Year 12 English: We’re getting along Like a House on Fire

This week, our Year 12 English students completed their first School Assessed Coursework (SAC) on Cate Kennedy’s Like A House on Fire.  They were required to write a Creative Response to her short stories that demonstrated their knowledge of her literary style and thematic concerns. 

This year, to support our students, we ran the SAC over six periods.  Students had a writing portfolio and developed their drafts in consultation with their classroom teacher and peers.  They also read the full draft of a classmate and gave structured, critical feedback.  Feedback from staff and students so far indicates that this approach, with the emphasis on the writing process, has resulted in students feeling supported in their class by their teacher and peers alike. 

While VCE English can seem daunting and difficult, we want our students to enjoy the benefits this study has to offer!  At Northcote, we believe that collaboration, not competition is key to success in VCE. English is exciting because it provides us with a platform on which we can debate and share ideas (and all ideas are worth sharing).  To model this, our VCE English teachers ran a panel in the library in Week 3 where we discussed our own ideas about Like A House On Fire.  We had a great turnout.  The students ate their lunch, listened and asked questions.  We heard about Mr Ramsey’s thoughts on the fishing metaphor in the short story Ashes, Ms Wright’s thoughts on Whirlpool, the delight Ms Keenan takes in the literary devices that Kennedy carefully uses to give a lyrical quality to her work and create impact.  The teachers all enjoyed hearing from each other too, building meaning and having ‘ah ha’ moments as we went. 

Our next text for study is Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel.  To support your child through their VCE, we encourage you to read the set texts and simply talk about what you read.  Talking is a way for students to articulate their thinking which we know is an important precursor to writing.  VCE is not something anyone can get through alone! 

Rebekah Keenan-Mount

Head of English