Grade 12 Humanities: English

In this unit, 'Prose and poetry from world writers', you learn to compare two authors' treatment of one theme. You work with exam-style questions and written reasoning. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Listen first: your teacher or a recording says the new words or sentences from 'Prose and poetry from world writers' twice. You repeat them aloud.
• Notice the pattern: find where the new sound, word form or sentence rule appears in a short text and mark it.
• Use it: compare two authors' treatment of one theme, first with help, then alone.
• Check and fix: read your work aloud once more; fix one thing you hear is wrong.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, State the shared theme as a sentence. Extract A (prose): 'Amira packed only what the case would hold. At the gate she turned once, and the olive tree seemed to lean toward her.' Extract B (poem): 'I carry the street in my pocket, / its noise folded small.' Theme: leaving home means carrying loss and belonging together.
2. Step 2, Gather evidence from A. 'Only what the case would hold' shows that leaving forces hard choices. The olive tree 'seemed to lean toward her': personification shows the place itself reluctant to let her go. Write the quotation, then name the technique, then say the effect.
3. Step 3, Gather evidence from B. 'I carry the street in my pocket' is a metaphor: a whole home shrinks to something portable. 'Its noise folded small' suggests memory has to be made quiet and small to survive in a new place. The speaker is already abroad, so the mood is lonely.
4. Step 4, Build a comparison grid. Similarity: both treat home as something that cannot be fully packed. Difference: A shows the moment of departure, with the place almost alive, whereas B shows life after arrival, with the place reduced to memory. Use linking words: similarly, whereas, however, in contrast.
5. Step 5, Write one comparative paragraph. 'Both writers present leaving home as loss. In A, the tree that 'seemed to lean' suggests the homeland resists parting; similarly, in B the street 'folded small' shows memory shrinking. However, A focuses on the departure itself, whereas B reflects on its aftermath.' Quote exactly and compare in each sentence.
6. Step 6, Your turn: compare 'only what the case would hold' (A) with 'folded small' (B) in two sentences. Model answer: Both phrases show that a whole life must be reduced to fit what can be carried. A's limit is physical, a case, whereas B's is emotional, memory folded small, so A stresses choice and B stresses endurance.

Activity. About 40 to 50 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a timed paper and an error log.

Standard to meet. Compare two authors' treatment of one theme: at least 70 percent on an exam-style task, with the method shown.

In this unit, 'Grammar and editing', you learn to edit and transform text with precision. You work with exam-style questions and written reasoning. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Listen first: your teacher or a recording says the new words or sentences from 'Grammar and editing' twice. You repeat them aloud.
• Notice the pattern: find where the new sound, word form or sentence rule appears in a short text and mark it.
• Use it: edit and transform text with precision, first with help, then alone.
• Check and fix: read your work aloud once more; fix one thing you hear is wrong.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Edit for dangling modifiers. 'Walking through the museum, the exhibits impressed us.' The opening phrase must describe the subject, but exhibits cannot walk. Fix: 'Walking through the museum, we were impressed by the exhibits.' Ask who is doing the action in the opening phrase, then make that person the subject.
2. Step 2, Edit punctuation with 'however'. 'The empire grew quickly, however it fell slowly.' A comma cannot join two sentences. Correct: 'The empire grew quickly; however, it fell slowly.' The semicolon links the two ideas, and 'however' takes a comma after it. Alternatively use a full stop before 'However'.
3. Step 3, Keep tenses consistent. 'In 1948 the delegates signed the charter and celebrations are held across the city.' Both events are in the past, so write 'were held'. Underline every verb in the paragraph, mark its time, and change any that shift without a reason such as a general truth.
4. Step 4, Repair parallel structure. 'The historian likes reading, to write and researching archives.' The three items must share one form: 'The historian likes reading, writing and researching archives.' Lists, comparisons and 'not only ... but also' pairs all need the same grammatical pattern on each side.
5. Step 5, Transform a question into reported speech. Direct: She asked, 'Where did the army march?' Reported: She asked where the army had marched. Notice there is no question mark, the word order is statement order, and the past tense shifts back to the past perfect.
6. Step 6, Your turn: edit 'The council met in March, however nobody agreed' and report 'He asked, 'Why is the bridge closed?'' Answer: 'The council met in March; however, nobody agreed.' Reported: He asked why the bridge was closed.

Activity. About 40 to 50 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a timed paper and an error log.

Standard to meet. Edit and transform text with precision: at least 70 percent on an exam-style task, with the method shown.

In this unit, 'Writing: reports, letters and articles', you learn to write formal, persuasive and analytical text. You work with exam-style questions and written reasoning. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Listen first: your teacher or a recording says the new words or sentences from 'Writing: reports, letters and articles' twice. You repeat them aloud.
• Notice the pattern: find where the new sound, word form or sentence rule appears in a short text and mark it.
• Use it: write formal, persuasive and analytical text, first with help, then alone.
• Check and fix: read your work aloud once more; fix one thing you hear is wrong.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Plan a letter to the editor. Issue: a plan to close the town library on weekends. Facts: weekly visits are 1,200, and 450 of them happen on Saturday and Sunday, which is 37.5 per cent. Layout: address, date, 'Dear Editor', a subject line, three paragraphs, 'Yours faithfully'.
2. Step 2, Write the opening and argument. 'I am writing to oppose the plan to close the library at weekends. Of the 1,200 visits made each week, 450, or 37.5 per cent, take place on Saturday and Sunday, when working families can come.' Open with your position, then support it with a figure.
3. Step 3, Add counter-argument and appeal. 'Some may argue that weekday opening is enough. However, students in school and adults at work cannot use it then.' Answering the opposing view makes the writing persuasive. End: 'I urge the council to keep weekend hours.'
4. Step 4, Write an analytical report. Survey of 80 students: 56 use the library at least weekly. 56 out of 80 is 70 per cent. Headings: Introduction, Findings, Conclusion, Recommendations. Finding: 'Seventy per cent of students use the library weekly.' Recommendation: extend evening hours.
5. Step 5, Draft a feature article. Headline: 'Voices Worth Keeping'. Hook: 'Every elder in our village is a living archive.' Develop with a short anecdote, one fact and a quotation, and close with a call to action. Persuasive articles use an engaging headline, vivid detail and a firm final sentence.
6. Step 6, Your turn: calculate and write one sentence for a report if 18 of 45 residents prefer evening opening. Answer: 18 out of 45 is 40 per cent. 'Forty per cent of the residents surveyed prefer the library to open in the evening, which suggests that evening hours should be considered.'

Activity. About 40 to 50 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a timed paper and an error log.

Standard to meet. Write formal, persuasive and analytical text: at least 70 percent on an exam-style task, with the method shown.

In this unit, 'Reading: unseen passages', you learn to read critically in timed conditions. You work with exam-style questions and written reasoning. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Listen first: your teacher or a recording says the new words or sentences from 'Reading: unseen passages' twice. You repeat them aloud.
• Notice the pattern: find where the new sound, word form or sentence rule appears in a short text and mark it.
• Use it: read critically in timed conditions, first with help, then alone.
• Check and fix: read your work aloud once more; fix one thing you hear is wrong.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Plan the timing. For a 45-minute unseen section, spend 5 minutes skimming, 30 answering and 10 checking. Passage: 'A village project recorded 45 interviews with older residents. Eighteen of the speakers were over 80. The average interview lasted 32 minutes. Some historians doubt memories, yet the project argues that stories reveal what documents omit.'
2. Step 2, Skim and annotate. Circle the numbers (45, 18, 32), underline 'doubt' and 'yet', and note the main idea: personal memories add something that official records do not, even if they are imperfect. This takes about two minutes and shows the shape of the argument.
3. Step 3, Answer the number questions. 18 of 45 speakers over 80 is 40 per cent. Total recorded time is 45 x 32 = 1,440 minutes, which is 24 hours. Show the working and add units. Quote 'eighteen' and 'average interview lasted 32 minutes' as evidence.
4. Step 4, Read critically. 'Some historians doubt memories, yet the project argues...' The word 'yet' signals a counter-claim, and 'argues' presents it as a view, not a fact. A critical reader asks whether the project is neutral. The evidence is one village, so the claim may not apply everywhere.
5. Step 5, Handle vocabulary and summary. 'Omit' means 'leave out', which the contrast with 'reveal' makes clear. A 26-word summary: 'A village project recorded 45 interviews, 40 per cent with people over 80, arguing that memories show what documents leave out, despite doubts from some historians.' Use your own words.
6. Step 6, Your turn: state one opposing view in the passage and one limit of the evidence. Answer: Some historians doubt memories (the opposing view). The limit is that the evidence comes from one village, so it may not represent everywhere. Quote 'some historians doubt memories'.

Activity. About 40 to 50 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a timed paper and an error log.

Standard to meet. Read critically in timed conditions: at least 70 percent on an exam-style task, with the method shown.

In this unit, 'Speaking and listening', you learn to deliver an argued presentation. You work with exam-style questions and written reasoning. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Listen first: your teacher or a recording says the new words or sentences from 'Speaking and listening' twice. You repeat them aloud.
• Notice the pattern: find where the new sound, word form or sentence rule appears in a short text and mark it.
• Use it: deliver an argued presentation, first with help, then alone.
• Check and fix: read your work aloud once more; fix one thing you hear is wrong.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Frame the motion. "Societies should preserve minority languages." Thesis: "Minority languages carry knowledge and identity that cannot be translated fully." Reason: a precise thesis lets you choose relevant evidence.
2. Step 2, Write an engaging opening. "When the last speaker of a language dies, a library of stories, remedies and humour disappears. We lose more than words." Reason: a vivid image shows the stakes.
3. Step 3, Build argument one with PEEL. Point: languages store knowledge. Evidence: many communities have terms for local plants and seasons. Explain: losing the language risks losing practical knowledge. Link: preservation is a duty.
4. Step 4, Address a counter-argument. "Critics say one common language is more efficient. Efficiency matters, but multilingual societies show that people can learn a common language and keep their own." Reason: concede, then show both can coexist.
5. Step 5, Fix an error. Weak: "Everyone knows languages are important." Better: "Linguists estimate that a language disappears every few weeks, so the pace of loss is serious." Use specific evidence, not appeal to common belief.
6. Step 6, Close with force. "To preserve a language is to preserve a way of seeing. Let us fund schools, archives and broadcasts so that no voice falls silent." Reason: a call to action leaves a clear final impression.
7. Step 7, Your turn. Write a thesis and one counter-argument for "Museums should return cultural objects to their places of origin". Model answer: "Thesis: Returning objects restores dignity and context." "Counter: Some fear loss of access; digital copies and loans can keep both."

Activity. About 40 to 50 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a timed paper and an error log.

Standard to meet. Deliver an argued presentation: at least 70 percent on an exam-style task, with the method shown.

On the slide: L1 Basic · Letters, sounds and first reading

Notes: Match letters to sounds and read short words and simple sentences aloud. Notes: use the sounds s, a, t, p, i, n; learners blend them into sat, pin and tap, then read a three-word sentence and clap the syllables.

On the slide: L2 Awareness · Sentences and simple writing

Notes: Write a clear sentence with a capital letter and full stop, and read a short story with understanding. Notes: give a picture prompt; learners say the sentence first, write it, and check capital, spacing and full stop with a partner before reading it aloud.

On the slide: L3 Foundation · Paragraphs, grammar and reading for meaning

Notes: Write a paragraph of five connected sentences and identify nouns, verbs and adjectives in a text. Notes: colour nouns blue and verbs red in a short passage; learners then write about their street, using at least two adjectives and one linking word.

On the slide: L4 Practitioner · Essays, speaking and responding to texts

Notes: Write a 300-word structured essay and give a short talk, quoting evidence from a text to support a view. Notes: model Point, Evidence, Explain; learners write one paragraph about a character, quote one line, and explain what it shows, then speak it aloud.

On the slide: L5 Specialist · Analysis, argument and style

Notes: Analyse a writer's choices of language and structure and write a sustained argument of 600 words. Notes: take two openings of different short stories; learners compare tone, sentence length and imagery in a table, then argue which opening works better and why.

This course: Grade 12 Humanities English is at this level. Its units include Prose and poetry from world writers; Grammar and editing; Writing: reports, letters and articles; Reading: unseen passages and more.

On the slide: L6 Advanced · Literary and linguistic study

Notes: Evaluate texts through a critical lens, tracing how language changes across time and context in a researched essay. Notes: compare an older and a modern passage; learners list five differences in vocabulary and syntax and argue in 1,500 words what each reveals about its period.

On the slide: L7 Super expert · Research, editing and authorship

Notes: Produce an original piece of research or a polished long-form text, with a literature review and defended method. Notes: pick a narrow question about language in one genre; build a corpus of fifty samples, analyse patterns, write 5,000 words, and revise after external review.