rangahau
“If successful people and unsuccessful people share the same goals, then the goal cannot be what differentiates winners and losers.”
— James Clear
te ao Māori principles
There are key principals that we, as an English Department, consider important as part of a holistic study at school.
- Mana – The prestige and authority of the writer. Writers can build mana through impactful stories that uplift readers.
- Whanaungatanga – The connections and relationships between characters, writers, and readers. Literature brings people together.
- Kaitiakitanga – Guardianship and protection of stories, language, and knowledge. Writers have a duty to share stories responsibly.
- Wairuatanga – The spirituality and deeper meanings conveyed through literature. Stories can be profound and moving.
- Mauri – The essential life force or vitality of the writer coming through in their work. Writing with purpose and energy.
- Aroha – The empathy, compassion, and love writers show through their words. Literature builds understanding between people.
- Tikanga – The customs, protocols and values upheld through storytelling. Writers adhere to cultural principles.
Key Terms
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a style or category of art, music, or literature. |
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a way in which something is usually done. |
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literary work in which the expression of feelings and ideas is given intensity by the use of distinctive style and rhythm; poems collectively or as a genre of literature. |
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a story with a fully developed theme but significantly shorter and less elaborate than a novel. |
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the specific creation of a spoken or written account of connected events; a story. |
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the main events of a play, novel, film, or similar work, devised and presented by the writer as an interrelated sequence. |
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a subordinate plot in a play, novel, or similar work. |
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an idea that recurs in or pervades a work of art or literature. |
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the place or type of surroundings where something is positioned or where an event takes place. |
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choices made relating to the arrangement of and relations between the parts or elements of a complex whole. |
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a dominant or recurring idea in an artistic work. |
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a significant or recurrent theme; a motif. |
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a story or event recorded by a camera as a set of moving images and shown in a cinema or on television. |
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prose writing that is informative or factual rather than fictional. |
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the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions. |
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a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behaviour or for a chain of reasoning. |
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an explanation or way of explaining. |
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the action of organising something. |
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the general character or attitude of a place, piece of writing, situation, etc. |
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a principle or belief, especially one of the main principles of a religion or philosophy. |
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a detailed treatment of a topic in speech or writing. |
Learning Objectives
- To organise data and detail into opportunities for researching.
- To interpret texts based upon seeking knowledge.
- To locate texts that will support assertions.
- To list texts that adhere to the parameters for the research.
Exercises
Spelling
| opaque | frequent | quad | quake | qualify |
| quarry | quay | query | quadrant | quibble |
| acquit | equine | equator | exquisite | liquify |
| enquirer | conquest | eloquent | requiem | conquer |
Summary Builder
Below is a piece of writing that you should attempt to summarise into around 100 words.
The Benefits of Public Speaking
Developing public speaking skills provides lifelong benefits for students beyond just acing presentations in school. Mastering speaking engrains confidence and leadership abilities applicable across myriad potential careers.
The process of writing an impactful speech strengthens critical thinking abilities. Researching, structuring and refining arguments with effective evidence sharpens academic skills. Communicating complex ideas clearly takes cognition to advanced levels.
Practising delivery untaps physical presence and charisma. Techniques like voice modulation, strategic pausing, audience engagement and rhetorical body language make speeches dynamic. Mastering these makes ordinary communications more compelling.
Presenting regularly builds comfort being in the spotlight. Managing nerves, controlling breathing and channeling adrenaline trains mental poise under pressure. This transfers to handling job interviews, business meetings and media interactions.
Fielding audience questions transforms quick thinking. Addressing objections, providing clarification and thinking on one’s feet reveal mastery of material. These teach invaluable real-time reasoning aptitudes.
Public speaking develops leadership potential. Moving and mobilizing groups through inspiring words and ideas takes true influence. History’s greatest leaders moved millions by the power of their oratory and vision.
For professional success and fulfillment, youth should seize every opportunity to find their persuasive public voice. Communication that inspires action and change starts with a message worth sharing.
Research
rangahau
- Novel (You may choose a studied novel or a term reader – something from within school)
- Poetry
- Rhetoric (speeches)
- Shakespeare
- Stories (short stories / mythology)
- Short Films
- Feature Films
- Extended Non Fiction
- Short Non Fiction (choose one of the non fiction sub genre – e.g. article)
How to find texts
There are a number of ways to find texts. Here are some suggestions:
- As best you can, make a list of all the texts you have studied in your English classes going back to Year 9. All the poems, all the stories, all the novels that you read for pleasure during those years.
- Consider all the various short stories you read in anticipation of the novel study in Year 10. Again, your reading for pleasure books. Consider the films you have seen. Even the Netflix shows you have watched. All of them help.
- Spend time in the library, you may like to look for the sub genre that libraries split their catalogue into – like detective fiction, crime, science fiction etc. These may be a great place to start.
- Get reading. The internet is also a great place to start. AI can even help with the suggestion of texts.
Prompts to help using AI
AI is a part of our modern academic society. You should never rely on it to provide you with the answer, but it can absolutely help with the research.
Again, using AI as a finished product is plagiarism and will result in a zero grade and a disciplinary response, but – like Google and Wikipedia – it can provide some help to find texts.
Here is an example of using a prompt to source material:
So that gives you a starting point to continue your research.
Any information you find on AI will need to be checked for accuracy, and when it comes to actually writing your seminar you will need to complete this by hand so you should practice the skill of paraphrasing – rewriting information so that it is better understood by you.
How To start
Let’s take the concept of relationships and conflicts as a chosen theme to work through. Perhaps we can be more specific and look at the portrayal of relationships between men.
If you are struggling to find a theme yourself. Consider choosing one from the list in the previous week.
- Find the accompanying concept in te ao Māori
- In this case it is hoa tane which loosely translates to ‘male friend’.
- Next to look at the texts that you have read and studied in class over the past three years. This is a really important first step. Always use what you know first.
- Some suggestions here could be To Kill a Mockingbird or The Outsiders or even Macbeth. In Year 9 you may have studied a poem from war – like In Flanders Fields or The Charge of the Light Brigade which look at the connection between soldiers – which could work also.
- Isolate where you see the thread of the theme coming through. In The Outsiders is the connection between the boys that creates a family dynamic, the conflict obviously comes between the Socs and the Greasers. This brotherhood within the gang mentality, and the conflict that exists across the town. In To Kill a Mockingbird you may like to look at the connection between Atticus and Tom Robinson, or between Jem and Dill. You may even like to consider the dynamic that Boo Radley creates. In Macbeth you can look at the relationship that changes dramatically between Macbeth and Banquo – beginning as war heroes and ending up with murder and haunting.
- Once you have sourced something to use in your work, it is time to look for more resources. Choose the five genre that you wish you use and get reading. THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE. You will need to find your own examples. You will be given time in the library for this task.
- For this particular example, you may like to think about where friendships or conflicts may occur – high school, the work place, war (to take it to the extreme) or the military more generally
- A recommendation is to spend time on smaller texts such as poetry, short stories, non fiction articles, and short films.
- Be creative, apply the concept of the theme to aspects that may be a little bit different.
- Consider the how the theme is achieved. This means bringing back into play the use of things like APRICOT and GST (thought you could leave it behind huh!) and, of course, the patterns that exist within a text.
Looking for ideas within a text
Examples
Consider making a chart of the various texts you have chosen – as below
(This is for illustration purpose only using the example of hoa tane)
| TEXT TYPE | TITLE OF TEXT | AUTHOR / DIRECTOR | NAME OF CHARACTER / SETTING / CONTEXT INVOLVED | EXPLAIN THE CONNECTION TO THEME | EXAMPLES WITH TECHNIQUES SHOWING THE THEME AT WORK (quotes, structural elements, references) |
| Novel* | The Outsiders | S.E. Hinton | The Greasers | Unity or brotherhood within the greasers that creates conflict with the socs. Ultimately the death of one is the direct result of this extent of conflict. | “They grew up on the outside of society.” – emphasis of being separate or disenfranchised from the mainstream society expectations. – use of the exclusive ‘they’. – use of ‘grew up’ to demonstrate the formative and socialising years. “You get tough like me and you don’t get hurt” – emphasis on the use of ‘tough’ to show manliness as an expectation, a way of survival. – emulating through ‘like me’ with the addition that emotions and feelings can be overcome. |
| Drama | Macbeth | William Shakespeare | Macbeth and Banquo | Two soldier friends – both worthy and recognised on the battlefield. One becomes obsessed with power based on prophesy and ends up having the other killed resulting in madness and hallucination. | “And oftentimes, to win us to our harm the instruments of darkness tell us truths, win us with honest trifles, to betray’s in deepest consequence.” – Banquo gives a warning here to demonstrate the power that the supernatural can have, including ‘truths’ and ‘betray’ and ‘consequence’ to highlight his levels of concern. – So is he mine [enemy]; and in such bloody distance, That every minute of his being thrusts Against my near’st of life: and though I could With barefaced power sweep him from my sight 130 And bid my will avouch it, yet I must not, For certain friends that are both his and mine, Whose loves I may not drop, but wail his fall Who I myself struck down” – Macbeth has created a persona about Banquo that results in his death – the ultimate betrayal and demonstration of Macbeth’s ambitious nature. |
| Poem | In Flanders Fields | John McRae | ‘We’ – soldiers | Closeness of death on the front line and the requirement to connect with others in similar positions. To maintain a sense of honour and prestige for those involved. | “We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.”
– Use of caesura in first line to add emphasis.
– Use of first person plural ‘we’
– Use of the symbolism of a day ‘dawn…. sunset’ to show a lifespan, enhancing connection.
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| Short Story | A Great Day | Frank Sargeson | Ken and Fred | Diametrically opposite in stature, these two friends are the epitome of issues between men through competitiveness. A strong link with violence and a lack of understanding and conflict. | “You couldn’t hear a sound or see anything moving. It was another world. The houses on the shore didn’t belong. Nor the people either.” – Foreshadowing – emphasises the loneliness of the place and the issues Ken will have without the knowledge to swim. “And if you’d been sitting in the stern as he pulled away you’d have seen that he had his eyes shut.” – Using the second person narration to explain the way Fred moves away from Ken, leaving him to die. – the shutting of the eyes used as a way of dealing with the conflict and of the betrayal. |
| Magazine Article | New Zealand has more gangsters than soldiers | The Economist | Mongrel Mob | Deep seated mistrust from the gang entities and the construction of a brotherhood where young men can feel lifted up and be part of something bigger than themselves. Often marginalised by society, these men can find safety and connection in the gang. | “which together makes them a bigger force than the army.” – The comparison with the military adds to the concern that gangs are powerful in New Zealand and created by gangs. “but the problem runs deep within the functions of a normal society; often uneducated and heavily reliant on others for accommodation, food, basic daily needs, these young men have nothing but a hatred towards the government and those who have wronged them. So they turn to each other. – listing of the mismanagement of society by those in power has driven many young men in these rural areas towards a life of crime. – simple sentence ‘So they turn to each other.’ emphasises the only option remaining. |
* Your novel must be a term reader selection.
Constructing a chart like this will help you to see how things interrelate and how you draw the whole project together. This will take time. You must ensure that you are looking for those threads across the five texts.
You may like to look at this
https://study.com/academy/lesson/how-to-analyze-two-texts-related-by-theme-or-topic.html
- Read each text very carefully
- Identify the type of text (especially if it is a short non fiction)
- Identify the topic (what is it talking about)
- Identify the text’s purpose (APRICOT)
- Identify the main idea or argument (what is the primary position the author is presenting about the topic)
- Identify the reasons or evidence used to push the main idea.
- Clarify any unknowns about the text.
- Ask questions about the text and think critically about the main idea and reasons are clear, well connected, logical, and accurate
Repeat for each of the texts you have chosen.
Ko te reo te tuakiri | Language is my identity.
Ko te reo tōku ahurei | Language is my uniqueness.
Ko te reo te ora. | Language is life.