ASLA XXIII Biennial Conference - Jenni Connor - Jenni discusses shifts in the Australian Curriculum: English learning area and the implications for teacher and student knowledge. Jenni will use quality literature to investigate the Literature strand of the curriculum for students at primary level and invite librarians to consider their role in enhancing student learning outcomes.

1. ASLA XX111 Biennial
Conference 2013
Literature and the Australian Curriculum: English
Jenni Connor

2. Theory bases behind the curriculum
Cultural heritage tradition – ‘aesthetic and
cultural value’;‘enduring artistic merit’
Reader response tradition – ‘expanding the
scope of experience’; insights into own
thoughts & feelings & those of others
Structuralist tradition – ‘close and detailed
analysis of literary works’
Critical literacy perspectives – Literature
and its context of creation & reception;
evaluating the merit of the work & the
ideology of its creator/s.
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 2

3. English: Rationale
Study of English ‘helps to create confident
communicators, imaginative thinkers and
informed citizens’
English ‘also helps students to engage
imaginatively and creatively with literature to
expand the scope of their experience’
The English curriculum ‘respects and explores the
contribution of Aboriginal andTorres Strait
Islander peoples to contemporary literature and
literary heritage’
It explores and emphasises Australia’s links to
Asia.
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 3

4. English curriculum
Aims to help students to:
Engage with an increasingly complex and
sophisticated range of texts
Appreciate, enjoy and use the English
language and develop a sense of its power to
evoke feelings, convey information, form
ideas and facilitate interaction
Understand how SAE works in its spoken
and written forms
Develop skills in inquiring into the aesthetic
aspects of texts and develop an informed
appreciation of literature.
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 4

5. The English Curriculum Strands:
Language – knowing about the English
language
Literature – understanding, appreciating,
responding to, analysing and creating
literature
Literacy – developing an expanding
repertoire of English usage
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 5

6. The three strands interconnect
Language – knowledge of how the English
language works contributes to capacity to
engage with Literature and Literacy
Literature – appreciating, responding,
analysing and creating builds students’
understanding about how language can be
crafted
Literacy – interpreting and creating texts
applies knowledge from the above strands
to school and everyday purposes.
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 6

7. ‘Literature’ in the English curriculum
encompasses
‘Past and present texts across a range of
cultural contexts that are valued for their
form and style’
Narrative texts with ‘personal, social, cultural
and aesthetic value and potential for
enriching students’ scope of experience’
High quality Information or ‘cross-genre’
books
Texts that ‘engage students in examining,
evaluating and discussing in increasingly
sophisticated and informed “literary” ways’.
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 7

8. Literature sub-strands:
Literature and context
Responding to literature
Examining literature
Creating literature
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 8

9. Tracking expectations through the primary
years :
The literature strand of the curriculum expects:
Students to move from simple/complex; familiar/unfamiliar;
recognise & understand some/most/many;
describe/explain/analyse/provide evidence
From literal, to non-literal interpretation, including implied
meanings
Increasingly sophisticated response from ‘personal
preferences’/listen to the opinions of others/reflect on own
opinions/challenge opinions of others
From ‘identify & describe’ how an author achieves their
effects’ to ‘critique & compare’& justify interpretations from
the text.
(All Year Level descriptions in this talk relate to the Literature
Strand.)
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 9

10. Foundation Content Description
Literature & context – Recognise that texts are
created by authors who share experiences that may
be similar to students’ own experiences
Responding – Respond to texts, identifying favourite
stories, authors and illustrators; share feelings &
thoughts about characters and events
Examining – Identify some features and retell events
- Identify some characteristic features e.g. beginnings &
endings and patterns of traditional tales and rhyme in
poetry
- - Replicate the rhythms and sound patterns in stories,
rhymes, songs and poems
Creating - Retell familiar stories through
performance, illustration and images (e.g. using ICT).
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 10

11. Foundation -Year level emphases
Engage with a variety of texts for enjoyment
Listen, read and view texts in which the primary
purpose is to entertain...& some designed to inform
Texts encompass traditional oral texts, picture
books, rhyming verse, non-fiction, film and
multimodal texts
Literary texts ‘support and extend Foundation
students as beginner readers’ with high levels of
predictability
Texts selected use a small range of language
features, familiar vocabulary and illustrations that
strongly support the word text.
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 11

12. FoundationYear Achievement Standard - By
the end of the year:
Students use predicting and questioning
strategies to make meaning of texts
Recall one or two events from texts with
familiar topics
Understand that there are different types
of texts and that these have related
characteristics
Identify connections between texts and
their own experience.
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 12

13. Year 1 Content description
Context – discuss how authors create
characters using language and images
Responding – discuss characters & events,
make personal connections, express
opinions & listen to opinions of others
Examining – discuss features of plot,
character and setting, explore those in
different texts
Creating – recreate texts imaginatively.
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 13

14. Year 1 –Year level emphases
Engage in a variety of texts for enjoyment
Listen, read, view and interpret spoken, written &
multimodal texts designed to entertain & inform
Encompass traditional oral texts including
Aboriginal stories, picture books, verse, non-
fiction, film, drama
Literary texts are chosen – with straightforward
sequences & recognisable realistic or imaginary
characters
Texts selected use a small range of language
features, some unfamiliar vocab & high frequency
words that may need to be decoded phonically
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 14

15. Year 1 Achievement standard – By the end
of Year 1:
Students listen to, read and view texts,
recognising different purposes; use knowledge
of text structure, letters, words, sentences &
directionality to read short texts
Retell the main ideas in logical sequence
Understand literal & some inferred meanings
Accurately recall some key ideas
Display sustained interest in longer texts
listened to and viewed.
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 15

16. Year 2 Content description
Context – Discuss how depictions of characters
reflect the contexts in which they were created
Responding - Compare opinions about characters,
events and settings within and between texts
- Identify aspects of texts that entertain & give
reasons for personal preferences
- Examining – Discuss characters & settings &
explore how language is used to present them in
different ways
- Experiment with sound and word patterns in
poems, chants, rhymes & songs’
Creating – events & characters using different
media that develop on key events and characters.
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 16

17. Year 2 –Year level emphases
Engage with a variety of texts for enjoyment
Listen to, read, view & interpret spoken, written &
multimodal texts designed to entertain, inform or persuade
Encompass traditional oral texts, picture books, print & digital
stories, simple chapter books, verse, drama & texts used as
models for constructing their own work
Texts selected support & extend students as independent readers
& involve a sequence of events that span several pages & present
unusual happenings within a framework of familiar experiences
Texts use language features such as varied sentence structures,
some unfamiliar vocab, a number of words that need to be
decoded phonetically, a range of punctuation conventions &
illustrations & diagrams that support & extend the printed text.
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 17

18. Year 2 Achievement standard – By the end
of Year 2:
Students understand how similar texts
share characteristics & (begin to)identify
text structures & language features used to
describe characters, events & settings
Identify literal & implied meaning
Explain their preferences for texts &
aspects of texts using other texts as
comparisons
Create texts showing how images support
the meaning of a text.
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 18

19. Year 3 Content description
Context – discuss texts in which characters,
events & settings are portrayed in different ways
& speculate on authors’ reasons
Responding – draw connections between personal
experiences & the worlds of texts & share responses
Examining – discuss how language is used to
describe settings & explore how settings shape events
& influence the mood of the narrative; discuss some
language devices that shape reader reaction
Creating – create imaginative texts using visual
features, e.g. perspective, distance & angle.
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 19

20. Year 3 -Year level emphases
Engage with a variety of texts for enjoyment
Listen to, read, view & interpret texts whose primary
purpose is to entertain, as well as texts designed to inform and
persuade
Encompass traditional oral texts, picture books, print & digital
texts, simple chapter books, poetry, non-fiction film
Literary texts – which describe complex sequences of events &
involve unusual happenings within a framework of familiar
experiences
Informative texts present new topics being studied in other areas
of the curriculum
These texts use complex language features, including varied
sentence structures, some unfamiliar vocab, a significant number
of high frequency sight words and words that need to be decoded
phonically & a range of punctuation conventions, illustrations &
diagrams (a big move fromYear 2 into info texts).
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 20

21. Year 3 Achievement standard – By the end
of Year 3:
Students listen to, read & view texts, identifying
their different purposes; use self-correcting strategies
to clarify meaning...with an increasing range of text
types
Retrieve literal information & can make
appropriate inferences
Explain ideas, events & actions, referring closely to
selected detail
Recognise the representation of characters, settings
& events & start to evaluate point of view
Make relevant connections between visual &
written elements in multimodal texts.
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 21

22. Year 4 Content description
Context - make connections between the ways different
authors present similar storylines, ideas & relationships (inter-
text comparisons)
Responding – discuss literary experiences with others,
sharing responses & expressing a point of view
- use metalanguage to describe the effects of ideas, text
structures & language features of literary texts
Examining – Discuss how authors & illustrators make stories
exciting, moving & absorbing & hold readers’ interest –e.g.
through character development & plot tension
- understand, interpret & experiment with devices & word play
e.g. spoonerisms, puns etc.
Creating – texts that explore students’ own experiences &
imagining, developing storylines, characters & settings.
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 22

23. Year 4 -Year level emphases
Listen to, read, view & interpret ...texts in which the primary purpose is
aesthetic, as well as texts designed to inform & persuade (no change)
Encompass traditional tales, picture books, chapter books, verse, non-
fiction, drama & those used as models for own creation (no change from
Year 3)
Australian literature, from the traditions of ATSI & classic & contemporary
world literature, including texts from & about Asia (no change)
Literature that assumes students are independent readers & which
describe ‘complex series of events & involve unusual happenings’ (no
change)
Informative texts that use complex language features, some unfamiliar
vocabulary, a variety of punctuation conventions & illustrations & diagrams
that support & extend the printed text (no change)
Students create imaginative, informative & persuasive types of texts
including narratives, procedures, performances, reports, reviews, poetry &
expositions (an expanding range of forms).
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 23

24. Year 4 Achievement standard – By the end
of Year 4:
Students understand that texts have different
structures depending on purpose and
audience
Explain how language features, images &
vocabulary are used to engage audiences
Describe literal & implied meaning
connecting ideas in different texts
Express preferences & respond to others’
viewpoints
Create texts that show how images & detail
can be used to extend key ideas.
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 24

25. Year 5 Content description
Context – Identify aspects of literary texts that convey details about social,
cultural and historical contexts
Responding – present a point of view about particular literary texts using
appropriate metalanguage and reflecting on the viewpoints of others
Use metalanguage to describe the effects of ideas, text structures & language
features on particular audiences
Examining – Recognise that ideas in literary texts can be conveyed from
different viewpoints, which can lead to different kinds of interpretations and
responses
Understand, interpret and experiment with sound devices and imagery,
including simile, metaphor and personification in narratives, shape poetry,
songs, anthems and odes
Create literary texts using realistic and fantasy settings and characters that
draw on the worlds represented in texts students have experienced
Create literary texts that experiment with structures, ideas and stylistic
features of selected authors.
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 25

26. Year 5-Year level emphases
Listen to, read, view, interpret and evaluate texts in which the primary
purpose is aesthetic, as well as texts designed to inform & persuade,
including media texts e.g. Newspapers, film and digital texts, junior and early
adolescent novels, poetry, non-fiction and drama
Text encompass Australian literature, including the oral narrative traditions
of Aboriginal andTorres Strait Islander peoples, as well as classic and
contemporary world literature, including texts from and about Asia
Literature that assumes students are independent readers & which
describe complex sequences, a range of non-stereotypical characters and
elaborated events, including flashbacks and shifts in time
Informative texts supply technical and content information about a wide
range of topics and with text structures and language features calling for
student navigation of unfamiliar technical vocabulary, figurative language and
information presented in various types of graphics
Students create imaginative, informative & persuasive types of texts
including narratives, procedures, performances, reports, reviews, explanations and
discussions (an expanding range of forms).
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 26

27. Year 5 Achievement standard – By the end
of Year 5:
Students explain how text structures assist in understanding
the text & how language features, images and vocabulary
influence interpretations of characters, settings and events
Analyse and explain literal and implied information and
describe how events, characters and settings are depicted.
They explain their own responses to them
Develop and explain a point of view about a text, selecting ideas,
information and images from a range of sources
Create a variety of sequenced texts for different purposes
and audiences. Make presentations and contribute actively to
discussions, taking into account other perspectives.
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 27

28. Year 6 –Year level emphases
Context – make connections between own experiences &
those of characters & events drawn from different historical,
social & cultural contexts
Responding - analyse & evaluate similarities & differences in
texts on similar topics, themes or plots
- explain how choices in language modality, emphasis, repetition &
metaphor influence personal response
Examining – Identify, describe & discuss similarities &
differences between texts & evaluate characteristics that define
an author’s individual style
- Identify the relationship between words, sounds, imagery &
language patterns in narratives & poetry
Create literary texts in innovative ways, for example using
imagery ....
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 28

29. Year 6 Achievement Standard – By the end
of Year 6:
Students analyse and explain how language features,
images and vocabulary are used by different authors
to represent ideas, characters and events.
Compare and analyse information in different texts,
explaining literal and implied meaning.
Select and use evidence from a text to explain their
response to it.
Listen to discussions, clarifying content and
challenging others’ ideas.
Show how specific details can be used to support a
point of view.
Create detailed texts, elaborating on key ideas for a
range of purposes and audiences.
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 29

30. In summary the curriculum expects:
Students to move from simple/complex;
familiar/unfamiliar; recognise & understand
‘some’/most/many; describe/explain/analyse/evidence
From literal, to non-literal interpretation, including
implied meanings
Increasingly sophisticated from ‘personal
preferences’/listen to the opinions of others/reflect
on own opinions
From ‘identify & describe’ how an author achieves
their effects’ to ‘critique & compare’& ‘justify’
interpretations from the text
From ‘create’ to ‘combine multimodal features in
innovative ways’.
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 30

31. Our role in enhancing student learning in
English:
Know the texts and how to access them
Understand the literary qualities and
challenges in particular texts
Know students, what they bring and what
they need to know
Know the General Capabilities, the
Cross-curriculum priorities and see
connections between areas of the
curriculum.
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 31

32. General capabilities & English:
Literacy – applying knowledge and skills to
everyday purposes across the curriculum
ICT – Using ICTs to investigate & create around
literary texts
Critical and creative thinking – heightened
through literary analysis and creation
Personal and social capability – learning to
understand themselves and others
Ethical behaviour – through a study of the issues
and dilemmas present in texts
Intercultural understanding – dealing with texts
from diverse cultural perspectives & questioning
cultural beliefs, assumptions and stereotypes.
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 32

33. Cross-curriculum priorities
Students develop an appreciation of the
literature of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples & respectful critical
understandings of the social, historical and
cultural contexts associated with the use of
language and textual features
Appreciate the range of traditional and
contemporary texts about the peoples and
countries of Asia
Interrogate a range of texts to shape their
own decision-making in relation to
sustainability issues and actions.
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 33

34. A trial run:
What is this book about?
How do you feel about it? (responding)
Do you know any similar texts or ones on similar
themes? (connecting)
Which features strike you as interesting? (examining)
Can you describe any similarities and differences?
(comparing)
How would you evaluate the effectiveness of the
author/illustrator’s choices in words, imagery, images?
(critical analysis)
What ‘mark out of ten’ would you give this book &
why? (criteria for evaluation)
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 34

35. Looking at books with these
expectations in mind:
Who is this for?
What would you do with it?
What would you draw attention to at different year
levels?
How would you mediate the experience of the text?
How would this text contribute to student learning in
English? - How does this book contribute to learning
in the Literature strand?
In the Language strand?
In the Literacy strand?
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 35

36. Looking at books:
How might this text contribute to learning
in the General capabilities?
How might you ‘use’ the book to develop
those capabilities?
How might this text contribute to Cross-
curriculum priorities?
How does it connect between areas of the
curriculum?
How might you use it to develop
understandings & sensibilities for English and
for life?
Jenni Connor ASLA Sept 2013 36