Strengthening Writing Skills Across Years 7–9
Across Years 7, 8 and 9, our major focus has been on improving writing. All year levels have been learning that there are seven key areas in writing: ideas, organisation, structure and language, sentence structure, vocabulary, spelling, and punctuation. These areas are assessed in any form of writing.
We are working on individual pathways where each student focuses on specific areas identified from their last assessment and from weekly writing tasks.
Additionally, students have begun their blackout poetry in preparation for National Poetry Day on 22 August. Using a given text, they black out selected words so the remaining words form a poem. This can be challenging, but with perseverance students are creating their own imagery from the original text.
Year 8
Our reading of I Am Malala is focused on characterisation. Students are learning to structure a paragraph using the SEED format, creating statements, finding associated evidence, and explaining how the author presents this through their choice of words.
Year 9
Through our text Brown Girl Dreaming we have explored literary devices such as anaphora and made connections between the text and its themes. Students are also learning to structure paragraphs using the SEED format, creating statements, finding associated evidence, and explaining how the poet presents this through their choice of words.
Shakespeare Festival: Planning Begins for The Scottish Play
Students have started work on an SGCNZ Shakespeare Festival entry for Term 1 2027, reading the play and learning soliloquies.
Years 7 and 8 English: Play Scripts, Book Reviews and Exam Preparation
Year 7 are writing their own short plays, Year 8 are studying A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and both classes welcomed back the mobile library.
Years 7 and 8 English: Play Scripts and A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Year 8 are exploring A Midsummer Night’s Dream and writing their own play scripts, while Year 7 study how playwrights use stage directions.
Poetry: Spot Poems, Five-Minute Conversations and Chalk on the Playground
Poetry students wrote Spot poems, turned five-minute interviews into poems for each other, and chalked words across the playground.
Year 9 and 10 English: Fantasy Writing and Exam Revision
Year 9 have been drafting fantasy narratives, with five student extracts below, while Year 10 revised Language and Literature for their exams.
Year 9 and 10 English: Storyboarding Othello and Reading Macbeth
Year 9 have storyboarded Othello scene by scene. Year 10 are working on Macbeth.
Creative Writing: Choosing Genres and Designing Covers
The group are working on original stories in small groups, choosing their own genres and designing covers and illustrations for their books.
Years 7 and 8 English: Building Suspense and Drafting Narratives
Year 7 are drafting their own narratives after studying how authors build suspense. Year 8 have turned When the Mountains Roared into audio drama scripts.
Creative Writing: Openings, Suspense and Pacing
The group is comparing story settings, writing their own openings from visual prompts, and learning how plot structure builds suspense.
Years 7 and 8 English: From Poetry to Adventure Stories
Year 7 have finished poetry and moved on to adventure narratives. Year 8 are studying an extract from When the Mountains Roared.
