English

VCE ENGLISH TEXTS FOR 2019

The end of the year seems to be rushing towards us at an alarming rate, with our current Year 12s already finished their English exam, our Year 11s doing theirs this week, and Year 10 exams just around the corner. That means we all need to start thinking about 2019! Here in the English Learning Area, we’ve been planning for 2019 for quite a while, starting with the texts we will be teaching in Year 11 & 12. Some of these have not changed from this year, but we have had to make a few changes as some texts are no longer on the prescribed list. You will no doubt be receiving a copy of the booklist shortly; however, we thought you may like a little more information about the texts we are teaching and our reasons for choosing them.

YEAR 12 ENGLISH TEXTS

The Golden Age - Joan London (continuing from 2018, may be purchased from a previous year’s student)

The Golden Age is an Australian novel set in Perth in the 1950s. It revolves around two central child characters who are stricken with polio and sent to a convalescent home to recover. Students will study this novel first, with a focus on developing their own creative response to the text.

Rear Window- Alfred Hitchcock (director. This is a new text in 2019. You may choose to purchase a copy of the film, but it is not compulsory).

Rear Window is a Hitchcock classic starring Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly. Stewart plays the role of a journalist confined to his apartment after an accident, where he witnesses what he believes to be a murder in the apartment of one of his neighbours. Students will study the film in the second half of semester 1, with the aim of writing analytically on this text.

The Penelopiad- Margaret Atwood (continuing from 2018) & Photograph 51- Anna Ziegler (new in 2019)

 The Penelopiad and Photograph 51 are studied as a pair in semester 2. The focus is on a comparison of their themes and ideas. The Penelopiad is a modern retelling of the Ancient Greek myth of The Odyssey told from the point of view of Odysseus’s wife, Penelope. Photograph 51 is a play about the experiences of Rosalind Franklin; one of the most significant scientists in the discovery of the key to unlocking DNA.  

YEAR 11 ENGLISH TEXTS

The War Poems- Wilfred Owen (continuing from 2018, can be purchased from a previous year’s student)

Owen’s war poetry is some of the most famous and powerful ever written. His emotive and evocative representations of the true horrors of war and its aftermath have resonated through the last one hundred years since he experienced and died upon the battlefields of WWI. Students will study his poetry with the aim of writing analytically on this text in the second half of semester 1.

Montana 1948- Larry Watson (continuing from 2018)

Montana 1948 will be studied in conjunction with the film version of the Australian novel, Jasper Jones. We will watch the film in class and students will have further access to it through school resources. Montana 1948 is a short novel about a young boy’s discovery that things in his family are not quite as he had always assumed. This is a classic coming-of-age story which explores key themes of prejudice, growing up and the effects of secrets amongst others. These themes are also evident in Jasper Jones.

If you have any questions about any of these texts, or how to access them, please contact your child’s English teacher or the English Learning Area Leader, Sarah Pollard via Xuno or by phoning the school.