Year 9 War & Conflict: Main Themes.

You are to comment on what you think that main theme is in Braveheart.

When writing your comment you are to comment on:

What you think that major theme is.
What you think being brave means?
When have you been brave?
What does brave look like in the story Braveheart.

Comment below!

Year 9 Term 3 Unit: War & Conflict.

Year 9 Term 3 Unit: War & Conflict.

This term we will be focussing on War & Conflict. The texts that we will read/view will discuss war or conflict in different situations.

Our first written text is Braveheart. The students will read the text and comment on one major theme that they think is important in the story.

Year 10 Cultural Perspectives: Text 1 - Boy Overboard/Themes

Write one paragraph on what YOU think is the most important idea in the novel 'Boy Overboard'.

In your paragraph you need to make sure that you follow the Paragraph Structure that we have been working on as a class.

1. S - statement.
2. E - explain your statement.
3. E - example of your statement [quote].
4. E - explain what your example shows.

By doing this, you will be giving yourself preparation on what to write for your formal essay for the novel.

Work hard and enjoy!

Year 10 Cultural Perspectives Unit: Text 1 - Boy Overboard.

The novel we are studying as a class is Morries Gleitzman's 'Boy Overboard'.

Boy Overboard is a novel by Australian author Morris Gleitzman. It follows the journey of a family from Afghanistan trying to settle in Australia. Jamal loves playing football, which isn't easy if your goalie only has one leg and you keep having to dodge landmines to get your ball back. Jamal's stubborn little sister Bibi is even better at football than Jamal. But girls playing football is against the law in Afganistan. When it is discovered that Jamal's mother has been secretly running a school, the family must leave their home immediately and begin a long and dangerous journey to Australia. The children survive separation from their parents, hunger, and violent smugglers only to find that Australia isn't as welcoming as they had thought but, even though they face an uncertain future, Jamal, Bibi and their parents know that as long as they are together, that is all that matters.

We will be focusing on identifying and discussions the important:

• Characters


• Themes

from the text, looking for quotes that help to show what the character or themes mean.

Year 10: Term 2 Unit - Cultural Perspectives.

This Term 10PTe will be focusing on Cultural Perspectives. We will be looking a range of texts, both visual and written texts, that all show a different perspective of culture and what it is and what it means in the world.

The Common Assessment Tasks we will be working towards this term are:

• Static Image.
  
• Formal Essay.

Hope that you enjoy Cultural Perspectives!

Year 9 Fairytale Unit: Text 2 - The Ant Bully/Themes.

One of the main ideas in 'The Ant Bully' is bullying. Read the short excerpt on bullying below and write a comment. Your comment must be a personal response stating:

1. What this excerpt made you think about.


2. What part did you agree with/why.


3. What part did you disagree with/why.


4. How does this relate to the characters in The Ant Bully.

Bully Article:

Bullying is bad practice for society, commonly found in public gathering places such as on streets, schools, homes, and work places. The reason for mainly someone being bullied is based on their appearance, race or skin colour. There is verbal and physical bullying which can both hurt a person(s).

While bullies often try to deny what they've done by saying 'it was only a joke', the truth is they mean it to hurt and it often does. Sometimes there can be physical harm, but there can also be psychological harm to people being bullied

• They can be so depressed they actually become ill


• Their self esteem can be really low


• They can become shy and withdrawn


• They can develop physical complaints, like constant stomach aches and headaches, which are brought on by stress


• The kind of bullying that seems to cause the most stress is rumour mongering


• Fear and anxiety can make someone being bullied truant from school

Bullying hurts. It makes you scared and upset. It can make you so worried that you can't work well at school. Some children have told us they have skipped school to get away from it. It can make you feel that you are no good, that there is something wrong with you. Bullies can make you feel that it's your fault.

Year 9 Fairytale Unit: Text 2 - The Ant Bully

Term 2 Novel Study: The Ant Bully.

As part of our Fairytale Unit, 9KTf are currently reading their novel for Term 2, The Ant Bully.

We discussed the typical conventions of fairytale stories such as:

• Heroes
• Advisers
• Helpers
• Enemies
• Victims
• Villians
• Happy Endings
• Dreams
• Wishing

With "The Ant Bully", we found that the main hero in the story does not follow the conventional framework that most heroes do in fairytales. Instead it is the complete opposite.

A kid who hates ants finds himself living among the six-legged critters in this computer-animated comedy-adventure. Lucas Nickle is a ten-year-old boy whose family has just moved to a new town, and Lucas isn't enjoying it much -- he hasn't made any friends yet, his big sister ignores him, his parents are occupied with their upcoming vacation in Mexico, and his loving but slightly crazy grandmother is convinced space aliens are casing out the neighborhood.

To make matters worse, the local bully has found Lucas and is making his life miserable, so the boy looks for someone he can push around -- and he soon finds a large colony of ants in his yard. Lucas takes out his frustrations by stomping, drowning, and burying the bugs, little realizing the ants see him as a threat to their safety and aren't about take his attacks lying down. Zoc is a "wizard ant" who creates a formula that shrinks Lucas to the size of an insect, and the tiny boy is brought before the leader of the Ant Council and the Queen of the Colony to answer for his crimes against the ants.

Showing compassion, the queen sentences Lucas not to death, but to live among them and see how difficult their circumstances can be. Nurse Ant Hova is put in charge of looking after Lucas, and with the help of Scout Fugax and Forager Kreela, Lucas gets an eye-opening picture of how the other half lives -- just in time for Lucas to help the ants in an all-out battle against Stan a pest-control man brought in to get rid of the bugs.

As part of 9KTf's novel study for Term 2 we will look at the following points:

• Character
• Plot
• Theme

We will particularly focus on the theme of 'bullying'. The students will write their own personal response to bullying based on texts that they will read.