ETL402 Module 6.2

Literature Unit Teaching experience 

I can’t say that I have taught many literacy units in my science teaching. The closest example I can think of is a fractured fairy tales project which was used as part of a psychology and mental illness unit. Students studied many disorders in class and complied case notes for each disorder. They were then introduced to a selection of fairy tales – Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks and the three bears etc. Students had to analyse the characters within the stories and using their case notes to describe the illness, symptoms, and treatment options available.

The initial case note taking was modeled by the teacher then students were able to make their own for each of the studied illnesses. Students choose which books to analyse and were not limited to the selection brought into class. I had a couple of ESL student provide case notes on a manga they were more familiar with. Students discussed their thoughts on different characters and were able to provide each other with ideas or supporting quotes in the books. We didn't go into literacy techniques as this was not the aim of the unit but we were able to look at characterisation and common themes of mental illness in fairy tales. 

I think the unit took a more constructivist approach as we wanted students to be able to discuss mental illness in an open and safe environment, discussion was not solely teacher centered. Students were able to share their understandings of mental illness and construct a more positive view as a class. 

RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms

ETL402 Assignment 1 ideas

Postmodern Books referenced in assignment:

Bland, N. (2009). The wrong book. New South Wales: Scholastic Press.

Carnavas, P. (2013). The boy on the page. New South Wales: New Frontier Publishing Pty Ltd.

Dahl, R. (1982). Revolting Rhymes. Penguin Books.

Gravett, E. (2005). Wolves. London: Macmillan.

Gravett, E. (2011). Wolf won't bite. Macmillan.

McKinlay, M., & Rudge, L. (2011). No bears. New South Wales: Walker Books Australia Pty Ltd.

Scieszka, J., & Smith, L. (1989). The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs. New York: Viking Penguin.

Tan, S. (2006). The Arrival. Sydney: Hachette Australia.

Tan, S. (2013). Rules of summer. Sydney: Hachette Books. Retrieved from http://www.rulesofsummer.com.au/#!home

The Guardian. (2012, Feburary). Three Little Pigs [advert]. Retrieved from Guardian Open Journalism: http://www.theguardian.com/media/video/2012/feb/29/open-journalism-three-little-pigs-advert

Watts, F., & Legge, D. (2007). Parsley Rabbit's book about books. Sydney, N.S.W: ABC Books.

Wiesner, D. (2001). The three pigs. New York: Clarion Books.

Willems, M. (2013). Goldilocks and the three dinosaurs. London: Walker Books Ltd.

Zusak, M. (2005). The Book Thief. Sydney: Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Limited.

Module 4: Friedlander's 9th trend

9. Toys that interact with touch screen apps are increasingly sophisticated and on the rise.

I was thinking about this relative to my own younger cousins and nephews. Visiting them over the Christmas holidays I got a glimpse at the vast number of toys they were expecting their parents to buy so they could continue their game play. An example of this is Skylanders where the publisher Activision continually brings out new toy figures which must be purchased to unlock more interactivity with the game. As the toys have a distinct role in the game there is very little imaginative play with them outside of the app or game. My cousin who is in primary school has at least 40 of these toys which sit in a box next to the TV until they have their turn to be played with. These toys are expensive as with most of the interactive toys that interact with touch screens.  I shudder to think how much is being spent on this one game alone. I guess all generations have gone through collectables: Pokémon cards, tazos, tamagotchis to name a couple in my time. However these new collectables are more sophisticated and with that comes a larger price tag.

Can the library offer access to these types of interactive media? I know some libraries offer DVDs and games for hire and other even have a toy section, however a game like Skylanders would probably be outside the budget of most libraries. Libraries could probably offer the loan of ebook apps that comes with one or two small toys to be used with it but probably not offer a large range of toys associated with one app. I think the teacher librarian needs to be a little more involved in investigating children’s trends, when students are talking about a new online game at school I like to go home and play it myself to find out what they like about it. It may help to identify whether an app is a flash in pan or one that will be around for a couple of years and worth the investment.

Friedlander, A. (November 26, 2013) Ten Trends in Interactive Media for Children from Dust or Magic, Retrieved from http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2013/ten-trends-in-interactive-media-for-children-from-dust-or-magic/