Welcome to English at RVSSC for the 2021 school year.   Term 1 is shaping up to be a term of persuasion, so get ready for your student/s to start honing their persuasive skills at home as they negotiate and present logical evidence-based arguments for why they should be allowed to ………., insert whatever it is your student thinks they should be allowed to do. ?

We will be looking at the cognitive process of ‘thinking and learning’ and incorporating ‘Thinking Activities’ into our lessons.  So be prepared for your student to enlighten you about all the fantastic THINKING they have been accomplishing each day.

Year Seven

Students will be looking at the liveability of place, namely Ipswich and the Ripley Valley.  They will be exploring what contributes to the liveability of place, housing, education, employment, crime rates, access to recreational activities etc. (This will crossover with Humanities)

They will be learning and focusing on the text structure, sentence structure and language features of a ‘persuasive essay’, as well as the editing and publishing process of writing.  They will investigate how the type of audience they are writing for, will influence the language choices they make to present their argument, they will examine the modality (or strength) of verbs, they will look at alternate points of view and learn to refute. They will learn how to use credible evidence from their research to support their arguments. But most of all they will learn that the Ripley Valley is an amazing place to live.

Year Eight

Students will be exploring print media, notably, Newspapers – both print and online. They will examine the structure of a newspaper and how the way news is presented has evolved over time. They will examine how the news media, which previously presented unbiased news reports, can now influence societal points of view and how the news uses persuasive devices to influence societal perceptions of current affairs.

Students will create their own online newspaper webpage, with all the traditional markers of a Newspaper- headlines, feature article, etc. and a link to a video news report.  Students will look at the differences of formal and informal language, depending on audience and news presentation (written or spoken). They will research their topic and interview ‘experts’ to demonstrate their credible sources of information.

Year Nine

Students will examine the power and motivating force of words through the examination and evaluation of Motivational Speeches within their historical context.  They will explore the purpose of motivational speeches, the types and structure of persuasive devices used to motivate and how the audience will influence their language choices. They will look at opposing points of view and develop the skills to refute the opposing argument. They will choose language that will inspire (persuade) the audience to do something differently or to think about an issue or topic differently, or to stay motivated and maintain the course of action that they have already begun.

Students will choose a current issue (political or social) and write and present a multimodal -motivational (persuasive) speech.

The only reason to give a speech is to change the world, and world changing starts with the audience right in front of you… get ready for it…we have amazing students who will ‘change the world’.

Welcome to Humanities 2021!

This year will see a slight re-structure to the year 7 and 8 units and the introduction of year 9 History.

In 2021, year 7 and 8 students will complete only one semester of Humanities and one semester of HPE. Therefore, if your student is studying Humanities in semester 1, then they will study HPE in semester 2 and vice versa.

Year 7 will begin the year analysing the liveability of Ipswich City whilst exploring the reasons that a place is or is not liveable. Liveability factors will include climate, cost-of-living and crime rates. This unit will also be completed in conjunction with English for those completing Humanities in semester 1. 

  

Year 8 will explore the medieval civilisation of the Vikings. This will culminate in their first source-based history essay.

 

Year 9 students will start the year with a focus on the Industrial Revolution and the Movement of people during that time. They will also complete a source-based history essay.

 

 

 Ben Sharma

Humanities Teacher