English Update 

Students across 7-12 have completed a fabulous term of learning in their English classes! We are so proud of all of our students and their work ethic this term! Below is a summary of the learning that has occurred so far this year. 

Year 7: 

Year 7 students have done lots of diagnostic assessments this year, including PAT reading, DIBELS and NAPLAN. These assessments help us gain an understanding of our students as learners so that we can teach more effectively. 

Students have engaged in an introduction unit, called 'Its Me, Hi!'. Students created short mini biographies about themselves using Netflix titles to introduce themselves to their teacher. Students then undertook a creative writing unit, learning about dialogue, plot and figurative language. Students can begin planning their CAT for this unit over the holidays and will submit at the end of week 2. 

This year we have introduced a literature circles lesson once a week for each year 7 class. Students have all practiced each literature circle role and have read one text in their groups. 

Congratulations to our year 7 students on a jam-packed beginning to the year!

Year 8: 

Our year 8 students have begun the year with a biographies unit. Students learned about the features of biographies, wrote a practice biography on their classmate, then learned interview techniques to interview and write a biography about someone close to them. 

Throughout the unit, students also focused on key grammar skills to build their writing capacity. 

Next, students have been focusing on their analysing advertising unit. They are learning about contentions, target audience and persuasive techniques. Looking forward to term 2, students will complete a CAT on this unit, focusing on creating their own targetted advertisement, and writing a rationale to justify their decisions. 

Alongside all this amazing work, students have been engaged with their independent reading texts each lesson. Moving forwards, students will continue to develop their capacity to respond to texts through journalling and short reflections. 

Year 9: 

Year 9 champions have begun the year with a focus on persuasive oral presentations, independent reading and NAPLAN work. In our persuasive oral presentations unit, students focused on different persuasive language techniques and how they combine to develop arguments. They learned about reliable, accurate and viable sources and were able to identify these to find their own research to support their arguments. Students presented their speeches and wrote a statement of intention to justify their arguments. 

Students then completed their book review CAT on their independent reading text. Using their reading journals from each reading lesson, students identified key characters, plot, and target audiences of their texts, alongside giving their book a recommendation. 

Now, students are embarking on their creative writing unit. They will study a range of genres and then select one for the basis of their short story assessment task. 

Congratulations to our year 9 English students for their excellent start to the year! 

Year 10: 

Our year 10 legends have been focusing on analysing and presenting argument this term. Students completed their oral presentation CAT as their first CAT for the year. They developed their own arguments, focusing on a range of appeals in their writing, and presented to the class.

In their analysing argument unit, they are analysing how others construct argument and how these position audiences. They are focusing on writing structure and essay writing to develop their understanding of how argument is constructed.

Alongside this, students have been reading the text 'The Hate U Give' in class one lesson per week. Students will be studying this text towards the end of term 2. It is important that students have read the text prior to the commencement of the unit, so please encourage students to read this book at home as well! 

Year 11 and 12: 

Our year 11s have completed their Area of Study 1 SAC, Personal Response Essay, in week 8 of term. Students are now working on their Crafting Texts unit, where they will work on a folio of writing over a number of week. Our next SAC will be in week 4 of term 2, and will be in exam conditions. Our final SAC of the term will be in week 6. 

Our year 1 students have made an excellent start to the year in English and we are so proud of their efforts! Students will have some holiday homework to complete, so please encourage them to work on this over the break!

Its hard to believe that our year 12s are over a quarter of the way through their final year! They have completed Area of Study 1 SAC 1 already, and will complete Area of Study 1 SAC 2 in week 2 of term 2. The date for this SAC will be 3rd May, and it will run after school from 3.20-4.40. Students have some holiday homework to complete in preparation for the SAC, including writing their quote sheet and completing practice writing pieces. 

We are so proud of the efforts of students in their first SAC - our creative writing piece about 'Sunset Boulevard' - and we are excited to read their analytical pieces on 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle'. Please encourage students to work on their SAC preparation over the break to ensure they are all set to go from week 1!

Congratulations to all English students and staff for an excellent term of learning!