EDLA479 English Curriculum and Teaching:

Assessment Task Three: Multiliteracies

It is well documented that boys often struggle with the subject of
English. The following lessons focus on the learning needs of boys
within the English classroom, and will be aimed at a Year Ten level.
It will focus on engaging with communicative media on an oral,
audio, visual, spatial and gestural level, where students will be
asked to think about how these aspects combine to create meaning.
The MY:24 series run by Australian Childrens Television Foundation
(ACTF) will be at the heart of these lessons. These short episodes
explore the story surrounding the twenty-four hours that changed
the speakers life. I have deliberately chosen male voices for the
boys to explore, not out of sexist intentions, but so that the boys can
relate more to the text that they are critically engaging with. Each
lesson will follow a similar pattern, where we explore one particular
episode and work with the themes or ideas presented within it. The
episodes that I have chosen to focus on (Mikey, G-Storm, Fablice and
Tyrone) explore ideas around displacement, violence, community
engagement and overcoming hardship, which are all valuable
concepts for Year Tens to be engaging with. The students will be
working towards exploring and sharing the twenty-four hours that
changed their lives. The ACTF have released an app called My:24
and students will be using their smartphones or iPads within the
classroom to create their own My:24 episode after they have
written a short personal essay for planning purposes (Create
imaginative texts that make relevant thematic and intertextual
connections with other texts (ACELT1644), Use a range of
software, including word processing programs, confidently, flexibly
and imaginatively to create, edit and publish texts, considering the
identified purpose and the characteristics of the user (ACELY1776),
Plan, rehearse and deliver presentations, selecting and sequencing
appropriate content and multimodal elements to influence a course

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of action (ACELY1751) (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment

Authority, 2014).
With the focus being on values and over-coming difficulty, students
will be provided with questions prior to each episode with targeted
viewing being the intention. The questions will encourage students
to understand that peoples evaluations of texts are influenced by
their value systems, the context and the purpose and mode of
communication (ACELA1565), and to analyse and explain how
text structures, language features and visual features of texts and
the context in which texts are experienced may influence audience
response (ACEL1641) (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment
Authority, 2014). The episodes that I have chosen specifically show
the way that these boys have overcome adversity, and this viewing,
in conjunction with targeted viewing questions will encourage
students to evaluate the social, moral and ethical positions
represented in texts (ACELT1812) and also to Identify and analyse
implicit or explicit values, beliefs and assumptions in texts and how
these are influenced by purposes and likely audiences
(ACELY1752) (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority,
2014).

SECONDARY LESSON PLAN

YEAR LEVEL & SUBJECT:

Year 10 English

NO. OF STUDENTS: 25

Georgia Burns

DATE:

LESSON DURATIO

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TOPIC/FOCUS: Values, Beliefs and Overcoming Adversity- My:24- Tyrone

AusVELS STATEMENTS: Identify and analyse implicit or explicit values, beliefs and as
influenced by purposes and likely audiences (ACELY1752)
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES (INCLUDE LINK TO AusVELS):
The students will be able to explain how Tyrones values are represented within the episode, an
have taken had his values been different.
SUMMARY OF RESOURCES REQUIRED: Viewing screen, MY:24 dvd, butchers paper
LESSON PROCEDURE

TIMING

RESOURCES

10 mins

15 mins

10- 15 mins

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STEPS OF THE LESSON

(key activities and key questions)
Opening (links to previous
lesson/s or new topic, purpose of
lesson):
Explain that this new topic will
focus on values, beliefs and overcoming adversity.
Brief classroom discussion about
what values and beliefs are, and
how they are shaped/shape our
choices.
Lesson Development:
Pre-Viewing:
Provide students with a list of
questions to consider whilst
viewing:
What adversity is Tyrone
overcoming?
What was the day that changed
Tyrones life?
What values is he showing/What
message is Tyrone trying convey?
Show students the Tyrone
episode of My:24, and encourage
them to think about the questions
(these are intentionally simple, so
that students are focused on the
text but not missing half of the
content by answering lengthy
questions).
Post-Viewing
In groups of 3 or 4 students will
discuss the answers to their
questions, and write the answers

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on butchers paper. They will also

be asked whether their thoughts
would be different had it been a
written story (making explicit
reference to how watching a
television episode made it more
engaging).

10 mins

Closure (Options include

summarising or reflecting on the
learning achievements/analysing
errors; preparation for future
lessons etc):
Bring in the whole class, and elect
one member from each group to
share the answers of their
discussion.
Ticket Out The Door Activity:
What might influence our values?

Words: 220

SECONDARY LESSON PLAN

YEAR LEVEL & SUBJECT:

Year 10 English

NO. OF STUDENTS: 25

DATE:

LESSON DURATI

TOPIC/FOCUS: Values, Beliefs and Overcoming Adversity- My:24- Fablice and G-Storm
AusVELS STATEMENTS: analyse and explain how text structures, language features
context in which texts are experienced may influence audience response (ACEL1641
positions represented in texts (ACELT1812) understand that peoples evaluations
systems, the context and the purpose and mode of communication (ACELA1565),
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES (INCLUDE LINK TO AusVELS):
The students will be able to identify the themes explored within the music of Fablice and G-Storm
epidodes/music.
SUMMARY OF RESOURCES REQUIRED:
LESSON PROCEDURE

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TIMING

RESOURCES

15 mins

STEPS OF THE LESSON

(key activities and key questions)
Opening (links to previous
lesson/s or new topic, purpose of
lesson):
Pre-Viewing:
Discussion about where they were
born (hands up) or how their
families came to Australia.
-What ways are there for people to
come to Australia? (plane, boat,
etc)
Personal writing:
How might the country you come
from/your family have an impact on
your values?
Group sharing if they would like to.

Lesson Development:
Similar structure to last lesson.
Questions to think about whilst
watching:
-What adversity is Fablice/G-Storm
overcoming?
-What values are they showing?/
What message are they trying to
convey?
What was the 24 hours that
changed Fablice/G-Storms life?
30 minutes
Watch Fablice and G-Storm
episodes of My:24
Post-Viewing:
Quick discussion about their
findings from the video/
questions

20 minutes

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Students to use the internet to

find the lyrics to Child Soldier
(Song by Fablice and G-Storm
with Paul Kelly)
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-What is the purpose of this song?

-Who is the intended audience?
-What issues/themes are being
explored in this song?
-Is it significant that this song
features Paul Kelly? You may need
to do some research about who
Paul Kelly is, and what issues he
writes about.
15 mins

In pairs, look up the lyrics to

another of Fablices songs
-Are there any similar themes in
this song?
-Does it make it more interesting
that Fablice writes from personal
experience? Why? Why not?
-Are there any other rappers you
know of that write from personal
experience? Provide examples.
-Would you react differently to
these songs if you had only you
had read them as poems or short
stories instead of raps?
Closure (Options include
summarising or reflecting on the
learning achievements/analysing
errors; preparation for future
lessons etc):

10 minutes

Group discussion with the answers

to the questions. Will be asked to
provide examples.

Ticket Out the Door:

What values or beliefs helped
Fablice and G-Storm get to where
they are today?

Words: 325

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SECONDARY LESSON PLAN

YEAR LEVEL & SUBJECT:

Year 10 English

DATE:
LESSON DURATI
NO. OF STUDENTS: 25
continue over se
TOPIC/FOCUS: Values, Beliefs and Overcoming Adversity- My:24CREATING YOUR OW
AusVELS STATEMENTS: Create imaginative texts that make relevant thematic and i
(ACELT1644), Plan, rehearse and deliver presentations, selecting and sequencing
elements to influence a course of action (ACELY1751) Use a range of software, inc
confidently, flexibly and imaginatively to create, edit and publish texts, considering
characteristics of the user (ACELY1776),
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES (INCLUDE LINK TO AusVELS):
The students will be able to explain, in writing, the 24 hours that changed their lives, and be able
assessment.
SUMMARY OF RESOURCES REQUIRED:
LESSON PROCEDURE

TIMING

RESOURCES

5-10 mins

5 minutes

10 minute
discussion
about these
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STEPS OF THE LESSON

(key activities and key questions)
Opening (links to previous
lesson/s or new topic, purpose of
lesson):
What have we learnt about
values, beliefs and overcoming
adversity? What influences
us/our values?
Lesson Development:
I will be explaining what the
assessment task asks students
to do, and we will be making
direct links between what weve
watched/explored and the
purpose of the assessment task.
This will be mostly a quiet and
reflective lesson where students
will be asked to consider the 24
hours that changed their lives.
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questions
We will begin with a series of
questions that I will read aloud and
the students will consider both
quietly and as a group. These will
be the same prompting questions
they will answer whilst planning,
however this is just to ensure that
all students have a clear
understanding of the task.
- Is there one particular day
that stands out as having a
pronounced effect on you?
- What do you remember
about your life before this
event? Why was it different?
- What are the details of that
day that have stuck in your
mind? What made it so
significant?
- Where are you now? How
has your path changed
because of this event? What
dreams or aspirations do
you have as a result of this
event?
Explicitly planning this piece
out. Ideally this is quiet time.
20 minutes

5 mins

Closure (Options include

summarising or reflecting on the
learning achievements/analysing
errors; preparation for future
lessons etc)
As a group, sharing their ideas
about the 24 hours that changed
their lives (this is optional, there
wont be forced participation):

Words: 225

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Rationale:
The world that students have grown up in is increasingly
focused on technology, and a modern classroom needs to address
and cater for this. It was with this intention that I created a unit that
focuses on critically engaging with and utilizing technology. Cope
and Kalantzis (2009) speak of the need to conceive meaning
making as a form of design or active and dynamic transformation of
the social world, with linguistic, visual, audio, gestural and spatial
modes of meaning becoming increasingly integrated in everyday
media and cultural practices (p.166). The purpose of education is
to create global citizens that are able to participate in the world
around them (New London Group, 1996). With that in mind, I have
specifically chosen episodes of the My:24 series that show some
ethnic and cultural diversity, so that students are not being exposed
to only one perspective or culture. By using technology, students
will be exposed to multiple modes from which they can take
meaning. Ultimately, a unit such as this is teaching students how to
read and write multimodal texts which [integrate] the other modes
with language (Cope and Kalantzis, 2009, p. 166).

Whilst students are viewing the episodes of My:24, they will

be using the elements of Freebody and Lukes (1990) Four
Resources Model to sift through the information presented before
them in order to answer the questions asked. Due to the focus on
values and overcoming adversity within this unit, students will be
required to read between the lines of the video to find meaning.
This directly relates to the meaning-maker element of the Four
Resources Model, which has to do with making literate and
inferential meanings of texts (Department of Education, 2002).
Many students could confidently find literate and inferential
meanings within traditional text forms, however, in the modern
world they are required to examine more than just print text. Frank
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Serafini (2012) states that as the concept of text expands beyond

the borders and boundaries of the printed book, so too must our
definitions and conceptions of what it means to be a reader or
literate being (p. 151). Roswell and Kendrick (2013) also present a
similar contention, speaking of the need to reframe our approach to
understanding literacy rather than narrowly attending to
traditional literacy practices. (589). In the second lesson of this unit,
students will watch two episodes of the My:24 series (Fablice and
G-Storm) that focus on refugees. They will then find the lyrics to
songs written by the duo and use primarily the text-analyst
component of the Four Resources Model to evaluate the purpose
and emotive capacity of these songs as text. Whilst the questions
are phrased differently so as to interest Year Ten boys, the questions
are ultimately asking What is this text trying to do to me? In whose
interests? Which positions, voices, and interests are at play? (Luke ,
2000,p.454). By reading these texts with purpose, students will be
using the Four Resources Model to develop their critical reading
skills.
The idea of the boys using the My:24 app to create their own
episode of the show is ultimately about re-designing and reworking
what they know already exists, but on a more personal level. Cope
and Kalantzis state that
meaning makers are not simply replicators of representational
conventions. Their meaning-making resources may be found
in representational objects, patterned in familiar and thus
recognizable ways. However, these objects are reworked.
Meaning makers do not simply use what they have been
given: they are fully makers and remakers of signs and
transformers of meaning (p. 175).

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So whilst it may appear to students that they are simply using their
phones or iPads to create a short video about twenty-four hours that
changed their lives, they are actually creating the links between the
themes of the unit and their own worlds. This is articulated by Cope
and Kalantzis (2009), who state that the redesign process and
product is centred on the meaning designer who, through the very
act of Designing, has transformed themselves (learning) (p. 176).
Rank, Warren and Millum (2011) summarise this statement for the
classroom, stating that traditionally [assessments] have been
delivered in writing- with the danger that every enjoyable stretch of
reading or interesting poem becomes tarnished by the realization
that we have to write about it ICT adds a whole range of new
opportunities (p. 51). By moving away from a traditional
assessment method, students are also encouraged to plan,
rehearse and deliver presentations, selecting and sequencing
appropriate content and multimodal elements to influence a course
of action (ACELY1751). The use of technology for this assessment
enables them to use a range of software, including word processing
programs, confidently, flexibly and imaginatively to create, edit and
publish texts, considering the identified purpose and the
characteristics of the user (ACELY1776). By catering for these
considerations within the classroom, we are helping to create the
global citizens that the New London Group place emphasis on.
The benefit that single-sex education presents, is that a
targeted approach can be applied within the classroom. It is well
known that boys perform less well than girls on literacy benchmark
or standardized tests (Watson, Kehler and Martino, 2011, p. 356).
The process of reading, whilst extremely beneficial, does not cater
for disengaged students. By focusing this unit on videos and group
discussions as opposed to lengthy reading and writing pieces, my
aim is to engage my entire class more fully. Carroll (2013) states
that literacy research has highlighted a need, particularly among

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boys, to situate learning in what is real, authentic study into the

world (p.7). By using a resource such as My:24, and by using the
corresponding app for assessment, this unit is showing boys that the
lessons taught within English can be applied within the wider world.
Effort has been taken to make this an engaging unit, and that is why
they are not simply writing an analytical or personal essay for the
final assessment. Martin, as quoted in Gresham (2012) found that
Boys reported that they did their best work or were most
engaged and motivated in subjects where the teacher made
an effort to make them fun and/or interesting, practical and
hands-on work were incorporated, interaction occurred
amongst students and between students and the teacher,,
the content was relevant or time was taken to demonstrate
relevance, and boys experienced success (Martin, as quoted in
Gresham, 2012, p.82)
By presenting episodes that feature male voices, it is hoped that the
boys will find the texts more relatable. By having an interesting and
engaging summative assessment task, students will be more
enticed to stay on task during the lessons. The concepts that are
being explored, such as adversity, community engagement and
violence set these male voices up as role models. Cullen (2002)
states that
the English classroom can do much to help boys in establishing
their own identities, free of the limiting stereotypes imposed on
them, by society, the media and their peers (p5) and extends this
to suggest that literary characters can be useful examples of how
achievement is a result of qualities such as courage and
determination (p6). Whilst this specifies literary characters, I
believe this can be applied more widely to voices within English and
that is why the particular voices of Tyrone, Mikey, Fablice and GStorm have been chosen.

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Ultimately, it would be insufficient in todays society to solely teach

traditional, print-based texts. This is particularly important when
teaching boys, as they require teachers to make the content
engaging, though this is true for all students. By using the voices of
young people, such as the My:24 series, students will more readily
find the characters relatable and thus, are more likely to be
engaged. By introducing multimodal texts into the classroom, and
allowing students to engage with them in a critical way, we are
allowing our students to develop as participants within the wider
world.

References
Carroll, J (2013) Engaging and Authentic Technology Use for Literacy
Learning in
the Middle Years, Literacy Learning: The Middle Years, 21(2):
7-18.

Cope, B., & Kalantzis, M., (2009), Multiliteracies: New literacies,

new learning,
Pedagogies, An International Journal, 4: 164-195.

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Cullen, P., (2002), Why do we have to study English? A practical

approach to
motivating boys in the English classroom: boys educations:
let them eat
quiche, Metaphor 1: 5-8.

Department of Education, (2002), Literate Futures: Reading state of

Queensland.

Freebody, P., & Luke, A. (1990). Literacies programs: Debates and

demands in
cultural context. Prospect: Australian Journal of TESOL, 5(7), 716

Gresham, P., & Gibson-Langford, L. (2012) Competition, Games,

Technology:
Boys are Loving English, English in Australia 47(1): 81-89

Luke, A., (2000), Critical literacy in Australia: A matter of context

and
standpoint, Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 1: 448461

New London Group, (1996) A Pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing

social
futures, Harvard Educational Review, 66(1): 60-92
Rank, T., Warren, C., and Millum, T., (2011), Teaching English Using
ICT: A
practical guide for secondary school teachers, New York:
Continuum

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Roswell, J., Kendrick, M., (2013), Boys hidden literacies: The critical
need for the
visual, Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 56(7): 587599.

Serafini, F., (2012), Expanding the four resources model: reading

visual and
multi-modal texts, Pedagogies: An International Journal, 7(2):
150-164.

Watson, A., Kehler, M., and Martino, W., (2011) The problem of
boys literacy
underachievement: raising some questions, Journal of
Adolescent and
Adult Literacy, 53(5): 356-361

Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, (2014), English

Curriculum.

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