Deb McPherson, Jane Sherlock & Karen Yager

Re-navigating HSC English

About the presenters• Deb McPherson has taught English in NSW secondary schools for

twenty-eight years. She was the Senior Curriculum Officer, English, at the Board of Studies from 2001-2002, and was the Manager of English for the NSW Department of Education and Training from 2003-2006. She is the author of other Oxford University Press titles Attitudes and Experiences and Passion and Persuasion.

• Jane Sherlock has been teaching English in NSW for over thirty years and is currently Head Teacher of English at Kiama High on the south coast of NSW. Jane has been senior HSC marker for over 20 years, and has presented at numerous HSC study days across the state.

• Karen Yager is currently the Professional Learning and Leadership Coordinator (SEO2) for the Northern Sydney Region DET. An experienced teacher of English, Karen was most recently the head teacher of English at Richmond River High School. Karen is a prominent member of the ETA, has presented papers and workshops at numerous conferences, and has been a senior HSC marker for nine years.

Oxford HSC English

In this session, the authors will introduce participants to a unique textbook that:

provides a ‘pathways approach’ that meets requirements for both the HSC Standard and Advanced English courses

frames students into how to approach the Area of Study, modules and the carefully selected texts

contains a comprehensive introduction for students to HSC English

aims to engage students with a investment in premium production and design values, illustrations and film stills.

All session participants will receive a complimentary copy of Oxford HSC English upon release.

Using pathways to navigate the HSC English jigsaw

A pathway is the connection established between the texts selected from the Prescriptions: Area of Study, Electives and Texts list and the BOS “types of text” requirements.

Text requirements for Standard English

• You are required to engage in the close study of at least four types of prescribed text, one drawn from each of the following categories:– prose fiction– drama– poetry– nonfiction or film or media or multimedia texts

• You are also expected to engage with a wide range of additional related texts and textual forms

Text requirements for Advanced English

You are required to engage in the close study of at least five types of prescribed text, one drawn from each of the following categories:– Shakespearean drama– prose fiction– drama or film– poetry– nonfiction or media or multimedia texts

• You are also expected to engage with a wide range of additional related texts and textual forms.

Juggling the pieces of the puzzle

As you sit down to plot your path through these two components you juggle the texts you want to select with the textual requirements of the course and with the nature and interest of your students

Our pathways focus on popular and exciting

texts Contain at least one Australian

composer

Our ‘pathways approach’ meets requirements for the HSC Standard English

course

Standard Pathway 1 Standard Pathway 2

Area of Study

The Crucible Arthur Miller (d) Rainbow’s End Jane Harrison (d)

Module A The Penguin Banjo Paterson Collected Verse A B Paterson (p)

Speeches (nf)

Module B Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time Mark Haddon (pf)

War Poems and Others Wilfred Owen (p)

Module C Billy Elliot (f) directed by Stephen Daldry

The story of Tom Brenan J.C. Burke (pf)

Our ‘pathways approach’ meets requirements for the HSC Advanced English

course Advanced Pathway 1

Advanced Pathway 2

Area of Study

Romulus my Father Raimond Gaita (nf)

Immigrant Chronicle Peter Skrzynecki (p)

Module A Frankenstein Mary Shelley (pf) and Bladerunner directed by Ridley Scott (f)

King Richard III William Shakespeare (S) and Looking for Richard directed by Al Pacino (f)

Module B Hamlet William Shakespeare (S)

In the Skin of a Lion Michael Ondaatje (pf)

Module C Birthday Letters Ted Hughes (p)

The Fiftieth Gate Mark Raphael Baker (nf)

Engaging students and optimising their chances of success

• The text talks directly to the students and provides a balance of advice, information and activity

• HSC English explained in detail - both in-school and external examination

• There is a focus on visual literacy with full colour design, film stills and illustrations

Asking students: What ICT do you access every day? Do you:

• check your emails• text a message• download a television episode • listen to a podcast• read/view the news online • watch video clips on YouTube• update your Facebook entry• write a blog• contribute or edit a Wikipedia entry • Twitter• create your own avatar in Second Life • contribute a thread to a discussion on the

Boredofstudies website • play a game?

Framing students into how to approach the

Area of Study, modules and the texts

• Each section contains an ‘unpacking the rubric’ explanation

• the key concepts are highlighted

• Scaffolds are provided for possible responses

Part 1 contains a comprehensive introduction to the HSC

Understanding HSC English Understanding language, forms,

features and structures of texts Understanding context, purpose

and audience Understanding characters,

settings, themes and values Responding to and composing

texts

For example: Note-taking scaffold for analysis of a text

Questions ConsiderationsPurpose: why has this text been constructed?

to tell a story, to entertain, to inform, to record history, to persuade or argue, to describe, to teach, to express an emotion or feeling or idea, to respond to a person, situation or event ,to reflect. (refer to Ch1.3)

Audience: who has this text been constructed for?

age group, gender, education level, cultural and religious background, personality and interests, biases and prejudices (refer to Ch1.3)

Context: when and where was this text constructed? What do I bring to this text?

personal, social, historical, cultural and workplace considerations (refer to Ch1.3)

The scaffold continues to consider areas below

• Language form and features/ cinematography• Structure/plot of text • Form• Characterisation• Narrative• Themes• Values/valuing: What cultural or social assumptions

(values and beliefs responders are expected to share) are made in this text? Is this text culturally and socially neutral? Has the way this text is read changed over time?

In-depth coverage of the Area of Study: Belonging

The concepts• Representation• Perceptions• Context• Interrelationships Imaginative and

extended responseSuggestions and a

scaffold

Composer Text ResponderMeaningMeanin

g

Context & Perspectives:

personal, cultural,

historical, social

Perceptions: interplay of

recognition and interpretation and is influenced by

our preconceived ideas, memories, experiences and

senses

Perceptions: interplay of

recognition and interpretation and is influenced by

our preconceived ideas, memories, experiences and

senses

Assumptions about

belonging

Mean

ing

Representation of belonging

through language

features and ideas

Context & Perspectives:

personal, cultural,

historical, social

Mean

ing

Meaning

Meaning

Meanin

gMeaning

Meaning

In-depth coverage of the Area of Study: Belonging

Writing exercises such as:• A young child has just landed in Australia for the first time at

Sydney’s busy International Airport. She moves closer to her mother, reaching for her hand feeling confused by the loud foreign voices. Describe what she sees, hears, smells and feels in one to two paragraphs.

• A backpacker has been on the same flight as the young child. He has been travelling around Europe for over a year. He quickens his pace and lengthens his stride. The cacophony of familiar Aussie voices makes him smile. Describe what he sees, hears, smells and feels in one to two paragraphs.

Extended responses and tips such as:• The importance of developing and integrating a thesis or line of

argument• ‘Texts for a variety of reasons can invite us to be part of their world

or make us feel disengaged and disconnected.’

HSC English (Standard)The Crucible

“I am not sure what The Crucible is telling people now, but I know that its paranoid center is still pumping out the same darkly attractive warning that it did in the fifties.”

What we cover in The Crucible

• The concepts• Background and context• The textual form• The ideas• Language features• Characterisation• Practice tasks and a possible

response

Textual form• The Crucible is a modern tragedy of the

common person who chooses, after acknowledging his or her flaws, to take a stand for what he or she believes in rather than conform and belong.

• The essence of drama is conflict reflecting not belonging. Each act builds frenetically to a crescendo:

Act I: “Abigail: I saw Goody Booth with the devil!”

Act II: “Aye, naked! And the wind, God’s icy wind, will blow!”

Act III: “God is dead!” “burn together!” Act IV: “The final drumroll crashes, then

heightens violently”

The language• Miller’s stage directions provide detailed historical

background information, social commentary and an analysis of the characters and their motives, delivered in an informative and authoritative tone that establishes Miller as a trusted and reliable narrator.

• Emotive word choice, high modality and repeated exclamations to convey the conflict and represent the increasing disunity and paranoia in the community.

• Forceful and confronting use of imagery such as ‘his eyes were like coals’ and ‘his fingers claw my neck’ stress the growing absence of any sense of communal belonging.

Characterisation: Abigail

• An independent, free thinker who has become self-reliant, hardened and opportunistic.

• She has suffered the insecurity of being an orphan, belonging to no family: “…I saw Indians smash my dear parents’ heads on the pillow next to mine…”

• Without the greed, ignorance and righteousness of others could never have divided the community.

The ideas Communal belonging can be restored by individuals

with a strong sense of integrity, loyalty and compassion.

Rebecca Nurse, more than any other character, exemplifies the attitude and values that are essential for a strong, supportive community. From the beginning, she questions the presence of evil and witchcraft, and begs for common sense to prevail. She identifies the real cause of the hysteria and echoes Miller’s sentiments that it is our flaws that divide a community: “Let us rather blame ourselves…” (Act I, p. 33). Her death shocks other members of the Salem community, such as Proctor and Giles, to challenge the actions of the girls and the court.

HSC English (Advanced)Area of Study: Romulus, My Father by Raimond

Gaita (nf)

Features of the chapter:• Unpacking the Rubric: the key concepts• Background and context of Gaita• Social and Historical Context of Romulus, My

Father• Textual Form and Structure • Ideas of Belonging.

What we cover on Romulus, My Father

• The Idea of Belonging to a new world• A newfound sense of family• Setting• Characters• Language• Selecting and Integrating Related Texts • Practice Assessment Tasks

Romulus,My Father as a memoir

Romulus, My Father is a memoir written by Raimond Gaita in 1998. Gaita tells the story of his father, Romulus Gaita, who migrated from Germany to Melbourne in April 1950 with his wife, Christina and young son Raimond.

The memoir explores the difficulties his father encountered in trying to establish himself amidst the conservative and narrow attitudes of 1950s Australian society. These attitudes were particularly prevalent in rural communities like those in north-eastern Victoria where the Gaita family were relocated as part of the assisted migrant scheme. The memoir examines many of the difficulties confronting Gaita’s father as a newcomer to Australia. Romulus, My Father is a moving portrayal of a family in crisis and a raw exposure of the fragility and vulnerability of the human psyche. Also, in this memoir the Australian landscape is evoked with detail and insight so that it becomes a powerful metaphor for many of the elements of belonging, identity and alienation.

Gaita’s Use of language is characterised by:

• Concrete description• Respect and reverence for the landscape• His tone is understated; style direct and

simple • Humour to underlay pathos and tragedy• Extract from the novel analysed and

annotated with language features and links made with the concept of belonging

Linking landscape to concept

Gaita uses the landscape to reflect the feelings and attitudes of the characters. It is as if their isolation and alienation are reinforced by the stark, barren landscape. This is evident in chapter three when Gaita recounts a time when his mother was brought by taxi from Maldon to Frogmore.

He first sees her “when she was two hundred metres or so from the house, alone, small, frail, walking with an uncertain gait and distracted air. In that vast landscape with only crude wire fences and a rough track to mark a human impression on it she appeared forsaken.” p.32.

Using the landscape as a stimulus for imaginative writing: Section II

Select one of the following quotations from the text. Use this quote as a central idea in your own piece of imaginative writing that explores how landscape shapes our sense of belonging or of not belonging. Recall how Gaita uses language in his descriptions of the landscape and try to use some of his techniques in your own writing.

‘He longed for the generous and soft European foliage’ (p.14)‘We walked in the hills and often swam in the river’ (p.19)‘The landscape seemed to have a special beauty’ (p.61)‘The hills looked as old as the earth’ (p123)

Advanced: Module A: Comparative Study of Texts & Contexts – Elective 2: Texts in Time

Connections framed through:• Context: 1816 England - societal

transformation with an industrial revolution and a working class society demanding to be heard; 1982 US - threat of acid rain and global warming, economic rationalism and unemployment

• Creators: Victor Frankenstein and Eldon Tyrell

• Creations: The monster and the replicants

• Values: compassion, love, courage and integrity

The creators

• Victor Frankenstein and Eldon Tyrell lack insight, humility and empathy. They are egocentric and indifferent to the needs and feelings of their creations.

• Tyrell is not horrified by his creations like Frankenstein; rather he delights in his own handiwork. Yet, his treatment of them is as cruel as Frankenstein’s rejection of his monster.

The creations• In Frankenstein and Blade Runner, humanity

desires to test the limits of technology and imagination to create life without considering the consequences.

• In Frankenstein, the monster is represented sympathetically as being intelligent and sensitive, but his experiences with humanity transform him into a dark creature.

• In Blade Runner, the opposite occurs as when we first meet the replicants they are cast in the role of villain, yet as the narrative unfolds we develop empathy for their plight.

• Batty, in Blade Runner, begins as a fallen angel and rises symbolically on his death as a dove to heaven, but Frankenstein’s monster, who emerges as Adam, becomes the fallen angel hell-bent on revenge and retribution.

The assessment tasks and a possible approach

• You are in a bar in China Town in Los Angeles, 2019. You overhear a conversation between Frankenstein’s monster and Roy Batty. You hear them exchange their stories, discuss their attitudes towards their creators, and compare their values and experiences.

• “Scotch without the rocks, Sam.” Outside the rain belted out its all too familiar dissonant rhythm on the city of fallen angels. Inside, a cold blue light chilled me to the core despite the fleeting warmth of the scotch, and cast thin eerie shadows on the faces of the regulars in the bar. A giant of a man sat heavily down on the bar stool between me and the guy whose blue eyes shone strangely. A patchwork of red scars perverted his face into a repulsive visage. My instinct was to get the hell out of there, but nothing much happened in this place, so I stayed.

This novel is an excellent choice for Standard students in what it says and the accessible and engaging way the story is told.

The novel allows for some valuable class discussion on this stage of their lives:

• How do you cope with change?• Are you excited about what you are

going to be doing after the HSC?• Are you daunted by the next six

months?• What path will your life take after

the HSC?• What stresses you most about this

year?• What risks do you take?• How resilient are you?

Standard: Module C: Into the World

The Story of Tom Brennan

Relevance of the novel to adolescents

• The Story of Tom Brennan is the prescribed text for Module C. It is a great choice for this Module: it is an engaging, pacey story which contains many issues of relevance and interest to what is happening in their own lives: drinking, driving, car accidents, speeding, risk taking, families, schools, mates, grandparents, falling in love, sex, football and trying to cope with too much pressure. The novel is ideal for exploring the key elements of this Module and will give students ideas for selecting their own related texts to supplement their knowledge and understanding of the Module.

What our chapter covers on The Story of Tom Brennan

• Unpacking the Rubric: the key concept s of Module C and the importance of “context” in this study as well as the textual features of the novel and related texts.

• Background and Context of Jane Burke• Textual Form and Structure: use of flashback, narrative

voice, language and style• Setting• Ideas and Issues• Selecting and integrating related texts including focus on

RTA anti-speeding campaign• Practice assessment tasks

The character of Tom as a vehicle for the novel’s issues

Part of the recovery process for Tom is that he regains some balance in his life and he becomes part of a wider social group as he ventures back into the world which not only gives him support but also gives him a different focus.

Tom discovers more about himself, his attitudes and values as he works towards recovery, and makes important realisations about his needs to take responsibility for himself and be pro-active.

Tom takes on new activities and challenges which give his life some purpose and it allows him to move into the world and into the future.

• Some examples of the challenges Tom takes on include:

• Creating a scrapbook for Daniel• Running• Realisation that some people need

to share their problems like Kylie did in her speech and that sometimes when it is public it is easier.

• Training for the Everest trek• Training for football• Routine and rigour of the football

camp• Playing Rugby Union for Bennies• Mateship in the football team• The values of winning vs. enjoying

playing the game

Related texts for this novel• Visit the RTA website:

www.rta.nsw.gov and view the sections related to the anti-speeding campaigns including the statistics on adolescent accident rates.

• Writing task: write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. The letter is in response to a community debate about the increasing number of young male victims of motor vehicle accidents. Explain how the RTA anti-speeding campaign as influenced your ideas and understanding about speeding.

• In your letter you should focus on the specific form of the campaign which has most impacted in you. e.g. the television commercials or the billboard or the website and what specific textual features have most shaped your response to this issue.

Responding to Related TextsStudent task:• 1. a) Working with a partner,

access the RTA website and click on the link for their anti-speeding campaign. What insights does this website give you to the world of adolescent risk taking and the dangers associated with speeding and drink driving?

• b) List the techniques used by the designers of the site which are used to inform and persuade their audience about the issues explored.

• Join with two other pairs and share your findings.

• d) Write a response of one page in length on the following question:

• What aspects of the Module Into the World are dealt with in this website? What techniques are used to

represent these issues?

Responding to related texts

• Choose three different texts aimed at your demographic which explore some of the challenges associated with growing up. For example, a business card distributed by NSW Health and the State Library of NSW as part of their drug info campaign.

• List the textual form of your three texts, for example, a brochure or billboard or fridge magnet.

• Beside each textual form list five textual features used by the composer to inform or persuade its target audience.

• Select one of the texts and discuss how the composer has used the textual features to shape your response to the text. You will need to consider the purpose and intention of the composer and analyse the different textual features which shape your response. This is the type of analysis that you will be expected to apply to your novel and a variety of texts of your own choice in this elective.

• In your world, which texts have influenced you and shaped your attitudes and ideas?

Oxford HSC English

Oxford HSC EnglishISBN: 9780195568202Price: $49.95 Available: October 1 2009