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Progression in ideas

Level 6 | Level 7 | Level 8

Level 6

Students might demonstrate 'developed understanding' by describing and explaining:

  • how aspects, such as character, theme, and setting are developed
  • how different characters have different points of view
  • why the author has made certain choices.

For example, the writer may choose a particular setting in relation to:

  • their purpose and the point they are trying to convey
  • the genre of the story and its codes and conventions
  • the audience for the text
  • language features and their effects
  • how texts are constructed.

Example: Barack Obama’s 'Yes, we can' election victory speech

At level 6, students should be able to describe the purpose of the text.

They may understand that Obama tried to convince all Americans that they had a common goal and purpose and that they can go on together.

He has a message for the world too – that America will continue to be a force for good.

He outlines the way forward for education, essential reforms, and the economy, and states that he is the man to lead Americans. They can have faith in his leadership.

He appeals to the listeners’ understanding with examples, including the stories of people such as Rosa Parks and Ann Cooper.

Level 7

Students might demonstrate 'discriminating understanding' by analysing how:

  • authors use different techniques to develop aspects such as character, themes, and setting
  • different people can understand and interpret texts in different ways
  • the audience of the text is being positioned (encouraged to adopt a particular point of view)
  • language and structural features combine to contribute to the overall meaning of the text
  • the author creates a text for a purpose.

They should also be able to identify the means by which texts are created.

Example: Barack Obama’s 'Yes, we can' election victory speech

At level 7, students should be able to analyse the purpose of the text.

As the first black American president, Obama needed to make a rousing call for unity. He wanted to emphasise America’s role as a force for right and justice.

Students should support this understanding with specifically identified techniques and examples, such as the use of contrasting pairs: “young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican …” to encompass the huge spectrum of his audience. Obama also uses anaphora – “It’s the answer …” to provide a multitude of examples of the responses required by this wide spectrum.

A good level 7 student will understand how different techniques work together for particular effects, for example, Obama’s use of alliteration and metaphor – “poisoned our politics” to emphasise that it is the politics that have been corrupted, not the American ideals.

Level 8

Students might demonstrate a 'discriminating and insightful understanding' of ideas and of the effects of language features by responding critically and evaluating, with an increasing awareness, familiarity, maturity, and knowledge:

  • why authors use different techniques to develop aspects such as character, themes, and setting
  • why different people understand and interpret texts in different ways
  • why the audience of the text is being positioned (encouraged to adopt a particular point of view)
  • why the author created the text and identifying the means by which texts are created
  • why and how a text relates to other texts and contexts (for example, historical, cultural, social, political)
  • the wider significance of the text for the student and for society.

Example: Barack Obama’s 'Yes, we can' election victory speech

At level 8, students should be able to discuss and critically evaluate the purpose of the text.

Obama had to allay a huge number of fears and address many problems – war, economy, education, and a divisive election campaign fought on racial lines.

The credibility of America had been damaged over the past decade, and so the message he gave to world leaders had to be forceful, unifying, and optimistic. If he was to regain support for his country, he also needed to project himself as the right statesman for the job, with the right qualities of intelligence, dignity, and integrity.

Students at level 8 will evaluate whether Obama has achieved his purposes. They will support their understanding with specifically evaluated techniques and examples. For example, Obama alludes to Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address. Obama knows his American audience would recognise the reference to Abraham Lincoln’s words “We are not enemies but friends”. Obama wanted to emphasise the core of American values, the values eroded in recent years – inclusiveness and having a voice.

Obama’s use of inclusive first-person plural pronouns, most characteristically in the epiphora “Yes, we can” throughout the speech, reinforces the importance he places on unity. It’s also a catchy slogan that was made into a song of the same title.

Students will also understand how the wider audience, especially outside America, can interpret this text. They may also see its relevance to their own situation and that understanding it will enable them to listen to other speeches in a more discerning way.

Last updated August 28, 2012



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