The English curriculum helps students to engage imaginatively and critically with literature and appreciate its aesthetic qualities. Students explore ideas and perspectives about human experience and cultural significance, interpersonal relationships, and ethical and global issues within real-world and fictional settings. Students are exposed to literature from a range of historical, cultural, and social contexts. Through the study of texts, students develop an understanding of themselves and their place in the world. The English curriculum explores the richness of First Nations Australian voices and voices from wide-ranging Australian and world literature.
The study of English plays a key role in the development of literacy, which gives young people the knowledge and skills needed for education, training, and the workplace. It helps them become ethical, informed, perceptive, innovative, and active members of society. The English curriculum plays an important part in developing the understanding, attitudes, and capabilities of those who will take responsibility for Australia’s future.
The English curriculum content is organised under 3 interrelated strands:
- Language
- Language for interacting with others
- Text structure and organisation
- Language for expressing and developing ideas
- Literature
- Literature and contexts
- Engaging with and responding to literature
- Examining literature
- Creating literature
- Literacy
- Texts in context
- Interacting with others
- Analysing, interpreting, and evaluating
- Creating texts
- Phonic and word knowledge
EAL/D (English as an Additional Language or Dialect)
The school caters for the needs of EAL/D students through designated English classes. All EAL/D courses are designed to improve students’ language and communication skills. EAL/D teachers work closely with the students’ classroom teachers to differentiate and support them in their subject areas. EAL/D students can also receive support with assignments across all subject areas if required.
Enrichment Activities
There are many ways in which students can enrich their learning in English at Melrose, such as:
- Excursions to live performances, films, museums and writing workshops.
- Competitions and challenges including Tournament of the Minds; The Dorothea McKeller Poetry competition; ICAS English, Writing and Spelling competitions; Education Perfect Championships, Public Speaking, and creative writing competitions.