DIGITAL LITERACY ... INANIMATE ALICE
Educative Purpose:
The intention of this unit of work is for students:
· To apply critical and creative literacy skills to deconstruct digital fiction texts as readers
· To analyse and establish author’s craft, purpose and formulas to write and create their own digital text.
· To reflect critically on their own role as readers and writers throughout this journey.
Specific language skills that the students developed as a result of this project:
· Awareness and use of correct tense
· Correct use of a range of punctuation
· Sentence structure (simple and complex)
· Use of dialogue conventions
· Figurative language
· Extended vocabulary – consideration of word choice / deliberate word choice
· Structure of texts – specifically narrative
· Importance of writing for an audience (reading your work as a reader)
· Creating images for the reader – through combination of words and visuals
· Writing descriptively
· Using author techniques
· Organisation of text
· Relevance vs irrelevance
· Revising your work through the lens of a reader not just as a writer
DIGITAL LITERACY ... INANIMATE ALICE
OUR GOALS:
· To model, identify and apply reading strategies (inferring, questioning, wondering) to make sense of both printed and digital texts
· To develop critical literacy skills to compare and contrast strategies used when reading and writing printed and digital text types
· To identify text structures and features comprehensively and transfer this into their own writing to create episode four.
· To identify author’s craft, style and techniques and apply to own writing of digital fiction
· To explore the production of multimodal texts
· To critically analyse and reflect on themselves as readers and writers of multimodal texts
To achieve these we are asking the students to:
· To read printed and digital text
· To reflect as readers and compare strategies applied when reading printed and digital texts
· To deconstruct digital and printed versions of text
· To analyse author’s craft, style, techniques and intent
· To identify a formula to follow for creating own text for episode four
· To create own episode of digital fiction
· To evaluate and reflect on own production of a digital text
· To evaluate and reflect on other’s production of digital texts.
Victorian Essential Learning Standards: (Level 4)
ENGLISHReading
· Students read, interpret and respond to texts in print and in multimodal formats. They analyse these texts and support interpretations with evidence drawn from the text.
· They describe how texts are constructed for particular purposes and audiences, and identify how sociocultural values, attitudes and beliefs are presented in texts.
· They analyse information, imagery, characterisation, dialogue, point of view, plot and setting.
Writing
· Students produce, in print and electronic forms, text using structures and features of language appropriate to the purpose, audience and context of the writing.
· They begin to use simple figurative language and visual images.
· They use a range of vocabulary, a variety of sentence structures, and use punctuation accurately, including apostrophes.
· They employ a variety of strategies for writing, including note-making, using models, planning, editing and proofreading.
Speaking and listening
· They identify opinions offered by others, propose other relevant viewpoints and extend ideas in a constructive manner. / THINKING
Reasoning, processing and inquiry
· They use the information they collect to develop concepts, solve problems or inform decision making.
· They develop reasoned arguments using supporting evidence.
Creativity
· Students use creative thinking strategies to generate imaginative solutions when solving problems.
· They demonstrate creativity in their thinking in a range of contexts and test the possibilities of concrete and abstract ideas generated by themselves and others.
Reflection, evaluation and metacognition
· Students use a broad range of thinking processes and tools, and reflect on and evaluate their effectiveness. They articulate their thinking processes. They document changes in their ideas and beliefs over time.
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
ICT for creating
· Students safely and independently use a range of skills, procedures, equipment and functions to produce accurate and suitably formatted products to suit different purposes and audiences.
· Students select and apply conventions and techniques that improve the appearance of the finished product.
· Students modify products on an ongoing basis in order to improve meaning and judge their products against agreed criteria.
INTERPERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
Building social relationships
· Students identify and use a variety of strategies to manage and resolve conflict.
Working in teams
· Students work effectively in different teams and take on a variety of roles to complete tasks of varying length and complexity.
· Students work cooperatively to allocate tasks and develop timelines.
· Students accept responsibility for their role and tasks.
· Students explain the benefits of working in a team.
· They provide feedback to others and evaluate their own and the team’s performance.
COMMUNICATION
Listening, viewing and responding
· Students ask clarifying questions about ideas and information they listen to and view. They develop interpretations of the content and provide reasons for them.
· Students describe the purpose of a range of communication strategies, including non-verbal strategies, and evaluate their effectiveness for different audiences.
Presenting
· Students identify the features of an effective presentation and adapt elements of their own presentations to reflect them.
· Using provided criteria, they evaluate the effectiveness of their own and others’ presentations. / PERSONAL LEARNING
The individual learner
· Students monitor and describe progress in their learning and demonstrate learning habits that address their individual needs.
· Students actively develop, monitor and refine protocols that create a positive learning environment in the classroom.
Managing personal learning
· Students develop and implement plans to complete short-term and long-term tasks within timeframes set by the teacher, utilising appropriate resources.
· Students undertake some set tasks independently, identifying stages for completion.
· Students describe task progress and achievements, suggesting how outcomes may have been improved.
· Students persist when experiencing difficulty with learning tasks. They seek and use learning support when needed from peers, teachers and other adults.
· They practise positive self talk. They demonstrate a positive attitude to learning within and outside the classroom.
SESSION PLAN (session length is 75 - 90 minutes)
Our students had knowledge of and had previously experienced:
· Accountable conversations
· Writing conversations
· Socratic circles / fishbowl observations
· Identifying, discussing and using strategies for effective reading such as questioning, wondering and inferring
· A working knowledge of Powerpoint (in varying degrees)
Explicit teaching point/sSession 1
Introducing Inanimate Alice Text (print version)
To model, identify and apply reading strategies (inferring, questioning, wondering) to make sense of both printed and digital texts / Modelling of questioning techniques – use thinkaloud to demonstrate questioning text. / · Discuss title Inanimate Alice – what do you think inanimate means? Are there parts of the word you recognise that can help you work out the meaning?
· Read first section of text together – model questions and wonderings and record these. (think aloud)
· Students work independently on rest of the text - allow time for discussion and sharing of ideas
· As a whole group record:
v student questions, wonderings
v inferences they are beginning to make (what evidence and background knowledge are they using)
Session 2
Introducing Inanimate Alice Digital Text
To develop critical literacy skills to compare and contrast strategies used when reading and writing printed and digital text types / As a reader – how did you read the texts? Did you read each text differently? / · Watch Inanimate Alice (episode 1) – use data projector to enable watching as a class.
· Students given the opportunity to independently watch episode one. Purpose for watching again is to compare and contrast the two texts (print and electronic) from the reader’s point of view. (use T chart or other method to record ideas)
· Students to reflect on the strategies they used as readers to make sense of both texts.
· Accountable discussion in small groups on strategies they used – how the strategies helped them to make sense of the text
Session 3
What makes a narrative text?
To identify text structures and features comprehensively and transfer this into their own writing to create episode four / Explicit teaching of accountable discussion strategies
· Listening actively
· Building on to ideas
· Providing evidence
· Discussion of ideas / · Review as a class what we mean by accountable discussion – what this looks like.
· Accountable discussion in small groups – What is a narrative text? What is digital fiction? How is a digital text different from a print text? What elements do they have in common? (writer’s point of view)
· Watching Episode 2 as a group – does it fit our defined elements of a narrative
Session 4
Inferring
To model, identify and apply reading strategies (inferring, questioning, wondering) to make sense of both printed and digital texts / Model using the text to confirm, extend, question ideas.
Discussion on the difference between known and inferred information. / · Independently re- watch episodes 1 & 2 – for the purpose of gathering information to answer the questions:
§ What do we know about Alice?
§ What don’t we know about Alice?
§ What do we infer?
§
Using what is known from Episodes 1 & 2 to predict episode 3:
· what the text will look like (structure)
· Features of the text
· Story line
Session 5
Viewing of episode 3
To identify author’s craft, style and techniques and apply to own writing of digital fiction / Analyse author’s craft, techniques, style and intent
Analyse how a text evolves and changes / Watching episode 3 independently ... discussion on what it means to view this episode “as an author”
Students work in groups to discuss a specific focus (critical literacy elements ) and present responses back to class
· Text structure (What is similar about the way the text is structured across all three episodes?)
· Changes (What differences are there in three texts? Can you identify any patterns in these differences?)
· Storyline (What elements/themes can you identify that are common to all three episodes?)
· Author’s craft (What techniques and strategies has the author used to create this text?)
Session 6
If we were writers .....
To identify author’s craft, style and techniques and apply to own writing of digital fiction
To explore the production of multimodal texts / Identification of text structures and features that impact on them as writers
Identification of visual elements that impact on them as creators / Decision making re working partners - discuss what is involved in working together and factors that should be considered when making choices about who to work with (this has been discussed previously and students were aware that they had to make final decisions in this session)
Viewing Episode 3 as a group – focus on visual and structural elements
Working partnerships discuss ...
· What do you know about how the text is structured? How will this impact on the decisions you make as a writer?
· What do you know about the visuals? How will this impact on the decisions you make as a creator?
Share and record responses as a whole group
Working partners - Begin brainstorming options for Episode four – using knowledge of story and text structure.
Session 7 -8
Being writers ...
To identify text structures and features comprehensively and transfer this into their own writing to create episode four
To identify author’s craft, style and techniques and apply to own writing of digital fiction / Where does episode four fit into a sequence of episodes? Can we justify the choices we have made as writers?
What makes a good narrative – What makes a good digital narrative?
Use of these discussion points to construct an assessment rubric / Students focus on writing episode four – at this stage important that focus is on writing the actual text rather than creation of the digital episode.
Have available as reference points
· text versions of previous episodes
· charts and posters that have been created
Conferencing with writing partnerships – questioning and discussion focus on decisions made as writers not on content or storyline eg:
· Accountability of decisions made as writers
· Accountability of thinking in relation to episodes 1,2 &3
Session 9
Making our text digital
To critically analyse and reflect on themselves as readers and writers of multimodal texts
To explore the production of multimodal texts / What I noticed when I read your texts .... discussion on expectations for review and editing / Students given time to critically analyse own written version of text and begin to consider questions such as ... in preparation for creation of digital version
· How will we transfer this to a digital text?
· What will make it the best ... from a writer’s/creator’s point of view (use of suggestions to develop rubric for creation of digital texts)
· What do we know from previous episodes that we can use?
Session 10 - 13
Creation of Episode 4 as a digital text
To explore the production of multimodal texts
To critically analyse and reflect on themselves as readers and writers of multimodal texts / · Expectations of writer’s conferences – being prepared
· What is an accountable conversation?
· Modelling of and participating in group conversations about our choices as writers / During these sessions the students spent most of their time on creation of their digital fiction, though we did include the following tasks/teaching points at various stages.
Referring back to writing/creating rubrics
· Sharing with whole class what I noticed when I looked at their work
· Conferencing with teams – what decisions have you made as writers? These conferences were both student and teacher initiated
· Problems and solutions sessions – time spent sharing problems and solutions to problems encountered when creating digital versions
· Socratic circle (Fishbowl) – of a student driven group writer’s conference; time spent before this exploring what it means to have writing conversations.
· Group writer’s conferences
We also maintained a very strong focus on supporting the students to review their work at this stage as “readers” rather than “writers”. We wanted them review their work from the reader’s perspective ... imagine this is the first time you are seeing /reading this .
Session 14
Peer Review of our work so far
To critically analyse and reflect on themselves as readers and writers of multimodal texts / How do I critically analyse mine and my peers’ work? / Share examples of work completed so far – students complete a PMI as an overall evaluation of their observations.
· What are the positives I noticed? What are the negatives? What was interesting?
Use these comments as a lens for viewing /analysing their own work over the next few sessions as they complete their finished product. Students develop a list of tasks they need to follow up as they move towards completion
Session 15 - 16
Final editing and review
To explore the production of multimodal texts
To critically analyse and reflect on themselves as readers and writers of multimodal texts / From the PMI that you completed last session – what decisions will you need to make as a creator as you complete your finished piece? / Students given time to complete finished version of Inanimate Alice Episode 4 and follow up on tasks / areas they indentified that needed work.
Session 17
Celebrate and Share / This session was purely an opportunity to share and celebrate our great work
Students worked in teams of six (three pairs) to review and evaluate three completed episodes – using the rubrics we had created as a guide for their evaluation. The groups completed a written comment on each one using a method of their own choosing such as a PMI.
They were asked to select one episode from the three they reviewed for sharing with the class.
Session 18...
Reflection and Evaluation / To critically analyse and reflect on themselves as readers and writers of multimodal texts / Students were given specific criteria to complete a self assessment task
· What you learnt from working with your partner?
· How you have developed as a writer (what are you doing better now than you were before / what are you doing now that you didn’t do before?)
· What have you learnt about yourself as a reader?
· What you gained personally from completing this task?
· Recommendations to Kate and I for next time we undertake this project with a group of students.
The format of their work was entirely up to them.
ASSESSMENT