Years 8-10 English

Work Completion Calendar 2009

Overview of Modules

Possible Pathways

There are many pathways that can be followed. Some common examples are given below:

Requirements

It is essential that you have access to a dictionary and an audio cassette recorder (not just a player!).

A number of modules require the use of a video player.

This module is great for students who need to brush up on their English skills. It aims to build your confidence and improve your language skills, especially if you found primary school English difficult. There are a lot of fun tasks in this module including watching and commenting on an adventure video, reading various Dreamtime stories and creating a comic strip.

Just how do you write in correct paragraph format? What does a play script look like? The answer to these questions and many more can be found in this introductory module. You are exposed to a variety of text forms and skills designed to motivate and inspire!

This popular module introduces you to the valuable skill of note taking. It includes a novel study, the creation of a poetry booklet as well as the front page of a newspaper. There are a variety of assessments that are engaging, relevant and a lot of fun. You are encouraged to express your creative talents!

An exciting module comprising a combination of biography, fantasy and science fiction. You get to test your cartooning and design skills. You also have an opportunity to conduct an interview, as well as review a book and a science fiction feature film. It’s great fun.

A challenging module. Included are lots of interesting tasks such as recording a play script, designing a print advertisement, creating a ‘choose your own adventure’ story and an introduction to essay writing. This module builds on your prior knowledge as well as introducing you to some new English skills.

For those students who love an audience! Speaking and listening skills are developed in this module through a number of oral assessments. You are asked to respond to a novel, create your own radio program and reply to a job advertisement.

An opportunity to develop your awareness of the different techniques that can be used to influence an audience. You create a storyboard, review a novel and explore emotions and ideas in both diary and poetry formats.

You explore the many ways in which meaning is constructed in a variety of texts and begin to justify your interpretations. Assessments vary from the design of a brochure to the analysis of TV drama and how a narrative constructs character.

In this module, you continue to develop an understanding of the various techniques used to create meaning in a variety of text forms. Assessments range from program and set design for a play, to a magazine article and film analysis.

A module suited to the budding author. You select your own reading texts and use these as a springboard to create their own short story.

Thematic Modules

Do you know how you are influenced by the world around you? This module focuses on visual texts, especially magazines and film, and how they are constructed to affect the viewer. You will have the opportunity to create your own magazine and extend your awareness of current values and attitudes.

Convinced your ideas are always right but others don’t agree? Do you know how to argue effectively? Now, in this challenging module, you have the chance to really develop your ability to express yourself in a persuasive manner. You will look at a range of media to identify and put into practice various techniques used to persuade an audience.

This module offers the opportunity to develop an idea using the steps of the research cycle. You will be able to investigate a topic of your choice as well as gain a better awareness of how attitudes and values change over time.

Here’s your chance to indulge your enjoyment of reading! This module explores fiction texts that are written to keep you on the edge of your seat, and shows how that is done. Let your imagination run free as you create your own suspenseful piece of writing.

This challenging module develops your interpretative skills through the examination of several Australian cultural issues. It explores visual texts in particular, focusing on the way these texts are constructed to achieve a particular effect on their audience. The texts include the popular Australian film ‘Strictly Ballroom’, the historical/visual text ‘The Lost Diamonds of Killiecrankie’, and the heartwarming novel ‘A Bridge To Wiseman’s Cove’.

This module prepares students for TEE English studies. You discover how writers construct a variety of texts in order to achieve a particular effect on their audience. It explores some interesting themes and thought provoking issues through the examination of autobiographical and biographical writing, television drama, persuasive speaking and writing, and Ursula Dubosarsky’s novel ‘The First Book of Samuel’.

Another TEE English preparation module. You examine the ways a range of text types present issues and explore themes. You learn to construct reasoned responses through the study of non-fiction texts, visual storyboards, narratives and play scripts. The entertaining non-fiction text under examination is ‘Stoked’ by Glyn Parry and the novel is John Marsden’s compelling ‘Tomorrow When The War Began’. You will develop your speaking and performance skills through the preparation of a dramatic monologue.

This challenging module helps to prepare you for TEE English Literature studies. It develops your critical appreciation skills and abilities to evaluate different texts containing some complex issues. Irony, satire, intertextuality and persuasive speaking are some of the concepts examined through the study of a range of fictional, non-fiction and drama texts. Students choosing this module will have a well developed love of literature and a desire to extend their ability to craft their own writing.