Year+8

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 * UNIT ONE:** **HOW DO WE TELL STORIES VISUALLY?**
 * UNIT TWO: HOW DO WE CREATE IMAGINATIVE WORLDS IN THE SHORT STORY FORM?**
 * UNIT THREE: HOW DO WE CREATE PICTURES WITH WORDS? POETRY UNIT.**
 * UNIT FOUR: HOW MAY FICTION SHAPE THE WAY WE SEE PEOPLE AND ISSUES? CLOSE STUDY OF TRASH BY ANDY MULLIGAN.**
 * UNIT FIVE: INQUIRY/ PROBLEM SOLVING UNIT BASED ON THE NOVEL AND ITS SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES**
 * UNIT SIX: CREATING PICTURES ON THE STAGE: INTRODUCTION TO SHAKESPEARE (THE MERCHANT OF VENICE)**
 * UNIT SEVEN: NEW LITERACIES: NARRATIVE AND REPRESENTATION IN VIDEO GAMES????**




 * UNIT ONE: HOW DO WE TELL STORIES VISUALLY?**

Essential questions:
 * Focus Outcomes: 1, 3, 4, 10**
 * How can images tell a story?
 * How do images, text and layout interact to create meaning?
 * How do visual texts communicate meaning differently from print texts?
 * How do texts help us understand ourselves and others?
 * How do multimodal texts represent people and places?

The first unit for Year 8 is called "How do we tell stories visually?". It builds on the print focus of Year 7, so that students are aware of the differences between print and multimodal texts. Students will develop an understanding of the grammar of visual design and how different media work together to achieve meaning in multimodal texts. They will also understand the power of image to elicit emotion and shape responses. As our main text is the film, Bend it Like Beckham, we will be exploring the cultural values and assumptions embedded in multimodal texts and deliberately looking for texts that challenge cultural and gender stereotypes. The primary aim of the unit is to enhance students' understanding of how images work to communicate meaning and to encourage them to see that images are representations of reality.

NB!!!! THE BEST EVER RESOURCE FOR TEACHING VISUAL LIT IS BELOW (THIRD DOT POINT UNDER ACADEMIC ARTICLES)

1/ Program- How do we tell stories visually? The program is a work in progress. An introduction to visual literacy is provided, however, more specific activities related to the film in particular will need to be added.

2/ Visual Literacy Resources on the Web
 * [|TED speech- Johnathon Klein- photos that changed the world]
 * Tasmanian Education- prep for Australian Curriculum- [|vis lit unit]
 * [|Visual Literacy] page by Frank Baker)
 * [|Reading an Image]- a very helpful webpage
 * [|Don't Drink and Drive Ads]- very useful for discussing power of the image and purpose
 * A fantastic clip [|"A Picture's worth a thousand words"] about the fact that images capture one person's way of seeing the world.
 * [[file:Picture_Storybooks-1.ppt]]
 * [[file:Advertising.ppt]]

3/ Voices in the Park and Gorilla resources.
 * A fabulous online, flash version of [|Voices in the Park.]This site highlights the non-linear nature of the picture book.
 * An online reading of [|Gorilla].
 * [|Read, Write, Think] resource on Voices in the Park

4/ Academic articles to support teacher learning


 * [| The Grammar of Visual Design]
 * The 4 resources model by Freebody and Luke
 * [|Applying the 4 resources model to Visual texts]- code breaking, meaning making, text user, text analyst- outstanding site
 * [|Analysis of Voices in the Park] with guided journal questions to help students understand the post-modern nature of the text.

Rationale: This term students will study short stories to develop an understanding of the form, both for analysis and in order to create their own works. They will consider what makes a short story, for example the ideas that it should be read in one sitting, have a singular focus, a restricted time frame and smaller cast of characters. Students will develop their understanding through reading, listening to and writing short stories in a variety of genres and contexts. Students will consider how narratives can be written to create images in the mind of the reader. Students will also learn to conference with other students about their work and develop skills in peer editing, self reflection and peer assessment according to set criteria.
 * UNIT TWO: SHORT STORIES**

Focus Outcomes: 2, 10,11

Essential Questions:
 * **How do we create imaginative worlds in the short story form?**
 * **How can texts broaden our understanding of ourselves, our world and other cultures?**
 * **How can language and structure be manipulated to express ideas and feelings?**
 * **How can reflecting on my processes of composition and my successes and failures, help me become a better writer?**
 * How is a short story different from other kinds of narrative?

Program Resources 2/ Link to Sadaf's wiki on short stories short story wiki See English Mosiac 1 Chapter 10, Stories from Imagination [|Character building writing workshop] [|Character questionairre from Nancie Atwell] [|Character thesaurus]

Close Study of Text and Issues Study Core text: Trash by Andy Mulligan

Program:

Essential questions:

Focus outcomes:

Resources [|Video 1]

INTRODUCTION TO SHAKESPEARE, THE MERCHANT OF VENICE
 * UNIT: CREATING PICTURES ON THE STAGE**

Rationale:

Essential questions:

Program:

Focus Outcomes:

Teaching Resources A nice [|Globe Theatre webquest] Another [|Globe theatre] webquest with structured questions [|Folger Library's]activities for elementary students may be useful as an introduction [|An intro to Shakespeare] [|multimedia intro to Shakespeare] [|Multimedia intro to Shakespeare]

[|Royal Shakespeare Company's] teaching resources for The Merchant of Venice and [|Teacher's Pack] Link to Sadaf's wiki on The Merchant of Venice