Years 7-12 English Workbooks

Ages:    11-18 

Click on links for more information. 

All books are available as a PDF ebook, Print on Demand and PDF + Print.

Relevant Curriculums

All state-based curriculums for the Australian English Curriculum 

Click here for the corresponding creative writing and English units of work. All the units of work are available to purchase individually or through bi-annual subscriptions.

Below is a list of the creative writing and English units of work available and details about each unit of work.

Senior English Workbooks/eBooks(Years 11 and 12)

Reading to Write: Analysing and Creating Modernist Texts

Exploring and Creating Modernist Literary Writing

Comparative Study of Looking for Richard and Richard III

Textual Conversations Between Looking for Richard and King Richard III

Critical Study of Sixty Lights

Close Study of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

People and Politics in WH Auden's Poetry

Exploring Literary Mindscapes in Sixty Lights

Critical Study of WH Auden's Poetry

Junior and Middle School English Workbooks/eBooks (Years 7-10)

Exploring Power and Privilege

Re-Writing Fairytales

Analysing Textual Integrity in The Post Office

Exploring Cultural Representations in Debra Oswald's Skate

Exploring Stagecrafting and Cultural Connection in Jack Davis's Honey Spot

Analysing and Creating Australian Stories

Exploring and Creating Marine Sustainability Texts

Analysing Characterisation, Voice and Transformation in Patrick Ness's A Monster Calls

Comparative Study of Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story

Creating Picture Books

Exploring Gothic Horror in Neil Gaiman's Coraline

Exploring Ethical Issues in John Marsden's Tomorrow When the War Began

Analysing and Creating Protest Poetry

Analysing and Creating Humour Texts

Analysing Literary Merit of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mocking Bird

Senior English (Years 11 and 12)

Reading to Write: Analysing and Creating Modernist Texts (NSW ONLY)

For Year 11 (Suitable for NSW English Stage 6 Advanced and Standard Syllabus for the Australian curriculum)
See Exploring and Creating Modernist Literary Texts for all state-based curriculums for the secondary senior Australian English curriculum

Concepts: Modernism, Cultural Perspectives and Creative Writing

(Adapted from Creating Modernist Writing)



Workbook/eBook focus

Students focus on modernism as a movement in Australia and around the world and considers how the cultural significance of modernity is reflected in literature and art forms. Student will study examples of modern literature and artworks, such as Kenneth Slessor’s  ‘Five Bells’ and Part III of 'Five Visions of Captain Cook', Gail Jones’s Dreams of Speaking, Raymond Carver’s ‘So Much Water So Close to Home', Lucia Berlin's 'Point of View' and Orientalism, and use these texts as inspiration to create experimental literary pieces through transversal, intergeneric and fictocritcal writing, reflecting modernist ideas, forms and ways of writing.


Click here to purchase Reading to Write: Analysing Modernist Writing workbook.

Exploring and Creating Modernist Literary Writing

For years 11-12 (suitable for all state-based curriculums for the secondary senior Australian Curriculum: English Literature - from 2017)

Concepts: Modernism, Cultural Perspectives and Creative Writing


Workbook/eBook focus:
Students focus on modernism as a movement in Australia and around the world and considers how the cultural significance of modernity is reflected in literature and art forms. Student will study examples of modern literature and artworks, such as Kenneth Slessor’s  ‘Five Bells’, Part III of 'Five Visions of Captain Cook' and 'Out of Time', Gail Jones’s Dreams of Speaking, Raymond Carver’s ‘So Much Water So Close to Home', Lucia Berlin's 'Point of View' and Orientalism, and use these texts as inspiration to create experimental literary pieces through transversal, intergeneric and fictocritcal writing, reflecting modernist ideas, forms and ways of writing.

Click on the links below for more information:
Exploring and Creating Modernist literary Texts - Work eBook Contents/Copyright Page/Sample Lesson

Click here to purchase Creating Modernist Literary Writing Workbook.

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Exploring Connections between Looking for Richard and Richard III

For years 11-12 (suitable for the Senior Australian English Curriculum - from 2017)

Concepts: Intertextuality, Values and Context, Comparative Study


Workbook/eBook Focus:
In this workbook of work students will explore how meanings of a pair of texts can be shaped and reshaped by considering the connections between them. It is through this exploration that students will have the opportunity to learn about the values and contexts of each text, examine implicit or explicit relationships between the texts and explore l connections through direct or indirect references to contexts, values, ideas, content and the use of language forms and features. Students will also develop skills in writing a comparative essay. 

Click on the links below for more information:
Exploring Connections Between LFR and KRIII - Work eBook Contents/Copyright Page/Sample Lesson

Click here to purchase Exploring Connections Between LFR and RIII Workbook.

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Textual Conversations Between Looking for Richard and Richard III (NSW Only)

For year 12 Advanced course(suitable for the NSW Stage 6 English Syllabus for the secondary senior Australian English Curriculum - from 2018)Available Feb 2018
Concepts: Intertextuality, Values and Context, Comparative Study


Workbook/eBook Focus:

Students will explore how meanings of a pair of texts can reveal resonances and dissonances by considering the textual conversations between them. It is through this exploration that students will explore and evaluate connections through references to contexts, values, ideas, content and the use of language forms and features. They will also consider how a comparative study has enhanced their understanding and appreciation of both texts. Students will develop skills in writing a comparative essay as well as compose creative texts in a range of modes and media.

Click here to purchase Textual Conversations Between LFR and RIII Workbook.

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Critical Study of Sixty Lights

For year 11/12 (suitable for the secondary senior Australian Curriculum: English Literature - from 2017)

Concepts: Textual Integrity, Modernism and Context


Workbook/eBook focus: 
This workbook will assist students to critically study Sixty Lights by considering how the elements of the text work together as a whole to create textual integrity. Students will consider Jones’ personal context, key concepts such as photography, memory and grief, Victorian England, modernity and ‘coming of age’ novels and how intertextuality is represented in the novel. Other elements such as structure, characters, themes and setting are also addressed. Students will analyse the ideas and concepts conveyed in Jones’ theoretical influences, such as Lynda Nead’s Victorian Babylon, Eduardo Cadava’s Words of Light, Susan Sontag’s On Photography and Regarding the Pain of Others and Roland Barthe’s Camera Lucida. They will explore how these texts relate to Sixty Lights. Students will also be guided through the process of writing a critical study essay. 

Click on the links below for more information:
Critical Study of Sixty Lights - Work eBook Contents/Copyright Page/Sample Lesson

Click here to purchase Critical Study of Sixty Lights Workbook.

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Close Study of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

For Year 12 (Suitable for NSW English Stage 6 Standard Syllabus for the Australian curriculum and all state-based curriculums for the secondary senior Australian Curriculum: English from 2017)

Concepts: Context and Narrative, Close Study of Text and Textual Integrity


Workbook/eBook focus:
This workbook will assist students to study Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by engaging in a detailed analysis of the text. Students will explore Haddon’s personal context and the distinctive qualities of the text including narrative elements such as structure, characters, themes and setting. Student will also analyse how ideas and concepts, forms and language of a text interact within the text and affect the responder as well as examine key scenes in the novel. Students will be guided through the process of writing a close study of text essay. 

Click on the links below for more information:
Click here to purchase Close Study of Curious Incident Workbook.

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People and Politics in WH Auden’s Poetry (NSW Only)

For years 11-12 (For NSW English Stage 6 Syllabus pre 2018)

Concepts: People and Politics, Representation and Text


Workbook/eBook focus:
This workbook will assist students in the study of selected poem by WH Auden and related texts that explore representation, meaning and significance of people and politics, context and content. Poems include: ‘O what is that sound which so thrills the ear’, ‘Spain’, ‘Epitaph on a Tyrant’, ‘In Memory of W.B.  Yeats’, ‘September 1, 1939’, ‘The Unknown Citizen’ and ‘The Shield of Achilles’. Also explored is how the poems and related texts represent individual, shared or competing political perspectives, ideas, events or situations. Students will be guided through the process of writing an essay that compares selected poems and related texts.

Click on the links below for more information:

WH Auden’s Poetry Unit of Work Overview 
WH Auden’s Poetry Unit of Work Link to NSW English Stage 6 Syllabus
WH Auden’s Poetry Unit of Work Sample Lesson 
WH Auden’s Poetry Links to the Senior Australian English Curriculum

Click here to purchase WH Auden’s Poetry workbook.

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Exploring Literary Mindscapes in Gail Jones's Sixty Light


Students will critically study Sixty Lights by considering how the elements of the text invite the responder to explore literary mindscapes or the internal worlds of individuals. In order to explore identity, assumptions and ways of being and thinking, students will consider Jones’s personal context, values, key concepts such as photography, memory and grief, Victorian England, modernity and ‘coming of age’ novels and how intertextuality is represented in the novel. Other elements such as structure, characters, themes and setting are also addressed. Students will analyse the ideas, values and concepts conveyed in Jones’s theoretical influences and explore how these texts relate to Sixty Lights. Students will also be guided through the process of writing a critical essay.

Click on the links below for more information:

Literary Mindscapes- Work eBook Contents/Copyright Page/Sample Lesson


Click here to purchase Exploring Literary Mindscapes in Sixty Lights workbook/ebook

Available August, 2018

Critical Study of WH Auden’s Poetry

For years 11-12 (Suitable for the NSW Stage 6 English Syllabus for the Australian curriculum and all state-based curriculums for the Australian Curriculum: English Literature)

Concepts: Critical Study of Text, Context and Representation


Workbook/eBook focus:
Students will critically study selected poems by WH Auden by considering how the elements of the texts work together as a whole to create textual integrity. Poems include: ‘O what is that sound which so thrills the ear’, ‘Spain’, ‘Epitaph on a Tyrant’, ‘In Memory of W.B.  Yeats’, ‘September 1, 1939’, ‘The Unknown Citizen’ and ‘The Shield of Achilles’. Students will consider Auden’s personal context, key ideas and concepts, structure and setting and express views about the aesthetic and imaginative aspects of the texts. They will also be guided through the process of writing a critical study essay.

Click on the links below for more information:

Critical Study of WH Auden's Poetry - Work eBook Contents/Copyright Page/Sample Lesson

Click here to purchase Critical Study of WH Auden’s Poetry workbook.

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Junior and Middle School English Units (Years 7-10)

Exploring Power and Privilege in Fairytales

For years 9-10 (Suitable for all state-based curriculums for the Australian English Curriculum 7-10)

Concepts: Cultural Perspectives and Representations and Reflection


Workbook/eBook focus: 

In this workbook students will explore how power and privilege have been represented within and through fairytale texts by analysing the fairytales genre. Students will also explore symbolism and motifs in fairytales and adapt archetypal characters. They will develop an understanding of the context of fairytales around the world by analysing the audience, purpose and history of fairytales and the context of Disney fairytales. Students will explore how fairytales continue to be told and retold and evaluate cultural perspectives in fairytales from diverse cultures. Analysis of how fairytales are reinvented in new contexts will also be explored so students can reinvent the fairytale genre in ways that reflect their own ideas about cultural perspectives. Students will develop skills in reflection through reflecting on their own processes of learning and creating as well as on texts. 

Click on the links below for more information:


Click here to purchase Exploring Power and Privilege in Fairytales Workbook.

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Re-Writing Fairytales

For years 7-8 (Suitable for all state-based curriculums for the Australian English Curriculum 7-10)

Concepts: Intertextuality, Genre and Creative Writing



Workbook/eBook focus:

In this workbook students will analyse the fairytale genre from Europe and outside Europe and the purpose and audience of fairytales. Student will analyse narrative elements found in the fairytales, such as key ideas, motifs, ‘the hero’s journey’, archetypal characters and situations, themes and narrative voice. Students will explore intertextuality in fairytales and how binary oppositions position the audience to adopt certain values and beliefs. Students will create various elements of fairytales that challenge reader expectations and represent new ways of thinking about the world we live in.     

Click on the links below for more information:

Click here to purchase Re-Writing Fairytales Workbook.

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Analysing Textual Integrity in Rabindranath Tagore's The Post Office

Years 7-8 (Suitable for all state-based curriculums for the Australian English Curriculum 7-10)

Concepts: Textual Integrity, Argument and Reflection



Workbook/eBook focus:
This workbook will focus on the study of a play which explores another culture. Students will study the Indian play Daak Ghar-The Post Office, exploring the plot, symbolism, metaphors and context of the play. In reading the play and discussing its context, students will explore the how textual integrity is represented and ideas of universal human experiences. Students will write analytical paragraphs explaining how textual integrity is shown in the play.

Click on the links below for more information:
Click here to purchase Analysing Textual Integrity in The Post Office workbook.

Exploring Cultural Representations in Debra Oswald's Skate 

Year 9 (Suitable for all state-based curriculums for the Australian English Curriculum 7-10)

Concepts: Cultural Representation and Reflection 



Workbook/eBook focus:
In this workbook student will interpret and analyse the representations of cultural groups in Debra Oswald’s Skate. They will explore how these cultural groups are represented through script narrative elements such as language, themes, plot and setting. Students will evaluate the reasons for these representations and offer alternative viewpoints and solutions to conflicts within cultural groups. Students will also reflect on their own processes of creating texts by themselves or within groups. Students will also create the script for a scene and set design for a story about teenagers that reflects their values and ideas and challenges cultural common assumptions about teenagers. 

Click on the links below for more information:


Click here to purchase Exploring Cultural Representations in Debra Oswald's Skate workbook.

Exploring Stagecrafting and Cultural Connections in Jack Davis's Honey Spot

Years 7-8 (Suitable for all state-based curriculums for the Australian English Curriculum 7-10)

Concepts: Code and Convention, Stagecraft, Cultural Perspectives & Cultural Representation  


Workbook/eBook focus:
In this workbook students develop skills in and knowledge of stagecrafting through an exploration of cultural connections in Honey Spot by Jack Davis. Students will explore all aspects of stagecrafting such as lighting, performance space, props, set, sound effects, music, costumes and actors’ performances. Students will analyse characters and plot in Honey Spot and learn how to stage a scene for a live audience. They will experiment with reading and performing scenes from the play as a group of actors, and reflect on the process. 


Click here to purchase Exploring Stagecrafting and Cultural Connections in Jack Davis's Honey Spot workbook.

Analysing and Creating Australian Stories

Years 9-10 (Suitable for all state-based curriculums for the Australian English Curriculum 7-10)

Concepts: Voice, Perspectives and Creative Writing

Workbook/eBook focus:

In this workbook students will develop skills in exploring and creating Australian stories through analysis and interpretation of perspectives and voice in creative and nonfiction texts such as prose poetry, narratives, documentaries and YouTube clips. Students will consider Australia’s identity and explore multicultural, Aboriginal and historical Australian stories and use these as inspiration to create their own stories that represent their perception of Australian culture and life. Students will create YouTube clips that represent their contribution to a 21st century Australian voice and an Australian story documentary. 

Click on the links below for more information:


Click here to purchase Analysing and Creating Australian Stories workbook.

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Exploring and Creating Marine Sustainability Texts

Years 9-10 (Suitable for all state-based curriculums for the Australian English Curriculum 7-10)

Concepts: Interconnectedness, Rhetoric and Imagery


Workbook/eBook focus:

In this workbook students will look at various texts about marine conservation to develop and awareness of how they can contribute to conserving the marine environment. Students will analyse various media texts, such as posters and video advertisements in order to determine messages conveyed and how the responder is positioned to adopt certain ideas and take action. Students will learn how to create texts that borrow from other texts and use stimulus to create imaginative texts, such as Dreamtime stories and manga that convey possibilities in relation to marine conservation.

Click on the links below for more information:

Click here to purchase Exploring and Creating Marine Sustainability Unit of Work.

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Analysing Characterisation, Voice and Transformation in Patrick Ness's A Monster Calls 

Years 7-8 (Suitable for all state-based curriculums for the Australian English Curriculum 7-10)

Concepts: Characterisation, Voice and Transformation


Workbook/eBook focus:

In this workbook students will focus on a study of A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness to develop skills in analysing and writing about how the author uses characterisation, voice and transformation to tell an engaging and meaningful story. The unit is framed by the idea of ‘facing fears’. Students will develop empathetic skills by relating experiences of characters in the novel to personal experiences. They will develop speaking and listening skills and create texts that reflect their understanding of key issues in the novel. Students will also reflect on their own fears and hopes and create texts that challenge their own assumptions about themselves. Students will write and deliver a speech about how the author uses characterisation, voice and transformation to create a compelling story. 

Click on the links below for more information:

Click here to purchase Analysing Characterisation, Voice and Transformation in Patrick Ness's A Monster Calls workbook
 

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Comparative Study of Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story

Years 9-10 (Suitable for all state-based curriculums for the Australian English Curriculum 7-10)

Concepts: Comparative Study and Critical Thinking


Workbook/eBook focus:

This workbook focuses on a comparison of Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story. Students will learn about the narrative elements of each text, including the plot, characters, setting, themes and language and stylistic features. Students will also learn to write about the relationships between texts from different time periods and develop an appreciation for the value in comparing texts in an academic sense. Students will write a comparative essay about the two key texts.

Click on the links below for more information:

Click here to purchase Comparative Study of Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story workbook.

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Creating Picture Books

Years 7-8 (Suitable for all state-based curriculums for the Australian English Curriculum 7-10)

Concepts: Genre, Code and Convention and Creative Writing



Workbook/eBook focus: 

Creating Picture Books workbook provides students with the opportunity to explore the genre of picture books for both adults and children. Students learn about the definitions, features, styles, genres and types of picture books. Students develop an understanding of and skills in creating the various written and visual elements of picture books, including the front and back cover and narrative elements such as characters and settings. They read, listen to, view and speak about various picture books from different times and places. Students apply their knowledge and skills about these written and visual elements by creating their own picture book for either a child or adult audience.

  

Click on the links below for more information:


Click here to purchase Creating Picture Books workbook


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Exploring Gothic Horror in Neil Gaiman's Coraline

Years 7-8 (Suitable for all state-based curriculums for the Australian English Curriculum 7-10)

Concepts: Transformation and Narrative



Workbook/eBook focus: 

This workbook provides students with the opportunity to explore the genre of horror. Students learn about the features of horror stories, including the gothic mode. Students develop an understanding of and skills in creating horror short stories for a teenage audience, including narrative elements such as characters, settings, themes and structure. They develop skills in adapting and transforming existing horror text into different forms for a variety of purposes and audiences. They read, listen to, view and speak about various horror stories and gothic graphic novels from different times and places, including multimedia horror texts. Students apply their knowledge and skills about these narrative elements by creating their own horror short story for a teenage audience that adapts existing horror stories into new contexts.  

Click on the links below for more information:


Exploring Gothic Horror in Coraline - Work eBook Contents/Copyright Page/Sample Lesson


Click here to purchase Exploring Gothic Horror in Neil Gaiman's Coraline workbook.

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Exploring Ethical Issues in John Marsden's Tomorrow When the War Began

Year 8 (Suitable for all state-based curriculums for the Australian English Curriculum 7-10)

Concepts: Style, Ethics and Interpretation


Workbook/eBook focus:

In this workbook students will explore ethical issues in Tomorrow When the War Began by John Marsden and other texts about war such as poetry, short stories, and historical speeches and images. Students will assess the representation of ethical issues in texts and compare them to their own ethical values. They will critically analyse the language features and forms of various war texts and reflect personally on war texts. Students will examine the relationships between various war texts and explore the similarities and differences between ethical issues in various war texts.

Click on the links below for more information:

Click here to purchase Exploring Ethical Issues in John Marsden's Tomorrow When the War Began workbook.

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Analysing and Creating Protest Poetry and Lyrics 

Years 9-10 (Suitable for all state-based curriculums for the Australian English Curriculum 7-10)


Concepts: Perspective, Point of view and Cultural Perspective



Workbook/eBook focus:
In​ this​ workbook students​ will​ be​ looking​ at​ ideas​ about​ social​ issues​ and​ change​ and​​ how to​ empower​ themselves to​ create​ protest​ texts​ that​ bring​ about​​ 'a​ better​ world'​ to​ live​ in.​ The​ following​ social​ issues​ will​ be​ investigated​ and​ researched:​ what​ is​ social​ protest,​ the​ history​ of​ social​ protest,​ motivations​ for​ social​ protest,​​ non-violent,​ group​​ and​ individual forms​ of​ ​social​ protest​ and​ social​ protest​ as​ a​ form​ of​ agency.​ ​Student will​ be​ exploring​ a​ range​ of​ protest​ songs,​​​ lyrics​ and poetry​​ by​ a​ variety​ of​ composers​ to​ critically​ analyse​ the​ use​ of​ language​ features​,​ text​ forms​ and​ structures​ of​ protest​ texts. The​ unit​ is​ framed​ by​ the​ key​ question:​ What​ do​ we​ desire​ our​ future​ to​ look​ like?​ Students create a suite of protest poetry and song lyrics and write a personal reflection.
  
Click on the links below for more information:

Analysing and Creating Humorous Texts 

Years 9-10 (Suitable for all state-based curriculums for the Australian English Curriculum 7-10)

Concepts: Critical Thinking and Style



Workbook/eBook focus: 

In this workbook students will analyse a variety of visual and written humourous texts from different time periods.  They will analyse and evaluate short stories, poetry, media texts, television shows and film extracts for their comic effects. Students will develop an understanding of how the audience and purpose of humourous texts affects meaning and how humourous texts make social commentary. Students will become familiar with types of humour and how humour is created in and through texts through visual and written techniques. Students will develop skill in listening and complete a listening task as an assessment as well as write a script for either an existing or new sitcom. 


Click on the links below for more information:


Click here to purchase Analysing and Creating Humorous Texts workbook.

Analysing Literary Merit of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mocking Bird

Years 9/10 (Suitable for all state-based curriculums for the Australian English Curriculum 7-10)

Concepts: Literary Merit, Aestheticism and Appreciation    



Workbook/eBook focus: 
This workbook looks at the meaning and significance of literature in our world today. Students will analyse narrative elements, such as plot, characters, themes, settings, narrative viewpoint and writing style in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee in order to determine the literary merit of the text. Students will consider ethical issues in the novel and evaluate ideas in the novel against their own values and attitudes. Students will compare ideas and techniques in the film and novel versions of the text. Students will learn about the nature of literary critiques, and develop skills in using the language and structural features of essay writing. Students will write an essay assessing literary merit in the novel. 

Click on the links below for more information:


Click here to purchase Analysing Literary Merit of Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird workbook.


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