2022 School Magazine

ENGLISH

HOW TO MAKE ENGLISH MUFFINS

Scarlett McLellan (12H) and Rachel Watkins (12R)

A t BGGS, the English Faculty offers three different subjects—English, studied from Years 7 to 12, Literature, which can be chosen from Years 10 to 12, and English and Literature Extension, which is offered in Year 12. Each subject covers a wide range of texts, from poetry to novels and films and plays. As we explore the highlights of each Year level, enjoy being taken through the steps of how to make English Muffins.

BRISBANE GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL 2022 | 071

DIRECTIONS

1. F irstly, add your yeast to warmed milk, water, and sugar. As we take this first step, we are reminded of Year 7 English, the first step on the English journey. Here, girls develop their skills by exploring many texts, including the novel Wonder and the Disney classic Mulan to open conversations about characters, cultural identity, family relationships and gender. 2. A fter 6-7 minutes, add the egg and butter to the now foaming mixture. While stirring, we think of the Year 8 girls who stir up excitement with their original slam poems, and explore visual literacy skills when designing book covers for Young Adult novels. 3. N ext, combine the flour and salt in the bowl, gradually adding the milk and yeast mixture. At this step, we think of Year 9 students who combine their personal experiences as Australian adolescents and their previously-explored spoken skills, to respond to an issue that they are passionate about in a persuasive speech. 4. M ix until the dough is elastic and smooth, transfer to a large, oiled bowl and cover until the dough has expanded. On the note of expanding, Year 10 English students expand on both their analytical skills to explore romantic poetry and Shakespeare’s iconic play Macbeth , and their persuasive skills to take a position on the effectiveness of satire to persuade audiences in the Pixar classic Wall-E . 5. O nce risen, pat out the dough on a floured surface until just under one inch thick in preparation for cutting. Speaking of preparation, our Year 10 girls enter their first year of Literature in preparation for the senior course. They explore the suspense-filled genre of detective fiction, the portrayal of women in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women , and dive into the Cohen brothers’ remake of a Western classic, True Grit . 6. N ext, cut out the English Muffins with your desired cutter. Feel free to get creative! Our Senior Literature students sure do, with their creative multimodal presentations based on Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray . They utilise their time-honed analytical skills to critically deal with Gothic texts such as Picnic at Hanging Rock and Heart of Darkness , which ultimately prepares them for the external exam on Shakespeare’s King Lear . 7. N ow, for an important decision: to semolina or not to semolina. Sprinkle semolina onto the muffins as desired before placing them on a baking sheet. Speaking of important decisions, our ELEX students enjoy the independence of the subject and choose their own texts for their English Magnum Opus, the IA3 mini thesis, with text selections from Coraline to The Great Gatsby . 8. N ext, cook the muffins on a hot skillet for 5-6 minutes on each side or until ready. On the note of being ready, our Senior English students explore exciting texts such as The Crucible and the popular 2000s film Mean Girls , as practice for their intense analytical study of Jane Eyre and Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

After a big year—enjoy the English muffins!