Wattle & West English & Literature Resources

26/01/2026

Ahhhh, I love a good Australian Gothic story! 'Squeaker's Mate' by Barbara Baynyon is no exception. And on THE WACE Literature prescribed texts list. An interesting alternative OR companion piece to 'The Chosen Vessel'.

23/01/2026

Contemporary ATAR English/Literature teaching resources and study guides written by a real teacher for teachers. Prep less, live more!

31/12/2025

It's been a satisfying day - I've completed an analysis of Wordsworth's Lucy poems!

I have immersed myself in notions of mortality, idealised love, the power of nature, pantheism, interconnectedness and mutability for days and have emerged having fully mourned poor Lucy and ready to be as 'sportive as the fawn' and wishing I lived 'beside the springs of Dove'.

O! O! O!

Follow the link to check out the resource:

As well as offering extensive contemporary analysis of William Wordsworth's Lucy Poems, a series of five lyrical ballads, this ATAR Literature study guide also explores Wordsworth's context of production and personal context.Whilst still engaging with key Romantic themes such as the power of nature,...

25/12/2025

What about a resource on Wordsworth's Solitary Reaper? Here she is, still singing her melancholy song...

This ATAR Literature study guide explores the context of production and personal context of first generation Romantic poet William Wordsworth, as well as offering a detailed contemporary literary analysis of the poem.A deceptively simplistic poem, 'The Solitary Reaper' is a well-known poem by Wordsw...

25/12/2025

'I wandered lonely as a cloud...'
A deceptively simple and twee poem which actually hides significant complexities. This is the first of a series on the Romantic poets.

The Solitary Reaper by Wordsworth is also available, and soon Wordsworth's 'Lucy Sequence' of five poems will be available too.

Then a Second Gen Romantic poet...Keats.

Stay tuned!

This ATAR Literature study guide explores the context of production and personal context of first generation Romantic poet William Wordsworth, as well as offering contemporary literary analysis of the poem.A deceptively simplistic poem, 'I wandered lonely as a cloud', also known as 'The Daffodils',....

25/12/2025

New Literature resource recently added...'Othello' by William Shakespeare, my favourite of his plays!

This ATAR English / Literature study guide for William Shakespeare's Othello has everything you'll need to meet the demands of contemporary analysis as required within varying syllabi.All the research and analysis has been done for you, saving you many hours of your valuable time!It includes such to...

20/12/2025

Had a good year on Teachers Pay Teachers... and I love doing it!

01/11/2025

Big changes at Wattle & West in 2026. Except for current Year 11s moving into Year 12 ATAR English next year, I will only be accepting new students who are studying ATAR Literature.

In addition, I am dedicating more time to my Wattle & West Teaching Resources shop at Teachers Pay Teachers. I am slowly but surely adding new resources; my most recent project which is almost finished, is an ATAR Literature Study Guide for 'Othello' which is relevant to the WACE syllabus as well as other state Certs of Ed in WA.

Current study guides available are:
* Macbeth - William Shakespeare
* 'The Drover's Wife' by Henry Lawson and 'The Chosen Vessel' by Barbara Baynton, also available in a bundle with an intertextual comparison
* 'A Dreamer' - Barbara Baynton
* 'The Pedestrian' - Ray Bradbury
* 'The Yellow Wallpaper' - Charlotte Perkins Gilman, American Gothic genre
* 'The Tell-tale Heart' - Edgar Allan Poe, American Gothic genre
* 'The Willows' - Algernon Blackwood, traditional Gothic
* Genre study guide: The British Gothic
* Genre study guide: The Australian Gothic

The Romantic poets (Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats), William Blake and his 'Holy Thursdays', and contemporary poet Carol Ann Duffy will also be joining the ranks very soon!

Browse over 50 educational resources created by Wattle and West in the official Teachers Pay Teachers store.

10/02/2025

Here's a link to a recent blog I wrote about what a tutor can conceivably achieve in one hour a week.

Fair and reasonable expectations for ATAR English and Literature tutors.

25/09/2024

A recent non-fiction read that I loved. It un-silences the silenced and inspires admiration for the courage demonstrated by those who are persecuted for their difference.

https://www.wattlewest.com.au/s/stories/history-unsilenced-the-glamour-boys-2

29/07/2024

Here's a link to my recent review of a book we read at Book Club. In the light of the Crowdstrike outages recently, it gained even more power.
https://www.wattlewest.com.au/s/stories/why-i-contemplated-becoming-a-prepper-2

27/05/2024

Another book read for a tutoring student's Sem 2 programme, this one a revisit. As I say in the review, I had forgotten how good this one is.

https://www.wattlewest.com.au/s/stories/book-review-the-kite-runner-by-khaled-hosseini