Canterbury Boys’ High School
English 2014/15
Advanced Course
The following information gives an outline of the Year 12 Advanced English Program for the HSC tested in 2015.
The syllabus states that:
The aim of Senior English is to enable students to understand, use, enjoy and value the English language in its various textual forms and to become thoughtful, imaginative and effective communicators in a diverse and changing society.
The study of English involves exploring, responding to and composing texts • in and for a range of personal, social, historical, cultural and workplace contexts • using a variety of language modes, forms, features and structures.
Meaning is achieved through responding and composing, which are typically interdependent and ongoing processes.
In Year 12 time is allocated to certain issues and texts based on the time needed to cover the Board of Studies’ requirements for the fulfilment of the English outcomes.
This program is based on the premise that: • students are required to experience literature in a variety of modes (short story, novel, poetry, non-fiction, film and drama) • there should be a continuing study of non-literary material (print and non-print, multi-media) • students should be encouraged to develop reading interests outside the classroom • there will be a continuing emphasis on oral English in class discussions, small group discussions, debating, public speaking, interviewing, dramatic reconstructions • writing, both formal and informal, is central to students’ growth in English.
Advanced English Course Overview
|Topic |Focus |Texts |Assessment |
|Area of Study |Discovery |The poetry of Robert Frost |Visual representation and reflection |
|Module A |Intertextual Perspectives |Julius Caesar- Shakespeare |Written Response |
|Comparative Study of Texts and | |The Prince- Machiavelli | |
|Context | | | |
|Module B |Prose Fiction |Cloudstreet- Tim Winton |Oral presentation |
|Critical Study of Texts | | | |
|Module C |Representing People and Politics |The Crucible- Arthur Miller |Listening Task |
|Representation and Text | | | |
| | | | |
|The Trial HSC examination assesses | | | |
|all of the texts listed in the table | | | |
|above. | | | | Minimum Requirements
In order to successfully complete the Year 12 Advanced English course, the following minimum requirements must be met:
Students must complete the following formal assessment and examination requirements to a satisfactory standard:
1) Area of Study : Visual Representation + Reflection – 25%
2) Comparative Study of Texts and Context: Written Response – 15%
3) Critical Study of Text: Oral Presentation – 15%
4) Representation and Text: Listening Task – 15%
5) Trial HSC Examination – 30%
In addition, students will be required to: • complete at least two class tasks for each unit. One will be a sustained piece of prepared work; the other will be a piece of work completed in 40 minutes under exam conditions.
Students who do not meet the assessment requirements of the course will jeopardise their accreditation in Advanced English for the HSC.
Text Requirements
• The close study of at least four types of prescribed text, one drawn from each of the following categories:
|BOS Requirements |YOUR Texts |
|Prose fiction |Cloudstreet- Tim Winton |
|Shakespearean Drama |Julius Caesar- Shakespeare |
|Poetry |Robert Frost |
|Non-fiction |The Prince- Machiavelli |
|Film or Drama |The Crucible- Arthur Miller |
• a wide range of additional related texts and textual forms.
Student Assessment
Your performance in Year 12 will be based on self-evaluation, peer comments and teacher assessment. All tasks will evaluate your individual performance. To assist you in this process, you are required to:
a) read, view and listen widely and reflect on these texts
b) regularly update your work folder as you write, read and speak in literary and non-literary contexts
c) file rough drafts and polished pieces of work in your work folder as required by the teacher for evaluation
d) at the end of each unit, reflect on your own work, your strengths and weaknesses and sum up your achievements
e) be aware that your teacher is interested in your whole language development, focusing on areas of listening, speaking and viewing as well as reading, writing and representing.
Units of Work
5.1 Area of Study – Discovery
This Area of Study requires students to explore the ways in which the concept of discovery is represented in and through texts.
Perceptions and ideas of discovery vary. These perceptions are shaped within personal, cultural, historical and social contexts. A discovery can emerge from the connections made with people, places, groups, communities and the larger world. Within this Area of Study, students may consider aspects of discovery in terms of experiences and notions of identity, relationships, acceptance and understanding.
Texts explore many aspects of discoveryg, including the potential of the individual to enrich or challenge a community or group. They may reflect the way attitudes are modified over time. Texts may also represent choices or barriers which enable or prevent discovery.
Perceptions and ideas of discovery in texts can be constructed through a variety of language modes, forms, features and structures. In engaging with the text, a responder may experience and understand the possibilities presented by a discovery from the text and the world it represents. This engagement may be influenced by the different ways perspectives are given.
In their responses and compositions students examine, question and reflect and speculate on: • how the concept of discovery is conveyed through the representations of people, relationships, ideas, places, events, and societies that they encounter in the prescribed text and texts of their own choosing related to the Area of Study • assumptions underlying various representations of the concept of discovery • how the composer’s choice of language modes, forms, features and structures shapes and is shaped by the values of discovery • their own discoveries, in a variety of contexts • the ways in which they perceive the world through texts • the ways in which exploring the concept and significance of discovery may broaden and deepen their understanding of themselves and their world.
They consider one of the texts prescribed for study and additional texts of their own choosing.
5.2 Module A – Comparative Study of Texts and Context
This module requires students to compare texts in order to explore them in relation to their contexts. It develops students’ understanding of the effects of context and questions of value.
Elective 2: Intertextual Perspectives
In this elective, students compare the content and perspectives in a pair of texts in order to develop their understanding of the effects of context, purpose and audience on the shaping of meaning. Through exploring and comparing perspectives offered by a pair of texts, students examine the ways in which particular social, cultural and historical contexts can influence the composer’s choice of language forms and features and the ideas, values and attitudes conveyed in each text. In their responding and composing, students consider how the treatment of similar content in a pair of texts can heighten our understanding of the values, significance and context of each.
5.3 Module B: Critical Study of Text
This module requires students to engage with and develop an informed personal understanding of their prescribed text. Through critical analysis and evaluation of its language, content and construction, students will develop an appreciation of the textual integrity of their prescribed text. They refine their own understanding and interpretations of the prescribed text and critically consider these in the light of the perspectives of others. Students explore how context influences their own and others’ responses to the text and how the text has been received and valued.
5.4 Module C: Representation and Text
This module requires students to explore various representations of events, personalities or situations. They evaluate how medium of production, textual form, perspective and choice of language influence meaning. The study develops students’ understanding of the relationships between representation and meaning.
Elective 2: Representing People and Politics
In this elective, students explore and evaluate various representations of people and politics in their prescribed text and other related texts of their own choosing. They consider the ways in which texts represent individual, shared or competing political perspectives, ideas, events or situations. Students analyse representations of people’s political motivations and actions, as well as the impact political acts may have on individual lives or society more broadly. In their responding and composing, students develop their understanding of how the relationship between various textual forms, media of production and language choices influences and shapes meaning.
Assessment Schedule
This is a summary of the assessment plan for the course. If a task does not discriminate adequately, a supplementary task may be set, with due notice given to students.
| |Course Content | |Language Modes | |
Outcomes |Task Details |AoS |Module A | Module B |Module C | |Reading |Writing |Speaking |Listening |Viewing/ Representing |Weighting | |5, 6, 8, 11, 12, 12A, 13 |Task 1
T 4 Week 10
Area of Study
Visual Representation and Reflection Statement |25 | | | | | |10 | | |15 |25 | |1, 2, 2A, 3, 4, 7 |Task 2
T1 Week 8
Intertextual Perspectives
Extended Response | |15 | | | |10 |5 | | | |15 | |3, 6, 9, 10 |Task 3
T2 Week 6
Close Study of Text
Oral Presentation | | |15 | | | | |15 | | |15 | |1, 2, 4, 7 |Task 4
T2 Week 10
Representing People and Politics
Listening Task | | | |15 | | | | |15 | |15 | |1, 4, 7 |Task 5
T 3 Weeks 4 – 5
Trial HSC |15 |5 |5 |5 | |15 |15 | | | |30 | | |Total |40 |20 |20 |20 | |25 |30 |15 |15 |15 |100 | |
Calendar of Study for Advanced English 2014-15
Terms |Week 1 |Week 2 |Week 3 |Week 4 |Week 5 |Week 6 |Week 7 |Week 8 |Week 9 |Week 10 |Week 11 | |Term
4
2014 | | | | | | | | | | | | |Term
1
2015 | | | | | | | | | | | | |Term
2
2015 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Term
3
2015
| | | |
Trial HSC | | | | | | | |
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Area of Study
Module A
Module B
Module B
Module C
Module C
Revision 