Fitzgerald’s novel about ‘careless people’ and avarice in the modern era is an established favourite for senior students. This 30-page unit of work has been tested successfully with a mixed-ability class and provides material for a full 10-week school term. Pre-reading research tasks introduce students to the Roaring 20s, before the bulk of the unit focuses on close textual analysis. There is a mixture of tasks which get students writing analytically, personally, and creatively, helping them to build up a their own unique interpretation to the work, and eventually express this in a formal essay. There is a brief, student-friendly explanation of what a close reading is and how to perform it, followed by a sample close reading of the opening passage. Each chapter has a single-page task sheet comprising three higher-order tasks: a close reading of a nominated passage, an extended response to develop interpretative thinking, and a choice of creative writing tasks which springboard from the language and ideas in the chapter. Ten senior-level essay questions offer a choice of arguments about character, theme, language, and context, and a sample essay discusses whether we can think of the novel as a tragedy. FREE 4 Contextual research tasks Explanation of close reading method Sample close reading 9 chapters with close reading, writing at length, and creative writing tasks FREE 10 essay questions suitable for senior students Sample essay

This is a three-part resource for students undertaking the NSW HSC Common Module Texts and Human Experience. A generic essay plan shows students how to compose an essay suitable for Stage 6, progressing them from the simpler PEEL/TEAL models of Stage 4 and 5. A sample essay for the prescribed text, The Merchant of Venice, answers a sample question for this module. There is also a second copy of the essay, marked up to show how it follows the plan, and with five short questions which require students to engage critically with the essay and its form.

Fitzgerald’s novel about ‘careless people’ and avarice in the modern era is an established favourite for senior students. These pre-reading research tasks introduce students to the Roaring 20s, and can be given as homework or group work. The four task sheets cover Long Island life; Prohibition; Cars; and Americans in WWI. They involve a link to useful online reading and knowledge-building questions which engage students briefly before they go on to close textual study of the novel. Teachers can differentiate the tasks for students of varying ability.

Lois Lowry’s novel about the value of memory and individuality in a sinister dystopia is an established favourite for late primary school / junior high school. This 31-page unit of work has been tested successfully with a mixed-ability class of 11-12 year olds. This unit focuses on close textual analysis. There is a mixture of tasks which gets students writing analytically, personally, and creatively, helping them to build up their own unique interpretation of the work, and eventually to express this in a formal essay. There is a contextual introduction to historical ideas of utopia, and a short research task where students find out about a utopian vision from another culture or time. Chapters are grouped into five sections, with each section comprising comprehsion questions, an analytical response, a personal response, and a creative response. Five age-appropriate essay questions ask students about the themes and characters in the novel.

‘New Accents’, by the Chinese-Australian poet Yu Ouyang, is a set text for HSC Standard English study. This set of notes gives a full analysis of the poem with a relevant image and a handy grab-box explaining the poem’s significance and poetic techniques. A simple, one-stop analysis of this complex poem which students can work through in class or take home for private study.

A close reading of Eliot’s famous poem, giving analysis of the work and a discussion of the culture and context from which Eliot wrote.

This is a three-part resource for students undertaking the NSW HSC Standard English Module A: Language, Identity, and Culture A generic essay plan shows students how to compose an essay suitable for Stage 6, progressing them from the simpler PEEL/TEAL models of Stage 4 and 5. A sample essay for the prescribed text, The Castle answers the 2019 HSC question: Film relies on dialogue to create cultural tension. To what extent do you agree with this statement? There is also a second copy of the essay, marked up to show how it follows the plan, and with five short questions which require students to engage critically with the essay and its form.

This is a three-part resource for students undertaking the NSW HSC Standard English Module B: Close Study of a Text. A generic essay plan shows students how to compose an essay suitable for Stage 6, progressing them from the simpler PEEL/TEAL models of Stage 4 and 5. A sample essay for the prescribed text, the poetry of Robert Gray answers the 2019 HSC question: Literature reinforces or challenges our understanding of ordinary situations. Discuss this statement, making detailed reference to your prescribed text. There is also a second copy of the essay, marked up to show how it follows the plan, and with five short questions which require students to engage critically with the essay and its form.

Victorian poetry regularly makes the top ten poems in public surveys, and much of our conception of what makes ‘good’ poetry was shaped by poets like Tennyson, Browning, Rossetti, and Arnold. This period formed the emotional and social attitudes which linger today – even in post-modern texts which claim to have moved beyond them. While the Romantics were read by the literati, the Victorian poets in this unit formed the core of public poetry consumption. An understanding of this period is essential for students who will read Edwardian and Modernist literature in later terms, by showing them what these writers and artists reacted against. The unit is designed to be taught over an 8-10 week term, and contains: Introduction to Victorian Britain – an easy research task which students can do together or individually, drawing on readily-available online resources about the nineteenth century. Seven poetry-focused modules: o The Poet Laureate: Alfred, Lord Tennyson o The Pre-Raphaelites: Dante Gabriel and Christina Rossetti o Celebrity Marriages: Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning o Personal Piety: Matthew Arnold and Gerald Manley Hopkins o Nonsense Poetry: Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll o The Poetry of Empire: Rudyard Kipling and Thomas Hardy o America: Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson A short list of films, documentaries, and series which students can watch for context. An essay-based assessment task suitable for students aged 15-16

Short stories are a vital part of English literature. These short story studies can be used to build a short story unit, to supplement other texts, or as a standby lesson. [Use this with our FREE Introduction to Short Stories two-page handout.]https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12564488) Each classic story is copyright free in Australia, the U.K. and U.S. Paragraphs are numbered for ease of reference. Activities correspond to Bloom’s taxonomy of lower- to higher-order tasks. A comprehension question checks knowledge and understanding Application questions ask students to apply their knowledge of literary or rhetorical technique Analytical questions interrogate the story’s effect, mood, and construction-strategies. Creative writing tasks use an aspect of the story as a springboard to write creatively, discursively, or persuasively. Mansfield’s acute social commentary has been successfully used with a Stage 5 / Year 10 class ( 15 years).

The poetry of W.B. Yeats is a great choice for higher interest/ability senior students. This worksheet will take 1-2 lessons to complete. It provides: a copy of the poem a comprehensive series of questions structured according to Bloom’s Taxonomy for easier differentiation a creative writing task which students can complete as homework

The poetry of W.B. Yeats is a great choice for higher interest/ability senior students. This worksheet will take 1-2 lessons to complete. It provides: a copy of the poem a comprehensive series of questions structured according to Bloom’s Taxonomy for easier differentiation a creative writing task which students can complete as homework

HSC Module C: The Craft of Writing offers students complex texts from which to draw for their own writing. Because of their complex construction and ideas, students can be at a loss for ‘ways in’ to the text. Diving Bell’s ‘Ways Into’ series for Module C provide a structured way for students to consider the text in terms of Content, Context, and Construction, with appropriate elements within these headings. By the end of the worksheet the student should be clear on the content, meaning, construction-strategies, and ways to use Kim Cheng Boey’s autobiographical poem ‘Stamp Collecting’. A completed teacher’s copy with possible responses is available so that time-poor teachers can lead classes through these texts.

Huxley’s famous dystopian novel is a fantastic choice for senior fiction studies. This 75-page unit of work has been tested successfully with a mixed-ability Year 11 (age 16-17) class. It focuses oin textual analysis and engagement with questions of social and political philosophy. There is a comprehensive, illustrated introduction to issues of industrialisation, sexual freedom, and political authoritarianism which affected Huxley’s world and continue to affect us. There are 80+ writing tasks of different lengths and types, which allow teachers to differentiate for a mixed-ability group. Each 3-chapter section is accompanied by an extension reading which engages with the relevant philosophical topic. Readings range from Hobbes and Rousseau on human nature to Admiral Moreel on bread and circuses. The unit can be printed for students who prefer hard copy, or presented digitally. Ten essay questions suitable for senior high schoolers can be used as the basis of assessment.

Bundle Description TALKING POINTS: Memorized essays betray a lack of confidence and an unwillingness to commit to authentic answers. Examiners have always advised students to prepare ‘talking points’ instead - a selection of ideas that they can draw on and which convey solid analysis and interpretation of the text. These talking points can be used by teachers, to focus discussion on higher-level or less-noticed features of the text and context. They also form effective student revision materials for formal assessment. Each point is supported by a piece of evidence from the text, and there are sufficient points to generate solid responses to almost any essay question. The Talking Points also model how students can articulate more complex thoughts about the text, and adduce evidence in natural and well-integrated writing. SAMPLE ESSAY: This is a three-part resource for students undertaking the NSW HSC Standard English Module A: Language, Identity, and Culture A generic essay plan shows students how to compose an essay suitable for Stage 6, progressing them from the simpler PEEL/TEAL models of Stage 4 and 5. A sample essay for the prescribed text, The Castle answers the 2019 HSC question: Film relies on dialogue to create cultural tension. To what extent do you agree with this statement? There is also a second copy of the essay, marked up to show how it follows the plan, and with five short questions which require students to engage critically with the essay and its form.

‘Lake within a lake’ by the Australian poet Oodgeroo Noonuccal, is a set text for HSC Standard English study. This set of notes gives a full analysis of the poem with a relevant image and a handy grab-box explaining the poem’s significance and poetic techniques. Important points are in red. A simple, one-stop analysis of this complex poem which students can work through in class or take home for private study.

This is a three-part resource for students undertaking the NSW HSC Standard English Module B: Close Study of a Text. A generic essay plan shows students how to compose an essay suitable for Stage 6, progressing them from the simpler PEEL/TEAL models of Stage 4 and 5. A sample essay for the prescribed text, The Truman Show, answers the 2019 HSC question: Literature reinforces or challenges our understanding of ordinary situations. Discuss this statement, making detailed reference to your prescribed text. There is also a second copy of the essay, marked up to show how it follows the plan, and with five short questions which require students to engage critically with the essay and its form.

This is a three-part resource for students undertaking the NSW HSC Advanced English Module A: Textual Conversations. A generic essay plan shows students how to compose an essay suitable for Stage 6, progressing them from the simpler PEEL/TEAL models of Stage 4 and 5. A sample essay for the prescribed text-pairing The Tempest and Hag-Seed, answers the 2019 HSC question: Everything is being dismantled, reconstructed, recycled. To what end? For what purpose? To what extent is this true of the texts you have studied for this module? There is also a second copy of the essay, marked up to show how it follows the plan, and with five short questions which require students to engage critically with the essay and its form.

Shakespeare’s play about madness and family is an established favourite for senior students. This 48-page unit of work has been tested successfully with a mixed-ability class and provides material for a full 10-week school term. This unit focuses on close textual analysis. There is a mixture of tasks which gets students writing analytically, personally, and creatively, helping them to build up their own unique interpretation of the work, and eventually to express this in a formal essay. There is a brief, student-friendly explanation of what a close reading actually is and how to perform it, followed by a sample close reading of the opening passage. Each scene has a single-page task sheet comprising three higher-order tasks: a close reading of a nominated passage, an extended response to develop interpretative thinking, and a choice of creative writing tasks which springboard from the language and ideas in the chapter. Ten senior-level essay questions offer a choice of arguments about character, theme, language, and context, and a sample essay discusses the following question: King Lear is enduringly relevant because it shows us that when we suffer from distorted perception we need others’ care, not their exploitation. Does this satisfactorily explain the relevance of the play?

A two-page handout introduction to the modern short story, which can be given to students with one of Diving Bell’s Short Story Study texts, or used separately.