NSW English Syllabus 7-10 2003

black italics - direct quotes from syllabus
1. Introduction
The K-10 Curriculum p.4
Curriculum framework

• engaging & challenging
• maximising individual talents
• positive self concepts
• preparation for effective, responsible participating in society - moral, ethical, spiritual considerations
• enjoy learning, self motivation, reflective, competent learners
• promotion fair & just society - values diversity
• continuity & coherence learning - transition between primary & secondary

Broad learning outcomes - students will understand, appreciate, express, apply etc

• communication of ideas & information
• access, analyse, evaluate and use information from variety of sources
• work collaboratively
• safe & healthy lifestyle
• physical, biological, technological world - responsible & informed decisions
• social, cultural, geographical, historical contexts - active & informed citizens
• expression through creative activity - engagement artistic, cultural & intellectual work of others
• analytical & creative techniques to solve problems
• concepts numerical, spatial patterns, structures & relationships
• productive, creative, confident users technology - understand impact technology on society
• understand work environment - evaluate potential career options & pathways
• develop system personal values

takes into account diverse needs of all students
clearly identifies essential skills, knowledge & understanding, values & attitudes
enunciates clear standards of what students are expected to know & be able to do
acknowledges are students who have not achieved stage 3 outcomes
Students with Special Education Needs p.5

• need to focus on needs, interests, abilities of each student when planning program for secondary schooling
• Life skills - outcomes in sections 6 & 7 only appropriate for small % esp. those with intellectual disability; instead Life Skills outcomes & content section 8 use as basis for program
• consideration modification, adjustment to learning activities & assessment esp re sections 6 & 7
• re Life Skills - impt to identify relevant settings, strategies & resource requirements; clear time frames & strategies for monitoring progress
• Assessment should provide opportunities for students to demonstrate achievement - transfer knowledge across range of situations or environments including school & wider community
• support may include - provision of extra time; physical &/or verbal assistance from others; provision technological aids

2. Rationale  p.7
Language shapes our understanding of ourselves and our world, and is the primary means by which we relate to others.

• study & use English language in various textual forms
• spoken, written, visual texts through which meaning shaped, conveyed, interpreted, reflected
• proficiency in English > confident communicators, critical & imaginative thinkers, lifelong learners, active participants in Australian society
• supports development & express system personal values
• skills so students > experiment with ideas & expression, active independent learners, work with each other, reflect on their learning
• founded on the belief at language learning is recursive and develops through ever-widening contexts
• learn through explicit teaching of language
• immersion in diverse range purposeful, increasingly demanding language experiences
• The syllabus enables teachers to draw on the methods of different theoretical perspectives and models for teaching English to assist their students …
• through responding to and composing texts ….for communication, knowledge & pleasure
• texts include literature of past, contemporary societies  - cultural heritage perspective
• understanding of themselves, human experience & culture – sociocultural
• develop skills speaking, listening, reading, writing, viewing & representing; knowledge & understanding of language forms & features & structures of texts
• develop critical,imaginative faculties – critical literacy
• broaden cultural understanding
• how meaning is shaped by variety of social factors - Social view of language
• question, assess, challenge, reformulate information - use creative & analytical language to clarify, solve problems
• users of information & communication technologies - understanding technologies impact on society

3. The Place of English Years 7 - 10 syllabus in the K-12 Curriculum p. 8
figure shows the continuum between stages Early Sate 1 - 3 (Primary)
Stages 4 - 5 (Years 7 - 10)
Stage 6 (Years 11 - 12)
3.2 Cross-Curriculum Content p. 9 - embedded in the English syllabus
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

• to develop, apply skills, knowledge & understanding of ICT in composing, responding & presenting
• as part of imaginative & critical thinking
• have opportunity to become competent, discriminating & creative users of ICT
• demonstrate English outcomes through effective use of ICT
• word processing, multimedia, formatting & presenting texts, simulation software, graphics, electronic communication
• learn ethics of information communication

Work, Employment and Enterprise

• development work related skills - values & attitudes about work, employment, workplace
• study texts with workplace contexts
• skills speaking, listening, group processes
• Key competencies - generic p.10. collecting, analysing and organising information, communicating ideas and information, planning and organising activities and working with others and in teams
• competency of problem solving
• using technology

Literacy is the ability to communicate purposefully and appropriately with others in a wide variety of contexts, modes and mediums.

• … responsibility of all secondary school teachers as different subjects and learning areas make particular demands on students’ literacy. The teaching of English, however, plays an especially important role.
• focus on development speaking, listening, reading, writing = fundamental to students’ literacy in English
• development visual literacy - skills viewing, representing diverse range texts including print, film, other technologies
• The syllabus requires student to develop skills in composing and responding to texts created in and through different information and communication technologies and to understand the effects of the technology on meaning.  It develops the skills, knowledge and understanding for students to acquire, process, question, challenge, reformulate and evaluate information in texts from a wide variety of sources.
• texts responded to and composed in various social contexts and it enables students to understand the effects of such contexts on meaning.

Aboriginal and Indigenous content - knowledge & understanding indigenous history and culture in Australia and internationally - explore range experiences, achievements of Aboriginal peoples in historical and social contexts - links between cultural expression, language & spirituality
Civics and Citizenship  (p.11)- how Australian society operates - how civic issues represented in public arena, socially responsible construction & use of media, representation Australian images & significant Australians
Difference and Diversity - acknowledges students experience difference & diversity in their everyday life (personal life, local community, wider society) - assisting students to deal with personal, social, cultural difference & diversity in positive, informed manner, awareness, understanding & acceptance - sense of self, connecting with other people & communities - understanding features of a fair and just society that values diversity. In particular, the representation of disability and sexuality in texts is a point of focus in the English content.
Gender - social construction of identity - follows historically from biological differences between females and males - impact of different gender perspectives, stereotyping, social construction of gender in texts including media
Multicultural - and multilingual nature of Australian society. In English students explore a diversity of cultures through studying literature, drama and film, cultural and intercultural perspectives and relationships, and the close connections between language, communication and culture.
4. Aim (p.12)
The aim of English in Years 7 to 10 is to enable students to use, understand, appreciate, reflect on and enjoy the English language in a variety of texts and to shape meaning in ways that are imaginative, interpretative, critical and powerful.
5. Objectives
Skills, knowledge and understanding
Through responding to and composing a wide range of texts in context and through close study of texts, students will develop skills, knowledge and understanding in order to:

• speak, listen, read, write, view and represent
• use language and communicate appropriately and effectively
• think in ways that are imaginative, interpretive and critical
• express themselves and their relationships with others and the world
• learn and reflect on their learning through their study of English.

Values and attitudes
Students will value and appreciate:

• the importance of the English language as a key to learning
• the power of language to explore and express views of themselves, others and the world
• the power of effective communication using the language modes of speaking,listening, reading, writing, viewing and representing
• the role of language in developing positive interaction and cooperation with others
• the diversity and aesthetics of language through literary and other texts
• the independence gained from thinking imaginatively, interpretively and critically
• the power of language to express the personal, social, cultural, ethical,moral, spiritual and aesthetic dimensions of human experiences.

6. Outcomes for Stages 4 and 5 (p.13) table
shows relationship between objectives and outcomes – use for programming & assessing
7. Content for Stages 4 and 5

7.1 Essential content – students learn to; students learn about – indicative time 400 hours

7.2 Additional content – extension work

1. Inclusion of the ESL Scales – use for students who speak English as second or additional language – to be used in conjunction with syllabus; ESL scales national statement of second language development in English describing continuum of learning. Organised strands: Oral interaction, Reading & responding; Writing. Strands = level statements 1 to 7 (R&R); LS 1-8 Oral.

Achievement stage 4-5 EAL students need to operate at highest level of Scales

ESL outcomes = pathways

7.4 Key terms in the Study of English for Stages 4 and 5

• content for English - relationships between language and meaning
• meaning shaped through processes responding to & composing texts
• Responding = when students read, listen or view texts - personal & intellectual connections a student makes with texts - goes beyond decoding texts. It also recognises that students and the texts to which they respond reflect social contexts. Identifying, comprehending, selecting, articulating, imagining, critically analysing, evaluating
• Composing =  when students produce written, spoken, visual texts - involves shaping & arrangement textual elements to explore, express ideas, emotions & values; processes of imagining, drafting, appraising, reflecting, refining; knowledge, understanding & use of language forms, features, structures of texts
• Texts = communications of meaning produced in any medium that incorporates language, including sound, print, film, electronic and multimedia
• Context = It refers to the range of personal, social, historical, cultural and workplace conditions in which a text is responded to and composed.
• Language modes = modes of listening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing and representing (ie. involves composing images by means of visual or other texts. These images and their meaning are composed using codes and conventions. The term can include activities such as graphically presenting the structure of a novel, making a film, composing a webpage, or enacting a dramatic text; any combination of the modes may be involved; the refinement of skills in any one mode develops skills in the others. Students need to build on their skills in all language modes.
• Language forms and features = refers to symbolic patterns and conventions that shape meaning in texts
• Structures of texts - refer to relationship of different parts of a text to each other, and to the text as a complex whole

7.5 Content and Texts

1. Content and Text requirements for Stage 4 – students must read, listen to & view variety of texts appropriate to needs, interests & abilities. Including at least:

2 works fiction
wide range poetry
2 works film or film on video or DVD
2 works nonfiction
2 works drama

selection must give students experience of:
Australian literature (including insights into Aboriginal & multicultural experiences)
international literature from other countries and times
cultural heritages, popular cultures, youth cultures
picture books
everyday & workplace texts
range social, gender, cultural perspectives


5 objectives - (11 outcomes - responding and composing) – blue italics theoretical perspectives/reflective comments.

1. speak, listen, read, write, view & represent – critical literacy, personal growth;

Outcome 1 - responding & composing for understanding, interpretation, critical analysis & pleasure - Learning to/about: points of view/perspectives; personal background & experience as affecting response to text; forms, features, structures of texts; conventions; graphic texts; inference, figurative language, alternative readings as strategies; humour in texts, complexity of meaning.

Outcome 2 -uses range of processes -  Learning to/about: listening, reading, viewing strategies (skimming, scanning, predicting); drafting & editing; process of planning (feedback, editing, brainstorming, mindmapping, storyboarding); explicit criteria for judging effectiveness of text; originality, inventiveness, process of representation e.g. use of symbols, images, icons, cliches, stereotypes including visual & aural techniques

Outcome 3 – responds to/composes texts in different technologies - Learning to/about: features of information & communication technologies; responding critically & imaginatively to texts in range of technologies; interactive & simulation texts; tools of word processing; ways different modes work together to shape meaning; technical features, terminology; forms, features & structures of interactive & simulations texts, multimedia texts, websites including layout & design; etiquette and ethical behaviour associated with email & internet use

2. use language & communicate appropriately & effectively

Outcome 4 – uses/describes language forms/features/structures appropriate to different purposes/audience/contexts - Learning to/about: identifying purpose, audience & context; medium, form & content, language conventions & vocabulary appropriate to particular subject matter or contexts; adaptation texts for different purposes, audiences, context; combining modes – multimodal texts; use reference texts eg. Dictionaries, thesaurus, spellcheck;use Standard Australian English; effectiveness of specific language form,s features, structures of texts; used to shape meaning; ways tense, active & passive voice, sequencing, semantic links, synonyms, antonym can clarify choice of vocabulary; interaction of different language modes & different media to create meaning in multimodal texts; Aboriginal English as valid and culturally accepted variation of expression; metalanguage of subject English used to describe, discuss & differentiate texts, their language forms, features & structures.

Outcome 5 – language choice to shape meaning -  Learning to/about: express considered points of view; reasons specific language forms, features, structures; personal presentations; experiment with forms, features, structures; modes & meaning; compose personal texts e.g. narrative, poetry, speeches, scripts; pose & clarify problems & issues; demonstrate cohesion of syntax & content in own texts; techniques for effective speaking informal & formal contexts; ways in which purpose, audience & context affect composers choice of content, language forms, features & structures of texts; ways in which inference, emphasis & point of view shape meaning; effects of emotive & persuasive language; ways to engage audience & sustain their interest and involvement; cleverness & joy of invention.

3. think in ways that are imaginative, interpretive & critical (personal growth, critical literacy)

Outcome 6 – draws on experience, information, ideas -  Learning to/about: composing imaginative texts of own, exploring own experiences, thoughts, feelings; explore real & imagined worlds (including virtual); use features & structures of imaginative texts to compose & engage audience; ideiftenfy ways characters, situations, concerns in texts connect to students own experiences, thoughts, feelings; use imaginative texts as mode3ls to replciate or subvert into new texts; use verbal, aural & visual techniquies; wayst 'the real world' is represented in imaginary worlds of texts ncluding literature, film, media & mutlimedia;variety of genres; sturctures & features including characterisation, setting, tension, climax, chronology & time; narrative voice, effective beginnings/endings; verbal, aural & visual texts e.g. imagery, figures of speech, selective choice of vocab, rhythm, sound effects, colour & design; textual & visual conventions for composing dialogue

Outcome 7 – thinks critically/interpretively about information, ideas & arguments - Learning to/about: locate, assess, select, synthesise, use information ideas & arguments from text; composing factual, opinion, argumentative, persuasive texts; recognise when information presented objectively, subjectively; relevance & irrelevance; focus on & evaluate aspects of texts e.g. storyline, perspective, cultural positioning; ideintify techniques of persuasion; form opinion, make predictions, infer & interpret texts; adopt & present point of view; draw conclusions in discussions. Learn about language of factual texts, language of opinion, expression of cause & effect; ways of organising information (visual/graphic organisers); language & structure of argument, persuasion, use of simple rhetorical devices.

Outcome 8 – makes connections between/among texts -  Learning to/about: connections between spoken, written & visual texts; synthesise information, identify differences in content, purpose, attitude, vales & perspective; similarities & differences in meaning & language; compose texts that make connections with other texts e.g. promotional material for film or book; writing narration for documentary. Use of detail, perspective, choice of vocabulary connect texts; ways composers use stylistic features, content & marketing to develop & promote popular appeal; bias & perspective in text; how information can be used to different effect in different texts; strategies used in presenting information, opinions, perspectives in different media texts.

4. express themselves & their relationship with others and the world (personal growth, sociocultural)

Outcome 9 – texts express views of their broadening world & their relationship within it - Learning to/about: recognise, reflect on, explain connections between their own experiences & world of texts, compose texts that reflect their broadening worlds, explain & justify personal empathy, sympathy & antipathy towards characters, situations & concerns in texts; explore role of story, compare & contrast texts that present alternative views of their own world; assess representations of people, places, events in film & media; ways in which 'story' creates a world; in which experiences & perspectives hsape their responses to texts, ways their experiences & perspectives are represented in texts; narrative techniques in film making & media

Outcome 10 -  cultural expression in texts  – Learning to/about:  recognition/consideration cultural factors – cultural background/perspective; different cultures, cultural stories, icons, Australian images, significant Australians, Aboriginal Australians; cultural expressions, assumptions (gender, ethnicity, religion, youth, age, sexuality, disability, cultural diversity, social class & work);  underlying cultural expressions; different cultures & their common & distinguishing features, representation of culture, signs, symbols, stereotyping; ways culture & personal experience position composers & responders & influence response; key cultural stories, including Dreaming, myths & allegories – what they represent, & ways they have influenced other texts; ways recurring stories such as legends & fairy stories have been written & rewritten, in & for different contexts

5. learn and reflect on their learning (metacognitive, reflection, collaborative skills – teacher collaboration with teacher librarian)

Outcome 11 – - uses, reflects on & assess individual & collaborative skills -  Learning to/about: understands demands of task, outcomes & criteria for assessment;choose & negotiate with teacher appropriate tasks/assessment criteria; extended group task, use language of the subject; sort, select information, clarify ideas; find, select, evaluate information from range of sources; identify plan, prioritise stages of tasks, generate, document, clarify, organise & present ideas and information; allocated role responsibility, assess success of collaborative processes; reflect on & asses own & others learning against specific criteria; articulate/discuss pleasure, difficulties, successes, challenges experienced in their writing; learn about outcomes-based learning; own learning strengths & learning needs; research techniques using books, indexes, internet; role & responsibilities of individuals in groups; ways of structuring & presenting ideas, editing techniques & referencing
bibliographies, citation (including internet), acknowledgment of sources & plagiarism; appropriate technology for different purposes, audiences, contexts
management strategies including scheduling, monitoring progress, meeting deadlines, following marking criteria grids
reflection strategies such as learning logs, journals, letters to teachers & peers, guided discussion.

1. Content and Text requirements for Stage 5

see stage 4 for context – but increasingly sophisticated - extension; selection of texts same, with addition of Shakespearean drama.

8. Life skills outcomes and content (p.44)  - special education needs – selected on basis that they meet particular needs, goals & priorities of each student; students not required to address all outcomes.  Example contents suggestions only.

9. Continuum of Learning in English K-12 (p.55)

1. teaching students in years 7 to 10 who have not yet achieved Stage 3 outcomes – language learning recursive & develops through ever-widening cotexts – revise, reinforce, extend skills, knowledge & understanding; build on foundations from stage 3.

To experience success in secondary school, students need wide range of purposeful learning experiences...also need engagement with the full range of modes & media to allow them to express their understanding of themselves and the world.

9.2 Continuum of outcomes in English from Stage 3 to Stage 6

9,3 Outcomes in English from Early Stage 1 to Stage 3

9.4 Stage Statements for English K - 12 (p.68 - 71)

10. Assessment

10.1 Standards – K-10 Curriculum Framework = standards-referenced framework; 2 interrelated elements – outcomes & content + description levels of achievement; developmental sequence. Standards written for 2 years schooling ie. Achieved by end of Years 2,4,6,8,10,12; use as reference point for planning, & for assessment & reporting student progress.

1. Assessment for learning -use range of appropriate assessment strategies including self-assessment & peer assessment

reflects belief that all students can improve

setting learning goals with students

helps students know & recognise standards they are aiming for

involves students in self-assessment & peer assessment

provides feedback that helps students understand next step in learning

involves teachers, students & parents reflecting on assessment data

See p. 73  - Quality assessment practices.

1. Reporting p.74 – Reporting is the process of providing feedback to students, parents and other teachers about students' progress.

Descriptions of levels provide common language for reporting – observable & measurable features

1. Choosing assessment strategies p.75 Assessment relies on the professional judgment of the teacher and is based on reliable data acquired in a fair and challenging environment, from multiple performances in a variety of contexts.

Students gain information about the learning through feedback from teachers and from self, peer and collaborative assessment using techniques such as observation and conferencing. The challenge and complexity of assessment tasks increase to allow for developing student independence and skills of reflection. Assessment tasks enable students to develop evaluative independence as they assess their own skills, knowledge and understanding and determine ways to improve their learning.

Planning for assessment is integral to progamming for teaching and learning. Teachers review the syllabus and standards materials and describe for themselves what students should know and be able to do at a particular stage, and they consider the kinds of evidence their students could produce to show they have learned what they needed to learn.

Students are provided with a description of the learning expected to be accomplished, opportunities to discuss the criteria on which judgements will be based, time to learn, and where possible, examples of what the learning looks like.

The assessment cycle is continuous; students receive and give themselves feedback on what they have learned,and what needs to be done to continue their learning.

11. Glossary (p.78) – definitions below included only when my own clarification needed.

• Aboriginal English
• aesthetics
• alternative readings - interpretations of text
• appropriation - taking an object or text from one context and using it in another context
• cohesion - quality determined by text parts being related and contributing to overall theme or central purpose - recognisable structure & features
• collaborative learning
• composing
• context
• conventions - accepted practices or features which help define textual forms and meaning
• critical literacy - The ability to question, challenge and evaluate the meanings and purposes of texts....ways in which values & attitudes are communicated, how subject matter, point of view and language embody assumptions about issues such as gender, ethnicity, class - various perspectives - how texts operate as cultural products
• cultural assumption -beliefs or attitudes e.g gender, religion, youth, age, disability, sexuality, social class and work that are taken for granted as part of fabric of social practices of a particular culture; embedded in texts in various ways
• cultural expressions - articulation, representation of beliefs, practices or attitudes pertaining to particular culture
• cultural heritage - transmitting to students established knowledge and values of high culture expressed through literary texts e.g. a cultural heritage model places high value on the literature of the Western canon; involves detailed analytical treatment of texts to uncover meanings intended & communicated by the author
• cultural literacy - knowledge understanding of how language, history, values & traditions shape & are reflected in literature, the media, popular culture and everyday and workplace contexts
• culture - the social practices of a particular people or group including shared beliefs, values, knowledge, customs, lifestyle
• electronic media
• evaluate
• everyday and workplace texts - eg road signs, information texts provided by government depts & instructions on appropriate behaviour in places like schools, restaurants & parks
• explore
• genre
• icon
• imaginative text
• interactive text
• intertextuality - associations or connections between one text and other texts
• language forms and features
• language modes
• literacy
• media
• medium
• metalanguage - language to describe and discuss a language eg language of grammar and language of literary criticism
• modality - selection of words by writer or speaker to express different shades and degrees of meaning
• multimedia
• multimodal - comprising more than one mode to communicate meaning e.g. films, computer games
• personal growth - an approach to English that focuses on the development of students’ personal responses to texts, their enjoyment of reading, and the fostering of individual creativity. It is particularly concerned with students’ social needs and personal interests and explicitly values students’ own experiences. Through its exploration of personal experience and its acceptance of the language of everyday communication, a personal growth model allows for the incorporation of a wide range of texts and media.
• perspective
• picture book
• point of view
• popular culture
• positioning - composing technique causing responder to adopt a particular point of view and interpret a text in a particular way
• reflection
• representing
• responding
• rhetorical devices
• social view of language - an approach to literacy education that recognises that acts of communication (texts) are socially constructed. Texts vary according to different situations and cultural factors
• Standard Australian English
• structures of texts
• subvert
• technology
• texts
• theoretical perspectives and models - include personal growth; critical literacy; cultural literacy, cultural heritage, social view of language
• visual literacy
• visual texts
• voice
• youth cultures