In this class, we cover all the core English skills—reading, writing, and analysis—but we do so with a distinct Media Studies slant. We look at how stories work not just on the page, but visually and structurally, too.
For example, we started the year by sampling a range of novels and voting on a class favourite to study together (which ended up being The Mist, by Stephen King). This term, we'll finish the study of that novel, so if you're joining us, please read the first half of that novel, and we'll pick up from there. It's not a very long novel, and you'll be able to find it online pretty easily - and it'll let you know if the type of text your fellow students have chosen are ones which resonate with you.
After we finish our novel study, we'll do some activities based on it and other short texts. Towards the end of the term, we'll also start looking more at the visual language of film - why do moviemakers make the decisions they do?
For example, we might:
- Turn a chapter into a screenplay.
- Digitally storyboard a key sequence from the book.
- Design a new book cover based on the novel’s themes.
- Produce a mini-documentary on an idea from the text.
There will be a lot of reading in this class—it’s the foundation of everything we do. My goal is to help you realise how cool reading can be and nudge you towards being an independent thinker. You'll likely need a non-phone device to help you on your reading journey.