Gumleaf Games and Resources

Using multimodal texts as stimulus for narrative writing tasks

-->

Text	Stage of writing	Structure or feature of narrative	Associated activity	Outcome
Dustin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTSH3hxdk_A The Coat by Julie Hunt and Ron Brooks Fearless by Colin Thompson and Sarah Davis	Planning	Structure, Complication	Eyes motif. Offer & Demand, what is being ‘said’ at different points in the story. Masks and BLM to add eyes to.	EN1-7B
The Fox and The Mouse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6kCwj0Sk4s The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson and Alex Scheff;er Truffles Christmas by Anna Currey	Planning	Structure, Orientation	Camera angles and distances (distance shows orientation and hints at resolution/coda) Comic strip of clip to show stages of a narrative	EN2-2A
The Present https://vimeo.com/152985022 One Step at a Time Jane Jolly and Sally Heinrich	Writing	Structure, Complication	Brainstorm, predict	EN3-2A
Alike http://educateinspirechange.org/inspirational/art/society-kills-creativity-award-winning-pixar-esque-short-film/ The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan Mr Huff by Anna Walker	Editing	Characterisation, noun groups	Before and after noun group	ENe-7B
The Stick https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYYIxkYXDOY When Henry Caught Imaginitis by Nick Bland Weslandia by Paul Fleischman and Kevin Hawkes	Editing	Description, vocabulary	Sculpting	EN3-6B
Soar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUlaseGrkLc Journey by Aaron Bekker An Ordinary Day by Libby Gleeson and Armin Greder	Editing	Audience Foreshadowing	Reviewing clip, close reading/viewing	EN2-7B
Mr W. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mTLO2F_ERY Ollie and the Wind by Ronojoy Ghosh The Windy Farm by Doug MacLeod and Craig Smith	Planning and editing	Purpose and audience	Predicting and summarising content of clip	EN1-2A

Meeting History and English outcomes through the use of multimodal texts

When I'm choosing books as resources for lessons aimed at meeting both History and English outcomes and am guided by the general topics of family and family celebrations, and significance (Early Stage One and Stage One), local community celebrations and time passing (Stage One), broader community celebrations such as ANZAC day, continuity and change, early European settlement (Stage Two) and refugees, second fleet, effects of expanding settlement (Stage Three). While the History syllabus does cover a broader range of topics these are the topics most readily included as themes in picture books.
Following is a list of the online clips that can also be useful for studying language features, visual elements and text structures as they apply to the types of History texts students are expected to read/view and write/compose.
http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s3895053.htm
http://www.myplace.edu.au/teaching_activities/1878_-_before_time/1788/1/the_encounter.html http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s4412840.htm
http://splash.abc.net.au/home#!/media/1957482/first-fleet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsXmYHiuJ8s

http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2014/s4123299.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wel0ZDi-pU

http://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/11758659666/cameleers-the-afghan-cameleers

https://schoolsequella.det.nsw.edu.au/file/d0a38fab-ee7e-4ce8-975e-e7af0e5d7b23/1/13266/13266/5958/highlighter5958.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuRn2S7iPNU

https://museumvictoria.com.au/learning-federation/video-temp/culture-victoria-vids/the-caroline-chisholm-scrapbook/

Angles

Kress and Van Leeuwen classify the angle of images using cinematic terms, shot from above, shot from eye level and shot from below, to describe not only the way a scene or character is shown but also how the viewer is positioned.
Many picture book illustrators borrow from film techniques and playing around with angles to further position the viewer and create moods and emotions via their choices so that the viewer is seeing an image from a position that might seem unnatural. One example is the 'dutch tilt', an angle that shows the image as if the metaphoric camera is being held on the diagonal. In film making this technique is used to replicate the confused or dazed state of a character or situation and a similar effect can be achieved when it is used in illustrating.
The Watertower by Gary Crew and Steven Woolman is a mysterious tale that is illustrated using a variety of techniques not often seen in picture books. The tilted angle of several images compliments the written text to develop themes of confusion, mystery and the unknown. Here are two examples:

Have you noticed any other examples in the picture books you have read? How did the angle choice complement or add meaning to the written text?

Sample Visual Grammar Lesson

Here is a lesson plan for a demonstration lesson I taught recently. It was designed to show the Modelled, Guided, Independent lesson sequence to a group of teachers learning about teaching visual grammar using quality literature.

Year 2 demonstration lesson

The Nerdy Birdy by Danielle Wheeldon and David Snowden
Lesson Focus: How is the visual element of contact used along with the written text to engage the reader and help the reader to connect with the main character?	Outcome: EN1-4A draws on an increasing range of skills and strategies to fluently read, view and comprehend a range of texts on less familiar topics in different media and technologies Content descriptors: · use comprehension strategies to build literal and inferred meaning and begin to analyse texts by drawing on growing knowledge of context, language and visual features and print and multimodal text structures · identify visual representations of characters' actions, reactions, speech and thought processes in narratives, and consider how these images add to or contradict or multiply the meaning of accompanying words
Modelled	Explain Offer and Demand using poster. (Visual Grammar Poster Set)
Guided	Ask students to give an offer and a demand to a partner. Ask students to show how they might choose either an offer or demand to show they were worried, happy, excited, concerned.
During reading	Explain that the story we will read today uses this visual feature to show us how the character is feeling and to help us connect with and feel for the character. Read the story.
Guided	Classify examples of the illustrations of Ned as either Offer or Demand and speculate on how Ned feels at these parts of the story.
Independent	Match images of Ned to parts of the written text, in small groups. Conclude by sharing results of group work, explain the way both the image and words tell the story and drawing links between the use of offer and demand to help us connect with Ned.