Year 8 English tuition in Sydney and online

Audience

Who it's for

The Year 8 English Term Course is ideal for students who:

• Want to excel in reading, writing, and textual analysis from poetry and prose to film and Shakespeare
  
• Need guidance in handling a variety of text types
  
• Value structured lessons, regular homework, and clear feedback
  
• Aim to strengthen long-term literacy skills for HSC success
  

Parents can feel confident that their child is supported in building strong foundations for academic growth.

Program

What's covered

Oct – Dec (Matrix Term 1): Nonfiction Writing

Lesson 1: Introduction to Discursive Writing
Lesson 2: Discursive Writing About Family
Lesson 3: Discursive Writing About Food
Lesson 4: Discursive Writing About Sport
Lesson 5: In-Class Writing Task
Lesson 6: Feature Articles
Lesson 7: New Faces of the Discursive: Social Media
Lesson 8: Writing Discursive Comedy
Lesson 9: Topic Test

Jan – Mar (Matrix Term 2): Texts Through Time

Lesson 1: Introduction to Thor
Lesson 2: Thor Goes to Hollywood
Lesson 3: And She Becomes Thor
Lesson 4: Writing a Long Response
Lesson 5: Introduction to Vampires
Lesson 6: Dracula Hits the Big Time!
Lesson 7: The Modern Vampire
Lesson 8: Writing a Long Response
Lesson 9: Topic Test

Apr – Jun (Matrix Term 3): Representing Experiences

Lesson 1: What is Representation?
Lesson 2: Representing Personal Experience
Lesson 3: Representing Society
Lesson 4: Representing History
Lesson 5: In-Class Writing Task
Lesson 6: Reading and Writing What You Know
Lesson 7: Representing Childhood Experiences
Lesson 8: Home in Family and Family in Home
Lesson 9: Topic Test

Jul – Sep (Matrix Term 4): Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet

Lesson 1: Shakespeare and Destiny
Lesson 2: Masculinity
Lesson 3: Femininity
Lesson 4: The Balcony Scene
Lesson 5: Writing a Critical Response
Lesson 6: Violence and Conflict
Lesson 7: In-Class Writing Task
Lesson 8: Writing an Extended Response
Lesson 9: Topic Test

Benefits

What you'll gain

1. Stronger writing across multiple forms
Develop discursive, analytical, and critical writing skills to respond effectively to school tasks.

2. Confidence with diverse texts
Analyse and engage with nonfiction, Shakespeare, prose, and contemporary media.

3. Improved critical thinking
Learn to interpret themes, perspectives, and representation in a wide range of texts.

4. Clarity and style in expression
Strengthen vocabulary, grammar, and sentence structure for more precise and persuasive writing.

5. Assessment readiness
Regular practice, quizzes, and teacher feedback to prepare for exams and class assessments with confidence.

Approach

How it works

Structured Acceleration

Over 9 weeks, students complete the full next term’s content before it is taught at school. This approach gives them familiarity and confidence when the same material is introduced in class or appears in assessments.

Teaching Approach

Each lesson is delivered by experienced teachers using clear explanations, model texts, and guided analysis. Students then apply their learning through scaffolded writing tasks, class discussion, and regular feedback.

Content Mix

The course develops core literacy skills across a wide range of texts, including poetry, prose, nonfiction, and Shakespeare. In Year 8, students build fluency in discursive and analytical writing, while also gaining early exposure to Shakespeare’s language, characters, and themes.

Course Progression

Each week builds on the last, following a deliberate sequence of reading and writing tasks. Weekly quizzes, in-class writing practice, and topic tests ensure students retain knowledge and steadily improve their performance.

Module 2

Intertextuality and Literary Value

Lesson 1: Introduction to Thor

• The historical origins of the mythic character, Thor, and portrayals of the character in the original text.
• Analyse narrative language features and techniques; identify and explain characterisation.

Lesson 2: Thor Goes to Hollywood

• The modern film adaptation of Thor and the shift in his characterisation.
• Analyse literary and film techniques such as hyperbole and sound; discuss the significance of context in changing character portrayals.

Lesson 3: And She Becomes Thor

• The modern comic book adaptation of Thor and the shift in his characterisation.
• Analyse visual techniques and discuss the significance of context in changing character portrayals.

Lesson 4: Writing a Long Response

• Incorporating literary, film, and visual techniques as evidence; analytical paragraph structure and composition.
• Form a response to an essay question, analyse the ways technique builds meaning; compose an essay paragraph.

Lesson 5: Introduction to Vampires

• The importance of cultural and historical contexts in shaping meaning; simile and first person.
• Analyse key scenes from Dracula, discuss meaning, and explain the influence of context on form and content.

Lesson 6: Dracula Hits the Big Time!

• Values in 1950s England; film techniques including symbolism, close-ups, and non-diegetic sound.
• Analyse key scenes and techniques in the film adaptation of Dracula; discuss meaning and explain the relationship between cultural values and textual meaning.

Lesson 7: The Modern Vampire

• Modern film adaptations with vampire characters; the shift in characterisation of vampires.
• Analyse cinematic techniques such as mood and sound; explain the relationship between cultural values and textual meanings and discuss the significance of context in changing portrayals.

Lesson 8: Writing a Long Response

• Processes and the importance of drafting, editing, and revising an analytical body paragraph.
• Develop and maintain a critical argument and incorporate dramatic techniques and textual detail into long responses.

Lesson 9: Topic Test

Module 3

Representation

Lesson 1: Introduction to Perspective and Representation

• Representation and context within English studies through Sara Mansour’s My Australia.
• Identify context and target audience, and analyse poetry that represents an Australian experience.

Lesson 2: Representing Personal Experience

• Personal context and its influence on text, genre, and memoir through Robin Ha’s An Almost American Girl.
• Draw connections between personal context and representation, analyse language and voice, and identify genre through techniques.

Lesson 3: Context, Perspective, and Representation

• Social, cultural, and historical context and how they influence textual representation, graphic novels, and form.
• Discuss and speculate on the impacts of context on representation; analyse the content of a text for context and techniques.

Lesson 4: Representing History

• Social and historical context, framing and composition, and PEEL paragraph strategies and skills
• Identify and analyse framing and composition, and write a PEEL paragraph

Lesson 5: In-Class Writing Task

• Critical writing under exam conditions; representing lived experiences from a First Nations perspective.
• Evaluate and analyse a text for long response, consider language choices, and discuss First Nations stories.

Lesson 6: Reading and Writing What You Know

• Authors’ lived experiences and representing them, short story composition, and Alison Bates’ memoir.
• Compose a memoir, identify and speculate on authorial role in self-representation; identify and analyse language and techniques in short stories.

Lesson 7: Representing Childhood Experiences

• Representing childhood through storytelling, historical representations of childhood, and Evelyn Araluen’s Finding Ways Home.
• Reflect on memories to compose stories, discuss historical notions of childhood, and develop strategies for critical analysis responses.

Lesson 8: Home in Family and Family in Home

• Representations of and storytelling about home, Araluen’s Finding Ways Home, and PEEL paragraph writing
• Think critically about language and literary devices representing home; revising and practising PEEL paragraphs

Lesson 9: Topic Test

Module 4

Analysing Shakespeare

Lesson 1: Shakespeare and Destiny

• The conventions of Renaissance tragedy and the function of prologue in drama.
• Analyse poetic language features; identify and distinguish between different Shakespearean genres.

Lesson 2: Masculinity

• Values and gender roles in early modern England; literary techniques including wordplay and similes.
• Identify cultural values in texts; explain the relationship between values and meaning.

Lesson 3: Femininity

• Shakespeare’s vocabulary; the roles of women in early modernity.
• Analyse language choices in dialogue; explain the relationship between values and meaning.

Lesson 4: The Balcony Scene

• The balcony scene and the characterisation of the titular characters.
• Analyse language features such as celestial imagery and extended metaphor; discuss perspective in drama.

Lesson 5: Writing a Critical Response

• The structure of a critical response; the nature of love in Romeo and Juliet.
• Organise ideas about texts into logical, critical structures; explain the influence of context on form and content.

Lesson 6: Violence and Conflict

• The enduring value of Shakespeare’s texts and the nature of violence and conflict in Romeo and Juliet.
• Analyse dramatic techniques like connotations and oxymoron.

Lesson 7: In-Class Writing Task

• Incorporating dramatic and poetic techniques as evidence; analytical paragraph structure and composition.
• Form a response to essay questions, reflect and analyse on how techniques contribute to meaning, and compose an essay paragraph.

Lesson 8: Writing an Extended Response

• Drafting an analytical body paragraph; the importance of planning, editing, and revising.
• Develop and maintain an argument incorporating dramatic techniques and contextual details.

Lesson 9: Topic Test