Year 8 English – Term 3 (WA Curriculum): Digital Literacy and Communication in Context

What this unit covers

In Term 3, Year 8 English in the WA Curriculum centres on the unit “Digital Literacy and Communication in Context”.

Students develop advanced spelling strategies, analyze texts within their historical and cultural contexts, and create digital content for specific audiences and purposes.

Lesson sequence (30 lessons)

The unit breaks down into the following lesson-by-lesson sequence — each title below is a teachable lesson, in order:

1. Exploring Word Origins: Greek and Latin Roots in Modern English
2. Building Vocabulary Through Base Words and Affixes
3. Spelling Strategies: Using Circumference and Circumstance as Models
4. Proofreading Techniques for Academic Writing
5. Digital Spell Check vs Manual Checking: When to Use Which
6. Introduction to Context: How Time and Place Shape Texts
7. Analyzing Famous Advertisements from Different Decades
8. Exploring War Propaganda Posters and Their Historical Context
9. How Popular Songs Reflect Social Movements
10. Investigating Music and Historical Events: Case Studies
11. Understanding Target Audiences in Digital Media
12. Features of Social Media Platforms: Instagram vs TikTok vs Twitter
13. Creating Effective Social Media Posts for Different Audiences
14. Introduction to Vlog Creation: Planning and Purpose
15. Analyzing Successful YouTube Content Creators
16. Word Formation Patterns: Prefixes and Their Meanings
17. Suffix Rules and Spelling Generalizations
18. Etymology Detective: Tracing Word Histories
19. Advanced Proofreading: Common Error Patterns
20. Building Personal Spelling Dictionaries
21. Advertising Through the Ages: 1950s to 2020s
22. Political Posters and Their Cultural Impact
23. Song Lyrics as Historical Documents
24. Protest Music and Social Change
25. Understanding Platform-Specific Content Features
26. Creating Mock Sponsored Posts with Authentic Voice
27. Vlog Script Writing for Specific Platforms
28. Video Editing Techniques for Student Vlogs
29. Digital Literacy Portfolio: Spelling Strategies Showcase
30. Final Project: Multi-Platform Digital Campaign with Historical Analysis

Curriculum codes in this unit

Content codes:

Reading the codes: WA codes (the ones starting with WA) pack the year level, learning area, strand and content number into one string, while the national Australian Curriculum v9 uses a different anatomy that starts with AC9 — same content family, different labels. Our complete WA Curriculum guide decodes both, character by character.

Planning notes for Term 3

WA terms run roughly 9–11 weeks, and in 2026 Term 3 runs from Monday 20 July to Friday 25 September — 10 weeks for WA public schools. With 30 lessons in this unit, that leaves breathing room for assessment, moderation and the weeks that disappear to carnivals, camps and public holidays — plan the assessable work to land two to three weeks before the end of term rather than in the final week.