English is a foundational subject that offers students opportunities to enjoy language and be empowered as functional, purposeful, creative and critical language users who understand how texts can convey and transform personal and cultural perspectives. In a world of rapid cultural, social, economic and technological change, complex demands are placed on citizens to be literate within a variety of modes and mediums. Students are offered opportunities to develop this capacity by drawing on a repertoire of resources to interpret and create texts for personal, cultural, social and aesthetic purposes. They learn how language varies according to context, purpose and audience, content, modes and mediums, and how to use it appropriately and effectively for a variety of purposes. Students have opportunities to engage with diverse texts to help them develop a sense of themselves, their world and their place in it.
At Aldridge:
In order to accommodate the various needs of our students, we offer a range of Englishes at Aldridge State High School. In years 7-9, students are able to choose to study General English or Essential English courses. Our 'Reading Link' intervention program caters for those students with identified reading difficulties. In years 10-12, students are offered the choice of General and Essential Englishes, and in addition, the new senior subject, Literature.
English requirement for ATAR:
Eligibility for an ATAR will require satisfactory completion of a QCAA English subject in senior.
Satisfactory completion will require students to attain a result that is equivalent to a Sound Level of Achievement in one of five subjects — English, Essential English, Literature, English and Literature Extension or English as an Additional Language. While students must meet this standard to be eligible to receive an ATAR, it is not mandatory for a student's English result to be included in the calculation of their ATAR.
Units of study:
Year 7 English (General and Essential)
UNIT
| TIME
| NAME
| DESCRIPTION
|
| 2 weeks
| Grammar revision |
|
1 | 8 weeks | Is there anybody out there? Journal entry | Students will explore sentence structure, parts of speech and descriptive writing to create a piece of imaginative writing from the perspective of an alien. |
2 | 10 weeks | Theme Parks Advertising brochure /spoken presentation | Students will explore a variety of persuasive language techniques. They will use these techniques in written, visual and spoken language to produce a brochure and a presentation in an advertising campaign for a theme park they design. |
3 | 10 weeks | Snap shot News report | Students will read an historical novel focusing on the impact of war. They will write a news report about a major event in the novel. |
4 | 9 weeks | Play, Play, Play Multi-modal presentation | Students will investigate the value of play and entertainment in the lives of young Australians and how it has changed over time. They will present their findings in an informative multi-modal presentation. |
Year 8 General English
UNIT
| TIME
| NAME
| DESCRIPTION |
| | 1 weeks | Grammar revision | |
1 | 9 weeks | Every Picture tells a Story Short story | Students will explore the structure and language features of narratives and respond to a teacher-selected stimulus in creating a short story. |
2 | 10 weeks | Fifteen Minutes of Shame Essay exam | Students will investigate the way in which the media manipulates public opinion through close examination of the representation (visual and written) of a specific group or individual. They will complete a written essay response to a media text supplied. |
3 | 10 weeks | Other Worlds Letter to the editor | Students will study a novel that explores other cultures and/or times. They will respond to the novel by constructing a letter to the editor from a character's point of view about a major issue in the novel. |
4 | 9 weeks | It's Only Words Multi-modal presentation | Students will write a poem about a teen, social or environmental issue and preform and analyse it in a multi-modal (i.e. spoken and digital elements) presentation. |
Year 8 Essential English
UNIT
| TIME | NAME
| DESCRIPTION |
| | 1 weeks | Grammar revision | |
1 | 9 weeks | Every Picture tells a Story Short story | Students will explore the structure and language features of narratives and respond to a teacher-selected stimulus in creating a short story. |
2 | 10 weeks | Fifteen Minutes of Shame Informative spoken presentation | Students will investigate the way in which the media manipulates public opinion through close examination of the representation (visual and written) of a specific group or individual. They will keep a media journal in which they reflect on representations of a specific group or individual and develop into an informative power point presentation. |
3 | 10 weeks | Other Worlds Letter to the editor | Students will study a novel that explores other cultures and/or times. They will respond to the novel by constructing a letter to the editor from a character's point of view about a major issue in the novel. |
4 | 9 weeks | It's Only Words Multi-modal presentation | Students will write a poem about a teen, social or environmental issue and preform and analyse it in a multi-modal (i.e. spoken and digital elements) presentation. |
Year 9 General English
UNIT
| TIME | NAME
| DESCRIPTION |
1 | 10 weeks | Monsters Inc. Narrative | Students will explore the concept of the monstrous as represented in literature. They will write a narrative from a monster's point of view, persuading the reader to empathize with either the monster or its victim. |
2 | 10 weeks | The Art of Persuasion Persuasive speech | Students will investigate an historical figure, whose status is contentious. They will write and deliver a persuasive speech aimed at convincing the audience that the chosen figure is either a hero or a villain. |
3 | 10 weeks | The Spirit of Youth Essay exam | Students will read a novel exploring its style and elements. They will respond to an exam question in an appropriately structure analytical essay. |
4 | 9 weeks | This is Your Life Written memoir | Students will research the plight of refugees from a chosen country or region. They will also construct a memoir from the point of view of the refugee or asylum seeker. |
Year 9 Essential English
UNIT
| TIME
| NAME
| DESCRIPTION |
1 | 10 weeks | Monsters Inc. Narrative | Students will explore the concept of the monstrous as represented in literature. They will write a narrative from a monster's point of view, persuading the reader to empathize with either the monster or its victim. |
2 | 10 weeks | The Art of Persuasion Persuasive speech | Students will investigate an historical figure, whose status is contentious. They will write and deliver a persuasive speech aimed at convincing the audience that the chosen figure is either a hero or a villain. |
3 | 10 weeks | This is your Life Informative speech | Students will research the plight of refugees from a chosen country or region. They will develop their research into an informative multi-modal presentation aimed at educating the audience about this particular group. |
4 | 9 weeks | Through the Lens Reflective journal | Students will explore film techniques and view a film in class. They will construct a journal entry in which they will evaluate the film's impact on its audience, explaining its themes and issues and the specific film techniques used. |
Year 10 General English
UNIT
| TIME
| NAME | DESCRIPTION |
1 | 10 weeks | Power and Obsession Feature article | Students will study a Shakespearean play with a view to enlarging their understanding of the relationship between power and obsession. They will construct a feature article that explores this concept with particular reference to the play they have studied. |
2 | 10 weeks | Rights and Racism Persuasive speech | Students will explore the civil rights movements of the 1960s, and view a film set in this context. They will write and present a persuasive speech in the role of a civil rights activist, addressing to a 1960s audience. |
3 | 10 weeks | Maturation and Morality Analytical exposition | Students will read a contemporary Australian novel and explore its themes and style. They will respond to an examination question about the novel, in an appropriately structured analytical essay. |
Year 10 Essential English
UNIT
| TIME | NAME | DESCRIPTION
|
1 | 10 weeks | Social Issues Campaign speech | Students will explore the range of prevalent social issues within the Fraser Coast district. They will choose one issue and write and present a speech suitable for a local awareness campaign, encouraging their audience to take action to instigate positive change within the community. |
2 | 10 weeks | Everyday Heroes Response to stimulus exam | Students will explore various representations of heroes (including sports heroes, war heroes and everyday heroes), identifying those qualities that distinguish the heroic. They will analyse visual/film and written texts, identifying the language features used to construct representations of the heroic. They will respond to both written and visual/film stimulus in a short response examination. |
3 | 10 weeks | At the Movies Film review | Students will view and discuss a popular film text, examining the way in which viewers are invited to respond to the representations of identities, places, events and concepts, They will respond by constructing a film review that explains these representations to a local audience and offers recommendations for viewing. |
Year 10 Literature
UNIT
| TIME | NAME | DESCRIPTION |
1 | 18 weeks | Introduction to Literary Studies Digital story Exam | Students will consider how textual choices engage readers imaginatively, emotionally and critically. They will develop familiarity with key terms, concepts and practices that equip them for further studies in literature, and an appreciation of the various ways literary texts are crafted. Students will develop an awareness of how the views and values of readers may influence the interpretation of a text. They will create a fractured fairy tale in the digital (multi-modal) form and analyse a novel in response to an examination question. |
2 | 18 weeks | Intertextuality Short story Essay exam | Students will develop knowledge and understanding of the ways literary texts connect with each other. Students will study texts that are closely related in terms of genre, theme and/or context. They will compare and contrast the ideas, style and structure of different texts to explore the ways in which texts interact with and build on each other to offer varied representations and perspectives. Students will develop an imaginative story response to a film text. They will analyse a novel in an essay response to an exam question. |
Senior English – (General subject)
UNIT
| TIME
| NAME | DESCRIPTION
|
1 | 18 weeks | Perspectives and texts Persuasive speech Feature article | Students will explore individual and/or collective experiences and perspectives of the world through engaging with a variety of texts in a range of contexts. They will examine how perspectives and representations of concepts, identities and/or groups are constructed through textual choices and how meaning is shaped through the relationships between language, text, purpose, context and audience. Students will use language to persuade in presenting a speech that examines prejudicial representations of a particular social group and invites positive future action. They will respond to a Shakespearean play by writing a feature article for a public audience that examines the cultural perspectives represented in the play. |
2 | 18 weeks | Texts and culture Short story exam Essay exam | Students will explore cultural experiences of the world through engaging with a variety of texts, including a focus on Australian cultures. Students will examine the relationship between language and identity, the effect of textual choices and the ways in which these choices position audiences for particular purposes, revealing attitudes, values and beliefs. Students will respond to an Australian film text in the form of a short story produced under exam conditions. They will analyse an Australian novel in an essay response to an exam question.
|
3 | 20 weeks | Textual connections Persuasive speech Feature article | Students will explore connections between texts by examining representations of the same concepts and issues in different texts. In doing so, they will consider how the textual constructions of the same concepts and issues in different texts resonate, relate to, and clash with one another. By examining texts in relation to other texts, students are offered opportunities to explore how connections between texts contribute to meaning-making. They will construct and deliver a persuasive speech on a contentious issue, and write a feature article that examines a concept across dramatic and novel texts studied in class. |
4 | 20 weeks | Close study of literary texts Short story exam External Examination | Students will explore the world and human experience by engaging with literary texts from diverse times and places. They will explore how these texts build a shared understanding of the human experience and through this become part of a cultural heritage. Following the close study of a film, they will produce an imaginative short story response. They will produce an analytical response to an examination question on novel studied. |
Senior Essential English - (Applied subject)
UNIT | TIME | NAME | DESCRIPTION |
1 | 18 weeks | Language that works Response to stimulus exam Persuasive speech | Students will explore how meaning is communicated in contemporary texts developed for and used in a work context. Students will develop and use a range of strategies and skills to comprehend and interpret these texts. They will explore how the relationships between context, purpose and audience create meaning in work-related texts. Students will identify, consider and explain language choices and the organisational features of texts, and their impact on meaning. Students will apply skills to identify main ideas, interpret questions and infer meaning in responding to work place texts in a short response to stimulus examination. They will develop their abilities to communicate ideas in the creation of a multimodal presentation for a careers expo. |
2 | 18 weeks | Texts and human experiences Film review Obituary | Students explore individual and/or collective experiences and perspectives of the world. Students explore how different perspectives, ideas, cultural assumptions, attitudes, values and beliefs are communicated through the textual representations of a range of human experiences. They identify audience and purpose, and consider how meaning is shaped in reflective and nonfiction texts to invite audiences to accept a particular point of view. Students will explore the lives of controversial public figures and respond to a nonfiction texts in the form of a written obituary. They will examine a film text about an inspirational individual and create a film review in response. |
3 | 20 weeks | Language that influences Persuasive speech Common Internal Assessment exam | Students will explore community, local and/or global issues and ideas presented in a range of texts that invite an audience to take up positions. They will explore how issues are represented in a range of texts and develop their own point of view about these issues, from which they write and present a persuasive speech, suitable for delivery at a student forum. In completing the QCAA- generated Common Internal Assessment, they will be required to explain the ways in which language in used to represent ideas in various stimulus texts. |
4 | 20 weeks | Representations and popular culture texts Film review Memoir | Students will explore how the generic structures, language features and language of contemporary popular culture texts shape meaning. In responding to popular contemporary texts, students will examine consider how perspectives and values are represented and will develop their own interpretations. They will construct a multi-modal review of a popular Australian film, explaining the concepts represented therein. They will explore the ways in which social groups are represented in popular texts and write a memoir of a character from a film text who is representative of a particular social group. |
Senior Literature - (General subject)
UNIT | TIME | NAME | DESCRIPTION |
1 | 18 weeks | Introduction to Literary Studies Digital story Essay exam | Students will develop knowledge and understanding of the ways literary styles and structures shape how texts are received and responded to by individual readers and audiences. Students will study a range of literary forms from various contexts and consider how textual choices engage readers imaginatively, emotionally and critically. They will develop familiarity with key terms, concepts and practices that equip them for further studies in literature, and an appreciation of the various ways literary texts are crafted. Students will develop an awareness of how the views and values of readers may influence the interpretation of a text. They will develop an understanding of how more studied and critical responses to texts can enhance their own initial personal responses. Students will learn to select and discuss aspects of literary texts that support their interpretation. They will create a fractured fairy tale in the digital (multi-modal) form and analyse a novel in response to an examination question. |
2 | 18 weeks | Intertextuality Short story Essay exam | Students will develop knowledge and understanding of the ways literary texts connect with each other. Students will study texts that are closely related in terms of genre, theme and/or context, or texts that are adaptations of other texts. They will consider how changes to the form and medium of a text affect its meaning. They will compare and contrast the ideas, style and structure of different texts to explore the ways in which texts interact with and build on each other to offer varied representations and perspectives. Students will develop an imaginative story response to a film text. They will engage with critical readings in interpreting and analysing a novel text in an essay response to an exam question. |
3 | 20 weeks | Literature and Identity Digital vlog Essay exam | Students will develop knowledge and understanding of the relationship between language, culture and identity in literary texts. Students will inquire into the power of language to represent ideas, events and people, comparing these across a range of texts, contexts, modes and forms. Through critical analysis, students will consider how texts endorse, challenge or question cultural assumptions. In engaging with literary texts, students will reflect upon their own backgrounds and experiences and how these affect their interpretations. Students will analyse textual representations to explore the cultural assumptions that underpin points of view and perspectives in drama and novels. They will respond imaginatively in the creation of a vlog and analytically in the form of an essay response to an exam question. |
4 | 20 weeks | Independent Explorations Short story External Examination | Students will demonstrate increasing independence in exploring, interpreting, analysing and appreciating the aesthetic appeal of literary texts and the insights they offer. They will explore the dynamic nature of literary explorations and interpretations, and how a close examination of structure, style and subject matter of literary texts supports various responses. In creating texts, students will independently develop and compose an original, imaginative story in which they will purposefully manipulate aesthetic features and stylistic devices to achieve particular effects. In analytical responses to an exam question, students will draw on a range of interpretations of a literary text to develop their own independent, informed and sustained exploration and interpretation that is supported by close textual analysis. |