Stage 5 Outcomes and content

Teaching and learning strategies

Outcome 1: A student responds to and composes increasingly sophisticated and sustained texts for understanding, interpretation, critical analysis and pleasure.

Students learn to:
1.1 respond and compose a range of imaginative, factual and critical texts which are increasingly demanding in terms of their linguistic, structural, cognitive, emotional and moral complexity.

Students learn about:
1.8 the features of increasingly complex, imaginative, factual and critical texts, including the cognitive, emotional and moral dimensions of text and its linguistic and structural features.

Students will identify the ways purpose, audience and context affect their writing for the book rap introductory message.

Outcome 4: A student selects and uses language forms and features, and structures of texts according to different purposes, audiences and contexts, and describes and explains their effects on meaning.

Students learn to:
4.2 describe, explain and evaluate the composer's choices of language forms and features and structures of texts in terms of purpose, audience and context

Students learn about:
4.10 the metalanguage for describing, explaining and justifying the composer's choices of language forms and features and structures of texts in terms of purpose, audience and context.

Introduce the book rap and outline expectations. Students could be shown the book rap web site, read selected sections such as Rap lingo, discuss the purpose of rap lingo and practice using it.

In discussing the purpose and conventions of a book rap, teachers could also refer to appropriate Book rap FAQs, and examples of email messages in the Archives of email discussion from previous raps.

Discuss the process of subscribing to a listserv.

Subscribe the group or class to The Rabbits book rap.

The book should be read by students before the rap begins.

The written text could be provided to students without any visuals and the type of narrative, recount, legend, allegory , audiences and language devices discussed. The Teacher' notes for The rabbits at Lothian Books may provide some helpful ideas.

The teacher could model the composition of a reader's diary when reading the book.

Teacher reviews language techniques such as metaphor, symbolism etc to ensure students have experience in understanding figurative devices.

Outcome 3: A student selects, uses, describes and explains how different technologies affect and shape meaning.

Students learn to:
3.3 use advanced word processing tools including formatting of references and bibliographies, formatting multiple page documents including weblinks, importing data from internet and manipulating images to compose and format texts for different purposes, audiences and contexts, including the workplace.

Students learn about:
3.9 the nature, scope and ethical use of information and communication technologies in contemporary society.

Explain the conventions of email. Provide opportunities for the discussion of introductory rap messages. Examples of introductory messages from previous raps in Archives of email discussion from previous raps could be referred to.

Facilitate a brainstorm, a deconstruction, and joint construction of a group or class introductory message for the book rap. If a large number of schools is participating, discuss how you will manage email messages (see Book rap FAQs).

Students could receive and read email introductions, and discuss and compare information in them.

Rap sheet 1 could be used to follow the messages of selected schools, and to help describe and understand the audience. A Rap map could be used to record locations of participating schools. Create a class wall map or individual maps of participants in the rap.

Rap reps could word process the class introduction, save it to disk, use the browser, and send it to the rap once the teacher has approved the final message.

Stage 5 Outcomes and content

Teaching and learning strategies

Stage 5 Outcomes and content

Teaching and learning strategies

Outcome 4: A student selects and uses language forms and features, and structures of texts according to different purposes, audiences and contexts, and describes and explains their effects on meaning.

Students learn to:
4.2 describe, explain and evaluate the composer's choices of language forms and features and structures of texts in terms of purpose, audience and context.

Students learn about:
4.8 the ways in which spoken, written and visual texts are shaped according to personal, historical, cultural, social, technological and workplace contexts

4.10 the meatalanguage for describing, explaining and justifying the composer's choice of language forms and features and structures of texts in terms of purpose, audience and context.

Outcome 1: A student responds to and composes increasingly sophisticated and sustained texts for understanding, interpretation, critical analysis and pleasure.

Students learn to:
1.6 respond to and compose texts that use inference and figurative language, such as symbolism and allusion, in complex and subtle ways.

Outcome3: A student selects, uses, describes and explains how different technologies affect and shape meaning.

Facilitate student access to rap email messages in print or electronic form, so they can read, discuss and record the responses of other rappers to Rap point 1. Teachers may wish to share strategies they are using for collecting rap email, sharing and recording responses on the teacher discussion list. Teachers seeking additional ideas could ask such questions on the teacher list.

With teacher guidance, students individually select a double page from the text that appeals to them. Students use their reader's diary to record their ideas about the page and give reasons for why they chose the page.

Following discussion of individual pages, the group decides on a double page which they will use for their Rap point 2 response, guided by the Rap sheet 3 activity (Visual elements: for page deconstruction).

To prepare for the Rap sheet 3 activity, teacher chooses a double page from the text (such as the first pages which students have not nominated) and models the deconstruction of how meaning is made using the visual techniques appropriate from Rap sheet 2 activity. Encourage discussion of how the narrative is developed, the cultural perspectives and how readers are positioned.

Teacher allocates double pages to groups of students to deconstruct (omit the choice decided on for Rap point 2 response). Ideas are then shared with whole group.

The nominated page for the Rap point 2 response is now deconstructed as a group using Rap sheet 3. In this activity teachers could support the class to structure the response by suggesting or brainstorming the introductory paragraph and each subsequent topic sentence, and inviting students to jointly compose the rest.

Students use Rap sheet 3 to record responses. (Nominate a recorder – use a different student from Rap point 1)

The Constructing a joint response guide could assist with this activity.

A student rap representative could word process the response, edit, and save to disk. (Again, a different student/s could be nominated).

You could consider using networked word processors in lieu of the blackboard or overhead projector to record the growing response. You may wish to use Inspiration software.

Once the teacher has approved the final text, rap reps could send the response to Rap point 2 to the rap.

Additional activity: (can be done in reader's diary)

In groups or as pairs, students could be asked to take

the position of another character apart from a rabbit and retell an incident from their point of view, explaining how that character's point of view compares with the rabbit's experience or viewpoint.

Stage 5 Outcomes and content

Teaching and learning strategies

Outcome 8: A student investigates the relationships between and among texts.

Students learn about:
8.8 the metalanguage for identifying, describing and explaining relationships between and among texts.

Outcome 11: A student uses, reflects on, assesses and adapts their individual and collaborative skills for learning with increasing independence and effectiveness.

Students learn to:
11.5 use individual and group processes to generate, investigate, document, clarify, refine, critically evaluate and present ideas and information drawn from books, the internet and other sources of information.

Facilitate student access to rap email messages in print or electronic form so they can read, discuss and record the responses of other rappers to Rap point 2, to add and compare messages.

Discussion could include similarities and differences in the responses of participating schools, points the class had not previously considered, differing interpretations of the book.

In order to help pose questions they wish to ask about The rabbits or other books he has written or illustrated,
students should be encouraged to explore issues and viewpoints about Shaun Tan's work, and read other picture books that Tan has written and/or illustrated, for example, The red tree, Memorial.

Selected Internet sites or guided Internet searches, e.g. using Google, could support this activity. This would be a good opportunity for explicit teaching of web search skills as a range of variously successful and relevant hits can be achieved depending on the terms and options within the search engine selected. Various approaches could be tried and the results compared.

A number of websites and other resources are listed in Additional resources. Some such websites relevant to exploring Tan's work as both author and/or illustrator, and specific books are:

About our authors and illustrators

Locus Online: Shaun Tan interview excerpts

CBCA (WA Branch) and click on WA authors and illustrators.

Students should be guided to develop an awareness of similarities and differences in stylistic and visual elements used. Discussion points and rap sheets used for the previous Rap points could assist.

Students could record their findings in their reader's diary and pose a series of questions they would like to ask Shaun Tan.

Compile list of all possible questions from group members. (Nominate different scribe).

Group selects five questions that cover a diverse range of ideas that are representative of the group.

Use Rap sheet 4 to record questions.

Outcome 2: A student uses and critically assesses a range of processes for responding and composing.

Students learn about:
2.10 the ways composers, including authors and film-makers, use processes of representation in composing texts.

Once the teacher has approved the final questions, Rap reps send the class email response to the rap.

Facilitate access to the Internet or print copy of messages so students can view and discuss the questions posed by other class groups and Shaun Tan's responses.

Stage 5 Outcomes and content

Teaching and learning strategies

Outcome 11: A student uses, reflects on, assesses and adapts their individual and collaborative skills for learning with increasing independence and effectiveness.

Students learn to:
11.5 use individual and group processes to generate, investigate, document, clarify, refine, critically evaluate and present ideas and information drawn from books, the internet and other sources of information.

11.6 establish and adopt roles and responsibilities, negotiate and implement strategies and meet deadlines

11.8 articulate and discuss the pleasure and difficulties, successes and challenges experienced in investigation, problem solving, independent and collaborative work, and establish improved practices.

Students learn about:
11.13 management strategies in including drawing up schedules, timing, delegation and sharing in group work.

Students read, discuss and record all the responses by Shaun Tan to Rap point 3.

Facilitate class discussion, reviewing and reflecting on activities students have engaged in during the rap. Discuss aspects of intended learning in relation to the Outcomes worked towards. Students could use the Rap reflection sheet to support this activity.

They could be asked to write personal responses in a variety of text forms to reflect the discussion of their individual and group rap experience in their reader's diary e.g. students could write a letter to Shaun Tan or a review of the book. Deconstruction of other reviews, such as those in Scan or Additional resources could support this.

Students could discuss their responses and reflect on the variety of views and responses to the rap.

Students could participate in jointly constructing a group response to the Rap wrap up.

A joint Rap wrap up message is drafted, reflecting a variety of views and responses. It is then word processed and posted to the listserv, when the teacher has approved final text.