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Prompt 8 - Picture Books on Social Media

After looking through Facebook unsuccessfully, I decided to try my luck on Instagram, to which their was much success. It was during my search where I found a staggering amount of images and illustrations, much alike my search on tumblr. However, this time I noticed, rather than the text which drew my attention it was in fact the images. As Instagram is an image based platform, I found it somewhat incredible as to the thousands of uploads where people are able to share their most treasured picture books. I found the images to be more illustrative and attention seeking, which caused me to continue scrolling for pages upon pages. There indeed remained a large variety of texts with different contexts and themes, demonstrating the endless possibility of a children’s book to explore never ending concepts and ideas. Re-iterating the importance of being creative and expressing yourself, no matter the outcome, because someone is always listening. I would consider this hashtag task as being very suitable and attainable for all learners, which not only allows them to be creative, but also allows them to familiarise themselves with new technologies and media, which will play a huge role in education and jobs in the future.

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Prompt 7 - Picture Books

The first thing noticed after searching for ‘picture books’ was the sheer variety and diversity of the results. One of the picture books that caught my eye was a book named ‘The Rough Faced Girl’ by Rafe Martin and David Shannon. At first glance it looked as though it depicted a young first nations girl from north America. It appealed to me directly as it reminded me so much of our own Indigenous Australians and the adversity they have overcome throughout their history. 

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Prompt 6 - Indigenous Video

I looked at the video ‘National Sorry Day’ which recognised the significant nature of the national apology to the stolen generations. This video is a great resource which can be used as a front loading activity for younger students to help them understand firstly; what happened to the indigenous community after European settlement and secondly; the governments recognition and acceptance of their prior wrong doings, and their attempt at reconciliation. This introduction not only gives students a stronger awareness of the issue involving the treatment Indigenous people, but of the need to confront prejudice and adversity in our society in general.

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1. I died that night, in the cold, hollow ditch. The silence of the night only broken by the call of a scavenger. Waiting in a transparent universe between the living and the dead. Without food, I have no strength and without strength there is no hope. 2. The world has turned a blind eye, with a single hand it gives and in a thousand hands it takes. The world has turned its back to the very eyes that cry. 3. As a front loading activity I would probe students with questions surrounding their prior knowledge or understanding the third world and the people who are so readily neglected. I would use their examples and contrast them between each lifestyle. A discussion would ensue about how our lives are so different, yet so similar and remind them of the importance of compassion and charity for others less fortunate.

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ECL310 Week 4 Classroom Displays

Throughout my school placements I have witnessed some really impressive classroom displays. Overall I think the ones that stood out to me the most were the more original creations some of the students had come up with on their own. The displays with the most unusual shapes, colours, writing, theme always grabbed my attention the most. I think when it comes to creating classroom displays there’s always going to be the usual, birthdays display for example, however I think the more impressive showcases are the ones which express each child’s interests or hobbies. This is where the children really thrive, in areas which they love, where they are free to express themselves and their interests without judgement. I think this is incredibly important, to establish such creative expression, especially in the younger years, as it helps give them a sense of identity and allows each child to be an individual and encourages them to celebrate and appreciate difference. Such a concept will go a long way in guiding a more supportive environment and shaping more inclusive and respectful young people. 

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ECL 310 Week 3 Multi-literacies

Throughout the past week I have read many pieces on the Olympics and how we should expect more from our athletes, considering the amount of money we put into developing such an organisation. I have been reading about these in papers, online on Facebook etc, news casts. I find the most interesting reads are those on online forums like Facebook and other social media sites, where people are free to post anything they feel about a particular topic. I find these personal opinion ‘pieces’ rather enjoyable, as they reveal a lot about a particular person without even knowing them. There’s the typical ‘keyboard warriors’ who simply go online to spread hate, then there’s the ‘do-gooders’ who always take the moral high ground on everything, and then there’s those who simply like to ‘stir the pot’ and create an argument simply for fun, which is often the most entertaining. I do find it very interesting how people have no sense of shame though, these days, when commenting online when all of their friends and family will be able to see it. It’s intriguing to see how this has become the new norm in society. Gone are the days when people debated with honour and respect, now its all about who can make the most noise. For me, this text type has lost all sense of meaning and I fear that in the future, we won’t be able to simply debate things with a sense of professionalism and mutual respect.

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Darren Groth’s novel ‘Are you seeing me?’ features quite an intriguing cover which creates a very dark and somewhat sinister depiction of what the book entails. The way in which the dark colours are used to make the cover seem dull, appear immediately to represent something bad or evil, and suggest that this book may be a thriller or horror genre of some kind. In the classroom setting such book covers can be used as a way of getting the students thinking and predicting about what the book might be about, based solely on their interpretations of the cover. The teacher might start the discussion by asking open ended questions like; Why does the author use such colours on the cover? What do you think the title might suggest? After a quick discussion, students are to create their own drawings or writings about what the characters might look like, what the story-line might be, why might the author use such colours and text? After this 10-15 minute activity, the students are to come together as a class, where selected students will get to share their ideas/predictions and explain their reasoning behind their theories. The students will then collectively vote on the most fascinating idea and a winner will be chosen. Then after reading the text, the student who was most accurate in their predictions will also be a winner and receive a reward.

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I distinctly remember many times throughout my primary and secondary schooling whereby we would read books as a class. My most vivid memories are those in primary school where my classmates and I would find a comfortable spot around the room while we sat ever so quietly, listening to the teacher as they used excitable voices and expressions to make the characters and dialogue seem so real. I can recall this immense feeling of calmness and comfort surround me as I lay silent listening to the teachers every word. It was rare moments like these during school that they stood out to me where the class would be completely silent and attentive. These moments gave us the ability to think deeply about the events happening in the book, it gave us the chance to imagine and day dream about what the books world might look like, how did we imagine each character would look?