Year 9 English tuition in Sydney and online

Audience

Who it's for

The Matrix Year 9 English Term Course is ideal for students who:

• Want to improve their ability to analyse and write about texts
  
• Need confidence in handling novels, poetry, film, and drama
  
• Value structured lessons, homework, and progress monitoring
  
• Aim to strengthen foundations for HSC success
  

It’s also ideal for parents who:

• Want their child to build strong English foundations before senior school
• Prefer a program that is syllabus-aligned, academically rigorous, and taught by specialists
• Value progress tracking, weekly homework feedback, and one-on-one workshop support

Program

What's covered

Oct – Dec (Matrix Term 1): Understanding Novels

Lesson 1: Choosing and Reading a Novel
Lesson 2: Plot, Part 1
Lesson 3: Plot, Part 2
Lesson 4: Setting
Lesson 5: Characterisation
Lesson 6: Point of View and Mood
Lesson 7: Themes in Prose Fiction
Lesson 8: Writing About Themes
Lesson 9: Topic Test

Jan – Mar (Matrix Term 2): Understanding Poetry

Lesson 1: Poems, Poets, Personas
Lesson 2: Poetic Form
Lesson 3: Writing Analytically About Poetry
Lesson 4: Deepening Skills of Interpretation
Lesson 5: Poet Case Study: Emily Dickinson
Lesson 6: In-Class Writing Task: Long Response
Lesson 7: Performing Poetry: Spoken Word
Lesson 8: Performing Poetry: Rap
Lesson 9: Topic Test

Apr – Jun (Matrix Term 3): Understanding Film

Lesson 1: Introduction to Film Studies
Lesson 2: The Director
Lesson 3: Framing and Cinematography
Lesson 4: Writing About Film
Lesson 5: Mise-en-Scène
Lesson 6: Editing
Lesson 7: Sound
Lesson 8: Revising Your Knowledge
Lesson 9: Topic Test

Jul – Sep (Matrix Term 4): Evaluating Shakespeare’s Macbeth

Lesson 1: Introducing Shakespeare
Lesson 2: Macbeth and Lady Macbeth
Lesson 3: The Nature of Ambition
Lesson 4: The Ambition of Lady Macbeth
Lesson 5: Murder and Regret
Lesson 6: Guilt and Tyranny
Lesson 7: Madness
Lesson 8: Writing Workshop
Lesson 9: Topic Test

Benefits

What you'll gain

1. Advanced text analysis
Learn to interpret themes, characters, and techniques in novels, poetry, film, and Shakespeare with confidence.

2. Stronger essay writing
Develop clear, well-structured essays that demonstrate critical thinking and sophisticated expression.

3. Exam preparation
Build familiarity with assessment formats through weekly quizzes, in-class writing tasks, and topic tests.

4. Broader vocabulary and style
Expand your child’s language, grammar, and writing style to improve both clarity and impact.

5. Confidence and independence
Regular practice, teacher feedback, and one-on-one support help students feel prepared and motivated to excel.

Approach

How it works

Structured Acceleration
Students complete the entire next term’s content in 9 weeks, entering school assessments with confidence.

Teaching Methods
Lessons combine explicit instruction, scaffolded analysis, guided writing practice, and feedback.

Course Progression
Each week builds upon the last, moving from foundational knowledge to extended analysis and writing.

Module 2

Understanding Poetry

Lesson 1: Poets, Poems, Personas

• Poetry as a mode, meaning in the form of aural and figurative techniques; the works of a contemporary Australian poet.
• Define and discuss poetry as a mode of communication; investigate how poets express meaning; analyse basic techniques and how they contribute.

Lesson 2: Poetic Form

• The concept of poetic and fixed form, the history of the sonnet (Petrarchan and Shakespearean) and Shelley’s “Ozymandias”.
• Analyse a Petrarchan sonnet, analysing form and features for meaning, critically assess poetry and its purpose, and write in a fixed sonnet form.

Lesson 3: Writing Analytically About Poetry

• Individual poems, fundamental requirements of analysis, and structuring analytical paragraphs.
• Substantiate critical ideas with evidence, analyse poetic technique for meaning, and plan an analytical paragraph.

Lesson 4: Deepening Skills of Interpretation

• Representation of complex emotions in poetry, comparative study, and thematically focussed analysis and exam questions.
• Assess the ways different poets represent the same things, articulate personal judgements on theme, and refine interpretive skills.

Lesson 5: Poet Case Study: Emily Dickinson

• Influential historical poetry, the rules of shorter response analysis and features of shorter/longer analyses.
• Analyse poetic style and creative choices, plan/compose short responses in response to stimuli; distinguish between short and long analyses.

Lesson 6: In-Class Writing Task: Long Response

• Emily Dickinson’s poetry in the context of longer analyses; structure longer responses.
• Plan a long response; unpack a question before starting to write; managed timed conditions while writing analytically.

Lesson 7: Performing Poetry: Spoken Word

• Principles and conventions of spoken word; contemporary spoken word poetry; how poets convey identity and experience.
• Analyse poetic techniques and their contribution to meaning; critically assess complex emotion in spoken word; write imaginatively about identity and experience.

Lesson 8: Performing Poetry: Rap

• The principles and conventions of rap as poetry; two contemporary rappers and their compositions; applying familiar. principles/understandings in new contexts
• Analyse rap for poetic value and meaning; compare and contrast two texts in long response form.

Lesson 9: Topic Test and Marking & Feedback

Module 3

Understanding Film

Lesson 1: Introduction to Film Studies

• The nature of film as audio-visual medium, categories and examples of film technique, and Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr Fox.
• Identify various film techniques and their potential effects, and express opinions about film as a medium.

Lesson 2: The Director

• The role of the director, Wes Anderson, and Hollywood vs independent cinema.
• Identify shot types, analyse elements in frame, and discuss the director’s role.

Lesson 3: Framing and Cinematography

• The role of cinematography, shot composition, framing, and Wes Anderson’s style.
• Assess the effect of techniques, articulate what’s in frame, and use TEE structure to discuss film.

Lesson 4: Writing About Film

• Structuring long responses, and using evidence when writing analytically about film.
• Engage and make judgements on an unseen sequence; write a peel paragraph to a set question with scaffolded assistance.

Lesson 5: Mise-en-Scène

• Mise-en-scène in analysis, colour, stop-motion, production design, and Wes Anderson’s style.
• Assess the effects of colour on atmosphere; evaluate the role of mise-en-scène

Lesson 6: Editing

• Visual allusions, the process and importance of editing, and Wes Anderson’s style.
• Discuss visual allusions, identify different editing styles, and evaluate the role of editing choices.

Lesson 7: Sound

• The role of sound in cinema, the importance of score, and sound production in Fantastic Mr. Fox.
• Distinguish between diegetic and non-diegetic sound, reflect on sound and silence in films, and evaluate the role of sound choices.

Lesson 8: Revising Your Knowledge

• The importance of cinema as culture an expression; processes for analysing unseen sequences under timed conditions
• Identify and discuss key themes, film techniques, and edit and refine written expression

Lesson 9: Topic Test and Marking & Feedback

Module 4

Understanding Shakespeare (Tragedy)

Lesson 1: Introducing Shakespeare

• The plot of Macbeth, his character, and the opening scenes of the play.
• Connect language and ideas in the opening; annotate Shakespearean text for meaning.

Lesson 2: Macbeth and Lady Macbeth

• The consequences of prophecies, dramatic performance and understanding, and the character of Lady Macbeth.
• Analyse and interpret Shakespearean language; identify and analyse dramatic techniques.

Lesson 3: The Nature of Ambition

• The pros and cons of ambition; Macbeth’s struggle with ambition; The Divine Right of Kings and the Great Chain of Being.
• Empathising with Shakespeare’s characters, reading for understanding and analysis and composing an analytical paragraph.

Lesson 4: The Ambition of Lady Macbeth

• The pros and cons of ambition, Lady Macbeth’s struggles, and shifting points of view.
• Consider representation of Shakespeare in modern mediums, read for analysis, and compose an analytical paragraph.

Lesson 5: Murder and Regret

• Murder in Macbeth, and the role of performance and soliloquy.
• Collaborate to understand, build understanding into analysis, and use a variety of strategies to approach Shakespeare.

Lesson 6: Guilt and Tyranny

• Moral challenges in Macbeth, and the means to power and authority.
• Test interpretation by engaging with evidence, consider how different directors interpret Shakespeare, and compose critical analysis.

Lesson 7: Madness

• The motif of sleep, the role of madness, and key details from Act 5.
• Reflect on perspective and consider the importance of stage devices for depth.

Lesson 8: Writing Workshop

• Macbeth’s conclusion, essay structure and planning strategies.
• Contextualise the conclusion, plan an essay, and compose an essay scaffold.

Lesson 9: Topic Test and Marking & Feedback