Students, Parents/Carers Handbook

(2A) English -The sOPERAnos & Utopias VS Dystopias

Unit of Study: The sOPERAnos

 

Brief Description: This unit will stimulate your interest in operas by exploring the story lines and music of some of the world's most famous and revered operas. Students will examine the issues that relate to the interdisciplinary nature of operas, with particular emphasis on social and historical significance. This elective encourages you to consider the future of opera and its role in Australia in the present. And heck - who doesn’t love a good sing a long? 

 

In Term 3, students will study famous operas and examine the ways in which music, costuming and colour are used to construct meaning.

 

 

Unit of Study:  Utopias VS Dystopias 

 

Brief Description: Craft your own future society by discovering the key elements of these genres through a variety of text types - short stories, film and graphic novels. You will be examining context, issues, perspectives, authorial choices behind classic Dystopian and Utopian Texts. You will identify plot, setting, characterisation, themes and symbols, taking into account how film, literary and visual elements are used to discuss these elements. Journey into the future - is it bleak? Will the Flying Spaghetti Monster get us all in the end? Or will humanity learn not to exploit its natural resources and continue to thrive? The future is in your capable hands. 

 

In Term 4, students will study Utopian and Dystopian Literature and craft their own future world. 

 

Scaffolding Learning

At the conclusion of this unit of study students will have: 

 

An understanding of key knowledge

  • Students will identify and demonstrate an understanding of the key features of operas. 
  • Students will gain the ability to challenge preconceived ideas and attitudes about operas. 
  • Students will analyse traditional operas and assess them against their modern day equivalent. 
  • Students will gain a developed understanding of what constitutes dystopian and utopian texts. 
  • Students will understand authorial choices, issues and perspectives. 
  • Students will plan, draft and write a creative text that adheres to the conventions of utopian and dystopian genres. 

Attained these key skills 

  • Students will be able to analyse structure, and features of traditional operas. 
  • Students will have experimented with writing and analysing theme as it is used in operas.
  • Students will have the ability to analyse and evaluate the relevance of operas in the modern world. 
  • Students will experiment with writing and analysing language in texts.
  • Students will be able to plan and write a text with a moral and message. 
  • Students will reflect on their own values and experiences in our modern world. 

Demonstrated the Victorian curriculum standards and capabilities

 

  1. Reading & Viewing
    1. Language for interaction: (VCELA457)
    2. Text structure and organisation: (VCELA458)
    3. Expressing and developing ideas: (VCELA459)
    4. Literature and context: (VCELT460)
    5. Responding to literature: (VCELT461), (VCELT461), (VCELT462)
    6. Examining literature: (VCELT463), (VCELT464), (VCELT465)
    7. Texts in context: (VCELY466)
    8. Interpreting, analysing, evaluating: (VCELY467), (VCELY469)

       
  2. Writing
    1. Text structure and organisation: (VCELA470), (VCELA471)
    2. Expressing and Developing Ideas: (VCELA473), (VCELA474)
    3. Creating literature: (VCELT476), (VCELT477), (VCELT478)
    4. Creating texts: (VCELY479), (VCELY480), (VCELY481)

       
  3. Speaking & Listening
    1. Interacting with others: (VCELY485), (VCELY486)

Assessment Tasks

 

Students will be required to complete the following assessment tasks:

  • Plan, draft, edit and write an addition to a traditional opera
  • Plan, draft, edit and write a proposal for a modern day opera
  • Personal reflection
     

Additional learning opportunities

  • View a traditional opera
  • Excursion to theatres in Melbourne

Resources

  • Workbook, pens and highlighters
  • A sense of adventure
  • A text may be required to be purchased by families

Pathways

This unit of study could provide students with the following pathway.