Thunja

Learning intention:

I am learning to use a variety of software so that I can create a multimodal text in an author’s style.

Success criteria:

• I can insert audio files or hyperlinks in software.
• I can identify the key elements of an author’s style.
• I can create a multimodal text using an author’s style.

 

Essential knowledge:               

• More information about style can be found in the English Textual Concepts video style.
• Examples of software can be found on the NSW Department of Education’s page Learning Tools.
• Instructions on how to insert an audio file into Microsoft PowerPoint.
• Instructions on how to insert an audio file into Google Slides.

 

After reading Thunja as a class or listening to the digital recording, ask the following questions:

• What point of view does the text use? (Third person)
• Who is the main character? (Oona)
• What are some strange things that happened in the narrative? (Answers will include the trees morphing, Oona seeing the music, Oona visualising her island with no houses or people, a giant octopus fought a giant golden fish.)
• Do you think what happened in the story was real? (Answers will vary according to students’ interpretation of the story. This can be a chance to discuss whether what Oona experienced was real, a hallucination or a dream.)

 

Ask students what kinds of strange things might happen if Oona went out on a different night to meet the old man.  Encourage them to brainstorm with a partner as many strange ideas as they can.

 

Individually, students draft a short story about Oona’s strange new experience using the original author’s style. Once complete, they can use a software such as Microsoft PowerPoint to create slides displaying their story. Explain that students will also be inserting at least one audio file to enhance their story. The audio file can be of them reading a portion of the story, soundbites for sounds mentioned in the narrative or atmospheric music. Students can use devices to record themselves reading aloud or record sounds such as the wind blowing in the trees or birds singing. They can also use a webpage such as Find Sounds to download soundbites. Alternatively, if they’ve chosen software that doesn’t support audio files (such as Microsoft Word), they can insert a hyperlink for a webpage with an audio file or video. Instructions for doing this can be found on Microsoft’s support page Hyperlinks in Word for the web.

 

Once completed, students share their multimodal stories with a partner.

 

Assessment as learning:

• Have I written my story in third person?
• Is Oona my main character?
• Does my story follow the same style as Thunja?
• Does my story feature strange events?
• Have I included an audio file or a hyperlink in my story?