Catalyst • Junior Secondary Curriculum • Handbook 2019
Core
Subject
Year 8
English
In Year 8, students will develop their skills further and
study texts of increasing complexity.
Topics covered are:
Core English provides progressive instruction in the
wide range of language-based literacies required to
be a confident and critical communicator. The course
is constructed in accordance with the concepts of
Language, Literature and Literacy from the Western
Australian Curriculum.
• Autobiographical writing
• Opinionative and comparative essay writing
• Public speaking
• Picture books
• Report writing
Through the study of English, students will gain a
range of functional and critical skills, developing
their ability to examine texts, topics and express their
ideas. Students will also expand upon their use and
understanding of text types.
• Film analysis
• The short story and novel
• Print advertising
• Poetry
• Library skills: fiction and non-fiction, research
All students in Years 7 - 9 study the same core program.
However, from Semester 2 in Year 7 and in Years
8 - 9 they will be grouped by similar learning needs,
and given appropriate remediation or extension,
both individually and as a class. For students with
a diagnosed learning difficulty and who require
intervention and extra support in developing their
literacy skills, support is available through our Learning
Support program. For more details please contact
Ullisa Macdougall-Hull, Head of Learning Enrichment at
[email protected] or 9377 8503.
• Interpretation and analysis: popular, cultural and
social artefacts
Year 9
The Year 9 English course aims to develop critical
skills through a range of more challenging texts
and topics. To facilitate this, the students’ study will
include three main areas: Asian studies and Asia’s
relationship with Australia; Rebellion and Protest; and
Technology and the Future. Students will also have a
greater element of choice in certain assessments to
help foster their growth as independent learners.
Year 7
Students study English as a formal subject. The focus
in Year 7 is functional literacy, expression, text analysis
and forms of academic writing. Skills and understandings covered are:
Topics covered are: • Stereotypes and character representation,
representations of values and beliefs
• Advanced academic essay writing, complex
sentence and argument construction
• Digital stories
• Conventions: audience, context and genre
• Film analysis
• Personal author, text or topic study
• Grammar and punctuation
• More complex generic conventions in a variety of
films, novels, drama texts and short stories covering
a more sophisticated range of issues and concepts
• Poetry
• Structured paragraph writing
• Narrative and text conventions
For additional details about the Core English courses,
please contact:
• Essay writing
• Comprehension strategies
Ms Jessica Rumble
Acting Head of English
(08) 9377 9265
[email protected]
• Persuasive and argumentative writing
• Novels and short stories
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