If you have never considered doing Douglas Stewart's poetry for this module elective, give it some thought. It is some years now since I first analysed the prescribed poems set for study but on re-examination, I am even more impressed by how beautifully written they are. Whereas at times, it seems a bit of a stretch to massage text study to fit the elective focus, these poems work brilliantly because Stewart really has such a distinctively visual focus.
Now working on the next round of Teacher Resource Books, I am once again impressed by the poet's language use. His stylistic genius and mastery of form enables him to capture the visual essence of what he is describing in each poem. The first reading may not amaze you but each subsequent reading draws you into the situational moment, revealing details previously missed. You will find yourself scribbling down annotations for nearly every phrase. Sensory detail is compressed and if set poems were long, this could pose a problem for students but it is their brevity, each one only 1-3 stanzas, that makes it very easy to teach students how to pick out their layered meaning.
When coupled with the sheer abundance and creativity of the poetic techniques he has used and his genuinely distinctive use of visual focussed content and language, it is an excellent prescribed text choice. The poems themselves have also been well selected (not always the case with other options) for each is unique in subject matter and style and yet clearly linked by the poet's ability to evoke a scene, mood or issue. He really does make his reader 'see' with the mind's eye and share his reactions to the visual stimulus he focuses on.
HSC text selection is dictated by the first text chosen but I recommend having a look at Douglas Stewart. I have spoken to some teaches who are considering Kominos option as an easier 'Distinctive Voice' option, but there is so much students can discuss with regards to Stewart as a 'distinctively visual' poet.
Better get back to writing but wanted to fly a flag for giving this poet's work a second glance if you have not already finalised your text selection for 2015.
Henry Lawson's prescribed stories are a popular choice for this Module Elective because they are so accessible. Problems exist however if they are not examined with sufficient focus on his distinctively visual use of language. Most students can readily identify his techniques and particular aspects of his prose style but they often do not build their thesis around how he visually prompts reader interpretation and response. Each story is built around a central experience be it a snake threat, bush courtship, a burning cartridge or a train trip.
This becomes the fulcrum for the author's exploration of character, place and situation. While similarities and contrasts exist across the four stories, Lawson's mastery of the 'show not tell' narrative rule is always evident. He sketches individuals, relationships and place, adding details through inference, commentary and dialogue in the same way that an artist adds brushstrokes. His incisive focus pinpoints traits and elements that prompt his readers to imagine who and what is being depicted.
He wrote about what he experienced first-hand and therefore there is strong feeling of authenticity of what we are shown. One of the other benefits of using Lawson is that studying his short stories can help prepare students for their Section II AOS response. By evaluating how Lawson uses language in a distinctively visual, cameramen like way, they can adopt some of his strategies in their own creative writing. He explores human experience and so this 'voice of the bush' also remains relevant to contemporary readers even though the world he conveys has long since disappeared.
This elective involves far more recognising how experiences and relationships can be literally or metaphorically 'seen' within text. It encompasses a far deeper evaluating what, how and why, composers utilise language in distinctive ways to achieve a particular impact. The syllabus rubric must be properly 'understood' and conceptually unravelled if students are to grasp what to look for in both prescribed and related texts. The language choices made by composers can alter perspectives and trigger insight and this is what students need to be looking for. Textual study for many students remains on the identification level of comprehension and teachers need to explore and design T&L strategies that allows students to become far more sophisticated in their responses. Techniques are found but then treated as a checklist rather than reflecting on how such methods have been skilfully manipulated to achieve a specific interpretation. The 'distinctive' focus for both electives in this module is often underplayed during study but it should be the benchmark of textual examination. It is not just what techniques have been used but which ones are unique or unexpected and decidedly 'visual' in the way they direct an audience's focus or response. Examination of past HSC questions for this module, reaffirms that teaching themes or characterisation or plot will not equip students to properly address their texts.
Ways into the module need to be found that focus students squarely on appreciating how visual representational strategies can be used in written as well as media text types. This will help shape their subsequent learning for the HSC.
By incorporating a representation module into the Preliminary Course, many of the basic interpretive and compositional skills can already be in place before HSC prescribed study begins. Students need to become aware of the evocative impact of visual representation techniques within different textual mediums. Cartoons, iconic images or well-chosen advertisements can get students conceptually thinking through a distinctively visual lens, but most of our HSC class time needs to remain focused on developing the necessary writing skills they will need.
Lawson's short stories work brilliantly but so too does the film 'Run Lola Run' and Douglas Stewart's poetry and Misto's play 'The Shoe-Horn Sonata'. The trick is to remain focused on how the composer makes use of distinctively visual imagery, symbolism and other visual cues for specific effect and how effective as a result is the text's ability to elicit a powerful response.
Am re-evaluating Lawson's stories for the 'Distinctively Visual' elective. I am amazed by how much I have learned about how to approach this module in the past four years. It has certainly involved a huge conceptual shift in the way we explore all HSC. This is evident is our T&L strategies as well as the quality of some student scripts which show a growing appreciation for the way Lawson captures people within their contextual situation with visual clarity, offering readers snapshots of human experience. By encouraging us to visualise what is being described, we are drawn into their world, despite its unfamiliarity. His blunt and largely non-emotive use of language, powerfully impacts on the senses and the imagination. Perceptions are vividly conveyed in markedly different ways and this helps explain why the prescribed stories are such an excellent elective choice. His insightful snapshots of the bush and its stoic inhabitants remains as fresh today as when first published in the Bulletin.
Have started teaching the first section of our 11Ext1 'Fairy Tale' Appropriation unit which students seem to be really enjoying. As a topic, it effectively covers some of the course content and approach while developing a strong language skills focus. Looking at what students already tacitly understand about the fairytale genre, generated excellent class discussion. Recurring plotlines, characterisation and moral underpinnings in the evil versus goodness message became the trigger for a real focus on genre conventions and how and why they are used.
As is often the case however, the verbal ability to express ideas and show understanding was not readily echoed in their written responses. This is the area that really needs to be addressed in any Preliminary course.
Setting up a class website with affiliated student websites is proving to be an effective classroom tool. It allows additional resources for homework study or research to be posted and accessed from home. Posting blog writing challenges also tests student understanding and engagement with the course. Blogs are obviously a great way to post detailed teacher feedback for each post challenge. I would be interested is comparing ideas with other Preliminary Ext English teachers.
Back to trying to cope with the paperwork frenzy of first weeks of Term 1-whatever happened to the notion of a paperless office? Teachers at our school are being deluged with documentation. Barbara
This was closed due to a hacking problem and then I forgot to re-open it until requested to do so.
This text, which is on the suggested BOS textbook list, remains a wonderful Stage 4 text although I realise that it is also popular in upper primary.
With High School students it becomes a useful close Text/Context study as well as a conceptual study for 'Changing Worlds' or 'Coping with Adversity'. Rather than just a theme unit that deals with historical background and basic narrative elements, when done in depth, it really enables students to empathise and explore experience in other times and places as well as explore different text-types. Historical documents, video footage, documentary evidence and so on make it a great novel choice to develop wide-ranging literary and non-fiction resources.
I also have a weebly site with a blog page that is more focused on senior texts.
The 'Study of Rhetoric', rather than just a 'speech' oral focus, is becoming a popular, Stage 5 unit in many schools. While preparing to teach it as the first unit to my Year 10 class this year, I thought it might make a useful blog topic. It has great potential for raising student awareness of the power of persuasive language on many levels, but most importantly for teaching how language is shaped for a given purpose. In a world bombarded by advertising, political campaigning and media editoralising, it has become more important in an educational context,to raise student understanding of rhetorical purpose, context and methodology. Critical thinking skills need to be taught and students should become familiar with the ways language can be explicitly used to mould an audience's interpretive response.
Current affairs and social issues are largely communicated via a mass media conduit. This unfortunately, often comprises only 30 second 'newsbites' on television or radio or online news updates. While many 'insight' websites offer coverage with greater depth and detail, these are not going to be frequented by a large adolescent audience. Media filtered news will be the way most teenagers will learn about the contemporary world. Mass media is manufactured for a readily accepting audience. As the satiric 'Frontline' TV series demonstrated, fact and truth have become commodified products, reworked to meet industry agendas. Teaching media literacy skills and how 'rhetoric' works is an excellent way to begin a real engagement with the power of language. Many so-called 'Advertising' or 'Propaganda' units in school programs lack sufficient substance; just touching the surface; much in the same way that news and politics is communicated.
Tackling how Rhetoric functions however, gets to the more nitty gritty functionality of language itself and the many ways in which it is manipulated to sway audiences. The Ancient Greeks looked at rhetoric in relation to spoken speech but the Romans extended it to include written language as well. When viewed in this broader way, rhetoric, written and spoken, is constantly bombarding our senses. Looking at movie speeches is an effective 'way in' for this sort of unit. It allows you look at the importance of context in shaping language. Purpose + audience = register is an easy equation to use when trying to explain the relationship between what is being communicated and how it is done. You can probably get no better single online resource than that given below. It looks at rheotircal history, techniques and also has links to 'Americanrhetoric' which is a brillaint site for famous speeches from history and the movies.
There are also many sites that focus on explicit speeches by famous orators such as Winston Churchill or Martin Luther King showing analytical details and tasks. Some of the most enjoyable ways into a Rhetorical unit however is via short clips to trigger discussion about how ideas can be effectively communicated. The following ones usually engage students:
The following advertisement has also been a good way to begin a rhetorical unit in the past. Quick but effective ways to show the power of language highlights the validity of studying how it works.
If you are teaching rhetoric as a topic, I hope these suggestions and resources prove useful. If you are not currently including a rhetoric unit, give it some thought when you are re-evaluating your curriculum.
The newly released list is certainly extensive and well set out under stage and text types. There were many familiar names as well as some interesting new titles and placement. Some of the classics are certainly still in our bookrooms but often not as popular or accessible as they once might have been decades past. It was also interesting to see that titles reappear to reflect ability levels across stages.
This opens up a particular gripe I have with the growing tendency to 'set' prescribed texts across year groups. To my mind this absolutely defies the reality of year groups of two hundred odd students being given a chosen novel or play to study. There are mixed ability levels even within roughly graded classes and wider reading can not fully fill in any remediation or extension gaps that typically arise. Statistics are often used to argue for one particular preference over another but data needs to be as current and contextually valid as possible for any legitimate evaluataion to be possible.
It seems a shame that teacher autonomy is being eroded, especially with regards to choosing suitable texts for a given class. Gender, ability and behavioural factors have always been taken into account when trying to maximise personalised learning but the current so-called 'collaborative' approach to teaching the same texts, topics and programs to mixed class groups seems to cramp rather than foster teacher initiative and effectiveness. I think there is also the danger that it tends to favour mediocrity and limits a teacher's ability to gauge and/or address student needs. If text choices are dictated, then at the very least, they must be carefully chosen with sound teacher input, richly resourced and flexibly programmed to maximise their effectiveness across all classes within a form.
With regard to 'Asian' texts, it was interesting to note what texts were listed. Virtually all of the secondary texts were 'memoirs' which surprised me. There was no mention, unless I missed it, of the short stories or novels by composers such as Anita Desai, Jhumpa Lahiri, or Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Memoirs are a wonderful text type to evaluate but there are some fabulous Asian websites available such as, http://asiancha.com/ with a wealth of poetry, short stories and even online forum articles. The use of poetry anthologies was fairly broad whereas there could have been more specific reference to possible close study of poets such as Sujatta Bhatt. There were however, references to popular contemporary texts including Shaun Tan's picture books and Indian films such as 'Bride and Prejudice','Bend It Like Beckham' as well as less familiar Chinese films. Such texts will help give the increased focus on developing a broader Asian perspective into the new Stage 4 and 5 curriculum.
Teaching has certainly changed since the 1970's when I began teaching but effective teachers remain those who are flexible, creative and professional in their approach. I think however, that pedagogical bindings are becoming too restrictive and need to be loosened so that teacher voice is restored and the value of anecdotal knowledge and expertise is once more embedded into educational planning.
I have probably bombarded you enough for toay but would like to hear what others think about the BOS suggested text list so leave a comment.
Asian texts reflect the area’s
increasing economic and cultural significance. Asian statistics are certainly impressive;
encompassing a third of the earth’s land mass, two thirds of the world’s
population and some of the fastest growing economies across the globe. Asia also has a long and
rich cultural and historical heritage which has not always featured highly in school curriculums, especially texts that are actually written by Asians rather than texts written about Asia.
Incorporating Asian studies into schools
and university courses recognises the growing importance inter-relationships between Asia and the West. The New 7-10 Secondary English
Curriculum being implemented into NSW high schools this year, reflects the trend for increasing Asian consciousness in schools in Australia and elsewhere.
Varied influences account for this educational shift, including globalisation, migration
and multi-culturalism. Asian backgrounds also now represent nearly 10% of the
Australian population. Mixed cultural heritage and the ongoing refugee crisis around the world make Asian studies a relevant contemporary
issue in English classes with both literary, non-fiction and media texts.
Using more Asian texts within the classroom helps
develop awareness of important concepts relating to Asia, including the need to
challenge stereotypes, racism and cultural prejudice. Examining Asian poetry,
prose and film prompts discussion and understanding of differing traditions,
beliefs and experience. Examining different types of contextual background could be another area that would engage students. What is needed however is a list of suitable texts written by Asian composers that draws responders into a new world of experience.
Most schools currently teach at least a few texts with Asian themes such as junior year texts like 'Bend It Like Beckham' or 'Chinese Cinderella'. It would be helpful to have the names of other suitable texts for older students, especially poems and short stories that might be useful for more complex language analysis, that teachers could consider using. If you have any good suggestions, send them through and I can post a list for others to use and/or add to. Meanwhile, in the last few days before school resumes, I will continue reading 'Mao's Last Dancer' by Li Cunxin and 'Unpolished Gem' by Alice Pung.
It has been a long time since I have posted anything and I thought it might be an apt time to do so after the horrendous bushfire January we have had so far. Images can never fully cover the emotional anguish that must accompany such an experience but one of the senior student responses I have amongst my resources is a fine example of how words can capture a sense of it. While this is not a fully polished response, the student was able to use personal experience of his own to communicate a bushfire's overwhelming might.
Sacred Land
A
blood red wall rose in the distance, approaching with wicked speed. Flames ravaged
the land before them, climbing trunks with a mastered agility and nimbly licking
leaves with their fiery tongue. Menacing smoke poured out from the red abyss of
the monster before me, leaving the land gasping for air. It loomed overhead, drowning
the light with it’s poisonous smog; an ominous warning to those who lay in its
path.
The
brilliant emerald leaves of my garden lay peacefully in their bed. A sudden gust
of hot wind alerted them to the danger ahead. I ran frantically; the hose I
held moving as a docile snake, clumsily moving through the undergrowth. With a
quick turn of the tap however, it was transformed into a savage python, swaying
with ferocity – aware of the approaching enemy.
I
glanced at Jack’s weathered tombstone in front of me. He had built this beloved
place with his own two hands. It had remained in our family ever since, serving
as a continuous place of happiness and joy. We all had memories of the warmth
and nurturing we had received from this kind home we had lived in together. The
union between us could not have been greater. On windy days, it would sing a
quiet but ever so sweet song, reminding us it was there to shelter us from harm.
With danger so near, I had never before felt so connected to any place.
The
smoke clogging up the air produced a sour tone from the anxious house which sang
with a different voice. I would not
abandon it. I saw the same need to defend this sacred place in the eyes of my
neighbours. As they emerged to wage war on the impending threat to our land, I
knew they shared a similar sense of heritage and bonding to the land. A desire
to defend what defined who we were burned in their eyes. Their courage and
determination bolstered mine. We were a community. We would do this together.
Memories
of family flooded over me as I prepared for the battle. That was the branch
where we had built the old tire swing. I could still feel the rush of wind on
my face as I glided through the soft air but now the air was full of fiery
embers and it moved ominously with each gust. There was the spot where we had
buried old Patch, the most loyal companion a man could have. Amidst the noise
and haste and living colour of the flames, everywhere I looked, there were
symbols of what made this place home and worthy of defence.
The
sound of a car alerted me to the arrival of my two eldest sons, back up troops
in a last ditch battle.
“Are
you sure you want to do this?” I asked them, already knowing the answer
“Yes
Dad,” they both replied, “we’re family ain’t we.’ We rushed off to get additional
supplies. Venturing into the house, I slowed down and came to a stop in the
kitchen. Could this be it? Could this be the last time I would see my home
still standing? Though old and a bit rickety in places, I loved this place. I
wanted to leave a mark of thanks for what it had given the family over the
years. I quickly scrawled the word ‘home’ on a piece of paper and nailed it to
the kitchen beam. If we were to lose the coming battle and the wicked monster devoured
what we loved, what it signified would mingle with the ashes.
The
enemy loomed ever nearer and like archers firing on a distant opponent, water
jets clashed with the hot wrath of our opponent. Neighbours stood abreast, fighting
back the common foe, challenging its red armour as it roared at us and mocked
our efforts with hellish crackles. The sky came alive with shades of russet
orange, crimson and black, tendrils of flame marching across the garden’s
green.Rallying after occasionally being
forced to retreat we stood firm, defending our ground as its hot breath burnt
our faces.
We
would not give up. This land was ours, and nothing could take it from us, even
its fiery wrath. Only together could we drive it back and reclaim what was
rightly ours. As we glanced one to the other, we sensed that together we would
fight it, and together we would win.A
distant and faint battle cry was heard, snatches of sound that triggered a
shared sense of relief. Through the flames and thick smoke, the glimpse of
revolving lights gave hope of a mechanical saviour.
Using Real Life Emergencies in the Classroom
Bushfires can be a brilliant teaching unit for it enables teachers to examine a wide range of literary and media text-types. Non-fiction memoirs, first-hand accounts, editorials, lfeature articles etters and so on enable an examination of conventions and language use. There are also a great deal that can be done with government warning brochures, guidelines and similar social texts in terms of language analysis.
Poems, prose passages and short stories enable comparison with narrative devices and stylistic techniques for communicating characterisation, situation and atmosphere. I have often used news broadcasts and video clips to demonstrate the differences between fact and opinion and journalistic language use.
Concepts relating to courage, heroism and compassion are also valuable topics of discussion with many newspapers doing feature articles about the work of the volunteer bushfire men and women. Examining regional newspapers is often better than sticking to only the bigger, city papers as there will often be more personal stories and recounts available for classroom use. It often enables a teacher to explore human resilience and fortitude in the face of adversity. Resources need not be related to current bushfires for the strength to endure is often repeated every summer here and in other danger spots around the world. Even using the song lyrics, such as the Cold Chisel song used below for the 2009 slideshow clip can be an effective trigger for discussion and writing.
Visual literacy is another area that enables an imaginative response from students. The story above arose out of a series of dramatic images I used in a slideshow to trigger possible response scenarios. With the wealth of visual and textual texts that are being posted online in relation to the current crisis in NSW, Australia, it could be an excellent topic for class discussion as Term begins.
I hope you find this useful as the days count down before school resumes.
I have extensive experience as a teacher, writer and lecturer. My publisher is Phoenix Education and I present HSC English workshops for Teacher Training Australia or TTA.
Tailor made workshops school sites can also be organised.
My other sites include:
www.stannersenglishmatters.wikispaces.com
www.stannersenglishresources.weebly.com
