VCAL - Learning to make an impact

The VCAL learning course is designed to allow students to engage in activities that let them express their interests and passions, while still maintaining a focus on building essential literacy, numeracy and communication skills. Development of knowledge that will support future work and life ambitions over time, such as further study, employment, community involvement, entrepreneurship or business ownership, is what this course seeks to do for students.

Energy, enthusiasm and endeavour are qualities that will enable you to get the most out of your VCAL studies and gain satisfactory outcomes. By approaching your coursework with the values of belonging, respect, achievement and teamwork, you will find successes. Participation and persistence is needed throughout the year to have a go at a variety of tasks and projects. The presentation and recording of the work you do is required and you will need to build a personal portfolio of evidence in each subject area to ensure you can be awarded a pass in your course.

Your VCAL literacy area of study will contain the following areas of study, with room for some negotiation and personalisation of the focus in each area:

Compulsory reading: Throughout the year evidence of reading different types of text needs to take place. Your reading time can involve reading books, newspapers, cartoons, e-zines, magazines, blogs, etc. You will develop a reading log by completing handwritten and technology developed activities using what you have read.

Compulsory writing tasks: A folio of writing responses will be put together. These will need to be drafted. The good copies will need to show editing and further ideas development. The good copies will need to be longer than the drafts.

Compulsory language skills activities: Working to develop word and punctuation knowledge is an important part of this course. To show this has taken place a series of language skills activities will need to be completed by hand and to good copy. A folder of task sheets will be built up during the year. You are required to type up copies of the tasks to evidence revision has been taken to reinforce your language knowledge.

Compulsory event planning and delivery: Participating in a teamwork situation with your class members to organise and host an event within the school year. One event will be subscribed for the class and you need to make contributions towards the running of that event to sustain a satisfactory outcome for your VCAL Literacy unit. You can also choose to negotiate and develop up other events as suits your interest in this area. Such work also supports your industry specific, work related and personal skills areas of study.

Outcome Areas

Literacy Skills purpose statement:

The purpose of literacy curriculum selected for this strand is to enable the development of skills, knowledge and attitudes in literacy that allow progression in the main social contexts of family, employment, further learning and citizenship.

Literacy skills corresponding with these social contexts include literacy for self expression, practical purposes, knowledge and public debate. 

Literacy includes reading, writing and oral communication skills.

The areas of assessment you have to meet to standard to receive a satisfactory in VCAL Literacy are:

READING AND WRITING UNITS:

1. Writing for Self Expression

2. Writing for Practical Purposes

3. Writing for Knowledge

4. Writing for Public Debate

5. Reading for Self Expression

6. Reading for Practical Purposes

7. Reading for Knowledge

8. Reading for Public Debate

ORAL COMMUNICATION UNITS:

1. Oracy for Self Expression

2. Oracy for Knowledge

3. Oracy for Practical Purposes

4. Oracy for Exploring Issues and Problem Solving

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