced, and experiment with literary devices

These references identify matching or closely related learning. Curriculum sequence, terminology and depth vary, so teachers should use the mapped skill and lesson difficulty to confirm suitability.

Region	Curriculum framework	Closest level or code
Australia	Australian Curriculum v9.0	AC9E6LE05 · Year 6
Victoria	Victorian Curriculum F–10 Version 2.0 — English	VC2E6LE05 · Level 6
New South Wales	NSW English K–10 Syllabus (2022)	EN3-UARL-01 + EN3-UARL-02 · Stage 3
United States (USA)	Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts	Grade 6
Canada (Ontario)	Ontario Curriculum — English	Grade 6
United Kingdom (England)	National Curriculum in England — English	Year 7, Key Stage 3
India	NCERT / CBSE — English	Class 6

Australian Curriculum v9.0 is the canonical source for this SkillrHub lesson. Victoria and NSW entries name the closest published state codes or outcomes; international entries are planning references rather than claims of identical curricula.

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Topic reference: AC9E6LE05 — AC9E6LE05: Create and edit literary texts that adapt plot structure, characters, settings and/or ideas from texts students have experienced, and experiment with literary devices

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Official curriculum references

Related Year 6 English topics

Learn: Adapting and editing literary texts

Learning intention: Transform mentor-text techniques into an original plot, character, setting or idea; preserve the useful structural function without copying wording, identities or event sequences, then revise meaning before proofreading.

How to think

Name the exact feature or choice.
Point to specific evidence.
Explain what it changes for meaning, purpose or response.
Check the claim against the whole text and context.
Revise or transfer the choice deliberately.

Feature	Original example	Why it matters
transforming plot structure	A mentor story begins at the climax; a new story opens during a failed space-station repair.	The suspense structure is retained while events, setting and problem are original.
character motivation	A young engineer hides a damaged tool because she fears losing the team’s trust.	The specific fear explains her secrecy and creates later consequences.
active setting	A flood blocks the only road and forces rivals to share a shelter.	The setting changes available choices and drives the plot.
adapted viewpoint	A mentor uses an unreliable narrator; the new narrator misreads sensor warnings.	The technique is transformed into a new context and source of tension.
motif transformation	A source text uses a key for trust; a new story uses a shared access code.	The symbolic function is adapted through a different object and setting.
plot causality	The hero ignores a warning, damages the radio and cannot call for help.	The consequence grows logically from a character decision.
foreshadowing	Early interference on the radio hints that the final message may fail.	The clue prepares the later event without revealing it completely.
character change	At first, Leila refuses help; at the climax, she shares control of the rescue.	Changed behaviour demonstrates growth through action.
pacing revision	A chase scene pauses for two pages of unrelated room description.	The interruption weakens urgency because the detail does not serve the action.
adaptation boundary	The draft repeats a mentor text’s event order, descriptions and ending.	The similarities go beyond technique and require substantial redesign.
revision before proofreading	The climax does not follow from the character’s earlier choices.	A meaning and structure problem must be repaired before surface spelling edits.
coherent synthesis	The setting pressure, character goal and recurring signal motif all shape the final choice.	The elements work together rather than appearing as separate decorations.

Common mistakes

More description always improves a literary text. Check the evidence and replace the absolute rule with a limited explanation.
A source may be copied if it inspired the writer. Check the evidence and replace the absolute rule with a limited explanation.
Revision and proofreading are the same process. Check the evidence and replace the absolute rule with a limited explanation.
Every attractive idea should remain in the final draft. Check the evidence and replace the absolute rule with a limited explanation.

Check your understanding

Choose one unfamiliar example. Identify the feature, quote or describe the evidence, explain its effect and make one justified revision. A complete answer must show why the evidence supports the claim.