Visit the VCE Hub for Professional Learning and resources for VCE English and EAL 2024
English Matters will become the new home for English related blog posts and resources from Leon Furze and other collaborators. For now, enjoy the English, reading, and writing blog posts from leonfurze.com…
2024 English/EAL Exam: What we know so far
This post is a reflection on the updates from Helen Billett and Kellie Heintz at the VATE conference on November 23rd. These comments are based on DRAFT discussions of the examination. The actual sample examination…
Preparing for VCE English and EAL Unit 3/4: Analysing Argument
This is the third and final post in a short series for VCE English teachers preparing for the new VCE English and EAL Study Design. This post covers Unit 4 Analysing Argument There’s not much…
Preparing for VCE English and EAL Unit 3/4: Creating texts
This is the second post in a short series for VCE English teachers preparing for the new VCE English and EAL Study Design. This post covers Unit 3 Creating Texts Creating Texts is the biggest…
Preparing for VCE English and EAL Unit 3/4: Reading and Responding to Texts
This is the first post in a short series for VCE English teachers preparing for the new VCE English and EAL Study Design. This post covers Unit 3 and Unit 4 Area of Study 1.…
Creating Texts: Stimulus Materials
Over the past few months we’ve started to see more supporting materials make their way to the VCAA Advice for Teachers pages for the 2024 English and EAL Study Design. One of the key additions…
Teaching Writing: The Challenges
This is the second post in a series responding to feedback from my mailing list members. I asked people about the highs and lows of teaching writing: what do we enjoy the most, and what…
Teaching Writing: The Joys of Writing
This is the first post in a series responding to feedback from my mailing list members. I asked people about the highs and lows of teaching writing: what do we enjoy the most, and what…
Crafting Texts: What Crafting Texts Means for the English Curriculum
This is the final post in a series which goes deeper into the new VCE English and EAL Crafting Texts outcome. Each post includes some discussion of the Area of Study along with practical lesson…
Crafting Texts: Assessment and Reflection
This is the third post in a series which goes deeper into the new VCE English and EAL Crafting Texts outcome. Each post includes some discussion of the Area of Study along with practical lesson…
Crafting Texts: Ideas
This is the second post in a series which goes deeper into the new VCE English and EAL Crafting Texts outcome. Each post includes some discussion of the Area of Study along with practical lesson…
Crafting Texts: Using Mentor Texts
This is the first post in a series which goes deeper into the new VCE English and EAL Crafting Texts outcome. Each post includes some discussion of the Area of Study along with practical lesson…
Reading and Exploring Texts Part 8: Planning and Developing Personal and Analytical Writing about a Text
This series of posts goes through the Key Knowledge and Skills for the new Area of Study 1: Reading and Exploring Texts for VCE English and EAL. Each post has a brief discussion of the…
Reading and Exploring Texts Part 7: Engaging in Productive Group Discussions and Debates
This series of posts goes through the Key Knowledge and Skills for the new Area of Study 1: Reading and Exploring Texts for VCE English and EAL. Each post has a brief discussion of the…
Reading and Exploring Texts Part 6: Analysing the Ideas, Concerns, and Tensions Presented in a Text
This series of posts goes through the Key Knowledge and Skills for the new Area of Study 1: Reading and Exploring Texts for VCE English and EAL. Each post has a brief discussion of the…
Reading and Exploring Texts Part 5: Making Personal Connections to Texts: Using Your Own Experiences to Enhance Understanding
This series of posts goes through the Key Knowledge and Skills for the new Area of Study 1: Reading and Exploring Texts for VCE English and EAL. Each post has a brief discussion of the…
Reading and Exploring Texts Part 4: The Importance of Vocabulary, Text Structures, and Language Features in Creating Meaning
This series of posts goes through the Key Knowledge and Skills for the new Area of Study 1: Reading and Exploring Texts for VCE English and EAL. Each post has a brief discussion of the…
Reading and Exploring Texts Part 3: Examining Point of View and Voice in Texts
This series of posts goes through the Key Knowledge and Skills for the new Area of Study 1: Reading and Exploring Texts for VCE English and EAL. Each post has a brief discussion of the…
Reading and Exploring Texts Part 2: Exploring Characters, Setting, and Plot in Literary Analysis
This series of posts goes through the Key Knowledge and Skills for the new Area of Study 1: Reading and Exploring Texts for VCE English and EAL. Each post has a brief discussion of the…
Reading and Exploring Texts Part 1: Using Inferential Reading Strategies to Deepen Comprehension
This series of posts goes through the Key Knowledge and Skills for the new Area of Study 1: Reading and Exploring Texts for VCE English and EAL. Each post has a brief discussion of the…
Reading and Exploring: How to write the OC1 Personal Response
I just got back from the VATE conference after two days with some of the best English teachers and presenters in the state. We also heard directly from the VCAA and a handful of the…
Choosing Mentor Texts
Before the new VCE English and EAL Study Design was launched for consultation I had already written a few posts about using texts as models, from students’ own writing through to literary classics. When the…
Planning for Reading and Exploring Texts: The Personal Response
Now that we’re well and truly clear of the Year 12 exams, most schools in Victoria have turned their attention towards the new Study Design and preparing students for 2023. Whether your school has a…
VCE English and EAL: Assessing the new Crafting and Creating Texts outcomes
In all of the Professional Learnings I’ve been running recently related to the new Study Design, the assessment question has cropped up more than any other. We don’t have a sample examination yet; and we…
Using Comparative Judgement to Assess Writing
If you’ve ever formally assessed senior English (at least here in Victoria), then you’ve used comparative judgement to assess writing. Comparative judgement, as the name suggests, is an assessment method based on comparing responses to…
Why write?
This is an early extract from our book Practical Writing Strategies, which will be published in 2023 by Amba Press. The elephant in the room Most of the time, we get students to write so…
Guest Post: Natalie Gleeson – St Francis Xavier College
In this guest post Natalie Gleeson discusses how she has used Practical Reading Strategies with senior English classes to explore the deeper meaning in Twelve Angry Men and On the Waterfront. Students have created questions…
Guest Post: Ashleigh Cavalin – Practical Reading Strategies for Romeo & Juliet
Now that Practical Reading Strategies has been out in the wild for a few months, I’ve started to receive feedback from teachers around how they’re using the book in their classrooms. This post is courtesy of Ashleigh…
Planning for the 2023 VCE English/EAL Study Design
Update: Since writing these original posts VCAA have released even more advice about assessment. I’m adding my recent posts on comparative judgement and how to assess the VCE Crafting and Creating Texts outcomes below. I’ve…
Creating a Culture of Reading
When I wrote Practical Reading Strategies I focused the entire first half of the book on providing instantly usable activities that a teacher could pick up and take into the classroom, adopting and extending them…
VCE English as an Additional Language (EAL) 2023
With between 3000-4000 students completing Unit 3 & 4 EAL each year, many schools will be adopting the upcoming 2023 EAL curriculum. The volume of students completing the EAL curriculum means it warrants plenty of…
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