L.+Lesson+6

Cultural Diversity || ==Curriculum Link: == English & HSIE |||| ==Yr Level: == Stage 2 / Year 4 || 6/10 || ==Lesson Topic: ==  Multimodal Texts |||| ==Learning Area(s): == Deconstructing Multimodal texts ||
 * ==Unit Topic ==
 * ==Lesson Number: ==
 * ==Lesson Aim: ==

This lesson aims to introduce students to multimodal texts. They will deconstruct the visual, linguistic, audio, spatial and gestural aspects of a multimodal text and explore how the modes interplay and rely on each other to produce overall meaning. Students are taught that about modal coherence. ||
 * ==Outcomes & Indicators: ==

TS2.3 Identifies the effect of purpose and audience on spoken texts and distinguishes between different varieties of English.

 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">discusses the effects different audiences can have on a speaker, eg compares telling the same story to a friend or to the school principal
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">understands the differences between formal and informal language.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">TS2.4 Identifies common organisational patterns and some characteristic language features of a few types of predictable spoken texts.

 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">talks about expressive features related to spoken language such as gesture, facial expression as well as voice quality, tone, volume and clarity.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">talks about the way context changes the language of a spoken text
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">talks about common grammatical structures in spoken language

===<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">RS2.7 Discusses how writers relate to their readers in different ways, how they create a variety of worlds through language and how they use language to achieve a wide range of purposes ===


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">compares the way texts are organised into stages to achieve different purposes
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">talks about different interpretations of written and visual texts
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">discusses the way different groups of people are represented in texts
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">identifies symbolic use of music, sound effects and voice style
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">makes a general statement about how visual texts enhance or detract from meaning
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">makes comparisons and identifies differences between texts produced in the media

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">CUS2.4 Describes different viewpoints, ways of living, languages and belief systems in a variety of communities.

 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">recognises examples of systemic unfairness, e.g. discrimination based on race, skin colour, language, religion, gender.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">describe the cultural and linguistic diversity of a community. ||
 * ==<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Resources: ==


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Interactive White Board with Internet access.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Children of Many Nations youtube clip retrieved 4 October, from []
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Stop Discrimination YouTube clip retrieved 4 October, 2010, from []
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">A video project about cultural diversity youtube retrieved 4 October, 2010, from [] ||
 * ==<span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Lesson Outline == ||
 * ==<span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Introduction: ==

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Explain to students that they be watching a short video about diversity within the city of Houston, Texas (USA) called “Children of Many Nations”.

First viewing: Play the clip without sound. After viewing, ask students:

1. What did you see? 2. Based on this, what do you think the clip is about? 3. How do you know? 4. What message was conveyed through the visuals?

Second Viewing: play the clip, but minimise the video so that students experience the audio sound only. Ask students: <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">1. Based on what they just heard, what is the video about? <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2. Did you find it hard to understand the words and what the video is about? <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">3. Why was that? 4. What message was conveyed through the sounds? Third viewing: Play the clip with the sound, so that students can view the visuals and hear the audio. Ask students:

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">1. Did you understand the video better this time around? <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2. Why was that? <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">3. Was it easier to understand the main ideas of the video because you could experience all elements of the text, including the visuals, audio and gestures of the people? 4. What message do you think the entire clip is trying to convey? (Consider the messages that both visuals and sounds convey) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Explain to students that the text they just viewed can be classified as multimodal because it uses more than one mode (e.g. visual, audio, gestural, linguistic or spatial) to create meaning. In the first two viewings they experienced only 1 mode of the text each time (the Visual mode and then the audio mode) and saw how both audio and visual elements are needed to convey the message more clearly and effectively. One mode may not convey the entire message on its own. The modes work collaboratively to convey the intended message. To solidify the concept of the 5 different modes of a multimodal text show students the following diagram. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> ||
 * ==<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Teaching strategy/Learning Activity: == ||
 * ==<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Students will …… == || ==<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0cm;">Teacher will == ||
 * ==<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Activity 1 ==

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Students are introduced to their final project task in which they will be required to develop a multimodal text - an interactive digital storybook about their local community.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Throughout this activity students answer teacher directed questions about the various aspects of the multimodal text. || ==<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Activity 1 ==

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Introduce students to their final project - a multimodal, interactive digital story book about their local community

=<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Task := <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">In groups of 5, students will work towards developing a multimodal storybook titled 'Our Multicultural Community' where they will combine images, literary descriptions, collected data and statistics, videos and ideas that they have collated over course of the unit. Students will research diversity within a community in their local area, including the cultural backgrounds, languages and religions of that community. Students should keep in mind that they will be required to conduct research ﻿(e.g. interviews) within their chosen community.

= = ==**<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 14pt; font-style: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Details & Criteria: **== <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Each group will be allocated to one of the following topics related to "cultural diversity":


 * 1) <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Language & Lifestyle
 * 2) <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Food & Celebrations
 * 3) <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Religious Beliefs & Customs

<span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif;">For their allocated topic, groups must:
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Identify topic focus
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Represent information in the following forms/formats:
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Images and Graphs/Charts (ie. Pie charts representing statistics)
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Written Interviews & anecdotes of people in the community
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Videos and images of celebrations, events or interviews
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Audio narration of information collected/digital storybook.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Activity 2
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Show students another example of a multimodal text, <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">“Stop Discrimination”. Through questioning get students identify what modes are present in the text and analyse how each mode adds meaning to the text.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Deconstructing the “Stop Discrimination” text:
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Modes to be covered and considered through teacher-directed questioning (Students are in groups):

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Sound
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Recorded background music is soft while the narrator is speaking and gets louder once text and narration finishes. Ask students what effect this has on the overall video? What is the tone of the narrator’s voice? Soft/harsh? casual/conversational/colloquial? or formal? How do tempo and rhythm of the background music affect the overall atmosphere of the text?

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Visual
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">What is the significance of the white writing on a black background? Is it for emphasis? Does it represent the distinction between “black” and “white” races? From 0:34 seconds the clip is in stark contrast with the previous bit as animated people appear holding different signs with the word of a culture or religion on it. These animated figures are many different colours. What is this significance of the animated figures being made up of a wide variety of colours? Could the variety of vibrant colours represent different races that exist in the world? Another thing to note about the visual aspect of the text is that not too many modes are used at the one time (something to consider in your multi modal text you will be creating later in the unit). Why is this?

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Gesture
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">In this clip, gesture is evident in the physical movement and steps of the animated figures. They all move in exactly the same way, and take the same steps only to reach a different position.What does this represent symbolically? Consider the overall meaning and message of the clip.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Spatial
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The creator of this clip cleverly uses elements of space to convey meaning. This is particularly evident when the animated figures walk through and between each other towards the second half of the clip. Comment on the significance of the distance between the figures when they are moving and when they are in their final position. Perhaps the fact that there is little space between them as they are walking to position symbolises unity and togetherness.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Linguistic
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Ask students to focus on the linguistic aspect of this multi-modal text.Who do you think is the audience for this multi-modal text? What is the narrator speaking in? Formal /Informal /Colloquial /Conversational? Why do you think the narrator is speaking in this voice? How does this affect the engagement of the audience? Why is this an important aspect of this particular multi-modal text? Short sentences are often used in this multi-modal text. Why do you think the narrator has used short sentences? What’s the effect of using short and concise sentences? The narrator is speaking in first person, “we”. Why do you think the narrator is speaking in first person? what is the effect of this linguistic technique? ||
 * ==<span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0cm;">Concluding strategy: ==

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">__Concluding strategy:__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">After examining each mode used in this multimodal text, students will have come to realise how different modes interplay and work together to create meaning and convey a message. As a concluding activity to consolidate and assess learning provide students with the following texts:

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">__//Video: A video project about cultural diversity//__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuCF2aB6pfA__]

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">__//Poem: A Multicultural Town by Francis Duggan.//__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This is a multicultural town And all shades live here black, white and brown From all around the World everywhere And little in common they share.

With different music, dance and song And their bonds to their own cultures strong And from different backgrounds and with different ideals For them multiculturalism has few appeals.

To different Gods they kneel and pray And they look at life in a different way And with different political views and such In common they don't have that much.

Not alone here but Worldwide Culture, Politics and Religion <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__Peoples__] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> divide And People like birds and animals more inclined To socialize with their own kind.

With their own kind they socialize Which after all is no surprise The different shades white, black and brown In this a multicultural town.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">__//Multiculturalism Poster://__   <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Students are to individually pick which text is multimodal and justify their reasoning behind their choice. They suggest one change that could be made to one mode to improve the text. This could include altering an aspect of the mode or introducing another mode to the text to add meaning. Revisit the multimodal text image (from introduction) to remind students of the different modes that can make up a multimodal text. || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Through observation determine whether students are able to: * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">identify the effect of audience on spoken texts. || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Was the lesson focus clear throughout the lesson? <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Were students engaged in the lesson? <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Was the timing and pacing of the lesson appropriate? <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Did the students develop an understanding about multi-modal texts? <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> What can be modified/improved in the lesson? ||
 * == <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">﻿Assessment: ** ﻿ ** ==
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">understand the different types of language (formal, informal, colloquial and so on ) and their effect on the mood of the text.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">identify various aspects of the multi-modal text such as sound, visual, gesture, spatial and linguistic.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">understand that various modes work collaboratively to achieve the intended meaning.
 * ==<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0cm;">Any special considerations or contingency plans: ==
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">To cater for the ESL students, provide an explicit instruction. A script for the narration can be given to them to help them with understanding the content of the multi-modal text as the focus of the lesson is on deconstructing the multi-modal text.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #3d85c6; display: block; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Students work cooperatively during the group work with respect for other’s opinion and thoughts. ||
 * ==<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; margin: 0cm 1.65pt 0pt 1.7pt;">Self-reflection ==