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HSC. There are only 3 terms in Yr 11 (Preliminary). Teachers will usually cover the same range of material, irrespective of whether they are teaching a Standard or an Advanced class the main different will be the complexity of the texts chosen and the depth to which teachers will encourage students to engage with the texts. A typical Year 11 (Preliminary) year might look like this. Please bear in mind this is just a suggested timetable there is no set schedule or content requirement (although there are assessment requirements) Term 1 - Area of Study
You cant teach the HSC area of study in Yr 11, but you can teach previous years area of study focus for example, journeys. The aim is to teach students how to nail an abstract concept, how to explore it, and how to write about it. This subject can take almost a whole term because you need to examine a text (but you cant use any currently prescribed HSC text), you need to teach students how they select their own ORT (other related text), and you need to explore the process of writing creatively about the area of study topic.
If youre a kick-arse teacher, or you have a kick-arse class, or the stars have magically aligned, then you might have time to cover another text (just not as deeply) maybe some poetry, a film, some creative writing, etc. Or you might want to use any left-over time to hone essay writing skills or the like. Its up to you. But before you know it, Year 12 (which starts in Term 4) will be upon you
Oh, and before we go on, I just wanted to clarify something that was said on the weekend and which is not correct. Students only select (individually) their ORT texts. They do not walk into class in Year 12, have a look at the list of Prescribed Texts for Module A (for instance), and say Oh, I like the sound of that book thats what Ill study. I have never, in 12 years working with schools, walked into a Year 12 class where 26 students were all studying a different text and the teacher was only teaching the skills. The teacher selects which of the Prescribed texts the class will engage with (if its a decent teacher, he/she will take the students likes etc. into account) and they are the texts the class will work through. Students select their own ORTs and teachers should give students some guidance as to what makes a good ORT. Okay, now that weve got that cleared up, lets move onto Year 12.
Year 12 (HSC year) starts Term 4 and concludes at the end of Term 3 the following year. The HSC exams will commence early the next term. So you have terms 4, 1, 2 and 3 but sometime towards the end of term 2 or the start of term 3, the students will be sitting their HSC Trial Examinations, so theres a pretty consistent sense of pressure for them. So what needs to be covered in Year 12? That will differ between Standard and Advanced classes, so Ive drawn up two flowcharts