Finalised Module A Contemporary Possibilities Booklet PDF

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MODULE A: CONTEMPORARY POSSIBILITIES YEAR 11 STANDARD ENGLISH

The rubric: In this module, students extend their knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the ways that different communication technologies shape the ways that we read, navigate, understand and respond to digital, multimedia, multimodal and nonlinear texts. They develop understanding of the creative possibilities made available through these rapidly evolving technologies in the ways we communicate and represent ideas and experiences. Students engage in a detailed study of one complex multimodal or digital text for example film, media or interactive narratives. To support their study, students also explore a range of texts that typically use contemporary technologies such as film, television, online news services and specific social media platforms. They apply their understanding of the nature, scope and ethical use of digital technology in their own responding and composing. Students develop a deeper appreciation and understanding of the power of communication technologies to reach a broad audience for a range of purposes and the significance of this mode of communication in a global world. Through a close study of the selected texts students appreciate the active roles of both composer (author, poet, playwright, director, designer and so on) and responder (reader, listener, viewer, an audience and so on) in controlling and choosing the reading pathways through texts. They analyse and interpret the ways composers use and manipulate a variety of aural, language and visual devices to shape our understanding of what we listen to, read or view and may explore notions of hybridity and intertextuality. Through their responding and composing students gain increasing confidence in experimenting with a range of language and visual forms and features to individually or collaboratively design and create their own multimodal or digital texts to communicate and represent their ideas; understanding the importance of creating a responsible digital footprint. Through viewing, listening or reading students analyse and assess the text’s specific features and form. They express their knowledge and understanding, clearly and concisely, using appropriate register,

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structure and modality. They independently and collaboratively plan, draft, appraise and refine their own responses to texts applying the conventions appropriate to form of syntax, spelling and grammar.

Resource 1 - Unpacking and understanding the rubric Activity 1 – the rubric This activity will require you to highlight 5 sentences within the rubric that are the most important. Once you have highlighted these, pick the key words within those lines and enter them below.

Sentence 1: …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………

Sentence 2: …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………..

Sentence 3: …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………

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Sentence 4: …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………..

Sentence 5: …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………..

Resource 2 : Word bank Your task is to find all of the words within the rubric that you are not familiar with, write them in your word bank and search for them in the dictionary. Ensure that you understand the meaning, and once you have it, go back to the rubric and read it again with the definition. Word

Definition

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Resource 3 – creating questions from the rubric Now you have clarified the definitions of the words within the rubric, create a set of questions based on the rubric. An example has been provided below. Rubric sentence: “They analyse and interpret the ways composers use and manipulate a variety of aural, language and visual devices to shape our understanding of what we listen to, read or view and may explore notions of hybridity and intertextuality.” Question: “The module Contemporary possibilities illustrates the way that texts can be delivered in a variety of different modes and mediums and this can impact on the meaning gained by the responder, to what extent is this true within your text set for study?”

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Rubric sentence: ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ............................................... Question: ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ........................................ ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ........................................ Rubric sentence: ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

Question: ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... Rubric sentence: ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

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Question: ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

Rubric sentence: ................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

Question: ................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................

Resource 4: Understanding ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ of Digital Technologies. You are to access the interactive website “The Seven Deadly Digital Sins” here http://sins.nfb.ca/ “It has been 25 years since the invention of the world wide web and more than 2 billion people are now connected. How does this information revolution affect us personally, socially and morally? Jon Ronson, Bill Bailey, Billy Bragg, Josie Long and others reveal their sinful online behaviour. Find out what pride, lust, greed, gluttony, envy, wrath and sloth mean in the digital world — and cast judgment on the guilty. Will you absolve or condemn them?” After viewing the website, answer the following questions: Identify and explain the original seven deadly sins: …………………………………………………………………………………… 7

…………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Pair each original sin with a modern media platform (eg facebook) and explain the connection: …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Account for your own online footprint, how active are you online? Where can your ‘foot print’ be found? …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………… What is the benefit of having digital technology? What opportunities does it open up for people? …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………

Task Now you have accessed the website, go back to the rubric and identify the areas of the rubric that this website taught us about, and explain what it taught you. An example has been provided for you:  They develop understanding of the creative possibilities made available through these rapidly evolving technologies in the ways we communicate and represent ideas and experiences.

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

Resource 5: Text, Author, Context, Responder pyramid Section II - Who controls the construction of meaning in a text?

The text

Author

responder

Context

Resource 6: definitions for clarification Activity: Define the following terms: Author: …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… 9

Text: …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Responder: …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Context: …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… When looking at these definitions, it is clear that there is a distinctive relationship between author, text, responder and context when reading a text. All of these elements work together in their own individual way to communicate a message as well as allowing for the possibility of the work being interpreted in many different ways, depending on the personal context of each reader. UNDERSTANDING TEXTUAL ‘AUTHORITY’ WHAT IS IT? ‘Authority’ refers to the role of the composer and responder and the degree to which these are privileged in making meaning. It is used and implied in the English syllabus in two different senses: authority over a text (‘author intent’) and the authority of the text.

The first sense, authority over a text, refers to who (including the student author) controls meaning in its composition and responses to it. However, authority is different from traditional notions of authorship or ‘the author’. The author of a text is not so much a person as a function that we assign to a text, producing one possible context for interpretation.

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Authority also needs to take into account that many texts are collaborative efforts with contributions of teams of people who influence the final product – the writers, editors, illustrators, researchers, musicians, producers, curators, technicians and publishers - whose ideas and technical needs shape the work. A further level of authority resides with the institution that commissions and accredits the text, often shaping the message to its institutional requirements. The digital world allows for distributed authority through the joint construction of knowledge and opinion, for example Wikipedia, trending on Twitter, Likes in Facebook and the number of views on Youtube. Authority also needs to acknowledge the role of the responder who brings his or her own ideas and experiences to bear on its meaning and who may accept or reject premises of the text. In this way, authority is always in a state of negotiation between composer(s) and responders. In its second sense, authority of a text, it refers to how trustworthy the text appears to be, to what extent it can be taken as an authority on its subject matter. The authority of a text is often determined by its appropriate style, its reference to accepted experts and its context of publication. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? Understanding how authority operates leads students to become constructive and critical thinkers in the ways they make meaning in and through texts. Authority begins with the authority of the classroom where texts are explored and negotiated according to a set of expectations, conventions and processes. Accepting that authority does not wholly reside with an author figure invites students to investigate the many personal, cultural, institutional and technical influences that shape meaning, so providing avenues through which meaning may be questioned and made with some accuracy. Knowing how to test the authority of a text and the reliability of its content enables students to make judgments about its validity and truth.

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Resource 7: Comprehension questions ‘Textual Authority’ 1.) Who controls the construction of meaning created in a text? 2.) Who creates meaning in a text? 3.) How do composers create meaning in multi modal digital texts? Is this meaning different to the meaning conveyed in traditional narrative forms e.g. novels? 4.) With a partner and discuss a text that you participated in this meaning making process memorably. Upload your responses to Nearpod.

LENSES AND 12

OUR PERSONAL ENGAGEMENT WITH TEXTS

“Critical literacy is like a pair of eyeglasses that allows one to see beyond the familiar and comfortable: it is an understanding that language practices and texts are always informed by ideological beliefs and perspectives whether conscious or otherwise”

SOCIAL

CULTURAL

HISTORICAL

PERSONAL

As readers, we view the world through a variety of different lenses, this also applies to WHAT we read and the way we INTERPRET texts. As responders we view texts through the following kinds of lenses: Critical Theories (or “Lenses”) and active, strong readers have no special talent. Instead, they are people who have chosen—and reinforce the word chosen—to become active readers instead of passive readers. 13

A passive reader “hears” the text but does not really listen. The passive reader demands nothing of the text, asks it no questions. The passive reader gains nothing but boredom from the text. The active reader, on the other hand, carries on an interesting, enriching conversation with the text he or she is reading. The questions we ask the text are the most important part of the conversation. Our questions make the text to talk to us, to our experience, to what we want or need to learn. The right questions bring any text alive. Where do the questions come from? They come from our experience and knowledge. In a general sense, our lenses are the sets of questions we ask when we read a text. It is important that you understand that every study of literature involves reading through a set of critical lenses—and those lenses take many forms that are not quotations. A critical lens can be a psychological theory, a religious belief, a personal experience, and much more. As we look through different lenses, we use different sets of questions to interrogate the text.

THE DIFFERENT LENSES HISTORICAL: Reading a text for its contextual significance. This would include information about the author, his or her historical moment, or the systems of meaning available at the time of writing. 1. Research the author’s life and relate the information to the text. Why did the author write it? What is the author’s worldview? 2. If the author is writing on a debatable issue does he or she give proper consideration to all sides of the debate? Does he or she seem to have a bias? 14

3. Research the author’s time (political history, intellectual history, economic history, etc.) and relate this information to the work. 4. Upon reading the text, how has your view on the given historical event changed? PERSONAL: Reading a text for personal meaning Questions and Strategies: 1. In what ways is the text familiar to your life? Think of events in the story, the types of characters, or the setting… Can you relate to it on a personal level? 2. In what ways is the text different than your life? 3. How did the text affect you? 4. How has the text increased your interest in the subject matter? 5. How has the text changed your worldview? CULTURAL: This lens allows us to look at issues, conflicts and questions that arise in a text that relate to the ethnicities,races,and cultures. This can be in relation to the characters in a text, as well as our own cultural experiences and the ways this influences our views. It is particularly important to consider these issues when characters in the text come from different ethnic, racial and cultural backgrounds. This can often cause confusion,conflict, or meaningful interactions.It is also important to consider and reflect when stereotypes or prejudice results because of these differences.

1. How does the race, ethnicity, religion, or culture of the author influence his or her perspective on society? 2. How does the text convey the identities of people of different races, ethnicities, religions, or cultures?

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3. How does the text comment on issues of race, ethnicity, religion, culture, or other identities? 4. How does the text affirm or reject racism, discrimination, bias, and/or stereotypes? SOCIAL: The social lense revolves around understanding (or placing) literature in its larger social context; it classifies the literary strategies that are employed to represent social constructs through a sociological methodology. Sociological criticism analyses both how the ‘social’ functions in literature, and how literature works within society. This form of literary criticism was introduced by Kenneth Burke, a 20th-century literary and critical theorist, whose article "Literature As Equipment for Living" outlines the specification and significance of such a critique and lens

RESOURCE 8 – ANALYSIS OF ‘IMAGINE’ Task: Students are to analyse the lyrics from John Lennon’s song Imagine. Students are to listen to the song whilst following on with the lyrics.

Imagine there's no heaven It's easy if you try 16

No hell below us Above us only sky Imagine all the people Living for today... Aha-ah... Imagine there's no countries It isn't hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion, too Imagine all the people Living life in peace... You...

You may say I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will be as one Imagine no possessions I wonder if you can No need for greed or hunger A brotherhood of man Imagine all the people Sharing all the world... You... You may say I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will live as one.

The song “Imagine” was the most successful single of John Lennon’s career. The song is acclaimed as one of the gre...