English / Year 8 / Literacy / Interacting with others

Curriculum content descriptions

Use interaction skills for identified purposes, using voice and language conventions to suit different situations, selecting vocabulary, modulating voice and using elements such as music, images and sound for specific effects (ACELY1808)

Elaborations
  • participating in pair, group, class, school and community speaking and listening situations, including informal conversations, discussions, debates and presentations
  • using effective strategies for dialogue and discussion in range of formal and informal contexts, including speaking clearly and coherently and at appropriate length, asking questions about stated and implied ideas, and restating and summarising main ideas
  • choosing vocabulary and spoken text and sentence structures for particular purposes and audiences, such as debating a topic with a team from another school, creating a voiceover for a media presentation, and adapting language choices such as use of similes, metaphors and personification, to meet perceived audience needs
  • selecting voice effects, such as tone, volume, pitch and pace, with particular attention to the effects these may have on audience reaction and acceptance of the ideas presented
General capabilities
  • Literacy Literacy
  • Critical and creative thinking Critical and creative thinking
  • Personal and social capability Personal and social capability
ScOT terms

Oral presentations,  Speaking,  Nonverbal communication

Audio

Heywire: At home in the country

What is the best thing about living on a farm out in the countryside? What is the worst? How does where you live make you the person you are today? Listen to Jane Gould from Boort, finalist of the 2012 Heywire storytelling competition for young people, talk of the connectedness she feels to the land on which she lives.

Video

How to be funny

What is the key to being funny? As Tim Ferguson explains, if you can laugh, you can write comedy. Has something funny happened to you lately? Or is there something in particular that you find puzzling or amusing about the world around you? Put your thoughts on paper and experiment with telling your story in different ways. ...

Interactive

Syllabus bites: Active and passive voice

A web page with information, teacher guides and activities on writing sentences using the active and passive voice. This resource supports the BOS NSW Syllabus for the Australian Curriculum in English K–10.

Video

Heywire: Crocodiles, jellyfish and self-expression

Have you ever sat through a classmate's oral presentation and nearly fallen asleep in the middle of it? Often this is because the speaker isn't using their voice in a way that gets your attention and keeps you interested. In this Heywire audio story, explore how Alpha Capaque, a young woman from the Northern Territory, ...

Video

BTN: What is debating?

Well, come along to round six of the 2015 National Schools Debating Championships to find out! What are the rules of debating? And what are the speakers judged on? As BTN reporter Carl Smith explains, in order to make a good argument, you need to try to prove that your ideas are right and your opposition's ideas are wrong. ...

Video

BTN: Exploring the skills of a radio presenter

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a DJ at a radio station? Watch this clip to find out about a bunch of young people who are doing just that. While you're watching, we'll explore some of the skills you might need to present your own radio show.

Video

First Tuesday Book Club: Sentencing 'The Book Thief'

People can express their opinions and attitudes in ways other than words. In this clip, join in the discussion about Markus Zusak's popular novel 'The Book Thief', and explore how verbal and non-verbal cues can add emphasis to your speech.

Interactive

Syllabus bites: types of sentences

A web page resource with information, teacher guides and activities on types of sentences to support the Australian Curriculum in English K–10. It has detailed activities, links to resources and quizzes.

Interactive

Strictly Speaking

A public speaking resource including videos of student speeches, interviews, adjudicator comments, adults talking about their public speaking experiences, and support activities.

Text

Find advice as to how to help your students learn to creatively critique each other's work

Find advice as to how to help your students learn to creatively critique each other's work. The resource includes useful questions that can be used as a structure for critique and review.

Text

Debating guide for classroom teachers

This teacher guide provides advice about the key elements of debating as well as a judging guide, planning templates for each speaker and links to a range of resources.

Text

A Fortunate Life: Unit of work

This unit of work has been written to support the autobiography A Fortunate Life which explores the life of Albert Facey in surviving Gallipoli, raising a family through the Depression and managing several family challenges. This unit provides practical teaching ideas, an assessment task and an essay by Geordie Williamson.

Text

Respectful Civil Discourse: Post-Referendum (Years 7 and 8)

This set of resources about civil discourse education uses the Uluru Statement from the Heart and other resources as the basis for students in Years 7 and 8 to discuss the types of debates that occurred during the 2023 referendum for constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The focus is ...

Text

Mirror: Unit of work

This unit of work has been written to support Mirror, a picture story book set in Morocco. It explores themes of family, identity, and cultural interactions. This unit provides practical teaching ideas, an assessment task and an essay by Robin Morrow.

Text

The ABC Book of Australian Poetry: Unit of work

This unit of work has been written to support this anthology of Australian poetry. Compiled by Libby Hathorn, it contains over eighty poems dating from 1885 to the present day representing the diversity of Australia. This unit provides practical teaching ideas for teaching specific poems and an assessment task.

Interactive

Secondary English: collaboration

These seven learning activities, which focus on 'collaboration' using a variety of tools (software) and devices (hardware), illustrate the ways in which content, pedagogy and technology can be successfully and effectively integrated in order to promote learning. In the activities, teachers provide students with opportunities ...

Video

Can We Help?: Conquest: the process of language change

When the Normans conquered England in 1066, they brought a lot more than fancy clothes and castles; they also brought the French language. Discover the impact that this momentous event continues to have today.

Video

Heywire: When mining comes to town

Imagine living in your own little piece of paradise, only to have a mining company move in and start changing it in ways you don't like. On the other hand, imagine the benefits that a mining company would bring to struggling businesses in the area! There are always different perspectives on any issue. As you listen to this ...

Audio

Radio National: Noongar people speak about a sense of place

Some places hold special importance for us. Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have a very strong sense of connection to their ancestral lands. They are important elements of their history and culture. In this audio clip, listen to two Noongar speakers talk about their connection to place.

Video

Representing diversity with Sally Rippin

How important do you think it is for writers to represent a diversity of experiences and perspectives in their books? What does Sally Rippin say about the world she represents in her stories? Who are the characters she writes and illustrates?