e.g. Tales of Two Cities, VCE literature guide, membership...
VATE publishes a number of print and digital resources to support the teaching of secondary English studies throughout the school year.
VATE’s Inside Frameworks guide supports English teachers planning for and teaching the Creating texts Area of Study in VCE English. It is intended to supplement the Study Design, the mentor texts in List 2, and other support material provided by VCAA. This guide explores different ways of approaching each of the Framework Ideas – personal journeys, play, country and protest – and suggests additional mentor texts to engage students. Inside Frameworks – written by experienced English educators Ernest Price and Sonia Murr – is available for purchase in the VATE online store. Download the Contents page for more details about VATE's Inside Frameworks guide (88 pages). Available as a digital download (PDF) for $49.95.
Activating Reading Capabilities in English draws on students’ reading experiences gathered and examined during a seven-year research and professional learning program for secondary English teachers. Attending closely to students’ experiences and broader research into reading processes, a framework of reading capabilities was developed and trialled in schools. This book describes the power of each of those reading capabilities and includes reading activities that teachers designed to activate the capabilities and engage students to think deeply about texts, collaborate with peers, and respond with imagination and scrutiny. Read more here. Activating Reading Capabilities in English (192 pages) is available to purchase as a print textbook for $69.95 in the VATE online store.
Into the Woods: Finding your way through literary theory is your essential guide to using literary theory in your classroom. This VATE publication is intended to empower teachers and students to approach texts in different ways in the classroom. Theories include: reader-response, ecological, feminist, queer, Marxist, and postcolonial. Featuring classroom activities, glossaries, and further reading. Download contents. Written by Sian Evans (Christ’s College NZ) and edited by Briony Schroor (Nossal High School). Into the Woods: Finding your way through literary theory (134 pages) is available to purchase as a downloadable eBook $49.95 in VATE's online store.
Idiom: There are two online editions of the journal Idiom each year. All VATE members have access to every online edition of Idiom and an archive of every back issue of Idiom is available in the library at the VATE Office. Contributions and editorial correspondence should be sent to the Managing Editor of Idiom, Josephine Smith: idiom@vate.org.au.
VATE publications: To support the teaching of VCE English/EAL, VATE produces Inside Stories for all new List 1 texts. To support the teaching of VCE Literature, VATE produces Literature Perspectives guides on all the new texts each year. VATE's publication Inside Language supports the teaching of VCE Units 1-4 English Language. In line with VATE's new sustainability goals, VATE's VCE publications will now be available in a digital format (PDF) only.
VATE exams: VATE publishes sample Units 3-4 examination papers for VCE English, English as an Additional Language, Literature and English Language each year. These are available for purchase by schools ONLY to assist Year 12 students in preparing for the end-of-year examinations. Further information and the online order form for the 2025 VATE sample exams are available here. Please note that orders for 2025 VATE sample VCE exams will be processed from Tuesday 12 August 2025.