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Especially
for Teachers - Teaching English
Elements of an English Program
Sharing Texts
Why
do we share texts?
How do we share texts?
What text do we share?
Sharing narrative fiction
Reading aloud
Before reading
During reading
After reading
Sharing poetry
Sharing picture books and other visual texts
Guided Reading at Lindisfarne North
Useful
references
Why
do we share texts?
Teachers
share texts with students for lots of reasons. One important reason is
to expose students to texts they might not otherwise encounter.
In early
childhood classrooms, teachers use shared texts when they teach students
to read. This often involves the teacher and students in reading and re-reading
from a large print text and focuses on making meaning from print. It enables
the teacher to model reading and focus on language and text structure.
It also helps students to enjoy reading together within a supportive learning
community.
When students
share texts, they:
- learn
ways of interacting with texts and the pleasure that can be derived
from this
- develop
a bank of common experiences and understandings, including a language
to talk about texts
- discuss
important ideas, issues and events
- learn
how language, structures and style contribute to meaning
- develop
understanding of the beliefs, values and experiences of others
- learn
that texts have multiple meanings
- examine
the ideologies of texts and consider the way they as readers and viewers
are constructed, positioned and manipulated
- reflect
on their own values and experience and consider alternative positions
How
do we share texts?
In the past,
the whole class novel was a regular part of the English classroom. In
contemporary classrooms, this is no longer the norm. More often, teachers
use shorter texts or text extracts when working with the whole class.
Many teachers prefer to have students working in cooperative
learning groups when they share texts - a book
discussion group is an example of this (Hancock and Leaver, 1994).
This enables students to take on more responsibility for their learning
and allows the teacher more flexibility in organising activities to meet
the needs of all students. Hill and O’Loughlin (1995) describe the
features of a cooperative literature curriculum in Book Talk: Collaborative
Responses to Literature. They discuss how cooperative structures
develop a range of talk genres, promote social interaction and extend
problem solving and critical thinking skills. In whatever ways texts are
shared, the teacher has a crucial role to play in leading and supporting
learning.
What
texts do we Share?
In the past,
texts for sharing usually included classic and contemporary novels, short
stories, plays, films and poems. More recently, teachers have begun to
include the full range of literature,
mass media and everyday
texts, including written, visual and spoken texts. In contemporary
English classrooms, texts for sharing include speeches, television drama,
comedy, serials and video clips, cartoons and comics, song lyrics, advertising,
journalism, notices and brochures as well as students’ own poems,
stories and plays. The English statement has
a more detailed list of texts suitable for study.
In this
section of the site, we focus on sharing narrative fiction. However, many
of the strategies can be adapted for use with other kinds of texts.
Sharing
Narrative Fiction
In her introduction
to Choosing and Using Literature (Curriculum Corporation, 1995), Jenni
Connor writes about the special place of literature in the English curriculum.
Stories
offer us images to think with, other worlds to describe...The capacity
to deal in images, in metaphor and symbol is at the heart of being human.
In a literary society, books remain a major source of the rich heritage
we can offer our children. Literature engages the mind and the heart,
extending the life experience of everyone.
There are
many strategies teachers can use when sharing a literature text, such
as a novel, play, or short story. Some of these are described below. For
a detailed example of an extended, shared novel study, have a look at
the unit on Looking for Alibrandi prepared
by Cherie Scott.
Reading
Aloud
A good reading
can bring a text alive. It provides students with insights into
characterisation, idiom, speech patterns and narrative style, all of which
enhance the enjoyment of the text. There are some important points to
remember when reading aloud to students:
- Read
texts you enjoy yourself
- Establish
expectations for listening and discussion
- Make sure
the students are comfortable
- Make eye
contact with individual students from time to time as you read
- Never
read for too long
- Do not
raise your voice to try to retain the attention of the students. If
attention lapses, the cause is in the story itself or the reader’s
articulation
- Listen
to some professional readers and analyse how they use their voice to
create characterisation and convey mood or tone
- Learn
to listen to yourself. Unless you hear what your voice is doing, you
cannot be sure that it is transmitting the message to the students
- Before
reading aloud, read or rehearse the passage in advance
Before
Reading
The activities
you develop before reading should be shaped by the text itself - for example,
the need for background information or exploration of a theme. Use your
judgement because some books do their own work in drawing readers in and
delay can be annoying to students.
Before sharing
a text with students, you should:
- decide
what is to be read and why
- explain
why you have chosen the text to share
- discuss
with students your objectives for sharing - content, issues, themes,
linguistic structures and features
- establish
the learning tasks you will set and the assessment
strategies you will use - discuss the criteria to be addressed if working
in grades 9-12
- consider
cooperative learning strategies you
will use
- discuss
with students what they already know about the works of the author or
about similar texts
- brainstorm
knowledge that will help students access the text
- use the
title and cover to make predictions about the text
For more
detailed strategies to use before reading, have a look at Choosing
and Using Texts
During
Reading
Activities
should support close reading and the development of deepening understanding.
They should include reading (incorporating viewing), writing, speaking
and listening. The activities undertaken during reading should enable
you to assess and monitor students’ learning. The learning
log is a useful tool to support activities during reading.
When you
read a text aloud to students, you need to be careful about when (and
if) to pause for discussion. Depending on the needs of your students and
your purpose for sharing, you could try the following strategies as you
read aloud:
- model
using different strategies you use to make meaning from the text, such
as pausing to re-read particular passages, questioning, speculating,
making associations with your own experience - think
alouds are useful for demonstrating these strategies
- encourage
students to predict - short term and long term anticipation - and reflect
(often in the learning log)
During the
process of sharing a text with a class, you can:
- stop at
key moments to discuss events, characters, issues, language features
- have students
check their predictions as you read - ask them to note surprises as
well as things they expected
- have students
construct character and theme wallcharts and time lines
- have students
create character sketches (print and visual)
- have students
make maps showing where events take place
- use visualisation
techniques to help students imagine characters and events
- involve
students in imaginative recreation, such
as dramatising a chapter from a novel or adapting it for a film
- keep a
class media file of issues connected with the novel
- discuss
with students the possible values and beliefs of the author
- have students
write in role of one of the characters
- have students
keep a record of interesting words and phrases and to comment on their
effectiveness
During this
stage, undertake ongoing assessment of students’ progress and give
them opportunities to engage in peer and self assessment.
After
Reading
Activities
during this phase involve students in analysis, synthesis and creative
activity. Teachers often spend time deconstructing significant extracts
from the text, discussing the development of character and theme, discussing
issues, challenging stereotypes, etc. Teachers also jointly
construct a range of writing forms with students. After reading, students
could undertake some of the following activities:
Analysis
and synthesis
- undertake
a retelling of the text
- construct
story maps, summaries, plot profiles, literary letters, reports (check
for links in teaching strategies)
- undertake
research into an issue raised in the text
- present
a reading of their favourite passage from the text, giving reasons for
their choice and style of presentation
- participate
in a book rap with other students in the
school via the intranet or with students from schools around the country
via the internet
- if the
text has chapters without titles, compose a title for each chapter
- undertake
close reading of particular passages, focussing on the author’s
use of language and imagery
- compose
a review for the English web site
- discuss
connections with other texts they have shared, for example different
texts with a similar message
- learn
about some literary devices eg metaphor, simile and how the author uses
these devices to create effect
- jointly
construct a discursive essay on a theme or issue from the text
- discuss
what would happen if the characters in the text were placed in a new
situation
- discuss
the author’s purpose in composing the text
Creative
activity
- construct
a drama in response to an issue or around a scene described or suggested
in the text
- interview
characters from the text (in role)
- construct
a portrait gallery of characters from the text
- redesign
the cover of the text, aiming it at a particular audience
- create
a class phrase collage of extracts from the text
- design
a campaign to market the text for a particular audience
- make a
story board for a film of an extract from the novel, considering camera
angles, close ups, sound, etc.
- interview
an older or younger reader about the text
- write
a narrative imitating the author’s style - opening, dialogue, imagery,
sentence structure
- compose
a poem on a similar theme
- compose
a poem using descriptive words from the text as a basis
- perform
a readers theatre
For more
ideas about sharing narrative fiction, look in the following sections
of this site:
Sharing
Poetry
Poems are
great for sharing and should be an integral part of the English program.
Although some teachers feel unconfident about teaching poetry (partly
because of their own negative experiences of poetry teaching at school),
there are lots of strategies you can use to incorporate poetry into the
your work with students.
Although
there are many different kinds of poems, they share a number of basic
characteristics. These are outlined by Jenny Mallick in Teaching about
Language (1997):
- a reliance
on imagery and symbolism which serves as a means for conveying a rich
texture of interwoven meanings;
- the
exploitation of sound patterning or rhythm in language; and
- creativity
or unconventionality with language; the tendency to bend the rules of
language.
The teacher’s
role is to develop activities that enhance students’ appreciation
and enjoyment of poetry. This is achieved through reading, analysing,
composing and performing poetry. You will find lots of great teaching
ideas in the transcript of the Teaching Poetry
forum on this site.
For the
Love of Poetry by Mandy Tunica (Peta,
1995) is an excellent resource book for primary and junior secondary teachers.
It focuses on the pleasures of poetry - reading, sharing, writing and
experiencing - and is full of great suggestions for teaching and learning.
Teaching About Language (Books 1 and 2, DoE, 1997) is a very useful
general resource for teachers. Book 1 gives an overview of poetry and
is relevant for all teachers; Book 2 provides practical examples for using
poetry in the secondary classroom.
As a way
of getting started, take in a range of poetry texts and ask kids in pairs
to find some poems they like and read them to the class. Read some of
your favourite poems and talk about the ideas and features you find appealing.
Ask students to do the same as they work in their groups. Keep a class
anthology of favourite poems. As your work with poetry progresses, begin
to look more closely at rhythm, metre, sounds, choice of language, technical
devices and structure as well as deeper meanings. Incorporate a range
of poetic forms to suit the interests of your students.
Give students
regular opportunities to engage in choral reading, multi-voice reading
and performance. Provide them with opportunities to create their own poems
and use the visual and creative arts to interpret and present their poetry.
Teachers
may have a particular focus on poetry for a period of time, but should
aim to incorporate poetry into the curriculum wherever possible. You will
find excellent models for using poetry in the integrated curriculum in
the Tasmanian Department of Education publication, Lively Lines (Books
1 and 2) and Oodles of Noodles, Part of a Pattern, From Igloos to Yurts
and Different Dreams (Curriculum Corporation).
Sharing
Picture Books and other Visual Texts
Teachers
in all levels of schooling use picture books with their students. In addition
to the narrative, teachers focus on the structures and features of picture
books. Discussion of these features is generalisable to other visual texts.
A lot of the strategies for working with narrative fiction can be used
with visual texts, including mass media and everyday texts. The Beaut
Ideas, Units and Choosing
and Using texts sections of this site are full of ideas for teachers.
In addition, there is a range of excellent texts available from the Curriculum
Corporation and DECS (South Australia) to support teachers’ work.
The Children’s Television Foundation has
a superb website for teachers interested in working on film and television
with their students.
Useful
References
ABC videos,
More than Words (primary), The Text Files (upper primary/junior secondary)
and Inside Out (secondary) - available from the Library and Information
Centre at Letitia House
Nancie Atwell
1987 In the Middle Heinemann
Michael
Benton and Geoff Fox 1987 Teaching Literature: Nine to Fourteen
Oxford University Press
Hazel Brown
and Brian Cambourne 1988 Read and Retell Nelson
The English
Club Newsletter, PO Box 2287, Prahran ph/fax 039646 3820
The English
Club 1997 Invitations 6
First
Steps Reading in the Classroom
Joelie Hancock
and Susan Hill 1987 Literature-based reading programs at work ALEA
Joelie Hancock
and Christine Leaver 1994 Major Teaching Strategies for English ALEA
Susan Hill
1986 Books Alive Nelson
Susan Hill
1993 Jump for Joy Eleanor Curtain
Susan Hill
1991 Readers Theatre Eleanor Curtain
Susan Hill
and Joelie Hancock 1993 Reading and Writing Communities Eleanor
Curtain
Susan Hill
and Jane O’Loughlin 1995 Book Talk: Collaborative Responses to Literature
Eleanor Curtain
Terry Johnson
and Daphne Louis 1987 Literacy through Literature Methuen
Mary Manning
and Jennifer O’Neill 1993 Ways into Literature: experiences in
reading and response Oxford University Press
retelling
Wayne Sawyer,
Ken Watson, Eva Gold 1998 Re-Viewing English St Clair Press
Jack Thomson
(ed) 1992 Reconstructing Literature Teaching AATE
Mandy Tunica
1995 For the Love of Poetry PETA
Curriculum
Corporation (phone 039207 9600/fax 039639 1616/email sales@curriculum.edu.au)
Inside Out
Student Guide - to go with ABC series - middle secondary
Rod Quin,
Barrie McMahon, Robyn Quin Picture This - upper primary
Rod Quin,
Barrie McMahon, Robyn Quin In the Picture - lower secondary
Rod Quin,
Barrie McMahon, Robyn Quin The Big Picture - secondary
Rod Quin,
Barrie McMahon, Robyn Quin Teaching Viewing and Visual Texts - primary
and secondary
Student
Work Samples in English
Teaching
More than Words - to go with ABC series - lower primary
Texts
- primary and secondary
Viewing
for Learning - book and video
Curriculum
Resources Australia - DECS - (phone 08 8373 6077/fax 088234 5086):
Teaching
Viewing: Ten units of learning with visual texts
Texts:
the heart of the English Curriculum (series 1 and 2) - broadsheets
Texts
on television - books
Department
of Education (Tasmania)
Approaches
to Poetry 1987
Approaches
to Narrative Fiction 1983
Lively
Lines Volume 1 and 2 1997
Jenny Mallick
1997 Teaching about Language Book One: A handbook for teachers of English,
K-12 Department of Education (Tasmania)
Jenny Mallick
1997 Teaching about Language Book Two: Models for English teaching
Years 9-12 Department of Education (Tasmania)
Websites
AATE: http://www.education.monash.edu.au/AATE
Amazon Bookstore:
http://amazon.com
Book Rap
Information Page: http://owl.qut.edu.au/oz-teachernet/projects/book-rap/br.html
Curriculum
corporation: http://www.curriculum.edu.au
CyberShakespeare:
http://cybershakespeare.ola.edu.au
Roald Dahl
Homepage: http://www.roalddahlfans.com
EDNA: http://www.edna.edu.au/EdNa
English
Club: http://www.netspace.net.au/~engclub
Morris Gleitzman
home page: http://www.ozemail.com.au/~andrewf/morris.html
Paul Jennings
File: http://people.enternet.com.au/~jennings
MarsdenNet:
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~andrewf/john.html
Primary
English Teaching Association: http://www.peta.edu.au
Shakespeare
Web: http://www.shakespeare.com
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