Year 7,8,9 English & Humanites Term 3 Overviews
Term 3 Curriculum Overviews
English
Year 7 English - Anmol
For Term 3 English, Year 7 students will embark on reading Chinese Cinderella which will focus on themes, character experiences, historical elements and take the reader on a unique journey through a historical fictional lens. They'll also summarise key plot elements and compare the significance of different themes. The curriculum includes examining bias, prejudice, stereotypes, sexism, and racism, analysing their portrayal in texts, and discussing their effects on characters. Additionally, students will intergrate social messages and morals from the texts to present-day examples, study ethical and unethical positions, and map the chronology of events. Students will indulge in independent reading, use Cornell notes as a systematic way to record questions, evidence, and record notes.
Year 8 English - Yixuan
In Term 3, students will be exploring the text ‘A Long Walk To Water’ by Linda Sue Park. This text is based on the real-life stories of two Sudanese children, Salva and Nya, across different time periods. Salva, a young boy in the 1980s, is displaced by the civil war and embarks on a perilous journey to find safety, eventually becoming a leader and advocate for water access in Sudan. Nya, living in the 2000s, struggles with the daily task of fetching water for her family, a burden made more challenging by the lack of clean sources. Students will use comprehension strategies to interpret and evaluate the text, and cite evidence to support their personal viewpoints. They will unpack how texts can draw on different historical, social, and cultural contexts, which may reflect and challenge the values of individuals and groups. At the end of this unit, students will be critiquing the book on the following elements discussed within - characters, author’s message, vocabulary, mood, theme portrayal and reader engagement. They will also reference specific evidence, discuss the relevance of the evidence and unpack how effective the author was at portraying the subject.
Year 9 English - Nat
In Term 3, students will be completing a comparative book study of the biographical narrative Night by Elie Wiesel and the graphic novel Maus. This unit will run in conjunction with their humanities unit on World War II and will focus on the representation of Holocaust survivor stories, in particular, Jewish survivors, from the time of the Holocaust. It is imperative that your child has a copy of the text Night to assist them in readings at home, using it as a study resource outside of the classroom and to take detailed notes and annotations of the text. When studying both texts, students will be analysing the following themes: dehumanisation of Jews, questioning of faith, survival and ethical and moral decisions. This unit will consist of a weekly text response to complete as homework to analyse the weekly theme analysed in the text. These responses will assist them in writing their larger summative comparative essay at the end of the term.
Health
Year 7 Health - Renee
For Term 3 Health, the year 7 students will be focusing on digital online safety. Within their classes there will be a large focus around collaborative learning where students will have the opportunity to research elements of online safety that are more pertinent to themselves. The students begin the term with an introduction to why digital online safety is so crucial for young people like themselves and through the subsequent weeks they will focus on topics such as digital online footprints, effective privacy settings and meeting people online. This term's focus will provide tips and advice that students can adopt outside of school that allows them to have an online presence in a safe way. Alongside digital health, the students will also have lessons that focus on good nutritional and physical health and this will continue into term 4.
Year 8 Health - Jake
In Term 3, Year 8 students will aim to become informed citizens, promoting positive health choices and outcomes in our community. Building on their knowledge from Term 2, student groups have selected a specific health focus point. In their groups, they will create a campaign to address issues within our community, with a variety of topics available, including mental health, nutrition, online safety, and relationships.
Throughout Term 3, students will enhance their skills in evaluating health information, voicing health concerns, and developing strategies to boost the health, safety, and wellbeing of others. The campaigns they create will be showcased in an exhibition-style workshop, allowing students, staff, and parents/carers to see and learn from their efforts.
Humanites
Year 8 Humanities - Danielle
In Term 3, Year 8 students will be reflecting on various societies throughout history, and ultimately, proposing their own! Students will look more closely at the Vikings and the Polynesian expansion across the Pacific, which is an exciting opportunity to learn more about the history and heritage of our Pacific Islander communities.
Students will be learning about the impact that geography, religion, key achievements, politics, economics and social structure have had on the development of these societies, and will analyse a range of sources to support their understanding.
After students have had time to investigate and reflect on their learning, including from the Medieval and Roman societies they have examined previously, they will propose their own multi-faceted society, through the same lens that they have examined these communities through history.
Year 9 Humanities - Jing
In Term 3, students will learn about World War II and consider how the choices made during WWII have impacted our lives today. They will study causes and consequences of the WWII, Holocaust, European entry to the war, Australian involvement, and the Asia-Pacific war. Students will connect historical studies with their text-reading in English and engage in a range of historical source analysis to build up their critical thinking skills from different perspectives. Students will articulate meanings and historical implications of sources from dot-points to paragraphs, using claim, evidence and reasoning. In addition, they will be given the opportunity to write a historical essay where they need to showcase their own ethical decision making. By the end of the term, students will sit through a history exam in which they are required to answer short-answer questions, source analysis questions and write a history essay in relation to WWII as the summative assessment.