Subject Description

At Year 10, students continue to practise, consolidate and extend the knowledge and skills that they have acquired in previous levels. They extend their understanding of language conventions, and learn to transfer this knowledge to a variety of contexts. Students are exposed to increasingly sophisticated analyses of various text types. The notion of valuing certain texts as ‘literature’ is extended. Students learn how such texts can be discussed and analysed in relation to themes, ideas and historical and cultural contexts. They re-enact, represent and describe texts in order to display their understanding of narrative, theme, purpose, context and argument. They present and defend their ideas in written and oral modes. Students are given further opportunities to create increasingly sophisticated and multimodal texts, individually and in groups.

Areas of Study

The Victorian Curriculum is organised into three interrelated strands that support students’ growing understanding and use of Standard Australian English. Together the three strands focus on developing students’ knowledge, understanding and skills in listening, reading, viewing, speaking and writing. The three strands are:

Language Modes

Reading and viewing

Students evaluate how text structures are used in innovative ways by different authors. They explain how the choice of language features, images and vocabulary contributes to the development of individual style. They develop and justify their own interpretations of texts. They evaluate other interpretations, analysing the evidence used to support them.

Writing

Students show how the selection of language features can achieve precision and stylistic effect. They explain different viewpoints, attitudes and perspectives through the development of cohesive and logical arguments. They develop their own writing style by experimenting with language features, stylistic devices, text structures and imagery. They create a range of texts to articulate complex ideas. They demonstrate understanding of grammar, vary vocabulary choices for impact, and accurately use spelling and punctuation when creating and editing texts.

Speaking and listening

Students listen for the ways features within texts can be manipulated to achieve particular effects. They create oral presentations in which they offer personal perspectives of texts. They also present and argue their position on topical issues. They are encouraged to contribute actively to class and group discussions, building on others’ ideas, justifying opinions and developing and expanding arguments.

Assessment

• Folio Writing
• Text Response
• Oral Presentation
• Media Analysis
• Semester Examination