INCLUSIVE TEXTS AND TEXTUAL PRACTICES:

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INCLUSIVE TEXTS AND TEXTUAL PRACTICES

• SUPPORTING ESL LEARNERS

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• There are many, many types of books in the world,
  which makes good sense because there are many,
  many types of people and everybody wants to read
  something different (Lemony Snicket The Bad
  Beginning p.83).

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Philosophical position

• Indisputable link between wide reading and
  academic success (Guthrie Alvermann 1999
  Cullinan 2000 Krashen, 2004)
• Literature and The Australian Curriculum English
  (National Curriculum Board, 2009)
• Reading is much more than decoding the surface
  meaning
• Motivation and engagement are at the heart of the
  reading experience
• Becoming literate in the fullest sense

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The Pleasures of Literature Nodelman and Reimer,
2003

• The pleasure of the words themselves (The Cat on
  the Mat is Flat by Andy Griffiths)
• The pleasure of having ones emotions evoked
  (Coraline The graphic novel by Neil Gaiman and P
  Craig Russell)
• The pleasure of making use of a repertoire of
  knowledge and comprehension (Change the Game
  series by Michael Hyde Too Cool series by Phil
  Kettle)
• The pleasures of recognising gaps in repertoire
  and learning the knowledge or strategy needed to
  fill them (Special Kev by Chris McKimmie Two
  Summers by John Heffernan Freya Blackwood)

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Pleasures contd

• The pleasure of the pictures and ideas that the
  words evoke (Fire Bed and Bone by Henrietta
  Branford)
• The pleasure of finding a mirror for oneself (Do
  Wrong Ron by Steven Herrick)
• The pleasure of escape (The Thief Lord by
  Cornelia Funke)
• The pleasure of story (Polar Boy by Sandy
  Fussell)
• The pleasure of storytelling (The Silver Donkey
  by Sonya Hartnett)

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Pleasures contd

• The pleasure of understanding
• The pleasure of gaining insight
• The pleasure of recognising forms and genres
• The pleasure of sharing experiences with
  literature
• The pleasure of discussing with others our
  responses to texts we have read

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Reading as a quest for meaning

• That all texts are puzzles, initially, to all
  readers.
• Read Longing for William and/or Martin John
  Davis from Buried Secrets by Christine Harris to
  model active reading, playing the game with
  the author.
• Also read a story cold with your class,
  modelling how experienced readers build
  expectations, predict, modify, make mistakes,
  wrong choices, are confirmed, surprised, puzzled,
  challenged, satisfied.

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Literary/visual experiences

• Books are literary experiences first they are
  not tools or tracts but are designed to tell
  stories, to give pleasure, and because by their
  very nature books invite questions and open up
  ideas, they can be powerful in exploring human
  experiences.

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Texts

• Our students need texts that
• reflect the diversity of Australian culture,
  experiences, identities, places
• expand horizons, explore other cultures, lives,
  places and times
• ensure that the backgrounds of all students are
  acknowledged and appreciated
• develop cross-cultural understandings
• expand students cultural horizons

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Fables

• Very useful for understanding the meaning behind
  the story (or words) and for understanding
  metaphor (David Millers Refugees)
• Squids will be squids by Jon Sciezska and Lane
  Smith and Arnold Lobels Fables
• Read Woolvs in the Sitee (Wild and Spudvilas) or
  Nobody Owns the Moon (Riddle) or The Red Tree
  (Tan) or Fox (Brooks and Wild) or The Island
  (Greder) as fables, and have students suggest
  morals for them.
• Students can write their own fable/s and read
  them to the class who can suggest their morals.
• Could then move to writing pourquoi stories
  stories with a layer of hidden meaning

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Wordless picture books

• Shaun Tans The Arrival, David Weisners Flotsam
• No right or wrong interpretation
• Models that rich texts are open to, and support,
  multiple interpretations and readings
• Different life experiences will inform responses
• Different reading experiences will inform
  responses
• Connect reading and writing students write the
  story or a section of it as a narrative or as a
  comic strip style, adding dialogue etc.
• Promotes lots of discussion specific oral
  language located in the ideas and images in the
  text

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Picture books

• Moving from seeing to thinking with images
  capable of being contemplated and explored.
• Opportunities for extended explanations
• Collaborative meaning making
• At a cognitive level, writing about or
  discussion of complex issues with the teacher and
  peers encourages students to reflect critically
  and refine their ideas...They are enabled to
  understand more of the content and language that
  they hear or read (Cummins, 1996, p.81)
• The fact this experience has been shaped by
  another place and culture can only be a bonus in
  a group that is engaged in negotiating meaning
  (Arizpe Styles, 2003, p.174)
• Also important to identities how children feel
  about themselves as learners
• Enriches messages we are giving about what
  reading means, filling the readerly gap and
  becoming a kind of co-author

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Verse novels/graphic novels

• Verse novels
• Easy to read so can be read quickly
• Lack of text on the page not daunting
• Uses rich poetic language
• Often uses humour, multiple voices, spoken-like
  language
• Graphic novels
• Sophisticated visuals
• Narrative carried in the visuals
• Prompts thinking and conversation

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Supporting EAL learners

• Arizpe and Styless research shows that children
  can move beyond cultural differences and motifs,
  understand characters behaviours and find
  personal resonances with emotionally powerful
  stories.
• Importance of texts that second language learners
  can relate to their personal histories or
  understandings of the world and equally important
  is the opportunity to have ones voice heard
  (Cummins, 1996).
• Importance of enabling adult who genuinely
  wants to help young readers express their
  responses and is not focussed on decoding.
• Young readers need texts that are worth reading,
  the time to explore, think and reflect to
  demonstrate conceptual levels beyond their
  literacy level.

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Chamberss Four ways of Saying

• Saying for yourself
• Saying it to others
• Saying it together
• Saying the new
• Also his Three Sharings (enthusiasms - likes and
  dislikes, puzzles difficulties, and
  connections discovering patterns) and Tell Me
  questions get at students meanings and responses

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Drama

• Drama-based activities deepen engagement with the
  text, and promote comprehension of the issues
  raised in the text
• Dramatising and or acting out often reveals to
  students that they know more than they thought
  they did.
• Tableaux/freeze frame a moment in time
• Editor/Journalists reporting on an event in the
  text
• Readers Theatre Script a piece of text
  (picturebook, short story, poem, novel etc) and
  read the selection in character, using words and
  voice, rather than action to reveal character,
  emotion, relationships, tone etc.
• Hot seating - students can take turns at being
  in character.
• Conscience Alley

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Drama contd

• Tableaux/freeze frame a moment in time
• Editor/Journalists reporting on an event in the
  text
• Readers Theatre Script a piece of text
  (picturebook, short story, poem, novel etc) and
  read the selection in character, using words and
  voice, rather than action to reveal character,
  emotion, relationships, tone etc.
• Hot seating - students can take turns at being
  in character.
• Media Hype interview a character/s using a
  well-known television format

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Multimedia responses

• Familiar or easy-to-use software such as IMovie,
  Moviemaker, Photostory, PowerPoint
• Image, music, sound effects, voice over, excerpts
• Does not need to use written language to show
  depth of understanding and interpretation

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Books that present the culture of the host
country mainstream Australia

• Are we There Yet? By Alison Lester
• Greetings from Sandy Beach by Bob Graham
• A Year on our Farm by Penny Matthews Andrew
  McLean
• Two Summers by John Heffernan Freya Blackwood
• In My Backyard by Nette Hilton Anne Spudvilas
• Shutting the Chooks in by Libby Gleeson Ann
  James

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Books that present the culture of the host
country Indigenous Australia

• A is for Aunty by Elaine Russell
• Do Not Go Round the Edges by Daisy Utemorrah
  Pat Torres
• You and Me Our Place by Leonie Norrington Dee
  Huxley
• The Whalers by Percy Mumbulla Bronwyn Bancroft
• Stradbroke Dreamtime by Oodgeroo
• Yumba Days by Herb Wharton
• My Girragundji The Binna Binna Man by Boori
  Pryor and Meme McDonald
• The Papunya School Book of Country and History by
  the Papunya School
• Me and Mary Kangaroo by Kevin Gilbert
• The Fat and Juicy Place and Two Hands Together
  by Diana Kidd
• Songman by Allan Baillie
• The Burnt Stick by Anthony Hill

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Books about inclusiveness

• Cat and Fish by Neil Curtis and Joan Grant
• Duckys Nest by Gillian Rubinstein Terry
  Denton
• The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan
• The Singing Hat by Tohby Riddle
• The Man who Loved Boxes by Stephen Michael King
• Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley by Aaron Blabey
• Clive Eats Alligators by Alison Lester
• Arabella by Wendy Orr Kim Gamble

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Books that deal with immigrant or cultural
minorities within our society

• Fang Fang books by Sally Rippin
• Nips XI Nips go National and Noodlepie by Ruth
  Starke
• Brockys Bananagram Winning the World Cup by
  David Metzenthen
• Nights in the Sun by Colin Bowles
• Onion Tears by Diana Kidd
• Soraya the Storyteller by Rosanne Hawke
• The Wishing Cupboard by Libby Hathorn Elizabeth
  Stanley
• Does my Head Look Big in This? by Randal
  Abdel-Fattah
• The Dons by Archimede Fusillo
• The Garden of Empress Cassia A Ghost in my
  suitcase by Gabrielle Wang

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Those that are situated within another culture,
in another country

• Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan (India)
• Sarindi and the Lucky Bird by Janine Fraser and
  Kim Gamble - (Indonesia)
• Parvana and Parvanas Journey by Deborah Ellis
  (Afghanistan)
• Diego, Run! and Diegos Pride by Deborah Ellis
  (Bolivia)
• Little Brother by Allan Baillie (Cambodia under
  the Khmer Rouge)
• The China Coin by Allan Baillie (China during
  Tiananmen massacre)
• Treasure Seekers by Allan Baillie (Indonesia)
• Behind the Wind trilogy by Jamila Gavin (set in
  India during partition based on the authors
  life)
• Revolution is not a Dinner Party a Novel by Ying
  Chang Compestine (China during the cultural
  revolution)
• Ziba Came on A Boat by Liz Loftouse Robert
  Ingpen (Afghan refugees)
• Where the Streets had a Name by Randa
  Abdel-Fattah (contemporary Palestine and Israel)

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References

• Arizpe, E. Styles, M. (2003). Children reading
  pictures Interpreting visual texts. London
  RoutledgeFalmer.
• Chambers, A.(1993).Tell Me children, reading and
  talk. Stroud The Thimble Press.
• Cullinan, B.E. (2000). Independent reading and
  school achievement, in Assessment of the role of
  the school and public libraries in support of
  educational reform. New York American Library
  Association.
• Cummins, J. (1996) Negotiating identities
  Education for empowerment in a diverse society.
  Ontario California Association for Bilingual
  Education.
• Edwards, Viv (1998). The Power of Babel teaching
  and learning in multilingual classrooms. Oakhill
  Trentham Books University of Reading
• Guthrie, J.T. Alvermann, D.E (Eds.). (1999).
  Engaged reading Processes, practices and policy
  implications. New York Teachers College Press.
• Krashen S. The Power of Reading Insights from
  the Research 2nd ed. Westport Libraries
  Unlimited, 2004.
• National Curriculum Board (2009). Shape of the
  Australian Curriculum English. Barton, ACT NCB.
• Nodelman, P. Reimer, M. (2003), The pleasures
  of childrens literature. 3rd ed. Boston Allyn
  Bacon.
• Rowan, L. (2001). Write me in inclusive texts in
  the primary classroom. Marrickville PETA.
• Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority
  (2005). Victorian Essential Learning Standards.
  East Melbourne The Authority.