ENGLISH
Years 7 to 10 - INTRODUCTION
Language shapes our understanding of ourselves and our world, and is of obvious importance in the way we relate to others. In the study of English at high school, students explore how meaning is shaped, conveyed, interpreted and reflected in spoken, written and visual texts.
The study of English is mandatory in NSW.
Developing proficiency in English enables students to take their place as confident communicators, critical and imaginative thinkers, lifelong learners and active participants in Australian society. It develops skills to enable students to experiment with ideas and expression, to become active, independent learners, to work with each other and to reflect on their learning.
In all years:
* students respond to texts. Students read, listen to and view a variety of texts and analyse and evaluate the content and ideas in the texts.
* students compose texts. Students create and produce written, spoken and visual texts in order to demonstrate their understanding of the texts and concepts studied.
A text in English is any medium that uses language, including sound, print, film, electronic and multimedia. Examples include (but are not limited to): novels, plays, poems, song lyrics, films, documentaries, TV programs, interviews, web sites, newspaper and magazine articles.
Students in Years 7 - 10 must read, listen to and view a variety of texts that are appropriate to their needs, interests and abilities.
In each year students must study examples of
* spoken texts
* print texts
* visual texts
* media and multimedia including texts drawn from radio, television, newspapers, the internet and CD-ROMs.
The selection of texts must include:
* Fiction texts
* Poetry
* Film (including film on video or DVD)
* Non-fiction
* Drama
The texts studied must give students experience of:
* a widely defined Australian literature, and other Australian texts including those that give insights into Aboriginal experiences and multicultural experiences in Australia
* literature from other countries and times
* cultural heritages, popular cultures and youth cultures
* picture books
* everyday and workplace texts
* a range of social, gender and cultural perspectives.
in years 9 and 10, students must also study Shakespearean drama.
Adapted from the English Syllabus Years 7-10 (Board of Studies NSW 2003)
ENGLISH Year 8
English is a mandatory subject for all Year 8 students in NSW.
The study of English in Years 7 to 10 is intended to be both challenging and enjoyable. At Goulburn High School we have developed a Scope and Sequence from Years 7 to 10 which develops student skills and understanding to prepare students for the School Certificate and the Higher School Certificate and life after school. The modules studied in Year 8 build on the concepts and skills developed in Year 7 English.
Core Modules studied in Year 8
1. Telling Tales - Australian Narratives
Students learn how narratives are structured through the study of Australian literature, using a range of novels and novel extracts, short stories and narrative poems.
Students develop their own skills in planning, drafting, editing and refining their own compositions and learn about the importance of sentence structure, word choice and structure in order to compose their own narratives.
2. Research unit
Students explore how disasters are represented in a range of texts, particularly film, documentary and non-fiction texts.
Students use and develop their skills in research to prepare an information report about a particular disaster. Students will present their findings to the class as a speech.
Students will also undertake a film study to explore and analyse how disasters are represented in film.
3. Theme Study - Different Worlds – Difference and Diversity
The unit aims to develop student understanding, awareness and acceptance of cultural difference. Students explore concepts relating to multi-culturalism, cultural difference and diversity, through the study of novel / film / picture books / non-fiction and / or media texts. Students explore the messages and values inherent both in the texts studied and in Australian society, and how those messages are constructed. Students develop skills in finding details at literal, inferential and interpretative levels, in order to interpret, analyse and evaluate the ideas and themes in the text.
4. Drama
This unit continues to develop student understanding and enjoyment of drama and performance. Students deepen their understanding of the features and requirements of a script, through analysis of prepared scripts and composition and performance of their own scripts.
5. Enjoyment of poetry
Students study a variety of poetic forms, styles and techniques
Students analyse a variety of poems to develop their understanding of how poems are constructed. Students also compose their own poems, focusing on the importance of word choice and structure.