The Cohen Curricula is me, Pamela Cohen. As we welcome the Australian Curriculum, and embrace the Teaching Standards as a wonderful world of new ideas and opportunities for teaching, we need to produce resources that are efficient in delivering that curriculum. As English teachers, we also embrace the new Higher School Certificate English prescriptions for the 2019-2023. Meeting all the administra
tive time pressures of creating curricula that maintains academic integrity is often a challenge. We hope to alleviate some of these time pressures. My name is Pamela Cohen. I am a passionate teacher of English. I have taught senior English for both the NSW and ACT sectors for 14 years. I am a current teacher of HSC Advanced English. Over a period of time I have developed and refined a series of resources that have seen my students become increasingly engaged with developing the all important skills of critical reading and interpretation of texts. My work has been published in the English Teachers Association journal metAphor. I am a current member of that organisation. I have provided English resources for the Harmony Day project. I am also a teacher of History and have published work including: Barbed Wire Brumbies: The history of sport in Prisoner of War Camps during WWII and To All To Whom these Presents Come…The History of the Letters Patent Constituting the Office of Governor General for the National Archives of Australia. I have lectured and tutored in the Education Faculty at the University of Canberra on the integration of ICT into teaching and learning and have been a participant, then guest lecturer and marker, for the Australian National Internship Program at the Australian National University. Much of my teaching of HSC English and junior (Australian) and senior History (Ancient) courses has taken place in regional areas. I have been privileged to teach wonderful students who have achieved stunning results. Life takes us on many turns. I recently decided it was time to expand my repertoire and provide access to the resources that have led to my students being engaged and successful writers. I have decided to create these as products for sale on my new website: www.thecohencurricula.com.au . The resources reflect my determination to deliver all students with quality learning experiences. By providing user-friendly, accessible resources, teachers are able to develop students’ conceptual knowledge by developing their critical reading skills. These resources focus on the vocabulary of analysis and a step-by-step deconstruction of text process. The resources are comprehensive. Each Area of Study. The programs come with extensive teacher notes for each lesson including teaching strategies, module description breakdowns, worksheets, and notes for each teaching strategy offered. In addition, the resource provides essay scaffolds, rubrics, checklists, essay style questions and evaluation sheets. Individual text study guides are provided as a separate product with detailed notes linking the text to the module. Study questions for comprehension and for discussion are provided and link explicitly to the module. Sentence starters and sample paragraphs using our text deconstruction process are provided. In addition, worksheets with teaching notes are provided for the specific text; deconstruction of passages – where copyright has allowed – has been provided. Copyright licenses for texts that are not in the public domain are in the process of being sought; as such, all study guides will have detailed textual content. If copyright is limited chapter, act, scene, page, paragraph, stanza and line numbers will be provided. Film study guides will contain reference to specific scenes and time sequences will be identified and deconstructed relevant to the module concept. Additionally, suggested related texts and how they link to the text are provided in the individual text guides. These guides are suitable for both teachers and students. Be assured that these resources will save you, as the teacher, much time. Our aim is to provide students with the processes that allow them to produce insightful, sophisticated analysis of the new texts. Questions and clarification are welcome. Email us at [email protected] if you have questions or would like further information on our website. In addition, I am available as a consultant if you would like me to come to your school and work with your staff to develop, write and integrate these resources into your new HSC scope and sequence. I hope these resources provide you with an innovative yet thorough approach to these new and exciting texts. Warm regards
Pamela Cohen
