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This rap assists Stage 2 students in the development of their ability to:
- use ICT to locate, access, evaluate, manipulate, create, store and retrieve information
- express ideas and communicate with others, using ICT
- work towards English K–6 syllabus outcomes in reading and writing.
This book rap becomes live in Term 4, Week 2: week beginning 17 October 2005.
Participating groups and teachers subscribe to the book rap and the concurrent teachers’ supporting rap during this week.
Program and planning for introductions
Term 4 Week 2: week beginning 17 October 2005
Class or group introductory messages are sent and read. Participating schools can be located on Rap maps in response to introductory messages.
Discuss the ways in which the windows provide a focused and selective view, and the way in which a window can be a metaphor for viewing a particular context.
During this week, rappers can send a drawing or digital photo that provides a window into their environment. Students should consider how they would like their school to be perceived and select a viewpoint that gives the audience an insight into their context. The drawings or digital photos may layer realism (such as a snapshot of what their class or school looks like) with more abstract elements (such as adjectives which describe their sense of belonging or community), which could be written into or on top of the images. Classes may decide to place all of the student images into a grid formation and submit a photograph of the completed grid, giving the audience a multi-faceted view of their school.
Rappers can also send a short introductory message about their class and provide information, which acts as a window into their school context and location.
After peering through the window of other school contexts by viewing and reading the images and introductions sent by schools, rappers locate schools on their Rap map.
Introduce students to the text, Belonging, which is the focus of this book rap. Activities to orientate students to the text are included in the Suggested sequence of teaching strategies for Rap point 1.
Rap point 1
How do we view and respond to our environment?
Jeannie Baker states ‘…we belong to the land. If we keep it healthy; it will sustain the web of life on which we depend.’ (Author’s note)
Syllabus outcomes and indicators |
Suggested sequence of teaching strategies |
HSIE K–6 syllabus
Relationships with places
ENS2.6 Describes people’s interactions with environments and identifies responsible ways of interacting with environments.
- plans and implements a strategy for caring for a particular feature or site
- identifies the viewpoints of others regarding how sites, places and features can be cared for and demonstrates an appreciation of the rights of others to have these viewpoints
- evaluates the necessity of caring for and conserving a site or place
- identifies issues about the care of places in the community or places of importance to them.
- gives reasons why a specified place should be cared for.
Identities
CUS2.3 Explains how shared customs, practices, symbols, languages and traditions in communities contribute to Australian and community identities.
- compares their own community with other communities
- gathers information about why their community is of value and should be respected
- gives some reasons why their local community is different to others and why it is of value and should be respected
English K–6 syllabus
Learning to read –reading and viewing texts
RS2.5 Reads independently a wide range of texts on increasingly challenging topics and justifies own interpretation of ideas, information and events.
- makes some inferences about ideas implicit in a text
- shows empathy with characters in literacy texts
- interprets illustrations
- identifies and interprets ideas, themes and issues in literary texts
- refers to the author and illustrator of a book, commenting on other books produced by them
- identifies elements such as main characters, setting and events in literary texts
- finds information for specific purposes from a variety of sources.
Learning about reading – context and text
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.
- talks about the different interpretations of the written and visual text
- identifies simple symbolic meanings and stereotypes in texts and discusses their purpose and meaning
- identifies writer’s viewpoint
- offers an opinion about the text or aspects of it. Recognises and describes the purpose of the text.
- identifies how different texts are organised according to their purpose
- recognises different styles of authors
- discusses the ways different groups of people are represented.
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Lesson 1
Explain to the students that we are looking at the book, Belonging, by Jeannie Baker. Ask the students if they have previously read any books by this author/illustrator. Discuss the front and back cover to predict; fiction or nonfiction, characters and storyline.
Lesson 2
- Re-read Belonging and discuss the students’ understanding of ‘belonging’.
- Look at the characters portrayed in Belonging and follow the characters’ journeys.
- Discuss how the characters grow and change.
- Discuss the fact that the text is embedded in the illustrations.
- Read the signs and billboards on each page and discuss possible hidden meanings.
- Look at the setting the author has used for the text.
You may wish to discuss this Rap point with the school’s Aboriginal Education Assistant, local Elders in the community, or other Aboriginal community members to give students an understanding of Aboriginal people's relationships with family, community, environment and place in your local area.
Discussion questions:
*Look at the front /back covers. What can you see?
*Where is this text set?
* Why do you think Jeannie Baker selected this particular setting for the text?
*Describe the atmosphere that is felt by the characters, page by page.
*Who are the main characters?
*What are the roles of particular characters?
*How do the characters change throughout the text?
*How would you describe the backyard of the house on the first two pages?
*What is the significance of the windowsill illustrations?
Lesson 3
Ask students to:
- track Tracy’s character and her family portrayed within the text
- note the changes that the family witnesses and what effect that has on the family’s lifestyle
- consider how this family interacts with the local environment and their relationship with other characters (i.e. neighbours)
- keep track of the time frame in which the changes take place for this family.
Rap sheet 1 will assist students with this activity.
Students report back to the class with the major changes that the family has seen along their journey.
Lesson 4
Using the information from Rap sheet 1, answer these questions based upon a place in your local community:
- What changes has this place undergone over a specific time span? Use research sources such as photographs, maps, newspapers, local Shire Council, and residents.
- What reasons do the students have for these changes?
- How have the changes affected the environment and what were the outcomes of these changes?
- What changes could be made to further improve the environment and how would these assist the community?
Rap sheet 2 may assist with this activity.
Use the above ideas to formulate rap responses. Using correct email and book rap etiquette, post the class response to the rap. Read and discuss other rappers’ responses. Students might wish to respond to other rappers’ comments via the rap. |
Creative Arts K-6 syllabus
Visual Arts
Making
VAS2.1 Represents the qualities of experiences and things that are interesting or beautiful by choosing among aspects of subject matter.
- talks about and thinks about their intentions to represent a particular space or place
VAS2.2 Uses the forms to suggest the qualities of subject matter.
- experiments with techniques in photography to create particular
effects to suggest such things as close-ups, middle distance and long distance views, mood and atmosphere, light and dark suited to how subject matter may be interpreted .
Appreciating
VAS2. 4 Identifies connections between subject matter in artworks and what they refer to, and appreciates the use of particular techniques.
- talks about some of the material and techniques artists use to represent subject matter
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Visual Arts session 1
Discuss the view of the local environment that Jeannie Baker presents in Belonging. Consider the following questions:
- Is it an urban or rural environment? Ensure that students understand urban and rural.
- Through the window of which character do we view this environment?
- How is the view through the window limited or focused by the artist?
- What materials and techniques has Jeannie Baker used in her artmaking to represent that particular environment?
Discuss the ways in which artists can record the things that they view, e.g. through photography, journal notes, sketches , or collecting and using materials such as bark and leaves.
Ask students to select a particular location in the school environment that has personal meaning. It may be where students eat lunch, play with friends, or like to sit quietly and read.
Students use a variety of methods to record information about that specific area. Note details, sounds, colours, lines, and textures to start building a ‘sense of place’.
Students use a digital camera to capture the view of the selected location. Explain that the way in which an image is framed in a photograph can influence the way in which an audience interprets the location. For example, a tight close-up of student lines in the canteen can suggest crowded chaos, and a long view down the hallway to the Principal’s office could suggest status and authority. Other considerations could include:
- What part of your place will you select to show? You may decide to show just a detail of the place.
- Will your view be high or low?
- What personal feelings do you want to communicate about the place?
- How will you communicate your connection to this place? (You could place a personal object within the space.)
Print the digital photographs in black and white and enlarge them to A4 size using a photocopier . You may set the contrast on the photocopier to a high contrast to exaggerate the black and white. |
Rap point 2
‘Belonging' explores the re-greening of the city: the role of community, the empowerment of people and the significance of children, family and neighbourhood in changing their urban environment . The streets gradually become places for safe children's play, and community activity and places for nature and wonder. ( Jeannie Baker)
Some of the themes that emerge in Belonging include:
- change over time
- caring for the environment
- community
- belonging, and
- a sense of place.
Select one of these themes and discuss the way in which Jeannie Baker communicates the idea to the reader in Belonging.
How could your class interpret and communicate one of these themes in the context of their environment?
Post a reflection on how you have responded to one of these themes in Belonging.
Your response may take the form of:
- a poem
- a description
- a flow chart
a diagram
- a consequence chart
- a concept / mind map
- the artwork that you are making in response to the rap points.
Syllabus outcomes and indicators |
Suggested learning experiences |
HSIE K–6 syllabus
Time and change
CCS2.2 Explains changes in the community and family life and evaluates the effects of these on different individuals, groups and environments.
- identifies the effects of change on the environment
- identifies some of the effects of change on different groups in an area
- identifies some of the effects of change on different people in the local area
- evaluates the necessity of caring for a particular place or site.
Relationships with places
ENS2:6 Describes people’s interactions with environments and identifies responsible ways of interacting with environments.
- plans and implements a strategy for caring for a particular feature or site
- presents alternatives to, and consequences of, using features, sites and places in particular ways
- gives reasons why a specified feature, place, or site should be cared for
- identifies processes used by people to design environments
- identifies issues about the care of places in the community or places of importance to them.
Learning to write – producing texts
WS2:9 Drafts, revises, proofreads and publishes well structured texts that are more demanding in terms of topic, audience and written language features.
- writes simple poems
- contributes to joint- construction activities
- writes longer, more complex descriptions.
Learning about reading – context and text
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.
- talks about the different interpretations of the written and visual text
- identifies simple symbolic meanings and stereotypes in texts and discusses their purpose and meaning
- identifies writer’s viewpoint
- offers an opinion about the text or aspects of it
- discusses the ways different groups of people are represented in texts
- makes statements about how visual texts enhance the meaning and understanding of the reader
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Lesson 1
Students concentrate on one section (see example) of the neighbourhood in Belonging e.g. a particular shop or building allotment and analyse the changes that take place over time.
Consider:
- Who do you think is responsible for these changes?
- Why do you think these changes have been gradually made to the area you have selected?
- Has the purpose of this area changed over time, if so why?
- Can you suggest further positive changes to this particular area?
- Who should be responsible for the maintenance of this area?
- Do you think this change will alter the neighbourhood’s perception/ feeling of the streetscape and if so, how?
Students can develop a comprehensive timeline, of one of the themes mentioned in the rap point, depicting the change in relation to Tracy’s age.
You may choose to use Rap sheet 3 during this lesson.
Lesson 2
With the information gathered on the timeline, students can develop a class, group, or individual response to the evolving neighbourhood over time, by using one of the following forms to express their reaction to the development:
- a poem (depicting the change over time)
- a description(highlighting the changes and meanings behind the billboards)
- a flow chart(showing the sequence of events)
- a diagram
- a consequence chart (showing the new use of area over time)
- a concept/mind map.
Lesson 3
Students look at their own local environment in the same context they used for Belonging (i.e. change over time; caring for the environment; community; belonging; a sense of place).
Students brainstorm positive changes to their own environment:
- How would you go about making these changes happen?
- What would be the environmental benefits with these changes?
- Who would you need to contact to elicit help with these changes?
- What would be the timeframe in which these changes should take place?
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Creative Arts K–6 syllabus
Visual Arts
Making
VAS2.2 Uses the forms to suggest the qualities of subject matter.
- adds text to an image to convey a particular mood and suggest a sense of place
Appreciating
VAS2.4 Identifies connections between subject matter in artworks and what they refer to, and appreciates the use of particular techniques.
- talks about how Jeannie Baker has used text in her images.
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Visual Arts session 2
Discuss the way in which Jeannie Baker has communicated a sense of place in Belonging.
- Why do you think that Jeannie Baker has used text in the form of signs in some of the images?
- Locate examples of signs in Belonging that give clues about what is happening in the community at the time.
- What do you notice about the signs as the story concludes?
- What is the significance of Tracy’s forest on the back cover?
Return to the location that was used for the artmaking in Rap point 1. Take a journal and record all of the examples of signs (written text) that you can see in the location.
Use this method of recording to also document words (verbal text) that can be heard, as well as words to describe the ‘feel’ of the location over a 5 or 10 minute period. Recording the words of conversations and other spoken text can be random rather than capturing complete sentences (i.e. individual words and short phrases).
Look at all of the words that you have captured in your journal. Select some of the most interesting and unusual words that interpret the atmosphere of your location.
Identify sections of your photograph such as dominant lines or the surface of a wall or path, over which text could be layered.
Use a black felt-tip pen to inscribe the selected words onto the surface of the photocopied photograph in the selected areas. For example, string random words together and write them along one of the dominant lines in the image. Consider the size and style of the text (font) and which words could be repeated to contribute to the meaning of the work. Consider using a combination of handwritten text and using a word processing program to design some of the words in various fonts, cutting and pasting these onto the image.
Make a photocopy of the work when the text has been added. This will be used in the next lesson (Rap point 3).
A thin coloured wash could be added to the first photocopy, or alternatively, sections may be coloured using crayon or coloured pencil. Colours should be selected to help convey the intended mood or feelings associated with the space. |
Rap point 3
Jeannie Baker and her characters in Belonging have commenced the cycle of environmental change in their neighbourhood.
a) If your community project is to be ongoing, in what ways could you request further council support for future projects and ensure environmental success?
b) In what ways does your local area live in harmony with the environment? What suggestions do you have to continue the cycle of improvement in your environment?
Post a class response to describe the next environmental change you would make to further improve Jeannie Baker’s place of Belonging, and tell the rap the ways in which your local area lives in harmony with the environment.
Jeannie Baker will be online to answer any questions you have in regard to Belonging and her other texts. You may wish to visit Jeannie Baker’s web site to familiarise yourself with Jeannie Baker’s many texts and her interests.
c) What questions would you like to ask Jeannie Baker about the themes or activities related to caring for the environment in Belonging and other books that she has written?
Here are Jeannie Baker’s answers.
Syllabus outcomes and indicators |
Suggested sequence of teaching strategies |
HSIE K–6 syllabus
Relationships with places
ENS2:6 Describes people’s interactions with environments and identifies responsible ways of interacting with environments.
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identifies some organisations concerned with the care of places and environments in the community
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identifies issues about the care of places in the community or places of importance to them
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plans and implements a strategy for caring for a particular feature or place
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presents alternatives to and consequences of using features, sites and places in particular ways
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evaluates the necessity of caring for and conserving a feature, site or place.
Time and change
CCS2:2 Explains changes in the community and family life and evaluates the effects of these on different individuals, groups and environments.
Learning to write – producing texts
WS2:9 Drafts, revises, proofreads and publishes well structured texts that are more demanding in terms of topic, audience and written language features.
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selects relevant information to use in own writing
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expresses a point of view in writing with some supporting arguments (e.g. letter in Lesson 1)
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writes letters to a chosen audience.
Learning to read –reading and viewing texts
RS2.5 Reads independently a wide range of texts on increasingly challenging topics and justifies own interpretation of ideas, information and events.
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identifies and discusses elements such as main characters, setting and events in a variety of literary texts
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identifies and interprets themes and issues in literary texts
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relates the story of a picture book, providing some supporting detail from the text.
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You may wish to discuss this Rap point with the school’s Aboriginal Education Assistant, local Elders in the community, or other Aboriginal community members, to give students an understanding of Aboriginal people's relationships with family, community, environment and place in your local area.
Lesson 1
Students continue to look at the case study area in the neighbourhood from Belonging, that they analysed in Rap point 2 or they may consider constructing the final window of Belonging and brainstorm ways in which that particular area could be further enhanced.
* Using a concept map/mind map students find suggestions to answer the focus question:
In what ways could you improve this area?
Using the final window from Belonging , students brainstorm ways in which improvements could be made, and the reasons to support these improvements.
Rap sheet 4 may assist you with this question.
*The class selects one of the students’ suggestions. Using this improvement as the focus, students consider ways in which the local council would be able to support this improvement.
* Students should establish a timeline for these improvements. Students could complete a timeline for Tracy’s life.
Consider:
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material (including financial) resources needed
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human resources needed
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timeframe for improvements
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ways in which these improvements will assist the community.
* Students write letters of request to the council for assistance with their nominated project.
Lesson 2
Ask students to observe, think and list the ways in which the local area displays environmentally friendly practices.
Display the list that the students construct. Students suggest further improvements which may continue the cycle of environmental improvement for the local area.
Using the ideas from the students’ responses to the ways they could continue the improvement with the environmental cycle in Belonging and in their own environment, post a class response to the rap of your ideas for the next window in Belonging and the ways in which you would improve your own environment.
Lesson 3
Planning and developing questions to ask Jeannie Baker.
*Students could look at other Jeannie Baker texts for commonalities in her works. Consider:
- What are the similarities between these books?
- What is the significance of the window in Belonging and Window?
- Are there common themes throughout the books? If so, what are they?
- What are the similarities or differences in Jeannie Baker’s selection of characters.
- What is the significance of the settings in her books?
- What was the time span between the publishing dates of her books?
* Revise students’ knowledge of questions and statements.
* A question is… a clause that seeks information by asking. (English K–6 syllabus, p. 97)
* A statement is …a clause that provides information. (English K–6 syllabus, p. 99)
* Using Belonging as a basis students:
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write individual questions they would like to ask Jeannie Baker
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listen to the variety of questions and lists commonalities
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brainstorm responses and formulate 3 to 5 questions that they would like to ask and post these questions to the rap.
If another class has posted the same question, classes may choose to formulate a different question for Jeannie Baker’s response. |
Creative Arts K–6 syllabus
Visual Arts
Appreciating
VAS2.2 Uses the forms to suggest the qualities of subject matter.
- uses a variety of materials and techniques to create an imagined improved future view of their selected place
VAS2.4 Identifies connections between subject matter in artworks and what they refer to, and appreciates the use of particular techniques.
- talks and writes about the meaning of their artworks in the form of an artist’s statement
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Visual Arts session 3
Consider how your particular place could change and improve over time. What could make this area a better environment (plants, flowers, trees, grass, etc.)?
Using the second photocopy, students draw or paint an ‘improved’ environment. Pictures, materials and textured rubbings can also be added and layered onto the work. Exhibit both works next to each other.
Students write an artist’s statement to be exhibited beside the two artworks. The statement should explain the student’s relationships to the place and how they have represented it. The statement should inform the audience of the reasons behind some of the decisions that were made, such as why students selected that place, the added text, how the place was ‘improved’ in the final work. The statement could also be posted to the gallery alongside the artwork.
Students need to think about the artistic decisions that were made when creating the artwork.
What do you consider may have been some of the artistic decisions that Jeannie Baker may have had to make when creating the artworks for Belonging?
As students to construct two questions that could be submitted to Jeannie Baker in relation to how she communicated meaning through the works in Belonging. |
Rap wrap up
We explored Jeannie Baker’s backyard through her text, but we have also used Belonging as a springboard into our own backyard to discover ‘…the role of community and the empowerment of people …in changing their urban environment.’ (Jeannie Baker)
As a class, reflect on the knowledge you have gained during the past six weeks. The rap wrap up focus question assists you to do this.
Which activity has been the highlight for your class during this book rap?
How has reading Belonging, a wordless picture book, changed your views on reading a book?
How has participating in this book rap changed your views on the ways in which we care for our environment?
Post your final response to the rap as a short comment once the teacher has approved the final message.
It would be wonderful if you were able to make an acknowledgment of the work that other rappers have contributed throughout the past weeks and highlight some insights that you have gained from their responses.
Syllabus outcomes and indicators |
Suggested sequence of teaching strategies |
Learning about reading – context and text
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.
- identifies writer’s viewpoint
- offers an opinion about the text or aspects of it
- makes statements about how visual texts enhance the meaning and understanding of the reader.
Learning to write – producing texts
WS2:9 Drafts, revises, proofreads and publishes well structured texts that are more demanding in terms of topic, audience and written language features.
- contributes to joint construction activities.
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Students consider their understanding of Belonging and discuss the new concepts they have learnt throughout this rap.
Students brainstorm:
- why Jeannie Baker did not add written text to accompany the visual text
- the ways in which Jeannie Baker relays her message to the reader
- how Jeannie Baker’s message can be transferred to their own community.
Students reflect on their personal highlights for throughout the rap and compare class responses.
Construct a joint response to the Rap wrap up questions and post it to the rap
Read other rappers’ responses and reflect upon their opinions.
Teachers may wish to reflect on their students’ performance in relation to the syllabus outcomes that were the focus of this rap and post a summary to the teacher rap.
Thank you for your participation in this rap. |
Credits
Thanks to Vicki Douglass, Blacktown West Public School, and Rachael Kirsten, Creative Arts consultant, for developing the programming and support material for this rap.
Additional resources were provided by the School Libraries and Information Literacy unit.
This rap is a joint project of the School Libraries and Information Literacy and English, HSIE and Creative Arts Units, Curriculum K-12 Directorate. |
