English Textual Concepts: Point of View

In my teaching adventures last year I had the privilege to teach a Year 8 class with additional learning needs and I can say (and have probably already said on this blog before) that it was one of the most rewarding teaching/learning experiences I've had so far in my career. Teaching such a diverse range of little people helped me re-frame a lot of teaching strategies in a way that would make them more accessible and inclusive for those with learning difficulties. At this point I had already been experimenting with integrating the English Textual Concepts into my programming for a few years and the resources below represent one of these forays in relation to the aforementioned Year 8 class. 

For some additional context: the English Textual Concepts have been in development for quite some time. When I first heard about them at the 2014 ETA Conference they were referred to as the 'English Concept Continuum' and after this it popped up in various English-related professional learning scenarios and I kind of made it my mission to attend as much of PD sessions as possible. These days it is now being taught at Western Sydney University and is endorsed by the Department of Education as an invaluable resource for English programming - it isn't a mandatory part of being an English teacher but it's certainly a helpful one! When I get stuck in the formative stages of programming I find it's useful to have a squizz at the Textual Concepts and locate a concept that might work as a way to pull everything together.

So, anyway, I wanted to teach Point of View to my Year 8 class because I'd noted some of the students struggling to comprehend how writers establish a relationship between narrator and audience. Here's what the framework says in regards to teaching this particular concept to Stage 4:

Point of View - Stage 4

Students understand that choice of point of view shapes the meanings, the values and the effect of the text.

Students learn that

• a narrator can tell a story, comment on a story or break out from the story to address the responder, directly
• point of view is a device for persuading 
• point of view directs the responder to the values in the text

The Qinling Panda, with its brown fur, is one of the most endangered mammals in the world

Animal Conservation

At the start of 2017 the unit my school was teaching Year 8 focused on endangered animals and text types, which works well with Point of View if you want to look at how different text types utilise first, second and third person for particular effect. Anyway, here's a breakdown of the lesson:

1. Start the PowerPoint Presentation on Point of View. On the second slide brainstorm with students the language used for first, second and third person (IE. 'I, 'Me', 'Myself' for first person; 'You', 'Your', 'You're' for second person; 'He', 'She', Proper Nouns', 'His, etc. for third person). This explicitly identifies and classifies the sort of language the students will be looking for in the next part of the lesson.
2. Students are then shown three pieces of writing about the American Bison in the PowerPoint Presentation; hand out these extracts as a separate sheet and have them highlight the language that differentiates the pieces as first, second and third person.
3. On the 6th slide students are asked to consider the implications of how point of view affects the relationship between writer and responder. Think about: the first person text could be either non-fiction or fiction, however, the third person feels more resolutely like fiction and the second person example moves into a different realm altogether (it can be seen as an instructional text of some kind, perhaps even a travel guide). The questions build upwards ala Bloom's Taxonomy, starting with the 'what' questions before asking students to engage with some basic evaluation (which version appeals the most and why?)
4. The last slide gives students a first person piece of writing that they must rewrite as third person. It's a fairly straightforward activity that allows a struggling class a reasonable degree of success. The scaffolding of analysis before this final activity should also prepare students to discuss their piece of writing afterwards in relation to the way shifting point of view can help the responder to see the content of the text in new ways.

Sometimes I think we (the teacher) underestimate the value of explicitly teaching what we might take as obvious - there are some students who come to high school with a very real need for continued support in developing key comprehension skills that some students can already access unconsciously. In any event, it certainly doesn't hurt to let students achieve success in regards to exploring Point of View before moving forward to more advanced English processes.

Target Audiences, Context, and Mad Men

There's a wealth of texts that we can use in the classroom with students when looking at advertising and the role it plays in relation to communication. As part of a Year 10 unit that examines this topic I settled on using two main texts - carefully-selected excerpts from the reality TV satire Nathan For You (see this blog and this blog) and the historical drama series Mad Men. As it's unlikely that many students will be aware of them it's worth bringing your class up to speed on the context of these TV series before launching into either of them in conjunction with activities. 

Below is a brief bit of context that sets up one particular scene I like to use from Mad Men.

Context

Mad Men is a 2007 TV drama set in 1960. It focuses on an advertising agency called Stirling-Cooper where a Creative Director, Don Draper, must come up with creative ideas to help companies sell their products. Companies decide whether they will hire Stirling-Cooper based on how good Don's ideas are. The show can be confronting for modern audiences because it honestly depicts the attitudes of the time (sexism, cigarette smoking, racism); allowing the audience to see how different the 1960s were to 2007. In this clip, Stirling-Cooper is dealing with a Jewish client for the first time.

Show students the questions below first and then let the clip play through a couple of times so they can watch for the answers. I find that students are much more willing to focus if they know what they're looking for so there's little use in just showing the clip without any of the context above or letting them know the purpose behind it.

The questions focus on comprehension and explanation, and scaffold students towards a point where they will be asked to discuss the concept of a target audience. They are (and I'm sure you could probably add a few of your own):

1. What is the agency's plan to boost awareness for Menken's Store?
2. Why is Miss Menken against the idea of coupons?
3. What has prompted Miss Menken to seek a new image for her store?
4. What kind of target audience is Miss Menken after?
5. Why does she say "the customer is always right?"
6. Give an example of sexism or anti-Semitism (discrimination against Jewish people) from this clip.
7. Find one example of sarcasm in the clip and explain its purpose. 

After the students have thought it through (and formulated some responses) you can then discuss some possible answers:

Potential Answers

1. The agency plans to boost awareness of Menken's through the use of coupons and a TV spot designed to increase their exposure.
2. Miss Menken is against coupons because of the connotations associated with them, IE. That they appeal to people trying to save money, whereas Miss Menken wants to appeal to a more affluent / well-off demographic.
3. Miss Menken's father previously ran the business, however, last year they reported their lowest sales so now she is seeking to revitalise the brand and find new customers.
4. Miss Menken wants a rich, upper class audience for her product, and gives an example of the sort of brand she wants her store to be compared to.
5. The phrase 'the customer is always right' is delivered by Miss Menken to remind Don Draper and his colleagues that she is currently his customer and that he should be listening to her ideas.
6. The reference to 'the village' is an allusion to Jewish people stereotypically living in a more 'backward' or primitive fashion. The phrase 'Your people' is also a reference to Miss Menken's Jewishness. Draper and co. also mention Miss Menken's father, alluding to their preference to work with him rather than her, which demonstrates sexism.
7. Miss Menken is being sarcastic when she says "this place runs on charm", as she obviously believes the opposite. 

Another example of sexism

The rest of the lesson can then be spent on some paragraph writing practice, with a formula of your choice. If I'm working with a mixed ability class who have limited confidence about this sort of thing  then I'll use a fairly open-ended question such as:

Write one paragraph outlining how you would aim to change the target audience for Menken's Store to suit Miss Menken's vision.

Students should aim to start their paragraph with a statement of some sort that re-frames the question so that an unsuspecting reader could follow the paragraph without having read the question. After this point the student is free to explain what their idea is, how they would go about implementing it and making it work, and then finishing up with a confident assessment of why their idea is the best option for Miss Menken.

Writing a paragraph in this way provides scope for students to just get some independent writing done (which can be a struggle at times), plus they can practise their command of rhetoric - which is pertinent in light of the overall topic's focus on persuasion and advocating for ideas. 

Reading Roll: Late 2017/Early 2018

My last Reading Roll was back in March last year but, the thing is... I never stopped reading! I just stopped posting reviews because I switched to reading the texts on the new HSC NSW English Prescriptions List, and have been talking about them in the context of their appropriateness to the new English syllabuses here, here, here, here and here. Every now and again I make a little time to read some non-Prescribed texts and below are some of these non-Prescriptions, most of which were graphic novels. Some of these I read just for fun but would still be good for classroom use.

Hot Dog Taste Test by Lisa Hanawalt

Hanawalt is probably best known for her work on the TV series Bojack Horseman. This graphic novel is less a novel and more a collection of comic vignettes exploring absurdist tangents and autobiographical snippets of Hanawalt's life (mostly in regards to food). The author's hilariously askew sense-of-humour had me laughing out-loud a lot, and it took me absolutely no time at all to read from cover to cover.

The Imposter's Daughter by Laurie Sandell

Joining the hallowed annals of graphic novel memoirs is no mean feat but I would easily put Sandell's story alongside other personal accounts such as Craig Thompson's Blankets and Alison Bechdel's Fun Home. Sandell is probably best known for her work as a journalist and editor for magazines such as Glamour, Marie Claire, Esquire, GQ, etc., however, in this frank and sometimes unbelievable memoir she weaves together an arresting narrative of finding her feet in writing and gradually discovering her father's uncanny (and highly damaging) gift for con-artistry.

Big History by DK

Have you ever looked at the subject of history and wondered, "Where's all the stuff that happened before humans came along?" Well, if so, then Big History is the coffee table book for you. This vibrant, illustrated DK guide to David Christian's groundbreaking combination of history and science helps to make clear the recurring patterns that unify all of history as we know it. A hugely informative book.

Wilson by Daniel Clowes

This graphic novel is a disarmingly brisk jaunt through the life of the titular misanthrope, a curmudgeonly loner who insists on voicing his criticisms in just about every situation. What's perhaps most interesting about Wilson is its structure, with Clowes depicting his protagonist's life in a serialised form over the course of single-page strips (like the sort of comic strips you'd see in newspapers) despite the whole thing having been constructed as a graphic novel. This means that we get these snapshots of Wilson's life, condensing a much larger narrative into 70 single strips that each end in a twisted take on the stereotypical gags associated with Sunday morning newspaper cartoons.

Night Air and Volcano Trash by Ben Sears

My only criticism of Sears' fantasy/sci-fi series is that each volume flies by so quickly that you're left wishing you didn't have to wait so long until the next installment of Plus Man's exhilarating adventures with his robotic sidekick Hank. Think Adventure Time mixed with the buoyant, minimalist artwork of Tintin. Great for all ages!

Last Look by Charles Burns

Charles Burns is probably best known for his creepy, psychedelic graphic novel Black Hole. The volume Last Look brings together his most recent trilogy of graphic novels, and complexly weaves together two narratives that dance around themes of psychosis, anxiety, and guilt. Burns is a master of symbolism and the bizarrely disturbing, and all I'll say is that if you read this you'll need to commit to the whole thing - everything in this narrative is perfectly intentional, no matter how weird it might seem, and the ending will make you look at the whole thing in a new light.

Some Comics by Stephen Collins

I was drawn to this collection of single strips after reading Collins' brilliantly absurd The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil. Unlike the aforementioned graphic novel, these single-page comics are much more comedy-oriented. I appreciated Collins' twisted sense of humour though and eagerly await whatever he does next!

Transmetropolitan by Warren Ellis

I'm about 6 or so volumes into this '90s cyberpunk series that, sadly, still feels blisteringly relevant in its satirical subversion of politics, society, and all things 'modern'. The protagonist, Spider Jerusalem, is one of the great non-superpowered anti-heroes of comics, and his invective-laden rants against the grimy futuristic dystopia he lives in are sharp enough to cut steel.

Comfort Food by Ellen Van Neervan

I grabbed Van Neervan's poetry volume after all the controversy that came out of her poem Mango being included in last year's HSC. Her work is sparse, thoughtful, intense, sensory, personal... I really enjoyed the wide range of verse and all I'll say in regards to the controversy is that it was unfounded, the Mango poem did its job in provoking such a diversity in responses. I hope Van Neervan has many more volumes of poetry to come.

Tranny by Laura Jane Grace

I'm a huge Against Me! fan, even if I do actually prefer the more polished and anthemic later stuff over their raw, folk-punk beginnings. In this brutally honest memoir, Laura Jane Grace combines her diary entries with a more straightforward narrative to describe her journey of discovery in relation to identity and gender. There aren't many transsexual music icons with as high a profile as Grace, which makes this autobiography a must-read for both punk-rock fans and those interested in gender politics and LGBT issues. It helps that Grace holds nothing back when discussing her family, friends, bandmates, music, etc., and it makes for a very entertaining and visceral read.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

I read this in preparation for teaching Year 11 Extension English 1 this year. I'd never read it before so I wasn't sure how it would go, but I actually liked it a lot. I'm coming around to accepting the disjointed nature of a lot of Victorian-era novels (it was always something I struggled a lot with in my younger days), and the opening five chapters of Dracula are probably my favourite part of Stoker's seminal vampire tale. I have no doubt that this because they're the most representative of how people commonly think of the Count and his predatory behaviour. The rest of the novel has elements worth reading too but, as I mentioned, it can feel disjointed at times. The biggest point of interest for me was how unromanticised Stoker's portrayal of Count Dracula is - not at all like the many iterations of vampires we've seen since.  

The Analects by Confucius

I came across a statistic somewhere that claimed Confucius's Analects is the most read text of all time. I'm not sure if it's true or not but - considering China's long history, population, and influence on the world - it sounds legit, and that's why I thought I should read it. As a work of philosophy, I found it best digested over a few months, a couple of quotes at a time. As a 2500 year old text the context sometimes made it a little difficult to translate some parts (even when written in English), but I still found many quotes to be applicable to the modern day. I guess there's a reason why the wisdom of Confucius endures. 

Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe

This groundbreaking history book couldn't be more relevant to Australian society at this point in time. Pascoe has done something truly astonishing in bringing together extensive research, documentation, testimony, and first-hand experience to reconstruct Australia's pre-European past and thus deconstruct a lot of the myths surrounding what Aboriginal society looked like before Captain Cook's arrival. Pascoe not only makes an undeniable case for the idea of an Aboriginal 'civilisation', he also outlines the racist ideologies and methods that led to the erasure of this civilisation from white consciousness in the years since settlement. I found it both fascinating and enraging.

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

When I hear the words 'experimental novel' I tend to think I'll probably need to read it with a highlighter and a notepad, but Saunders' genre-defying historical fantasy bucks the trend and manages to be remarkably entertaining and heartfelt despite its structural idiosyncrasies. Told from the point of view of a collection of spirits 'stuck' between our world and the next, Lincoln in the Bardo mixes primary historical sources with outlandish speculation to capture the voices of America's 19th century. Easily worth the many awards it's won.

Rocannon's World by Ursula Le Guin

Le Guin's early science fiction novel is often overlooked in favour of her Earthsea Quartet or later sci-fi classics such as The Dispossessed and The Left Hand of Darkness. What makes Rocannon's World noteworthy is that it's the first entry in the 'Hainish Cycle' - eight science fiction novels (including the two mentioned above) that take place in the same fictional timeline/universe. Rocannon's World is a fairly brief concept-based novel that takes an anthropological look at human descendants living on an alien world, and uses some conceits related to the time distortions/differences that would arise in our theoretical exploration of space in the future. It's a neat sci-fi narrative but, as always, what makes Le Guin's work stand out is her knack for exploring the genre through a more post-modern perspective without leaving the reader behind.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

I wanted to see what all the hype was about and I think I'm lucky that I read this before I even realised it was becoming a film because the aggressively intertextual marketing campaign for Spielberg's movie would have turned me off altogether. Ready Player One isn't going to amaze any fans of award-winning literature nor will it prove intellectually stimulating to those who are normally attracted to sci-fi. What it does have going for it is a fun, geek-culture-heavy adventure that's easy to read and hard to put down. I enjoyed it, for the most part.

A Contract With God by Will Eisner

The name 'Eisner' has become synonymous with the graphic novel canon owing to this ground-breaking collection of longer-form comics. Eisner's use of the comic strip medium to explore dark, adult concepts was instrumental in the form's continuing development from superhero/comedy mainstay to a storytelling method that could be used to serve literature in a deeper fashion. A Contract with God remains highly arresting in its exploration of pain, loss, and displaced Jewish identity, and I found myself unable to tear away from each of the four thematically-linked stories - fascinated as much by the evidently heartfelt personal context and Eisner's seamless combination of word and image.

The Death of Stalin by Fabien Nury

It's easy to see why British satirist Armando Iannucci chose this one-shot graphic novel as the basis for his recent film of the same name. Inventively Machiavellian and as poisonous as any fatal snake bite, The Death of Stalin presents the true story of the Russian despot's demise and the political fallout that followed. In most hands this could have been a dry piece of historical retelling, but Nury zeroes in on the awful, the unbelievable, the rage-inducing, and the downright ridiculous to portray the final days of a bloodthirsty tyrant and the serpentine beginnings of the Cold War.

Sad Topographies by Damien Rudd

I'm a sucker for a quirky coffee table book. I saw this one in a Newtown bookstore and was immediately taken with its subject matter. Originating as an Instagram account, Rudd explores a series of depressingly named locations around the world with thoughtful essays on associated errata, etymological digressions, and miscellany. Places featured include Nothing, World's End, Isle of the Dead, Disappointment Island, and Port Famine.

Moonhead and the Music Machine

This graphic novel about the power of music, teenage misfitism, and what it's like to literally have a moon for a head is just the right mix of angst, comedy, and fantasy. I really enjoyed Joey Moonhead's journey towards acceptance and identity. His absurd friendships with other teenagers on the outskirts of the archetypal American high school are hilarious and visually arresting. A true gem.

The Finder Library Volume 1 by Carla Speed McNeil

Pulling together a diverse array of influences to mix together Indigenous narratives, comic styles related to Manga and online serials, and post-apocalyptic sci-fi, The Finder Library is a unique and genre-defying exercise in exotic world-building. McNeil ties together the narrative of Jaeger, a drifter with troubled origins, and the domestically-strained mixed-race family of Emma Lockhart and Brigham Grosvener. To give you an idea of the scope of this impressive series, McNeil's vision of the distant future explores the interrelation of racial identity and social standing, biological vs. culturally-constructed notions of gender, media consumption, and the impact of violence on the individual.

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein

I've half-read a Heinlein before and couldn't finish it, so it was with some trepidation that I gave this one a shot. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress was enjoyable but also not without its issues. Told through the cynical eyes of one-armed computer technician Mannie, a 'loonie' (citizen of the Moon), The Moon is a Harsh Mistress relates the imagined revolution of Earth's lunar colony - paralleling the Bolshevism of 1920s Russia, nightmare scenarios of over-population and diminishing resources, and the 'free love' movement of the 1960s. The protagonist Mannie is thankfully the least annoying character in the novel, however, there is also a lot of political subplotting that doesn't really go anywhere quick enough, and the supporting characters veer between completely forgettable and incredibly irritating. That said, Heinlein's depiction of a lunar colony has some fairly interesting dimensions, and I enjoyed the way it plays into the counter-culture of Heinlein's era. Notable for its invention of the phrase 'There's no such thing as a free lunch!"