Unit Outline

This unit is centred on the significant role of multimodal texts in children’s lives. It will incorporate studies of how text, images, sound, gesture, movement, and space work together to shape narrative. Multimodal texts will include picturebooks, graphic novels, television, film, theatre, computer games, and digital worlds.

During the unit you will explore materials developed by the Australian Children’s Television Foundation for teaching film and TV, and you will also see how young students across Australia have been working with the Bell Shakespeare company to perform literature. You will examine the potential of multimodal texts and consider effective English and literacy pedagogies for progressing students’ reading, viewing, and writing/composing achievement.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

On completion of this unit, you will be able to:


1	Apply your knowledge of literary and multimodality theory to interpret, critique, and appraise multimodal literary texts
2	Apply the skills of literary and multimodal analysis to multimodal literary texts
3	Apply your knowledge of pedagogies to design critical and creative classroom experiences to teach multimodal literary texts

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Pre-requisite	ESH210 or EPR210

Alterations as a result of student feedback

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Picturebook Analysis	Week 5	20 %	LO1, LO2
Assessment Task 2:	Picturebook Lesson Sequence	Week 9	40 %	LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 3:	Multimodal Presentation	Week 13	40 %	LO1, LO2, LO3

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Picturebook Analysis

Task Description:

Select a picturebook from the list below. The provided titles are examples of quality literary picturebooks, widely regarded as worthy of close study in the primary classroom. The picturebook you select for AT1 will be used to plan a sequence of three lessons for AT2, so please select a text you would like to teach.

You will analyse 2-3 openings from the selected picturebook for the use of ONE aspect from each of the following:
• aesthetic elements
• semiotic elements
• literary elements

For example, you might analyse colour from aesthetic elements, vectors from semiotic elements and setting from literary elements.

You should begin with a brief introduction which summarises the story, themes and the likely year group for teaching. The body of your response will describe the use of an aesthetic, semiotic and literary element in your chosen openings and explain how these features contribute to the narrative (what ideas, feelings, mood etc. that they
convey). You can use the three (aesthetic, semiotic and literary) features you have selected as sub-headings to guide your analysis.

Images from your picturebook should be used to show evidence of the validity of your analysis and you can use visual cues (i.e. subheadings, arrows, text boxes, tables) to further organise the analysis. You may annotate or subtitle your images to support the clarity of your analysis. You will also need to write a brief final paragraph which appraises the value of the picturebook for teaching in terms of its qualities, its literary merit, and its cross curricular teaching potential.

Note: You may elect to present this assignment as a word document, or a PDF of PowerPoint slides if this is more convenient for you. All assignments must be submitted as either PDF or Word document.

You are to choose your picturebook from the list below. Each of the picturebooks has been selected for its literary merit. Most of the picturebooks can be borrowed at your local library and viewed as read alouds online, for example on Youtube or Storyline Online. They are suited for students in years 2 - 6 (these are the year groups for which you plan your lessons in AT2).

Bidhi Galing, Anita Heiss & Samantha Campbell
Big, Vashti Harrison
Desert Jungle, Jeannie Baker
Eric, Shaun Tan
Every Night at Midnight, Peter Cheong
The Feather, Margaret Wild & Freya Blackwood
The Heart and the Bottle, Oliver Jeffers
The Land Recalls You, Kirli Saunders, David & Noni Cragg
The Rabbits, John Marsden & Shaun Tan
The Watertower, Gary Crew & Steve Woolman
Wolves, Emily Gravett
Zoo, Anthony Browne

Students Note: It is preferable that you select from the picturebooks the list provided here, so that you avoid spending a tremendous amount of time researching a suitable picturebook. It also prevents anyone from choosing an unsuitable picturebook. However, if you have a burning desire to add a quality picturebook to this list, please email me and I will consider it.

Completion of this Assessment Task relates to Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) 2.1

Task Length:

900 words

Due Date:

Week 5

Weight:

20 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Analysis draws on theoretical concepts (20%)	LO1
2	Analysis describes and explains visual features of composition in a literary picturebook (70%)	LO2
3	Analysis appraises the educational potential of a picturebook (10%)	LO2

Assessment Task 2: Picturebook Lesson Sequence

Task Description:

This assessment task builds on your analysis from AT1.
Using the picturebook you selected for AT1, you will design a sequence of three lessons to teach a visual and literary feature of the picturebook.
Each lesson will address ONE of the following aspects:
• aesthetic features
• semiotic features
• literary features
You will first select a student group from years 2-6 for whom the picturebook would be an appropriate literary text.

You will then identify relevant Australian Curriculum English content descriptors from the literature and language strands of the English curriculum for EACH lesson (One main content descriptor per lesson). Develop a sequence of three lessons to teach the selected content descriptors. Please note each lesson must focus on teaching visual literacy and literature content - that is, the lessons must teach curriculum content from this course.

The lessons should adopt a scaffolding pedagogy which includes clear teacher instruction and modelling of visual literacy and literary concepts, as well as opportunities for students to apply new learning in groups and independently.

The lessons should include carefully selected excerpts from your picturebook which you will use to teach about visual and literary features, as well as any other necessary resources.

Completion of this Assessment Task relates to Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) 3.2, 3.3, 3.4

Task Length:

1600 words

Due Date:

Week 9

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Creates a sequence of learning experiences drawing from analysis of picturebook (40%)	LO2, LO3
2	Uses explicit, critical and creative pedagogies (40%)	LO3
3	Selects and uses resources including picturebook excerpts (20%)	LO1

Assessment Task 3: Multimodal Presentation

Task Description:

PART 1: MULTIMODAL PRESENTATION + transcript (max. 10 minutes – 1000-word equivalent)

A list of topics about multimodality and literature are provided below. Select one of the topics and create an 8–10-minute video (or equivalent) on your topic that has a future staff meeting as its audience.

In your presentation you should (a) describe the nature of the topic, including its theoretical dimensions; (b) use excerpts from a range of literary texts to illustrate your points; (c) discuss how this topic might be treated by teachers to develop students’ English and multiliteracies capabilities.

TOPIC CHOICES
1. Comics or Graphic Novels
2. Multimodal Poetry
3. Fan Fiction
4. Stop-motion or Animated Film
5. Live Theatre or Ballet
6. Literature Podcasts
7. Computer Games
8. Documentaries
9. Shakespeare
10. Music videos

Please note: If you have a multimodal text type not in the list above that you are interested in using for this assignment, please contact the unit coordinator via email with your request and justification.

PART 2: WRITTEN REFLECTIVE STATEMENT (500 words)
Reflect on your practical suggestions for part (c) of your presentation. Outline how your teaching ideas reflect the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.

Completion of this Assessment Task relates to Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) 2.1, 3.4, 6.1

Task Length:

10-minute multimodal presentation + transcript + 500 word written reflective statement (1500-word equivalent in total)

Due Date:

Week 13

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Presentation draws on theoretical concepts (15%)	LO1
2	Presentation critically appraises the educational potential of multimodal texts (20%)	LO2
3	Presentation demonstrates appropriate selection of literary resources (15%)	LO1
4	Presentation develops learning experiences for multimodal texts (20%)	LO3
5	Reflective statement demonstrates an understanding of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers for professional learning (30%)	LO3

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Academic integrity

Academic integrity is about acting responsibly, honestly, ethically, and collegially when using, producing, and communicating information with other students and staff members.

In written work, you must correctly reference the work of others to maintain academic integrity. To find out the referencing style for this unit, see the assessment information in the MyLO site, or contact your teaching staff. For more detail about Academic Integrity, see Important Guidelines & Support.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.

Review of results and appeals

You are entitled to ask for a review of the marking and grading of your assessment task if there is an irregularity in the marking standards or an error in the process for determining the outcome of an assessment. Details on how to request a review of a mark for an assignment are outlined in the Review and Appeal of Academic Decisions Procedure.

Required Resources

Required reading materials

Serafini, F. (2013). Reading the visual: An introduction to teaching multimodal literacy. New York: Teacher’s College Press.
[Available as an eBook through the EPR314 Reading List]

Reading Lists provide direct access to all material on unit reading lists in one place. This includes eReadings and items in Reserve. You can access the Reading List for this unit from the link in MyLO, or by going to the Reading Lists page on the University Library website