Poetry In Action Incursions

Last Friday, the 11 October we welcomed Poetry in Action to Mordialloc again for two incursions, one for Year 9 on the body of work from Wilfred Owen and another for Year 8 on Words that Changed the World. 

Year 9 will be studying a selection of Wilfred Owen’s poems across Term 4 building up to the end of Year 9 Exam. His poetry explores the harrowing and tragic nature of war, presenting a vivid and moving portrayal of how political and social conflict can sometimes culminate in senseless, purposeless and futile suffering. This performance was also a great opportunity for students to not only start to develop their understanding of the literary techniques that Owen used, but to understand the performance elements of poetry, how sound, meter and tone impact upon meaning. We hope the Year 9’s enjoyed the show immensely. 

After their first performance, the Poetry in Action performers moved on to Words that Changed the World which is closely linked to our Term 4 Year 8 curriculum. This unit focuses on how people use language to generate real and tangible change in the world. Students study a range of famous and powerfully moving speeches, analysing how diction, structure and argumentation shape the perceptions of their audiences. This unit is designed to help lay the foundations for students for the VCE curriculum requirement Analysis of Argument, and aims to develop their inferencing skills, their ability to explain argumentation and their ability to write well developed and insightful essays. In the post-truth age where persuasion and argumentation are used in many contexts so cynically for commercial, political and personal purposes, these skills are becoming increasingly poignant and necessary. 

A big thanks to all staff who helped manage the two events, to our students who Poetry in Action described as ‘wonderful’ and also to Poetry in Action for their ongoing, much appreciated performances at Mordialloc College. 

Andrew McConchie

Director of Literacy Improvement