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English Version 2.0

  1. Introduction
  2. Curriculum
  1. F
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. 7
  9. 8
  10. 9
  11. 10

Level 6

Level 6 Description

The English curriculum is organised under 3 interrelated strands: Language, Literature and Literacy. While each strand articulates the essential skills of English, they should be seen as interlinked and interconnected. Together, the 3 strands focus on developing students’ knowledge, understanding and skills in listening, speaking, reading, viewing and writing...

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Level 6 Content Descriptions

Language

Language for interacting with others
  1. understand how language varies as levels of formality and social distance change (VC2E6LA01)
    1. recognising language protocols for formal address, for example words used to address principals, heads of state and monarchs
    2. discussing levels of language such as slang, colloquial, conversational and formal, and how their appropriateness changes with the situation and audience
    3. presenting ideas and opinions at levels of formality appropriate for the context and audience
  2. understand the uses of objective and subjective language, and identify bias (VC2E6LA02)
    1. identifying language choices that evoke emotion and judgements in direct and indirect ways, and how they are used to persuade different audiences to take a position and/or action
    2. understanding when to share feelings and opinions (for example, in a personal recount) and when to remain more objective (for example, in a factual recount)
    3. differentiating between reporting facts (for example, in a factual recount or unedited photograph) and providing a commentary (for example, in an editorial)
Text structure and organisation
  1. explain how different types of texts are typically organised into characteristic stages and phases depending on purposes, recognising how authors often adapt text structures and language features (VC2E6LA03)
    1. exploring a range of everyday, community, literary and informative texts, discussing elements of text structure and language features, and comparing the overall structure and effect of authors’ choices in 2 or more texts
    2. examining a text to identify strategies such as exaggeration to create humour
    3. recognising that texts are organised into stages, such as an introduction, and that introductions may be divided into phases; for example, the introduction stage of a narrative may begin with a phase that is a ‘hook’ or a flashback
    4. explaining the characteristic stages and phases in reviews, discussing alternative positions or historical recounts, and identifying any adaptations of typical structures or language features
  2. understand that sequence and cohesion can be created by the intentional use of repetition of text structures, language features and vocabulary (VC2E6LA04)
    1. noting how a general word is often used for a more specific word already mentioned (word association), for example ‘Look at those apples. Granny Smiths are my favourite.’
    2. recognising how cohesion can be developed through repeating key words or by using synonyms or antonyms
Language for expressing and developing ideas
  1. understand how embedded clauses can expand the variety of complex sentences to elaborate, extend and explain ideas (VC2E6LA05 )
    1. investigating how the choice of conjunctions enables the construction of complex sentences to extend, elaborate on and explain ideas, for example ‘The town that was flooded suffered extensive damage.’
    2. creating complex sentences with embedded clauses to expand noun groups, for example ‘Hamish studied the rock samples that he had collected on the excursion, to complete his report.’
  2. understand how the choice of verb, elaborated tenses and a range of adverb groups can expand and sharpen ideas (VC2E6LA06)
    1. knowing that the simple present tense is typically used to talk about present states (for example, ‘He lives in Darwin.’) or actions that happen regularly in the present (for example, ‘He watches television every night.’) or that represent ‘timeless’ happenings, such as in informative reports (for example, ‘Bears hibernate in winter.’)
    2. knowing that there are various ways in English to refer to future time, such as using the auxiliary ‘will’ (for example, ‘She will call you tomorrow.’), using the present tense (for example, ‘Tomorrow, I leave for Hobart.’) and using adverbials of time (for example, ‘She arrives in the morning.’)
    3. using precise verbs (for example, ‘slice’, ‘dice’, ‘fillet’ and ‘segment’) rather than general words (for example, ‘cut’)
  3. identify the ways that still images (such as figures, tables, diagrams, maps and graphs), moving images and sound are used in texts to create point of view (VC2E6LA07)
    1. observing how sequential events can be represented visually by a series of images, including comic strips, timelines, photo stories, procedure diagrams and flow charts, life cycle diagrams and the flow of images in picture books
    2. observing how concepts, information and relationships can be represented visually through tables, maps, graphs and diagrams
    3. understanding that images and maps may be sensitive for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and ensuring that a disclaimer is applied or judgement is used about cultural appropriateness and sensitivities
  4. examine how authors use vivid vocabulary and figurative language, such as metaphors, similes, personification, idioms, imagery and hyperbole (VC2E6LA08)
    1. exploring how figurative language (for example, metaphors, personification and idioms) can be used to create vivid and less predictable shades of meaning
    2. identifying authors’ use of vivid and emotive vocabulary in persuasive texts, for example the vocabulary used in reviews
    3. discussing texts, using vocabulary to name text structure, literary devices and language features; for example, using words that name the literary device used in a poem
  5. understand how to use commas to separate a dependent clause from an independent clause (VC2E6LA09)
    1. identifying different uses of commas, such as commas and conjunctions between independent clauses in compound sentences

Literature

Literature and contexts
  1. explore their responses to characters and events in literary texts drawn from historical, cultural or social contexts by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors and a wide range of Australian and world authors (VC2E6LE01)
    1. discussing the influence historical, cultural and social experiences may have on the meaning of a text and attitudes towards characters, actions and events
    2. sharing responses about how heroes are portrayed in science fiction or fantasy and more realistic settings
    3. exploring reviews of Australian films
Engaging with and responding to literature
  1. compare language choices, modality, emphasis, repetition and metaphor, and topics, themes or plots in a range of literary texts (VC2E6LE02)
    1. exploring texts on a similar topic by authors with very different styles; for example, comparing fantasy quest novels with realistic novels on a specific theme
    2. identifying differences in the use of narrator, narrative structure and voice, and language and visual features, between texts and determining how these influence readers or viewers
Examining literature
  1. describe characteristics of literary texts that define an author’s individual style (VC2E6LE03)
    1. exploring 2 or more texts by the same author, identifying similarities (for example, subject or theme, characterisation, text structure, plot development, tone, vocabulary, voice, favoured grammatical structures and visual techniques in picture books) and describing the qualities that characterise an author’s style
    2. focusing on an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander author and identifying characteristic elements of their writing, for example imagery, theme and language
  2. explain the way authors use sound and imagery to create meaning and effect in prose and poetry (VC2E6LE04)
    1. explaining how imagery builds emotional connections and engagement with the story or theme
    2. identifying the imagery used in narratives or poetry about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ Country/Place
    3. describing the effects of assonance, alliteration and onomatopoeia in a poem
    4. explaining the effect of rhythm in ballads
Creating literature
  1. create texts that adapt plot structure, characters, settings and/or ideas from literary texts they have encountered, and experiment with vocabulary and literary devices (VC2E6LE05)
    1. creating narratives in written, spoken, multimodal or digital form by adapting character; for example, reimagining the hero in an adventure story
    2. creating an autobiography of a character from a text they have explored

Literacy

Interacting with others
  1. use interaction skills and awareness of formality when paraphrasing, questioning, clarifying and interrogating ideas; developing and supporting arguments; and sharing and evaluating information, experiences and opinions (VC2E6LY01)
    1. participating in pair, group, class, school and community speaking and listening situations, including informal conversations, discussions, debates and presentations
    2. using strategies (for example, pausing, questioning, rephrasing, repeating, summarising, reviewing and asking clarifying questions) when discussing topics
    3. recognising that closed questions ask for precise responses, while open questions prompt a speaker to provide more information
  2. deliver structured spoken and multimodal texts to an intended audience for a specific purpose, using appropriate features of voice (VC2E6LY02)
    1. experimenting with voice effects such as tone, volume, pitch and pace in formal presentations and recognising the effects these have on audience understanding
    2. presenting an argument about an issue from learning area content, which includes claims supported with evidence and examples, careful use of topic-specific vocabulary and selection of persuasive techniques appropriate for audience
    3. setting goals for a presentation and monitoring development in a written or digital journal
Phonic and word knowledge
  1. use combined phonological, morphological and vocabulary knowledge to read and write increasingly complex words (VC2E6LY03)
    1. using phonic generalisations to read and write complex words with uncommon letter patterns, for example ‘pneumonia’, ‘resuscitate’ and ‘vegetation’
  2. use their knowledge of known words, base words, prefixes, suffixes, letter patterns, spelling generalisations and word origins (etymology), including some Latin and Greek roots, to spell new words, including technical words (VC2E6LY04)
    1. using a dictionary to explore word origins, including some Greek roots, in order to spell words; for example, the Greek root ‘ath’ meaning ‘contest’ or ‘outstanding skill’, ‘pent’ meaning the number 5 and ‘dec’ meaning the number 10 inform the spelling and meaning of the words ‘athlete’, ‘pentathlon’ and ‘decathlon’
    2. applying accumulated knowledge of a wide range of letter patterns and spelling generalisations to spell new words, for example ‘ratio’ and ‘synthesis’
    3. expanding knowledge of prefixes and suffixes, and exploring meaning relationships between words, for example ‘disappearance’, ‘submarine’, ‘subterranean’, ‘poisonous’ and ‘nervous’
    4. applying accumulated knowledge of a wide range of letter patterns and spelling generalisations to spell new words; for example, knowing how and why these words are spelt as follows: ‘reliability’, ‘handkerchief’, ‘receive’, ‘lollies’, ‘trolleys’, ‘climbing’, ‘designed’ and ‘emergency’
    5. spelling technical words by applying morphemic knowledge, for example ‘metaphorical’, ‘biology’ and ‘biodegradable’
Building fluency and making meaning
  1. select and read different types of texts of varying complexity, integrating phonic, semantic and grammatical knowledge to read accurately and fluently for meaning, re-reading and self-correcting when needed (VC2E6LY05)
    1. bringing subject and technical vocabulary and concept knowledge to new reading tasks, and selecting, evaluating and using texts for their pertinence to the task and the accuracy of their information
    2. using their knowledge of text structure to navigate the text to locate specific content for a purpose
Texts in context
  1. examine texts, including media texts, that represent ideas and events, and identify how they reflect the context in which they were created (VC2E6LY06)
    1. identifying news reports of the same type of event over time and how they reflect their contexts
    2. comparing advertising posters for animated children’s films in different countries and explaining the impact of these choices on audience expectations of the film
    3. identifying how advertisements for the same products reflect the context in which they were created
Analysing, interpreting and evaluating
  1. analyse how text structures and language features work together to meet the purpose of a text and engage and influence audiences (VC2E6LY07)
    1. comparing the structure and language features of different texts, including print and digital sources on similar topics, and evaluating which features best aid navigation and clear communication about the topic
  2. use comprehension strategies, such as visualising, predicting, connecting, summarising, monitoring and questioning, and connect and compare ideas from a variety of sources to build literal and inferred meanings (VC2E6LY08)
    1. making connections between the text and their own experiences or other texts
    2. making connections between information in print and images
    3. using prior knowledge and textual information to make inferences
    4. asking and answering questions
    5. using graphic organisers to visualise connections, categories and hierarchies of information
    6. summarising a text or part of a text
Creating texts
  1. create different types of texts, written and spoken, with developed and organised ideas for purpose and audience, and multimodal elements as appropriate (VC2E6LY09)
    1. planning a report on a topic, sequencing ideas logically and providing supporting detail (including graphics, sound and visuals) to enhance audience engagement and understanding
    2. creating informative texts for 2 different audiences that explore a topic using text structure and language features for the identified audiences, noting the changes required to appeal to each audience
    3. using rhetorical devices, images and modal verbs for persuasive effects, for an identified audience
    4. selecting and combining digital tools to create texts
  2. re-read and edit their own texts and the texts of others using agreed criteria and exploring editing choices (VC2E6LY10)
    1. discussing the setting in a literary text with a peer during the editing process, and experimenting with literary devices that may enhance the setting
    2. re-reading and editing their own and others’ work using negotiated criteria for text structure, meaning and accuracy of grammar, spelling and punctuation, and explaining editing choices as required
  3. write legibly, fluently and automatically for sustained periods (VC2E6LY11)
    Content description does not require elaboration.

Level 6 Achievement Standard

By the end of Level 6, students demonstrate the following skills in English.

Speaking and Listening

When interacting with others, students use vivid vocabulary, select language to acknowledge formality and social distance, and use appropriate strategies such as paraphrasing and questioning....

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Level 7

Level 7 Description

The English curriculum is organised under 3 interrelated strands: Language, Literature and Literacy. While each strand articulates the essential skills of English, they should be seen as interlinked and interconnected. Together, the 3 strands focus on developing students’ knowledge, understanding and skills in listening, speaking, reading, viewing and writing...

Show more

Level 7 Content Descriptions

Language

Language for interacting with others
  1. understand how language expresses and creates personal and social identities (VC2E7LA01)
    1. understanding local idioms and discussing their connection with personal and social identities
    2. developing dialogue that reveals character in comics, cartoons and animations
  2. understand the language of evaluation and substantiation (VC2E7LA02)
    1. building knowledge about words of evaluation, including words to express emotional responses to texts, opinions of characters and their actions, and appreciation of the aesthetic qualities of text
    2. analysing how evaluative language can be used to assess the qualities of a narrative or persuasive text, for example its impact on the reader or the author’s skill in the use of language
    3. recognising how evaluative language is used to critically assess the validity of evidence and the reliability of sources
    4. recognising and discussing the language used to substantiate a position or an argument, including language used in illustrations and graphic representations
Text structure and organisation
  1. identify and describe how texts are structured differently depending on their purpose, and how language features vary in texts (VC2E7LA03)
    1. examining the structures of book or film reviews and how they might move from description of context to summary of the text and then to a position on the text
    2. recognising the social purpose of a persuasive text and how the purpose is reflected in the text structure and by the language features; for example, analysing the structure and language features of advertising posters
    3. describing the structure and language features of literary texts, arguments, discussions, creative and analytical responses to literary texts, films or popular media, and discussing how the structure and language serves the purpose of the text
  2. understand that the cohesion of texts relies on devices that signal, structure and sequence, such as overviews, examples, and beginnings and endings (VC2E7LA04)
    1. comparing and analysing the structure of media texts such as digital news sites or print media, and identifying strategies used to create cohesion
    2. identifying the ways that authors foreshadow how a text will unfold; for example, identifying the topic sentence, the key idea, sentence openers and text connectives
Language for expressing and developing ideas
  1. understand how complex and compound-complex sentences can be used to elaborate, extend and explain ideas (VC2E7LA05)
    1. identifying and experimenting with a range of clause structures and discussing the effect of these in the expression and development of ideas
    2. consolidating knowledge of simple, compound and complex sentences, recognising that a simple sentence can express sophisticated ideas and a complex sentence need not express complex ideas
    3. examining the addition of ideas using a compound-complex sentence, for example ‘When the protagonist finally took action, the relationships between all other characters changed significantly.’
  2. understand how consistency of tense through verbs and verb groups achieves clarity (VC2E7LA06)
    1. identifying and discussing how verb tense is maintained in compound, complex and compound-complex sentences
    2. identifying and discussing different forms of verb tenses and their use to maintain consistency of tense in different sentences, for example ‘I organise the cake stall every week, and I am running the meeting this weekend as well.’
  3. explore how still images, moving images and sound can be used to create a perspective (VC2E7LA07)
    1. comparing how perspectives are created in animations and advertisements
    2. comparing how different advertisements advertise the same product, using techniques to create different perspectives for effect
    3. analysing how the illustrations in picture books, graphic novels and advertisements use size, colour, angle, proximity, vector and salience to influence the reader or audience
    4. exploring how the use of camera angles constructs perspective and affects representation
  4. explore the role of vocabulary in building specialist and technical knowledge, including terms that have both everyday and technical meanings (VC2E7LA08)
    1. recognising vocabulary used to represent high-utility, abstract academic concepts, for example ‘factor’, ‘hypothesise’, ‘issue’ and ‘critique’
    2. identifying vocabulary used to write about a topic; for example, using terms for poetic devices and words to explain the effects of the devices in poems
  5. understand the use of punctuation including colons and brackets to support meaning (VC2E7LA09)
    1. examining the impact of information added to sentences when colons and brackets are used

Literature

Literature and contexts
  1. identify and explore ideas, points of view, characters, events and/or issues in literary texts, drawn from different historical, cultural and/or social contexts by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors and a wide range of Australian and world authors (VC2E7LE01)
    1. exploring ideas about heroism in literary texts by a wide range of world authors
    2. discussing the similarities and differences in character representations in film adaptations of novels and plays
    3. investigating representations of characters and events in literary texts by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
    4. exploring depictions of the city or the bush in Australian poems and short stories from different eras
Engaging with and responding to literature
  1. develop an opinion about characters, settings and events in literary texts, identifying areas of agreement and difference with others’ opinions and justifying a response (VC2E7LE02)
    1. establishing forums and criteria for discussing the relative merits of characters, settings and events in literary texts
    2. comparing personal opinions on texts and justifying responses in discussions, which may include referencing behaviours such as integrity and loyalty
  2. explore the ways that literary devices and language features, such as dialogue, and still and moving images are used to create character, and to influence emotions and opinions in a range of literary texts (VC2E7LE03)
    1. comparing the representation of a character’s appearance in a novel and film version of the same text
    2. explaining the impact and significance of language features in a text
Examining literature
  1. identify and explain the ways that characters, settings and events combine to create meaning in literary texts (VC2E7LE04)
    1. analysing and explaining the structure and features of short stories, discussing the purposes and appeal of different authorial choices for structure
    2. exploring traditional stories from Asia and discussing their features, for example use of the oral mode, visual elements and verse to convey the narrative
  2. identify and explain how literary devices create layers of meaning and aesthetic qualities in literary texts, including poetry (VC2E7LE05)
    1. explaining the sound and rhythm of poetry using metalanguage (for example, ‘end and internal rhyme’, ‘metre’ and ‘alliteration’) and discussing how layers of meaning are created
    2. viewing or reading Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander films, plays and poetry, and explaining the layers of meaning created by imagery
    3. determining criteria for evaluating the aesthetic value of a literary text and sharing opinions
    4. comparing a film adaptation of a literary text using specific language for naming the text structure, literary devices and language features of film and novels, and sharing opinions about the aesthetic and social value of each
Creating literature
  1. create texts that experiment with literary language features and devices encountered in texts (VC2E7LE06)
    1. using aspects of texts in imaginative recreations such as re-situating a character from a text into a new situation
    2. creating a prequel using an imagined series of life events of a character, presented as a series of flashbacks in a scripted monologue
    3. creating chapters for an autobiography, short story or diary
    4. experimenting with different narrative structures such as the epistolary form, flashback and multiple narrators
    5. experimenting with imagery, sentence variation, metaphor and word choice when creating a literary text
    6. transforming familiar print narratives into short video or film narratives, drawing on knowledge of the type of text and possible adaptations to setting for a new mode

Literacy

Interacting with others
  1. use interaction skills when discussing ideas and information, including evaluations of the features of texts (VC2E7LY01)
    1. participating in pair, group, class, school and/or community speaking and listening situations, including informal conversations, discussions, debates and presentations
    2. using effective strategies for dialogue and discussion in a range of formal and informal contexts, including speaking clearly and coherently and for an appropriate length of time, clarifying and rephrasing comments of others
    3. identifying key evidence supporting an argument in a discussion between 2 speakers
    4. choosing vocabulary and sentence structures for purposes and audiences, adapting language choices to meet the perceived audience needs
    5. ensuring that ways of communicating for particular audiences are acknowledged
  2. deliver structured spoken texts for a specific purpose and audience, employing formal language and using appropriate features of voice and multimodal or digital elements (VC2E7LY02)
    1. selecting features of voice (such as tone, volume, pitch and pace) for different audiences and purposes, recognising the effects these have on audience understanding and engagement
    2. sharing feedback with a peer while planning and rehearsing a presentation
Word knowledge
  1. understand how to use spelling rules, base words, suffixes, prefixes, spelling patterns and word origins (etymology), including Greek and Latin roots, to learn new words and how to spell them (VC2E7LY03)
    Content description does not require elaboration.
Texts in context
  1. explain the effect of current technology on reading, creating and responding to texts, including media texts (VC2E7LY04)
    1. investigating the influence of communicative technologies such as SMS, email and GIFs on written language
    2. analysing the impact of interactive elements of digital texts on texts such as magazines read in a digital form
    3. identifying changes in topics considered to be newsworthy as a result of technological change
Analysing, interpreting and evaluating
  1. analyse the ways in which language features shape meaning and vary according to audience and purpose (VC2E7LY05)
    1. explaining the relationship between language features, and audience and purpose, such as identifying which group would be the most likely target audience for the information in an advertisement and justifying why
    2. examining depictions of the histories and cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, discussing language features that shape meaning
  2. explain the structure of ideas such as the use of taxonomies, cause and effect, extended metaphors and chronology (VC2E7LY06)
    1. identifying cause and effect in explanations and how these are used to convince an audience of a course of action
  3. use comprehension strategies such as visualising, predicting, connecting, summarising, monitoring, questioning and inferring to analyse and summarise information and ideas (VC2E7LY07)
    1. comparing the presentation of ideas in formal and informal speeches and determining the reasons for the differences
    2. analysing visual features including choice of image, colour, composition and font on a book cover when predicting the tone of a text
    3. determining and summarising the key idea(s) of paragraphs and chapters in an extended text
Creating texts
  1. create different types of texts, written and spoken, selecting aspects of subject matter and particular language and print, multimodal and/or digital elements to convey information and ideas to a specific audience (VC2E7LY08)
    1. compiling a portfolio of texts in a range of modes related to a particular concept, purpose or audience, for example a class anthology of poems or stories
    2. monitoring ideas developed at each stage of creating a presentation in a blog or journal
    3. preparing a presentation combining print, visual and audio elements to explore and interpret ideas, drawing on knowledge and research about ideas and opinions different from their own
    4. using appropriate text conventions to create scripts for interviews, presentations, advertisements, radio segments, podcasts, digital and online reflections, including vlogs
  2. review and edit their own texts and the texts of others by removing repetition, refining ideas, reordering sentences and adding or substituting words for impact and coherence, and reflect on these processes (VC2E7LY09)
    1. editing for meaning by removing unnecessary repetition, reordering sentences and varying sentence structures to refine ideas, adding or substituting words for impact, and reviewing accuracy of grammar, spelling and punctuation
    2. editing texts collaboratively on a tracked, word-processed document

Level 7 Achievement Standard

By the end of Level 7, students demonstrate the following skills in English.

Speaking and Listening

When interacting with others, students explore specialist and technical vocabulary and use language to express social identities....

Show more

Level 8

Level 8 Description

The English curriculum is organised under 3 interrelated strands: Language, Literature and Literacy. While each strand articulates the essential skills of English, they should be seen as interlinked and interconnected. Together, the 3 strands focus on developing students’ knowledge, understanding and skills in listening, speaking, reading, viewing and writing...

Show more

Level 8 Content Descriptions

Language

Language for interacting with others
  1. understand how language shapes relationships and roles (VC2E8LA01)
    1. understanding that group identities are formed through language that reflects shared values, beliefs and behaviours, and through language choices that engender solidarity, such as specialist terminology, acronyms and terms of address (for example, teenage groups and sportspeople have adopted particular words and ways of communicating)
    2. investigating the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) Map of Indigenous Australia and identifying language names that inform relationships to Country/Place
  2. understand how language features such as simile and metaphor can add layers of meaning to the language of evaluation and substantiation (VC2E8LA02)
    1. identifying how authors use rhetorical devices that reveal the dark or serious aspects of a topic in humorous or amusing ways; for example, by making a statement but implying or meaning the opposite (irony), exaggerating or overstating something (hyperbole), imitating or mocking something (parody), and making something appear less serious than it really is (understatement)
Text structure and organisation
  1. explain how texts are structured depending on their purpose and how language features vary, recognising that some texts are hybrids (VC2E8LA03)
    1. recognising how texts such as critical responses to texts, expositions, text interpretations and discussions are typically structured to achieve their purpose
    2. discussing how the placement of images and written text in a linear or non-linear way, such as in online texts, is used differently in a variety of texts for specific purposes
    3. explaining the structure and language features of texts (such as narratives, literary recounts, memoirs, drama scripts, types of poems, formal speeches, comparisons, creative responses, discussions and debates) and explaining how these structures and language features support their purpose
  2. understand how cohesion in texts is improved by strengthening internal structures and sequence, with evidence, quotations and substantiation of claims (VC2E8LA04)
    1. writing paragraphs of extended length that explain, substantiate and exemplify a particular viewpoint
Language for expressing and developing ideas
  1. examine a variety of clause structures, including embedded clauses, that add information and expand ideas in sentences (VC2E8LA05)
    1. evaluating how speechmakers influence audiences through embedded clauses to add information
    2. exploring how clauses and embedded clauses can be used to express ideas more succinctly
  2. understand the effect of nominalisation in texts (VC2E8LA06)
    1. highlighting examples of nominalisation in a range of texts, including informative texts, and explaining the impact on content and tone
    2. nominalising relevant verbs in a series of sentences and discussing the impact of the change in tone on potential audiences
  3. explore how still images, moving images and sound use intertextual references to enhance and layer meaning (VC2E8LA07)
    1. identifying intertextual references in advertisements and discussing their impact on layering meaning, for example the interrelationship of words and images or words and sound
  4. examine the role and use of academic vocabulary (VC2E8LA08)
    1. identifying the vocabulary of academic report writing on a topic, for example the use of words such as ‘evidence’, ‘consequence’, ‘contradiction’ and ‘acknowledge’ for the topic ‘sustainability’
    2. comparing and contrasting vocabulary choices in academic texts, considering how they are used to communicate precise information or convey abstract ideas
  5. understand and use punctuation conventions, including semicolons and dashes, to extend ideas and support meaning (VC2E8LA09)
    1. creating dialogue in a drama or play, showing interruptions, asides and pauses for effect

Literature

Literature and contexts
  1. explain the ways that ideas, issues and points of view in literary texts drawn from diverse historical, cultural and social contexts by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors, and a wide range of Australian and world authors, may represent the values of individuals and groups (VC2E8LE01)
    1. discussing representations of characters from historical contexts in literary texts; for example, discussing the romantic representation of the Australian swagman and the values it reflects
    2. explaining attitudes and ideas about the natural world in literary texts drawn from contexts different to their own
Engaging with and responding to literature
  1. explore opinions about the language features, literary devices and text structures that contribute to the styles of literary texts (VC2E8LE02)
    1. comparing reviews of a literary text and evaluating opinions that challenge or support their personal opinions
    2. reflecting on and evaluating opinions and arguments about aspects of literary texts, including characterisation, setting and plot
  2. explain how language and still and moving images in a range of literary texts influence an audience’s response to and formation of social and/or ethical positions (VC2E8LE03)
    1. discussing how a complex picture book combines words and images to position readers to respond
    2. sharing opinions about how a film positions the viewer to respond to a character
Examining literature
  1. identify intertextual references in literary texts and explain how the references enable new understandings (VC2E8LE04)
    1. identifying intertextual references through allusion or quotation in written texts and discussing how knowledge of other texts influences the reader’s understanding and appreciation
  2. explore how language features such as sentence patterns create tone and voice, and how literary devices such as imagery create meaning and aesthetic qualities in literary texts (VC2E8LE05)
    1. recognising that tone is influenced when an author uses active or passive voice
    2. examining how writers use tense and relatively simple language choices or more elaborate and complex syntax, and how these influence meaning
    3. recognising that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors use words and language to set tone when writing or speaking about specific themes, for example words used to set the tone when writing or speaking about Country
Creating literature
  1. create texts that experiment with literary language features and literary devices for particular purposes and effects (VC2E8LE06)
    1. creating short stories focusing on characters and dialogue
    2. combining literary devices to evoke a reader response
    3. collaborating with a peer, which may include using online spaces, to write a short script with 2 characters, focusing on dialogue choices for each character

Literacy

Interacting with others
  1. use interaction skills for identified purposes and contexts, including when supporting or challenging the stated or implied meanings of texts in discussion (VC2E8LY01)
    1. participating in pair, group, class, school and community speaking and listening situations, including informal conversations, discussions, debates and presentations
    2. listening to a conversation or speech, identifying the point being made, and explaining the tone and manner of presentation
    3. using effective strategies for dialogue and discussion in a range of formal and informal contexts, including speaking clearly and coherently and at appropriate length, asking questions about stated and implied ideas, and restating and summarising main ideas
  2. deliver structured spoken texts for particular purposes and audiences to suit formal and informal contexts, using features of voice and multimodal or digital elements (VC2E8LY02)
    1. integrating multimodal features in a spoken presentation to support the audience’s understanding
    2. selecting features of voice, such as tone, volume, pitch and pace, with particular attention to the effects these may have on audience reaction and acceptance of the ideas presented
Word knowledge
  1. explore and use learnt knowledge to spell technical and academic words consistently and accurately (VC2E8LY03)
    1. understanding the different ways that complex words are constructed, and drawing on morphemic knowledge and knowledge of unusual letter combinations when spelling these words
    2. understanding where to obtain the spelling of Aboriginal language words and Torres Strait Islander language words, for example the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) Map of Indigenous Australia, and the Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre
Texts in context
  1. describe how representations of people, places and events reflect the context of the text (VC2E8LY04)
    1. identifying and explaining how social media texts reflect the context in which they are created
    2. identifying how speeches for reconciliation reflect the context in which they are created
Analysing, interpreting and evaluating
  1. analyse and evaluate the ways that language features represent perspectives on an issue, event, situation, individual or group, and the ways that quotations and sources are used and repurposed in a text (VC2E8LY05)
    1. evaluating an author’s use of language features to present an opinion about those features
    2. evaluating the use of sources and quotations and presenting an opinion about how an author has supported an idea
    3. researching and discussing Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP)
  2. analyse how authors organise ideas to develop and shape meaning (VC2E8LY06)
    1. identifying the structure of ideas in a range of texts
    2. examining texts that structure ideas according to proposition and support, cause and effect, and compare and contrast, and determining their effectiveness
    3. exploring texts that attempt to solve problems in a particular way; for example, organising information by considering strengths as well as problems that arise from a particular approach
    4. analysing how the organisation of a webpage shapes its meaning
  3. use comprehension strategies such as visualising, predicting, connecting, summarising, monitoring, questioning and inferring to interpret and evaluate ideas in texts (VC2E8LY07)
    1. reflecting on content by connecting and comparing information across and between texts
    2. determining and applying criteria for evaluating the content of a website, for example criteria for content and website purpose and its effectiveness
    3. analysing the selection and composition of an image in a text and evaluating its effect on the credibility of the story
Creating texts
  1. create different types of texts, written and spoken, that raise issues, report events and advance opinions, using deliberate language and textual choices, and print, multimodal and/or digital elements as appropriate (VC2E8LY08)
    1. experimenting with and editing text structures and language features (for example, paragraph order and content) and language choices to refine and clarify ideas
    2. selecting vocabulary to position and persuade the reader; for example, adjusting language to show or acknowledge power
    3. choosing vocabulary and sentence structures and using literary devices such as similes, metaphors and personification to meet perceived audience needs, for example when debating a topic or creating a voice over for a media presentation
    4. collaborating with peers to develop a persuasive advertising campaign about a contemporary issue
  2. review and edit to refine and clarify ideas to improve the effectiveness and coherence of their own texts and the texts of others, and reflect on these processes (VC2E8LY09)
    1. editing imagery and word choices when creating a literary text and reflecting on the effect of those changes
    2. editing for accuracy of grammar, spelling and punctuation, and for meaning by experimenting with different order of ideas, a range of sentence structures, literary devices and vocabulary to clarify meaning for academic texts where appropriate
    3. using conceptual maps or journals to plan and reflect on each stage of creating a written or multimodal text

Level 8 Achievement Standard

By the end of Level 8, students demonstrate the following skills in English.

Speaking and Listening

When interacting with others, students explore academic vocabulary and use language to support relationships and roles....

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