Posts Tagged QLD
Teaching Year 10 English – 2022
After an epic 6-month journey of approaches, negotiations and approvals, I’m excited to share that I am commencing a part time (0.2) contract to teach Year 10 English this year.
Many colleagues have asked about how the teaching role was arranged. This time, for me, I had to negotiate a contract with a school, as well as negotiate a reduced work fraction at uni. The school teaching will officially be a second job, working for a second employer.
From what I’ve learned, my year 10 teaching for the year looks like:
- Term 1 – News media study culminating in flash fiction writing
- Term 2 – Text study leading to an imaginative/persuasive response
- Term 3 – Novel study including an analytic essay
- Term 4 – Broad text study developing understanding of intertextuality with related public writing.
The past week has been a rollercoaster of emotion, with high excitement to be at school regularly disrupted by the nervousness of feeling like a new teacher all over again (!) But each visit to the school brings a new joy: picking up staffroom keys, leaving things on my new desk, and being given a school name badge with my name on it. Even when it feels a bit intimidating, the choice to teach this year feels 100% right.
Announcing: Book project!
English for Queensland (OUP) – Book cover and preview
After many months of sweat, sleepless nights and tears, I am excited to announce that a book I have co-authored with Lindsay Williams and Sophie Johnson will be out later this year through Oxford University Press. English for Queensland Units 1 & 2.
Book 1 this year is a student workbook for Units 1 and 2 (year 11) of the English senior syllabus in Queensland.
Book 2 next year will be for Units 3 and 4 (year 12).
(I know, I’m not supposed to say year 11 and year 12, but I’m not ready to give them up!)
It’s always a bit funny to publish work for a profit when you are so used to giving things away, as a rule. The good news is that I have so many resource and planning ‘offcuts’ from this book project that I still have plenty to share freely in the network!
No reflection other than that. Just a proud-moment post for a project that took a lot of creative energy and is edging toward ‘tangible product’ stage!
Products and projects in QLD senior English
I have cause today to be trawling through the glossary in the new Queensland senior English syllabus, and these two terms caught my eye:
Screenshot remix using QCAA senior syllabus glossary
Making a note here, to remind me I have these terms in place to talk with senior English teachers about project based learning.
The QLD Year 12 Text Lists are Out!
Posted by kmcg2375 in english, HSC, QCE, reflections on December 5, 2017
Prescribed Text Lists have been created for the first time in Queensland year 12 English, to specify texts for study that have been deemed to have “merit in genre and style”. The lists have this week been made available to the public, after a week of being available to only QLD teachers and QCAA approved users (a contrast to how NSW HSC lists were released earlier this year to media in advance of teachers).
There are two texts lists for:
These lists correspond with syllabuses for the three ‘general’ (i.e. leading to an ATAR) courses. The syllabuses were finalised this year for use starting with with year 11 in 2019:
I recorded my initial responses to the text lists in this vlog, with more analysis to come in the next few weeks:
NB. Extension English syllabus and text list are on a later development round and yet to be finalised. Essential English is an ‘applied’ (non-ATAR) subject, and will not have an associated text prescriptions list.
AATE / ALEA 2013 National Conference
Posted by kmcg2375 in conferences, education, english, learning community on June 18, 2012
This year in Sydney, as with last year in Melbourne, AATE and ALEA are holding separate national conferences.
Despite promises to myself earlier this year to go to less conferences, I’ll be heading along to both 🙂
The ALEA National Conference, which is about to be held in Sydney from 6-9 July, has already sold out all available places (Well done to Lisa Kervin, the conference convenor!) I’ll be sticking my head in on the last day of this conference to hand out promotional material our conference in Brisbane…it’s hand over time, baby!
The AATE National Conference will be held a little later this year, from 3-4 October. I’ll be there with Five Bells on, presenting a workshop with Bianca Hewes on ‘Success, obstacles and ethics in online teaching’ as well as on a panel about teacher blogging. I’ll be joined on the panel by the likes of Bianca, Troy and Darcy, so you know it’s going to be a power-session; not to be missed!
Once these two conferences are wrapped up, it’s next stop: Brisbane 2013!
Our website won’t go live until after the hand over in July, but there is a Facebook page you can like and Twitter profile you can follow:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/englishliteracyconference
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/EngLit2013
We’re working like crazy to get the Call for Papers and everything else ready for the launch, but here’s a sneak preview of things to come:
…will I see you in Brisbane in 2013?
QWC: Letter Writing Club
Posted by kmcg2375 in learning community, random on May 8, 2012
In my search this semester to find local resources to support English teachers, I came across the Queensland Writers Centre (http://www.qwc.asn.au/).
Truth told, I had already come across the QWC last year, when I was learning about IF:Book Australia (http://www.futureofthebook.org.au/). Finding out more about the QWC was something I had been meaning to do for awhile!
So it was serendipitous that I came across a notice about the ‘Letter Writing Club’ that is being run throughout 2012 by the Queensland Writers Centre. On the first Monday of most months, members of the public can participate in the club for free. Paper, quills, old typewriters and other devices are made available for people to write letters … this is the whole point of the club.
Isn’t that great?
Here is the information from their website – I hope to get along to at least one of these!
Premier’s Reading Challenge QLD
I used to be on the book selection panel for the PRC in New South Wales…great to see it so well participated in in Queensland as well.
I wonder if I can get some posters for it sent to me to put up at Uni? It’s a shame – so many great programs like this get passed over by teachers each year who just don’t get reminded of the dates!
The Premier’s Reading Challenge is on again and the aim for 2011 is to top 75,000 student participants.
Children from Prep to Year 7 are encouraged to pick up a book and get reading between May 9 and August 27, with all who complete the challenge receiving a signed certificate by the Premier.
Schools can register online until May 27. Last year, 71,000 students completed the challenge, reading more than one million books.
The challenge for students from Prep to Year 2 is to read or experience 20 books, Years 3 and 4 to read 20 books and Years 5 to 7 to read 15 books between May 9 and August 26.
Guidelines, registration details and booklists are available on the Premier’s Reading Challenge website.
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