ENGLISH FACULTY

TERM 1 2024

The English faculty embraces the use of technology in teaching and learning and has had a particular focus on incorporating the use of AI in both class and homework tasks. The emerging AI technologies have proven invaluable as a differentiation tool, both simplifying and making more complex short texts that students have been studying in class. This enables teachers to more effectively meet the needs of all students.

Year 7 have recently completed a persuasive TED Talk transcript, using chrome books to type up their completed transcript. They have presented excerpts from their TED Talk to their class.

Year 8 are using chrome books to find their own imaginative stimuli for their narrative compositions. They will be composing an extended imaginative response in their Half-Yearly Examination towards the start of next term.

Year 9 have recently completed a persuasive writing unit, designed to assist them with the NAPLAN tests that were held in Weeks 7-8. They will also be composing an extended persuasive response in their Half-Yearly Examination early next term. They are currently studying William Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’, analysing the themes and characters in preparation for their essay assessment task later in Term 2.

Year 10 have recently completed a comparative unit of study on William Shakespeare’s ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ and the film ’10 Things I Hate About You’ directed by Gil Junger. They are currently preparing an essay response on the two texts that they will be able to use in the essay section of their Half-Yearly Examination early next term.

Year 11 Standard, Advanced and EAL/D English classes have recently completed their Preliminary Yearly Examinations. They will begin study of their Year 12 courses at the start of next term. Students are strongly encouraged to read their prescribed texts over the holidays so that they are ready to start studying them from their first lesson in Term 2.

All year groups in English this year have been completing weekly self-marking homework quizzes on Google Classroom that have been made possible with the assistance of AI technology. These quizzes contain high quality questions that provide invaluable reinforcement of the concepts and language techniques being studied in class. They also provide teachers with accessible data on how clearly students understand the concepts and skills currently being studied in class. It is hoped that with these weekly tasks, students will embrace the opportunity to regularly revise their classwork, to practise their ability to apply that knowledge to unseen questions and through this, to build confidence in their learning and in their ability to study independently.