Teaching and learning

Detailed example 1

Class annotation of a text

Using a selected piece of text:

• Use different colours to annotate a series of readings.
• The first reading of the text focuses on comprehension – define any unknown words and write initial questions.
• In the second reading, annotate anything of significance, justifying these choices in the margins.
• In the third reading, annotate based on the literary forms, features and language of the text.
• In the final reading, annotate the ideas and values represented in the text.
• Share these annotations with one other student and incorporate at least three annotations from them. Also, discuss the initial questions each student had about the text.
• Reflect on the similarities and differences between these annotations, considering the values underpinning these interpretations.
• Present initial annotations to the whole class and explain how the thinking about the text changed after exploring another student’s annotations.
• Write a close analysis based on these annotations; share this response with another student, taking on board some of their ideas.
• Focus on examining beliefs, values and understandings of a text.

Detailed example 2

Values and beliefs in a text

• Conduct a book forum and share responses to the text. Focus on examining which beliefs, values and understandings of the world influenced the response to the text.
• Read and / or watch interviews with the author about the text, or critics reviewing the work. Reflect on and explore ways in which the views presented coincide with, or differ from the views held by the class.
• Read different viewpoints about the text; for example, extracts from review articles, academic journals or blogs). Place these viewpoints on a continuum that makes clear the degree to which they either agree or disagree about aspects of the text.
• Individually, explain and justify the perspective of each viewpoint, and write a short comment about the text that can be displayed in the classroom.
• Reflect on how the initial interpretation changed once reading other viewpoints.

[Note: these activities can be used to review a student’s annotations or full close analysis of a text and to develop annotations or close analysis writing based on other interpretations.]  

• Select a favourite extract from the text or a favourite short text studied in class. Write and present a close analysis, including detailed annotations.
• Reflect on the close analysis, explaining particular parts of the text and exploring views and values.
• Present an interpretation by a fellow student or a critic, analysing how the text has been interpreted, and taking note of the parts that are inspiring and could be drawn into your own analysis.
• Explain how your interpretation developed after working with another interpretation.

Detailed example

Explore genre and / or movement of a text

• Compare texts, looking at similarities and differences and noting these in a Venn Diagram, with a view to establishing features of genre or movement.
• Produce a study guide about the genre / movement, with hyperlinks to literary and / or cinematic examples of characteristics and features.
• Hold a hot-seating event with characters or authors – students (or teacher) taking on the role of a character or the author and responding to class questions about the text, genre and style of the writing. Record key insights from the hot-seating activity and add this information to the information already collected and collated.
• Identify the role that character types play in the genre or movement; for example, the hero, villain, victim, confidant. Other aspects such as setting could also be considered. 
• Select a certain character and track him / her through the text, selecting, annotating and presenting to the class a passage (or shot) central to the development of this character, and identifying the ways in which the author (or director) established character and made the features of this character vivid for readers (or viewers).
• Annotate selected extracts or scenes (individually or as a class), focusing on the key characteristics, assumptions and representations evident in the text, and using insights gathered earlier in the unit of study.
• Write an essay as a class, composing the response together. The focus could be a passage or a pair of passages that have been chosen to reflect aspects of genre, particularly in terms of events, characterisation or setting.
• Compose a creative response, written in the style of one of the texts (not necessarily the ‘whole text’), either based directly on a character or event in one of the set texts, or developed in the style and genre but not specifically developed from a set text. This response could be either written or oral.
• Submit a written piece that analyses a passage from the chosen text, reflecting on connections between a creative response and the original text. Include a description or discussion of the genre of the original text and the ways in which the passage and the creative response engaged with the conventions of the focus genre / movement.
• Present a student-selected text to the class, arguing for its inclusion in the genre / movement.
• In affirmative and negative teams, participate in a debate with the proposition: This text / these texts should be included in the focus genre / movement. Following DAV rules for debating will help with the preparation.
• Using a selected passage from the set text (or a text chosen by student(s), students teach the passage to class. This is followed by a writing task with teacher feedback. After this mini-lesson, students write a reflection, explaining what they have learned through the teaching and feedback process.

Detailed example

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art

Teacher:

• assigns student groups extracts from a range of texts created both by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists
• scaffolds the key elements that students should address in the art, including links to the specific area of focus, for example:
  
  • ways in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are presented
  • ways in which racism is explored
  • relationship of people to a landscape
  • significance of family
  • importance of story and storytelling.

Students:

• work together to explore how the art further illuminates an understanding of representation; for example, discussing and comparing the artworks and linking them to a specific area of focus
• consider other contextual information; for example, when and where a text was produced and who produced it
• bring in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander texts they have enjoyed (including films, television series, games, poems, songs) and explore extracts of these texts to enrich the discussions of the set texts
• consider changing representations, including language and vocabulary, and how and where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples appear in text over time (provided the range of texts enables such a discussion)
• use these texts (brought in by students) to compare the stories and language with the set texts.
• Compare stories and storytelling from other indigenous cultures with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stories and storytelling by discussing extracts in class. Groups can lead this discussion and comparative analysis. Other indigenous cultures could include:
  
  • Maori (1)
  • Maori (2)
  • Native American
• Individually, or in pairs, advocate for a preferred text to be included in a course, producing short digital presentations in support of the chosen text. In these presentations, focus on the key discussions held in class, and on representation in texts. Focus on a key passage or scene of the text to highlight for the class.
• Learn about postcolonial theory through a reading (such as the first few pages of Edward Said’s Orientalism) or a video. Examples of videos that describe postcolonial theory include:
  
  • Postcolonialism: WTF? An Intro to Postcolonial Theory
  • Postcolonial Literary Theory
• Teacher scaffolds students’ understanding of this theory through visual representation, annotating key quotes, ensuring students have a shared understanding of this theory before moving on.
• Discuss postcolonial theory and how it can be used to discuss a text, and considering the wider implications of this theory in light of this area of study.
• Participate in a whole-class discussion about implications of postcolonialism for understanding the set text, using specific textual examples to support ideas and assertions.
• Develop a way for this discussion to be meaningfully captured, providing a point of reference for later in the area of study. This could be done by the class agreeing on an annotation of a selected passage or scene from the set text, and having it on display. It could also be achieved digitally.
• Working in pairs or groups, begin to consolidate an understanding of postcolonialism by developing an interpretation of an extract from a studied text to present to the class. (Teacher can scaffold this by modelling an interpretation of an extract with students posing questions about the process.) Working collaboratively, the class develops and documents a process for annotating and then interpreting an extract from a set text.
• Collaboratively construct a scaffold to work with postcolonial theory and ideas. For example, develop a set of key quotes and / or definitions about postcolonialism.
• Apply a developing understanding of postcolonialism to a written analysis of an extract.
• Teacher assigns a significant passage from a set text, and guides the analysis through focus questions so that students begin to find their voice in this work.
• Following this scaffolded work, write an interpretation of a set text from a postcolonial perspective, addressing a topic that sits within a specific area of focus (students might choose to write their own topics).
• Individually or in groups, deliver oral presentations that explore the role of postcolonial thought in the reading of a set text(s). This can be a personal reflection and / or an exploration of the journey taken through the area of study.

Detailed example

Discuss and analyse a text in class

Students reflect on a text they have recently read; for example, a text read in class in a previous area of study, or year, or a popular show on TV, or on streaming services.

Teacher gives the following instructions:

• Choose a text that connects with earlier conversations in class, and which represents a context that you can discuss fluently.
• Make sure you identify with the text.
• Introduce the text to the class through your own context by discussing particular features and moments in the text that might be considered contentious in the light of your contemporary views.

Describe to the class the text’s cultural, historical and social context and how it endorses, challenges or leaves unquestioned aspects of its context. Use evidence to support statements made.

• In pairs, summarise and analyse extracts from the texts with regard to the social, historical and cultural context(s).
• Present the key ideas about these readings to the class, making explicit links between the author, context and text.  
• Research the historical, social, cultural, economic, political contexts of the set text and present findings in a linear timeline that establishes links between certain real events and the narrative of the text; for example, the events / personalities in the French Revolution and the events in Dickens’ ATale of Two Cities.
• Research the author of a text and identify biographical factors (historical, social, economic, political) that might have had an impact on the context of the text. Using the research, construct an extended piece of writing adopting the role of the author and speculating about the writer’s ideas and concerns. This could take the form of a monologue / speech, a letter to a publisher, an interview or diary entry.
• Identify possible links between the author’s personal and / or contextual experiences and those narrated in the text. Use evidence from the text to support these links; for example, Kenneth Branagh’s childhood experiences and his film Belfast. Present this as a creative Facebook, Twitter or Instagram profile and / or Snap Chat video.
• In groups, work with chapters / scenes from a text or with poetry. Each group develops a chronological chart of the ideas and concerns of the text, inferred by examples of the language. Use a Google doc or other electronic format so that members of each group can contribute to the chart. If this is not available, work with large pieces of paper that can be displayed in the classroom.
• Create a chart of the cultural or social institutions that can be identified in a text, either directly or indirectly. Identify the author’s ideas and concerns about these institutions both through their representation and their influence on the narrative; for example, the different ways in which religion is presented in Jeanette Winterson’s Oranges are not the only fruit.
• Identify words and sentence constructions from a text that are particular to the time in which the text is written. Research the selected language, identify its meaning and function within the context of the text, and then find its modern or cultural equivalent.
• Develop a character chart that explores the ways an author has created and used character(s) to explore particular ideas and concerns. In these profiles, the ideas and concerns of characters should be established through explicit textual evidence and compared to the ideas and concerns of the text’s context. They can also be compared to students’ own current, contemporary context.
• Imagine and construct an interview with a character from a text. Create the character’s answers using the views and values on particular ideas and concerns that are evident in the text.
• With characters from a text allocated to individual class members, create a panel made up of these characters (in a forum setting). Other class members question the characters about their views on certain social, cultural and historical concerns. ‘In character’, the panel members answer and debate the questions according to how they are portrayed in the text.
• Explore the language used to define characters and relationships in the text, considering how the author’s choice of structure and form reveals nuance of character (including through dialogue).
• Write creatively by reimagining or reconstructing a selected section or event in the text and using the language (including imagery) of the text to create interior monologues or dialogue between characters.

Detailed example

Comparing text and adaptation

• Choose a passage from the text, which is considered significant, and annotate this carefully, using different colours for different style features.
• Annotate screen shots of the adaptation (or extracts, if the adaptation is not a film) aligned with the passage, identifying key elements or features.
• In small groups, write paragraph responses to the identified passages, exploring the significant style features and analysing form. Present these to the class, using posters, PowerPoint or other digital presentation.
• Discuss ideas and exploration of the selected passages in the original text as well as ways in which decisions were made about the writing – exploring language decisions and structure.
• As a class, write paragraph responses comparing significant moments in the original text with moments in the adaptation, noting the way form affects content and the communication of meaning.
• Keep a vocabulary list of verbs, adverbs and adjectives appropriate to the text and also the adaptation, noting overlaps and points of difference in the language that could be used to describe and analyse each text.
• Using research conducted previously on the two texts (through exploration of reviews and potentially author / creator interviews or articles), present a hotseat interview between the author of the original text and the creator of the adaptation, asking questions about the goals of each. The hotseat interview can focus on a particular passage in the case of the original text and on scenes in the adaptation so students can engage with the goals and intentions through the language and / or the features of the text.
• Develop a list of language that is useful in both close analysis and in comparative work. This list can be built throughout the year and compiled through a shared format; for example, a list developed on a pinboard or a shared Google doc.
• Consolidate the work completed so far to develop paragraphs in response to passages. Develop and refine a model for close analysis. Using and adapting the model, write a passage analysis of the original text, focusing on three key moments in the narrative.
• Consider the corresponding moments in the adaptation and begin to develop a sustained comparative response. Teachers can develop a model for this, using previous student work developed through the exploration of the texts, and can add to the word lists being developed for both close analysis and comparison.
• Choose one extract from the original text and write a comparative response that discusses the way this moment was presented in the adapted text.

Detailed example

Supplementary text and analysis

• For extra support, read and explore the supplementary reading as a class.
• Return to the skills of close analysis to explore the supplementary reading and use the table to interrogate the ideas, views and values of the reading. This will also support a deeper understanding of the reading.
• Return and review an earlier close analysis presentation of the set text. This work can be done in groups, where students read and review one another’s work. Alternatively, the teacher can develop a separate close analysis of a key moment from the set text and use that as a model for the re-reading and reviewing.
• Consider, in the re-reading and reviewing of the earlier close analysis, how the close analysis can be enhanced or revised based on the supplementary reading. Take time with this work, resisting the temptation to replace ideas drawn from the text with ideas from the supplementary reading.
• Students and teachers work towards incorporating the ideas drawn from the supplementary reading into the close analysis.
• Encourage challenges to the supplementary reading as well as acceptance of it.
• Teacher models re-reading and reviewing, offering opportunities for students to attempt their own re-reading and reviewing of their earlier work. Students present their work to the class (individually or in groups), discussing how the reading has developed and changed the initial interpretation.  
• Repeat this exercise with other passages or key moments from the text to further strengthen capacity to draw both from the set text and supplementary reading to develop an interpretation.
• Using a second supplementary reading, take this opportunity to deeply engage with and explore the reading.

Detailed example 1

Modelling a close analysis

Teacher selects a passage and, drawing on the work from the class to date – including the illustrated quotations and the presentations about key aspects of the text – models a close analysis for students.

Students:

•  engage with this modelling, suggesting ways through the passage and making connections between language features, meaning and an interpretation
• identify an extract which is important in terms of their creative response and annotate it
• select a passage they are interested in exploring creatively and write a close analysis of it. (Teacher may choose to set this passage.)
• Select a page from the set text and perform a statistical analysis of the extract, counting the number of words in each sentence, the number of sentences in each paragraph, and establishing the balance of direct speech and narration. Online tools such as Using English may be useful because they can do the basic analysis on overall word count and word count per sentence.
• Create a generalised numerical observation about the author’s writing from the class data (these can later be used when replicating the author’s style in individual work).
• When responding to a short story or poetry collection, consider how an alternative order of the stories or poems might affect a reader’s understanding of them.
• Research the author of the set text and ‘get to know’ them. If they are alive, they might have a Twitter account, or it might be possible to attend an author presentation. Some contemporary Australian authors will even respond to student questions. If they are not alive, there might be letters or a biopic that can be read or watched. Or, they may have written other texts and extracts from them can be read.
• Attend a writing workshop or watch a TedTalk (or similar) presented by an author (not necessarily of the set text) to learn more about the processes associated with creative writing. Two examples of TedTalks by contemporary authors discussing writing and finding an authentic voice include Maxine Beneba Clarke and Nnedi Okorafor.
• Role-play characters from the set text with follow-up activities.

Detailed example 2

Role-play characters from the set text

• Assume the role of a character from the set text and attend a simulated cocktail party event, chatting with other (students) characters.
• As you chat, make note of (or record) the dialogue in order to increase the authenticity of the direct speech in your writing.
• Record and moderate – halting conversations to ask questions and to tease out language choices.
• Use large pieces of paper pinned to the classroom walls to make notes as you speak with other (students) characters, if something occurs to you during the role-play.
• After the role-play, return to these notes as prompts for discussion and exploration of insights.
• As a follow up, ask questions about any parts of the text that continue to be challenging or puzzling. These can be posted to an online space or can be part of the note-taking done during the author event.
• Discuss these questions in class and use them as the basis of creative work.
• In groups, experiment with creative writing activities. For example:
• Take a line from the set text and in five minutes, write the next five lines. Read aloud these short stories in class.
• Take a line from the set text and use each word to begin a new sentence. Read aloud the results in class and discuss.
• Play a game of Consequences. At the top of the page, write a sentence that draws on the characters and / or settings from the original text. As the game continues, apply understanding of character, setting and style of the text. Read aloud the results and explore ideas raised from the game.
• In pairs, write short creative paragraphs to be read to the class, ensuring that they are written in the style of the author of the set text.
• Write cards to and from characters in the set text. These could be birthday cards, thank you notes, or love letters etc.
• Produce and share illustrations or front covers for your own stories, and explain the significance of these to the class.
• Plan and compose creative responses to the set text. Share these with peers and invite their feedback.
• Present evocative readings of individual creative responses to the class.
• Collate and publish creative responses written by the class (either in hard or soft copy) and publish some in the school newsletter or magazine.
• After composing the creative response, write a passage analysing responses to a chosen passage.

Detailed example

Continue work on close analysis

The aim of this unit of work is to reflect on close analysis work from Unit 3 and develop it further.

Teacher:

• models at least one approach on how to write a close analysis, linking this model to the previous unit.

Students:

• evaluate their approach to close analysis based on the summative assessment’s criteria
• participate in the creation of a whole-class step-by-step approach to close analysis. (This must include the skills as outlined in the VCE Literature Study Design.)
• display the close analysis in class for future reference. (This is a working document to be developed throughout the unit based on the  close analysis writing.)

Teacher:

• uses a gradual release model to implement a whole-class approach to close analysis with a passage from the text.

Students:

• complete the work in class using a real-time approach, which allows them to see whether anything could be developed further.

When the close analysis of one passage is complete, students individually comment on it via post-its or Google Docs and consider how it can be improved (and also what works), using both their knowledge of the text and their upcoming SAC criteria. 

Note: This whole-class close analysis approach should also be a working document where changes can be made throughout the year.

• Teacher provides students with specific passages to closely analyse (either giving students choice or choosing the appropriate passage for the student). Note: This first close analysis for this outcome should be about building confidence as writers.
• Students present their close analysis to the class, reading their writing out loud. The class listens and writes comments and questions based on the close analysis criteria.
• Share responses to each other’s writing, following a respectful sharing protocol: while feedback is given, the student who presented cannot speak but must write down the feedback and any questions and / or comments they have can be shared at the end of this feedback discussion.
• Teacher provides opportunities for students to improve close analysis based on feedback.