Expressions in English

Welcome

Hi and welcome to our blog. My students and I will be adding to it as often as we can. Our aim is to use blogging and podcasts to express what we are doing in our English classes. We would like to invite those of you who explore our blogs to offer comments and suggestions. This is our first foray into using this type of technology to enhance our learning. We hope it will be the first of many new experiences that will begin to open our minds to the wide array of uses for technology in our classroom. So, here goes…

Listen to a podcast of this Welcome!

ABOUT MYSELF

I have been a Secondary English Teacher (13-17year olds) for about 10 years now. I have mainly worked in the South West region of Western Australia. I have spent the last few years focussing on middle-schooling philosophy and student-centred learning. I am constantly looking for new challenges and new ways to excite my students about their learning.

THE YEAR 8 ENGLISH PROGRAM

Welcome to the Year Eight English program.  This program aims to be enjoyable and motivating for students, and encourage positive attitudes towards English.

This program will provide students with the opportunity to get to know their peers and their teacher, as well as catering to their individual abilities and interests.

The Year 8 course addresses a range of English concepts and skills, and exposes students to a wide range of text types to increase their critical and functional literacies.

This course addresses each of the English strands; Reading, Writing, Viewing, Listening and Speaking.

The Writing Process is embedded within each common assessment task students undertake in this course.  The Writing Process involves the following stages to ensure quality of student work:

“        Brainstorming/Planning
“        Drafting/Structuring
“        Editing/Proofing
“        Publishing
“        Evaluation (Self/Peer/Teacher)

LIBRARY PROGRAM
Students will engage in a structured Library program that aims to increase their enjoyment of reading and widen their reading experiences.  We encourage parents to support their students’ personal reading at home (which we consider part of their homework for English). 
Students will spend one English session a week in the Library reading and undertaking some set Library activities.  The students will also be required to maintain a Reading and Viewing Journal.

STUDENT NEEDS
Each student will need the following to complete this course and each item must be brought to all lessons:
¨     2 x A4 Workbooks/Exercise books
¨     Library Card (provided at the beginning of the year, if lost must be replaced)
¨     Student Diary (provided by the school)
¨     Portfolio (provided by English Learning Area)
¨     Electronic Storage device (eg. Thumb drive)
¨     Pens, pencils etc.