kelly, j. (2010, august 4). web viewwords and phrasing , pronunciation ... and identify whether...

Mackenzie Aarts n6527914

CLB019: English Curriculum 2

Name: Mackenzie AartsStudent Number: n6527914

Lecturer: Anita JetnikoffTutor: Kelli McGraw

Assessment: Junior Secondary Curriculum UnitDue Date: 24th of September, 2010

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Schematic Overview of Unit

SCHOOL NAME: HARTFIELD STATE HIGH SCHOOL

UNIT TITLE: WORDING OUR WORLD KLA: ENGLISH YEAR LEVEL: 10 DURATION OF UNIT: 4 WEEKS

IDENTIFY CURRICULUM ESSENTIAL LEARNINGSWAYS OF WORKING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

Demonstrate and analyse the relationship between audience, subject matter, purpose and text type in news texts.

Identify main ideas and the sequence of events, make inferences and draw conclusions based on their understanding of the reliability of ideas and information across news texts.

Recognise and select vocabulary and interpret and apply literal and figurative language in non-literary texts.

Interpret and analyse how language elements and other aspects of texts position readers/viewers/listeners.

Reflect on and analyse how language choices position readers/viewers/listeners in particular ways for different purposes and can exclude information.

Construct non-literary texts by planning and organising subject matter according to specific text structure and manipulating language elements to present particular points of view.

Reflect on learning, apply new understandings and justify future applications.

Knowledge and Understanding of Speaking and Listening Speaking and listening involve using oral, aural and gestural elements to interpret and construct texts that achieve purposes across local, national and global contexts. The purpose of speaking and listening includes examining issues, evaluating opinions, convincing others,

and managing relationships and transactions between the presenter and the audience. Speakers make assumptions about listeners to position and promote a point of view, and to plan and

present subject matter. Words and phrasing, pronunciation, pause, pace, pitch and intonation express meaning, establish mood,

signal relationships and are monitored by listeners. In presentations, speakers make meaning clear by organising subject matter, and by selecting resources

that support the role they have taken as the speaker and the relationship they wish to establish with the audience.

Speakers and listeners use a number of strategies to make meaning, including identifying purpose, activating prior knowledge, responding, questioning, identifying main ideas, monitoring, summarising and reflecting.

Knowledge and Understanding of Reading and Viewing Reading and viewing involve using a range of strategies to interpret, analyse and appreciate written, visual and multimodal texts across local, national and global contexts. Purposes for reading and viewing are identified and are supported by an analysis of texts based on an

overview that includes skimming and scanning titles, visuals, headings and subheadings, font size, tables of contents, topic sentences and references.

Readers and viewers draw on their prior knowledge, knowledge of language elements, points of view, beliefs and cultural understandings when engaging with a text.

Words, groups of words, visual resources and images can position an audience by presenting ideas and information and portraying people, characters, places, events and things in particular ways.

Reading fluency is supported through monitoring vocabulary and its meaning across different contexts. Readers and viewers use a number of active comprehension strategies to interpret texts, including

activating prior knowledge, predicting, questioning, identifying main ideas, inferring, monitoring, summarising and reflecting.

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Knowledge of Writing and Designing Writing and designing involve using language elements to construct literary and non-literary texts for audiences across local, national and global contexts. The purpose of writing and designing includes analysing and arguing. Writers and designers establish and maintain roles and relationships by recognising the beliefs and cultural

background of their audience, and by making specific language choices. Text users make choices about grammar and punctuation, to affect meaning. Writers and designers refer to authoritative sources and use a number of active writing strategies,

including planning, drafting, revising, editing, proofreading, publishing and reflecting.

Knowledge and Understanding of Language Elements Interpreting and constructing texts involve manipulating grammar, punctuation, vocabulary, audio and visual elements, in print-based, electronic and face-to-face modes (speaking and listening, reading and viewing, writing and designing) across local, national and global contexts. Adjectives and adverbs are used to express attitudes and make judgments and/or evoke emotions. Modal auxiliary verbs are selected to convey degrees of certainty, probability or obligation to suit the text

type. Vocabulary is chosen to establish roles and relationships with an audience, including the demonstration of

personal authority and credibility.

Knowledge and Understanding of Literary and Non-Literary Texts Manipulating literary and non-literary texts involves analysing the purpose, audience, subject matter and text structure. Audiences can be positioned to view characters and ideas in particular ways and these views can be

questioned. Texts can reflect an author’s point of view, beliefs and cultural understandings. Non-literary texts analyse, inform, argue and persuade. Non-literary texts can focus on a major point that is supported by elaboration. Reasoning, points of view and judgments are supported by evidence that can refer to authoritative

sources. Non-literary texts can conclude with recommendations, restating the main arguments or summarising a

position.

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CONTEXT FOR LEARNING (INCLUDING LANGUAGE FOCUS) RATIONALE (INCLUDING SCHOOL COHORT PRIORITIES)Unit Context: Exploring the power of the news (mainly print news) to represent cultures, position readers and strengthen dominant Australian values, attitudes and beliefs.

Parent Text: Abdel-Fattah, R. (2005). Does my head look big in this?. Sydney, NSW:

Pan Macmillan Australia.

Focus Questions: What is this news text about? What is the purpose of presenting this news? What is newsworthy? Who determines what is newsworthy? How is the news presented through different text-types? Who/what is privileged or foregrounded in this news text? What is the effect of foregrounding and privileging? Who/what is silenced in this news text? What is the effect of gaps and silences? How are cultures and global events represented and constructed? What is the audience for this news text? How does the audience affect the way the news is presented? How are you as a reader positioned by the news text? What verbal and non-verbal language choices are used to allocate

power, represent cultures, position readers and strengthen dominant Australian values? To what effect are they used?

Does the presentation and recount of one event change over different modes, mediums and cultural context?

Why is it important to analyse the presentation and reporting of news?

How can we take action?

The focus of the unit ‘Wording Our World’ is to introduce students to the power of news texts to represent cultures, position readers and strengthen dominant Australian values, attitudes and beliefs (i.e. discourses) to the detriment of other cultural discourses. Students’ exposure to news is a frequent and pervasive occurrence that is often absorbed by them as passive and compliant readers or viewers. News texts often give the “appearance of objectivity and so invite readers to accept their version and construction of events,” reinforcing them to be compliant rather than resistant readers and viewers of the news (Gold, 2009, p. 176). It is from analysis of these news texts though that it becomes evident of the partial nature of the reporting of the news. News texts play a crucial role in shaping public opinion and attitudes about cultural issues, identities and events through the information they choose to report on and publish and how they report the news (e.g. language choices) (Meadows, 1995, p. 25). Because newspapers are widely read, they are able to bring their stance on particular issues to a very broad audience (Guest, Eshuys, Kimber & Yaxley, 2000, p. 253). As a result, the power of news texts to represent and position people and cultures in society warrants critical reading of these texts (Jetnikoff, 2009). In keeping with the socio-cultural language theory that is embedded in the English Essential Learnings (QSA, 2007), Wing Jan (2009, p. 192) also recognises the importance of exposing students to print news in order to explore the variety of text-types within them.

With this exploration and exposing the power of the news to represent cultures in partial ways, the purpose of this unit clearly address the needs and interests of the multicultural context of Hartfield State High School. Within this unit, students individually and collaboratively interpret and analyse how language choices in news texts (mainly print news), position readers, viewers and listeners in particular ways for different purposes and reflect on the implications of this knowledge and opportunities to resist and challenge this reader positioning and cultural constructions in their own lives (QSA, 2007, p, 2). The unit learning experiences reflect a socio-cultural critical theory of language where students explore the register of news texts, are exposed to aspects of appraisal grammar, view language as a social resource and are shown how texts position readers and do ideological work through the concepts of representations, discourse, reader positioning, foregrounding and privileging, gaps and silences and silencing or marginalising (Bushell, n.d., pp. 7, 9). Within the context of this unit, the integration of exploring appraisal grammar in news texts “helps students to understand how texts construct ideologies and position them as readers to accept these as natural” (McGuire, n.d., p. 1). While the unit focuses on print news, balanced opportunities for students to engage with all of the mode organisers of the English Essential Learnings are provided through the teaching strategies, learning experiences and resources utilised (QSA, 2007). The parent text for this unit, ‘Does my head look big in this?’ (Abdel-Fattah, 2005) relates to the context for learning within this unit and is highly appropriate to the student context in that the story is about a teenage girl who faces social pressure and hardship from other students and members of society over her expression of her culture. In this novel, the stereotyped views that characters express are uninformed and often contributed to the passive and

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collective acceptance of the partial cultural representations in the news. A wide variety of teaching strategies are utilised to maintain student engagement with the unit and accommodate student variability in their preferences for learning. In order to respect the diversity of students’ within the Hartfield State High School context, scaffolding of learning and language support strategies are implemented throughout this unit.

Various formative assessment techniques are included as a way to frequently measure student progress throughout the unit and provide opportunities for reflection. The summative assessment task in this unit affords students the opportunity to respond critically to a newspaper article as active, informed and concerned citizens in society who are challenging the way a particular news event has been reported and calling for change. This summative assessment task connects the learning to the students’ real lives and provides a powerful opportunity for them to understand their connections to the world (QSA, 2009, p. 3) and their power to take action and challenge dominant representations in Australian society.

DEVELOP ASSESSMENT MAKE JUDGMENTS

Type of assessment What will be assessed Purpose of assessment Assessable elementsSummative Assessment:Assignment – written response.

Written letter to the editor of a newspaper, analysing their presentation and reporting of a news event and from the analysis, commenting how this newspaper article represented cultures, positioned readers and strengthened dominant Australian values, attitudes and beliefs.

Knowledge and understanding of the functional grammar concept of register and the critical concepts of representations, reader positioning, foregrounding and privileging, gaps and silences and dominant discourses.

Ability to analyse the reporting of news in a newspaper article.

Ability to compose a response from this analysis in the mode and medium of a written letter to the editor.

N.B. This letter to the editor is not necessarily being created for the purpose of publication in the respective newspaper like most letters to the editors. This letter is a letter of concern to the newspaper editor on the way they condone and publish partial

To understand that the presentation of news is often partial and transmits the values of the dominant culture in society.

To understand that news texts represent cultures in particular ways for particular purposes by foregrounding and privileging certain values and silencing or marginalising other values.

To understand that the continual misrepresentation of particular cultures can have stigmatising and stereotyped effects.

To understand that news texts position readers. To understand that creators and publishers of news

report and present for a particular audience. For students to recognise that they must read news

texts critically. For students to realise that they can participate in

society as active and informed citizens to take action against partial news texts by analysing and exposing the inaccurate and biased nature of this reporting and presentation of the news and call for change.

Knowledge and Understanding Interpreting Texts Constructing Texts Appreciating Texts

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and biased reports of the news.

LEARNING EXPERIENCES AND TEACHING STRATEGIES ADJUSTMENTS FOR NEEDS OF LEARNERS RESOURCES

LESSON ONE Orientating

Teacher reminds students of the novel that was read prior to the commencement of this unit, ‘Does my head look big in this?’ (Abdel-Fattah, 2005).

Teacher acts as scribe as whole class completes ‘story star’ (DEST, 2002) on ‘Does my head look big in this?’ (Abdel-Fattah, 2005).

Hand out excerpts of ‘Does my head look big in this?’ (Abdel-Fattah, 2005) to students (see appendix A). Read or call on students to read these excerpts.Q. What is occurring in this excerpt?

‘Interview the characters’ small group activity (Wing Jan, 2009, p. 247) about the event and how they felt about what happened.Q. What happened?Q. How did it make you feel?Q. Why do you think people stereotype against Amal?Q. Where do these stereotypes come from?

Teacher journal reflection of lesson.

Students participate in a whole class recall and discussion of the novel to identify the characters, the setting, the mood, the events of the plot and the resolution of the novel and copy down the findings that the teacher scribes onto the whiteboard.

Students read the excerpt of the novel that they were given. If a student is called out to read, they should speak aloud in a clear voice for everyone to hear.Students comprehend what they have just read and raise their hand to offer suggestions as to what is occurring in this excerpt.

Students form small groups and each pick a character from one of the excerpts. They will each take turns to interview the other ‘characters’ in their group and be interviewed themselves. Students may use the guide questions that the teacher has written on the whiteboard for the interview.

Students participate in a class discussion on the findings from the ‘interview the characters’ activity (Wing Jan, 2009, p. 247).

Student journal reflection of lesson.

ESL teacher utilised if possible.

Spare copies of novel are brought into the classroom.

Teacher checks that the whole class grasps the concepts and events in the novel.

Guided reading.

Checking for student understanding of the excerpt.

Students who may need help are paired with more advanced students.

Teacher walking around the room and conferencing with groups during the activity.

Copies of the novel ‘Does my head look big in this?’ (Abdel-Fattah, 2005).

Whiteboard Whiteboard markers Whiteboard eraser Handouts of excerpts of ‘Does

my head look big in this?’ (Abdel-Fattah, 2005) (see appendix A)

Teacher journal

LESSON TWO Orientating ‘Think, pair, share’ (DEST, 2002): Students consider the questions posed by the teacher individually

and then in a pair and then share with the whole class. Students


Students able to express

Handouts of the responding to an image activity sheet (see appendix B)

Whiteboard Whiteboard markers

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Q. What is the dominant culture in Australian society?Q. Why do you think this?Q. How has this dominant construction of ‘Australian culture’ been formed?Q. What effect does this have on people who are not considered part of the dominant culture?

Teacher gives an activity sheet (see appendix B) to students and informs them of instructions for activity.Q. What was the story about that you wrote to correspond with the picture?Q. Why did you make this choice?

‘Hot potato’ (DEST, 2002) group activity where a different headline will be on each poster given to groups. Instruct students as to the instructions for the activity. Q. Why did you choose these predictions and associations?Posters from the ‘hot potato’ activity (DEST, 2002) will be displayed in the classroom.

Cartoon (sourced from Guest et al., 2000, p. 212) (see appendix C) shown on OHP:Q. How does this cartoon relate to constructions and representations of culture in the news?

Explain unit topic, aims, objectives and summative assessment task.

‘K-W-L’ (DEST, 2002) with whole class about the unit topic and scribe responses on the whiteboard.


express their answers as written, illustrated or spoken or a combination.

Students look at the image on the activity sheet and respond to the picture by writing a story or news article that might correspond with the image.

Students share with the class what they wrote about in response to the image and consider the reasons for their choice of story, especially how they may have been conditioned to respond to images in stereotypical ways.

Students read the headline at their group poster and scribe group suggestions as to words that could be associated with the news headline (adapted from Williams, 2009, p. 63) or predicting what the story could be about (DEST, 2002). Students rotate clockwise to the next poster and complete the same activity for a different headline. This rotation will continue until all student groups have responded to each poster. Students will then present the posters at their group and consider the reasons for their responses.Students view the cartoon and provide responses as to how it relates to representations of culture in the news and resulting stereotypes and positioning.

Students listen to the explanation of the unit topic, aims, objectives and summative assessment task.

Students participate in a class discussion as to what they already know about the power of the news to represent people, cultures and events in particular ways for a particular purpose and what they want to learn.

Student journal reflection of lesson including the setting of at least three personal goals they have for themselves by the end of this

their answer through writing, speaking or drawing.Exposing the dominant Australian culture in whole class discussion.

Students who are not as competent at writing may work with a more advanced partner.

Clear instructions given to students for the task.

Encourage the use of bilingual dictionaries.

Collaborative activity.

Writing the unit topic, aims and objectives on the whiteboard and leaving it there for students to refer to or copy down.

Gauging prior knowledge.

Student journals for self-

Whiteboard eraser Sheets of poster paper OHT of cartoon (sourced from

Guest et al., 2000, p. 212) (see appendix C)

OHP Teacher journal

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unit (QSA, 2009). reflection.LESSON THREEOrientating

‘Brainstorm’ and ‘concept map’ (DEST, 2002) with students as a whole class about the news: what is the news? What is the purpose of the news? What are the different ways that the news can be presented? Ask for a student scribe.

Organise students into home and expert groups for an ‘expert jigsaw’ (DEST, 2002) and allocate a way that news can be presented to each group (e.g. radio, online, print, face-to-face, etc.). Inform students of instructions for the activity.Walk around the classroom to each group during this activity to check for understanding.

Remind students that the purpose of the news discussed earlier was to recount an event and discuss the facts. Present the cartoon (sourced from Guest et al., 2000, p. 204) (see appendix D) on the OHP.Q. What does this cartoon suggest about newspaper articles?

Hand to students the activity sheet on facts in newspaper articles (see appendix E) (Hannant, n.d.). Inform students of the instructions for this activity.

Hand out to students the homework task sheet. Write the homework task on the whiteboard; survey about students interaction with news texts (Gold, 2009, p. 175).


Students brainstorm what they know about the news to demonstrate prior knowledge.The student scribe will listen to the student responses and write the response on the whiteboard in the format of a ‘concept map’ (DEST, 2002).

Students listen to the instructions for the ‘expert jigsaw’ activity (DEST, 2002) and if needed, move themselves so that they are sitting with their expert group. Students listen to the mode of presenting the news that their group is given and as a whole group they will recall their knowledge of this mode and medium of the news and use the computers at the back of the classroom to research the characteristics of this presentation of the news, advantages, disadvantages and an example. Students then break into their home groups and present their findings to the group.

Students look at the cartoon and discuss as a whole class what this cartoon suggests about newspapers and the amount of factual information in them.

Students listen to the instructions for the following activity and from the activity sheet, read the newspaper article, select statements from the article that they believe to be factual and then note whether there are sources for these facts.

For homework, students will complete a survey that will ask: how often are you exposed to the news every week? In what forms do you obtain the news? (Gold, 2009, p. 175).



Student scribe utilised for kinaesthetic learners.

Collaborative learning.

Clear instructions verbally given and written on whiteboard.

Teacher checking for understanding.

Students who are not as confident with this task may work with a more advanced partner.

Student journals for self-reflection.

Whiteboard Whiteboard markers OHP OHT of cartoon (sourced from

Guest at el., 2000, p. 204)(see appendix D)

Handout of activity sheet on facts in newspaper articles (see appendix E) (Hannant, n.d.)

Homework survey (Gold, 2009, p. 175)

Teacher journal

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LESSON FOUROrientating Collate information from homework survey as a whole class onto a table on the whiteboard. Facilitate discussion on the students’ and their family’s exposure to the news.

Hand to students a glossary activity sheet with relevant words for the unit (e.g. caption, by-line, subjective, objective, audience, positioning, representation, stereotype, values, connotations, semiotics, bias, tone, headline, etc.). Inform students to work in small groups to find the meaning for these words.Write the glossary terms on the class ‘vocabu-tree’ poster (Williams, 2009, p. 58) (i.e. a different term for each leaf and the definition underneath).

Present students with a wide selection of newspapers. Hand out to students the activity sheet (adapted from Anderson & Anderson, 2003, p. 217; Yaxley, Uscinski, Jorgensen & Mackey, 2003, p. 166) (see appendix F).

Show a video of a television news program and instruct students to watch the video and after the viewing, determine what is deemed ‘newsworthy’ for both television and print news (Gold, 2009, p. 176):Q. What events are considered more important?Q. How do we know this by their location in the presentation?Q. How does the selection of what is important and what is not shape our views of events and society?

Students present the findings from the surveys they completed for homework and will infer from the combined class survey results about how frequently they are exposed to the news in their lives, often passively.

Students work in small groups, or individually if they prefer, to find the meaning for the words on the activity sheet and write these meanings down.

At the conclusion of the allocated time, students will come together as a group to share their findings as the teacher or student scribe write the findings under the class ‘vocabu-tree’ poster (Williams, 2009, p. 58).

Students scan the newspapers provided to determine a pattern in the location of particular news or text-types (i.e. editorial, local news, world news, politics, business, sport, fashion, entertainment, etc.) and complete the activity sheet.

Students view the television news program and consider the order of presentation of news in the video.At the conclusion of the video they will engage in a whole class discussion on what is ‘newsworthy’ (Gold, 2009, p. 176).


Displaying survey results on the whiteboard.

Pre-reading vocabulary building.

Use of bilingual dictionaries encouraged.

Students not as competent with SAE are able to work with more advanced students.

Visual display of unit vocabulary in classroom.

Teacher walking round the room and checking for understanding.

Whole class discussion to gauge understanding.

Whiteboard Whiteboard markers Whiteboard eraser Handouts of glossary activity

sheet Poster of class ‘vocabu-tree’

(Williams, 2009, p. 58). Wide selection of Australian

newspapers Handouts of activity sheet

(adapted from Anderson & Anderson, 2003, p. 217; Yaxley et al., 2003, p. 166) (see appendix F)

Recorded video of television news program

Teacher journal

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Construct a ‘Venn diagram’ (DEST, 2002) on the whiteboard to compare the similarities and differences of the presentation of news in print and television format.

Ask students to list any relevant stakeholders in the reporting, presentation and publication of news and to order these from most powerful to least powerful in terms of their ability to influence what is reported and how (adapted from Jetnikoff, 2010).

Write the homework task on the whiteboard: students to bring in newspapers for the next class. Students are also encouraged to bring in newspaper articles or current topics in the news relevant to this unit topic that interests them and that they wish to explore in future lessons.


Students raise their hand to suggest similarities and differences between the presentation of news in print and television format.

Students consider all of the people involved and affected by the news (e.g. editor, journalists, society, people in the news story, etc.) and inform the teacher so that these can be written on the whiteboard. When the list is exhausted, students will work as a whole class to logically order the stakeholders in order of who holds the most power to who holds the least in the decisions of presenting the news. Students must not only state their answer but provide reasons for their answers. They will note that the stakeholders with the least power are often the ones most affected by the news.Students will write down their homework task.


Homework task written on whiteboard.

Student journals for self-reflection on learning.

LESSON FIVEEnhancing

Instruct students to form small groups and present groups with a newspaper article that is cut up. Inform them of the instructions for the ‘scrambled egg’ activity (Williams, 2009, p. 41).Q. How did you arrange your article?Q. Why did you arrange it this way?Q. Does the structure work?

Hand out to students the resource sheet on the ‘Newspaper Report Genre’ (Robins & Robins, 1994, p. 136) (see appendix G).Class reading of handout, constructing examples on the whiteboard as different sections of the genre are read aloud.

Students form small groups and when they are presented with the newspaper article, they should work as a whole group and draw on their prior knowledge of the structure of newspaper articles to determine the correct arrangement. Students will glue the sections on poster paper into the way they think the article should be and at the conclusion of the activity time, move to the front of the classroom, present their article and respond to the questions posed by the teacher.

Students will read the resource sheet and when the teacher stops reading and calls for the class to construct an example of a particular element of a newspaper article, students will raise their hand to offer suggestions.



Teacher ensures groups are of mixed ability.Clear instructions for activity verbally given and written on whiteboard.

Guided reading of resource sheet.

Visual scaffolding.

Poster paper Resource sheet on the

‘Newspaper Report Genre’ (Robins & Robins, 1994, p. 136) (see appendix G)

Newspapers Teacher journal

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With the newspapers students brought in from home or teacher provided newspapers, instruct students to choose an article and on poster paper, cut up and label different sections of the article (e.g. headline, by-line, photos, captions, direct quotes, main information, etc.).

Walk around the classroom during this activity to check for student understanding.

Collect student posters and display them in the classroom.


Students will bring out the newspapers that they brought into the classroom. Any student who was not able to bring a newspaper from home will be provided with one. Students will search through the newspaper to find an article that interests them. They will then cut up the article into the different components, glue these sections onto poster paper and identify next to the section what it is.


Bringing in texts from home.

Displaying student work around the classroom for future reference



LESSON SIXEnhancing Instruct students to get into groups for a ‘hot potato’ activity (DEST, 2002) on language (e.g. adjectives, adverbs, verbs, nouns, personal pronouns, etc.).Inform students of instructions for the activity, distribute the posters with an element of language on them and monitor their progress in the activity.

Call on student groups to present the poster/language element that is in front of them at the end of the activity.

Display these posters around the classroom.

Class reading of the newspaper article ‘Catching a wave of optimism’ (Whittington, 2009) (see appendix H).

Students form groups and once they receive a poster with an element of language (e.g. adjectives, adverbs, verbs, nouns and personal pronouns) they will work as a group to write down everything they know about that language element including as many examples they can think of. When instructed by the teacher the groups will move in a clockwise direction to the next poster/language element and complete the same activity. This rotation will continue until all students have responded to every poster. When directed by the teacher, student groups will move to the front of the classroom and present the poster that they finished the activity on.

Students will read the newspaper article.


Collaborative activity with groups of mixed student abilities.

Checking for understanding of basic language elements.


Guided reading.

Call on all students to answer the ‘five Ws’ (Wing Jan, 2009, p. 194) to check

Poster paper Newspaper article ‘Catching a

wave of optimism’ (Whittington, 2009) (see appendix H)

Whiteboard Whiteboard markers Whiteboard eraser ‘Retrieval chart’ activity

sheets (adapted from Williams, 2009, p. 46)

Teacher journal

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‘Five Ws’ (Wing Jan, 2009, p. 194) activity with students on the whiteboard to check for understanding of the article.Hand out ‘retrieval chart’ activity sheet (adapted from Williams, 2009, p. 46) and instruct students to work either individually or in pairs to locate and retrieve nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, personal pronouns, conjunctions, etc.):Q. What do you notice about the language that is chosen (e.g. is it emotive? Is it evaluative?)?Q. How does this affect the tone, meaning, cultural representations and positioning of readers?

Instruct students to continue working individually or in pairs and to alter the adjectives, verbs and adverbs in the newspaper article:Q. How do these changes affect the tone and meaning of the text?Walk around the classroom to check for student understanding during the ‘retrieval chart’ activity (Williams, 2009, p. 46) and the altering of language activity.


Students raise their hand to answer who, what, when where and why about this newspaper article.

Students will search through the words in the newspaper article to retrieve the various language elements on the activity sheet.Students will consider the various language that they have retrieved from the article and will answer the questions posed by the teacher regarding appraisal grammar.

Students will manipulate the language in the newspaper article to see what effect language choices have on the way the text is read and perceived.


for post-reading understanding.

Students able to work individually or in pairs.

Checking for student understanding during activities.

Student journals for self-reflection of learning.

LESSON SEVENEnhancing Hand out the newspaper article ‘Bridge collapse threatens Delhi Commonwealth Games as teams cry foul over facilities’ (n.a., 2010)(see appendix I ) and conduct silent or paired reading of this article.

‘Five Ws’ (Wing Jan, 2009, p. 194) activity with students on the whiteboard to check for understanding of the article.

Hand out activity sheet on affect (Hannant, n.d.)

Students recall their learning of lexical choices in newspaper articles from the previous lesson.

Students read the newspaper article independently or if required, in a pair with a more advanced student.

Students will raise their hand to answer who, what, when where and why about this newspaper article.

Students listen to the instructions for this activity sheet and the teacher modelling of the activity.


Option for paired reading.

Checking for students’ comprehension of the article. Call on all students to demonstrate their comprehension.

Newspaper article ‘Bridge collapse threatens Delhi Commonwealth Games as teams cry foul over facilities’ (n.a., 2010)(see appendix I )

Whiteboard Whiteboard markers Whiteboard eraser Activity sheets on affect

(Hannant, n.d.) (see appendix J).

Activity sheets on judgement (Hannant, n.d.) (see appendix K)

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(see appendix J).Model the first ‘extract – emotions – emotional category’ with whole class.Q. What is the effect of words or phrases that express particular emotions?

Instruct students to complete the remainder of the activity individually or in pairs.Walk around the classroom during this activity to check for understanding.

Hand out to students the activity sheet on judgement (Hannant, n.d.) (see appendix K)Model the first ‘statement – meaning – positive or negative?’ with the whole class.Q. What is the effect of these words and phrases of judgement?

Instruct students to complete the remainder of the activity individually or in pairs.

Walk around the classroom during this activity to check for understanding and conference with students on their confidence with appraisal grammar.

Teacher reflection of lesson.

Students read the activity sheet and extracts of the newspaper article and determine what emotions result from this extract and what emotional category this falls under.

Students listen to the instructions for this activity sheet and the teacher modelling of the activity.

Students read the activity sheet the statements taken from the newspaper article. They will provide the meaning for the highlighted words and identify whether that word or phrase has positive or negative connotations associated with it.


Modelling the activity as a whole class.


Option for pair work.

Modelling the activity as a whole class.

Option for pair work.

Checking for students’ understanding of appraisal grammar.

Student journals for self-reflection of lesson.

Teacher journal

LESSON EIGHTEnhancing

Instruct students to silently re-read the article ‘Bridge collapse threatens Delhi Commonwealth Games as teams cry foul over facilities’ (n.a., 2010) (see appendix I).

Pose questions about the text:Q. What is the purpose of presenting this news?Q. Who/what is privileged or foregrounded in this

Students re-read the newspaper article from the previous lesson.

Students will consider the newspaper article from a critical frame, extending upon the language work completed in the previous


Spare copies of texts for students who may have lost their original copy or forgotten to bring their copy of the text.

Spare copies of the newspaper article ‘Bridge collapse threatens Delhi Commonwealth Games as teams cry foul over facilities’ (n.a., 2010) (see appendix I)

Whiteboard Whiteboard markers Whiteboard eraser Handouts of the values

attitudes and beliefs activity 13


news text?Q. What is the effect of any foregrounding and privileging?Q. Who/what is silenced in this news text?Q. What is the effect of any gaps and silences?Q. How are cultures and global events represented and constructed?Q. What is the likely audience for this news text?Q. How does this target audience affect the way the news is presented?Q. How are you as a reader positioned by this news text?Q. What verbal and non-verbal language choices are used to allocate power, represent cultures, position readers and strengthen dominant Australian values? To what effect are they used?

As a whole class, complete a ‘three column deconstruction’ (Williams, 2007b, pp. 23-25) of ‘Bridge collapse threatens Delhi Commonwealth Games as teams cry foul over facilities’ (n.a., 2010) (see appendix I).

Hand out to students the values attitudes and beliefs activity sheet (adapted from Yaxley et al., 2005, p. 9) (see appendix L) and inform them of the instructions for this activity.Walk around the classroom during this activity to check for students’ understanding and ability to locate values, attitudes and beliefs within the text.


lesson. Students answer the questions posed by the teacher, justifying the reasons for their answers.

As a whole class students will help to identify structural and language features in the newspaper article.

Students listen to the instructions for the following activity, read the instructions on the activity sheet and then search through the newspaper article to identify the values, attitudes and beliefs and how the text demonstrates this.


Class discussion of critical concepts in text.

Whole class deconstruction of structural and language features of text.

Clear instructions for activities verbally given and written on the whiteboard.

Option for students to work individually or in pairs.

Teacher walking around the classroom during activities to check for student understanding.


sheet (adapted from Yaxley et al., 2005, p. 9) (see appendix L)

Teacher journal

LESSON NINEEnhancing

Copies of the newspaper article ‘Bridge collapse

14


Remind students of the work that was done in the previous lesson on the newspaper article ‘Bridge collapse threatens Delhi Commonwealth Games as teams cry foul over facilities’ (n.a., 2010) (see appendix I).

Hand out ‘Commonwealth Games Chaos’ activity sheet (see appendix M) to students and instruct the students to watch the following video of the channel ten television news program ‘Commonwealth Games Chaos’ (Futcher, 2010) (available at http://ten.com.au/video-player.htm?vxSiteId=cb519624-44a2-4bf7-808b-3514d34e96e4&vxChannel=News%20Daily&vxClipId=2683_news-delhi-220910&vxBitrate=300&vxTemplate=integrated.swf&vxClickToPlay=false) and answer the questions on the activity sheet.

Walk around the classroom during this activity to check for student understanding of the activity.

Instruct students to ‘think, pair, share’ (DEST, 2002) the responses on their activity sheet.


Students review the lesson content that they wrote in their English workbooks in the previous lesson.

Students listen to the instructions for the following activity and will view the video excerpt of a television news program.

Students take notes while they are viewing the video and after the video has finished they will work individually or in pairs to answer the questions on the video, juxtaposing the presentation of the same news event between print news and television news.

Students share their activity sheet answers with another person and then every student shares their responses with the whole class.



Recalling prior learning.

Spare copies of newspaper article.

Instructions for activity both verbally explained and written on the whiteboard.

Option for individual or pair work.



threatens Delhi Commonwealth Games as teams cry foul over facilities’ (n.a., 2010) (see appendix I).

‘Commonwealth Games Chaos’ activity sheet (see appendix M)

Teacher laptop Projector Projector screen ‘Commonwealth Games

Chaos’ television news segment (Futcher, 2010)

Teacher journal

LESSON TEN Enhancing Hand out to students the newspaper article ‘Ban burka in the name of freedom’ (Singer, 2009) (see appendix N).

Conduct class reading of the newspaper article.Students will read the newspaper article. If they are called upon to read aloud by the teacher they should read aloud in a clear voice for the whole class to hear.


Guided reading.

Handouts of the newspaper article ‘Ban burka in the name of freedom’ (Singer, 2009) (see appendix N)

Whiteboard Whiteboard markers Whiteboard eraser Handouts of the values

attitudes and beliefs activity sheet (adapted from Yaxley et

15


As a whole class, complete a ‘three column deconstruction’ (Williams, 2007b, pp. 23-25) of the newspaper article ‘Ban burka in the name of freedom’ (Singer, 2009) (see appendix N).

Pose questions about the text:Q. What is the purpose of presenting this news?Q. Who/what is privileged or foregrounded in this news text?Q. What is the effect of any foregrounding and privileging?Q. Who/what is silenced in this news text?Q. What is the effect of any gaps and silences?Q. How are cultures and global events represented and constructed?Q. What is the likely audience for this news text?Q. How does this target audience affect the way the news is presented?Q. How are you as a reader positioned by this news text?Q. What verbal and non-verbal language choices are used to allocate power, represent cultures, position readers and strengthen dominant Australian values? To what effect are they used?

Hand out to students the values attitudes and beliefs activity sheet (adapted from Yaxley et al., 2005, p. 9) (see appendix L) and inform them of the instructions for this activity.Walk around the classroom during this activity to check for students’ understanding and ability to locate values, attitudes and beliefs within the text.


As a whole class students will help to identify structural and language features in the newspaper article.

Students will consider the newspaper article from a critical frame, extending upon the language work completed in the previous lesson. Students answer the questions posed by the teacher, justifying the reasons for their answers.

Students listen to the instructions for the following activity, read the instructions on the activity sheet and then search through the newspaper article to identify the values, attitudes and beliefs and how the text demonstrates this.



Whole class identification and discussion of critical concepts in texts.

Make sure to call on all students to try to answer the questions.

Explicit instructions for activity both verbally given and written on the whiteboard.


al., 2005, p. 9) (see appendix L)

Teacher journal

16


LESSON ELEVENEnhancing Write the newspaper headline ‘Poverty, Booze and Jail’ (Lunn, 2009) on the whiteboard. Ask students to predict what this article might be about (DEST, 2002):Q. Why did you make this prediction?

Hand out to students the ‘clever cloze’ (DEST, 2002) activity sheet on the newspaper article ‘Poverty, Booze and Jail’ (Lunn, 2009) (see appendix O). Inform students of the instructions for this activity.At the end of the allocated time for the activity ask for students to share their response:Q. Why did you make these language choices?

Hand out to students the newspaper article ‘Poverty, Booze and Jail’ (Lunn, 2009) (see appendix P).

Conduct class reading of the newspaper article.

Pose questions about the text:Q. What is the purpose of presenting this news?Q. Who/what is privileged or foregrounded in this news text?Q. What is the effect of any foregrounding and privileging?Q. Who/what is silenced in this news text?

Students read the headline that is written on the whiteboard. From only the headline, the students will predict what the newspaper article might be about and justify their predictions.

Students listen to the instructions for the ‘clever cloze’ (DEST, 2002) activity and work either individually or in pairs to insert words or phrases into the blank spaces.

Students follow along reading the newspaper article as it is read aloud.

Students will consider the newspaper article from a critical frame, extending upon the language work completed in the previous lesson. Students answer the questions posed by the teacher, justifying the reasons for their answers.


Option to work in pairs or individually.

Explicit instructions given both verbally and written on the whiteboard.

Guided reading.

Whole class identification and discussion of critical concepts in texts.

Whiteboard Whiteboard markers Whiteboard eraser Handouts of the ‘clever cloze’

(DEST, 2002) activity sheet on the newspaper article ‘Poverty, Booze and Jail’ (Lunn, 2009) (see appendix O)

Handouts of the newspaper article ‘Poverty, Booze and Jail’ (Lunn, 2009) (see appendix P).

Teacher journal

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Q. What is the effect of any gaps and silences?Q. How are cultures and global events represented and constructed?Q. What is the likely audience for this news text?Q. How does this target audience affect the way the news is presented?Q. How are you as a reader positioned by this news text?Q. What verbal and non-verbal language choices are used to allocate power, represent cultures, position readers and strengthen dominant Australian values? To what effect are they used?

Ask students to form groups and transform this newspaper article into a television news segment which will be presented in front of the class:Q. What did you have to change in order to present this print news as television news?Q. How did consideration of the audience and mode and medium affect how the news was presented?


Students form groups.Students take the print news and using their knowledge of the way television news is presented from prior learning and their experience with viewing this media outside of school, students transform the print news into a television news segment about the same context.Students practice their television news segmentStudents perform their television news transformation from print news and respond to the questions posed by the teacher.


Collaborative activity

Drama performance suitable for kinaesthetic learners.


LESSON TWELVEEnhancing

Hand to students two newspaper articles on the same event (one from a mainstream Australian newspaper and the other from an international newspaper or smaller Australian newspaper such as ‘Koori Mail’ or ‘The Times of India’). Instruct them in groups to construct a ‘Venn diagram’ (DEST, 2002) juxtaposing the two texts and comparing the similarities and differences in the way each source has reported the same event.

‘T-Chart’ (DEST, 2002) problems (what causes

Students form small groups and read the two newspaper articles together. Students draw a ‘Venn diagram’ (DEST, 2002) on the paper provided and consider the similarities and differences in the way each source has reported on the same event.

Students raise their hand to offer suggestions as to how news


Ask for students to bring in any newspapers they may have that are not mainstream sources of news.

Collaborative reading and activity.

Groups contain students

Handouts of two newspaper articles reporting the same event or place the newspaper articles on OHT

Whiteboard Whiteboard markers Whiteboard eraser Handouts of newspaper

article ‘Tony Abbott reopens debate on burka, wishes fewer Australians wore it’ (Kelly, 2010) (see appendix Q)

Teacher journal

18


impartial reporting of news: lack of direct quotes, one side, emotive language, etc.) and solutions with students on whiteboard.

Hand to students the newspaper article ‘Tony Abbott reopens debate on burka, wishes fewer Australians wore it’ (Kelly, 2010) (see appendix Q).In small groups instruct the students to ‘T-Chart’ problems and solutions (DEST, 2002) in this article.Walk around the classroom to check that every student is able to identify problems with this article and provide solutions for how to make the article more objective.

Instruct students to work individually to transform the newspaper article into an objective reporting of the news based on the solutions they constructed in their group.Once students have completed, get them to swap their transformation of the newspaper article with the person next to them.Walk around the classroom and conference with students during independent practice and peer evaluation.


reports can be impartial, recalling on their knowledge of target audience, representations, stereotypes, dominant culture, language, power and reader positioning and will copy this chart into their workbooks.

Students will form small groups and read the newspaper article as a group. They will then choose a student scribe for their group and will write down in a ‘T-Chart’ (DEST, 2002), problems with this article and ways these problems could be fixed.

Building on their learning from the previous group activity, students perform independent practice of transforming the newspaper article ‘Tony Abbott reopens debate on burka, wishes fewer Australians wore it’ (Kelly, 2010) (see appendix Q) into an impartial newspaper article.Students will complete peer evaluation and feedback of another students response using the technique ‘two pluses and a wish’ (DEST, 2002).


with mixed abilities.

Scaffolding of identifying problems and solutions before small group work and independent practice.

Teacher walking around the room to check for student progress and understanding.

Students who are not as confident or competent with the task may work with a more competent partner.


LESSONS THIRTEENEnhancing

Teacher will explicitly go through the assessment task again, going through each step and asking questions of the class to gauge their understanding of the assessment task. The teacher will also go through the criteria sheet for the task and help students to understand what differentiates each assessment standard from the other and what is required to pass.

Students will listen to the instructions for the assessment task and will take notes on any information regarding the assessment task. Students will also write down any information or explanations of the task that the teacher writes on the whiteboard.Students who are unsure of any aspect of the assignment task should raise their hand and ask the teacher.


Scaffolding assessment task.

Demonstrating with examples.

Writing information on the whiteboard.

Summative assessment task sheet

Summative assessment criteria sheet

Whiteboard Whiteboard markers Whiteboard eraser Resource sheet on response

(Anderson & Anderson, 1998, pp. 12-13) (see appendix R)

Example of a past student’s response for assessment task

19


Hand out to students the resource sheet on response (Anderson & Anderson, 1998, pp. 12-13) (see appendix R).Conduct class reading of the resource sheet, stopping at frequent intervals to draw students’ attention to particular features of a response and construct examples on the whiteboard of what this feature looks like.Model format and features of a letter in response to a text (i.e. letter to an editor).Explicit modelling of a past student’s response using ‘three column deconstruction’ (Williams, 2007b, pp. 23-25). Break the response example down into the separate parts and highlight the features of a response in the example.

Write homework task on the whiteboard: students will find an example of a response and complete a ‘three column deconstruction’ (Williams, 2007b, pp. 23-25) on the text.


Students will read the resource sheet that they are given and help construct and write down the examples that the teacher writes on the whiteboard. Students should put this resource sheet in a safe place for future reference.

Students will copy down the ‘three column deconstruction’ that is on the OHP into their workbooks and will help to identify structural and language features in the student example.

Students write down their homework task into their student diaries.

Student journal reflection on lesson.

Guided reading

Checking for students’ understanding

Explicit modelling of a past student’s response.

Student journal for self-reflection on learning.

on OHT OHP Teacher journal

LESSON FOURTEENEnhancing

Call on a random selection of students to move to the front of the room and present their homework task.

As a whole class, complete a joint analysis of the newspaper article ‘TJ’s life played out in the dead zone’ (Walker, 2004) (see appendix S) and construction of a response to this newspaper article on the whiteboard. This activity will be similar, but not identical to the summative assessment task.

Students will retrieve their completed homework task and if selected by the teacher, move to the front of the classroom and present their ‘three column deconstruction’ (Williams, 2007b, pp. 23-25) of their chosen article.

Students will participate in a class reading of the newspaper article and work with the teacher and the whole class to help analyse the article and construct a reasoned response to the article.

ESL teacher utilised if possible.Students who may present at their desk if they do not feel comfortable presenting at the front of the classroom.

Whole class scaffolding of similar task to the summative assessment task.

Call on all students to help construct the response. In

Whiteboard Whiteboard markers Whiteboard eraser Newspaper article ‘TJ’s life

played out in the dead zone’ (Walker, 2004) (see appendix S) on OHT

OHP Teacher journal

20


Collect all student permission forms for the excursion that have not already been collected.Explicit instructions for how the excursion will work tomorrow including expectations and responsibilities.

Collect student’s assignment drafts.

Write homework task on the whiteboard; what is the purpose and reason for having these expectations and responsibilities for the excursion?


Any student who has not handed in their permission form should do so.Students listen to the teacher explain the aims and objectives of the excursion in the next lesson and will write down the expectations and responsibilities that they have while they are on excursion.

Students hand their assignment draft to the teacher.

Students copy down the homework task into their student diaries.


this way the teacher can check for understanding in all students.

Spare permission forms for students who may have lost their original form.Explicit instruction of excursion expectations and rules.


LESSON FIFTEENSynthesising

Conduct class excursion to the local community (e.g. interviewing local community members and allowing for members to voice their opinion over any topic).

Teacher journal reflection of class excursion.

Students participate in a class excursion into an area of the local community and will use the interview questions they formulated to interview members of the community on their opinion of a local community event or issue (e.g. the construction work of a new road tunnel in the area, including the Government acquiring properties to demolish during the project or crime in the community). Students will record the answers to the interview questions and will learn the value of varied opinions and the importance of self-representation on issues rather than having someone talk for you.

Two ESL teachers utilised if possible.

Connecting learning to the students’ community.

Collaborative learning

Students who are not that confident with interviewing will be placed in groups with advanced students.

Permission forms for every student

News booth Students’ interview questions Spare pens and paper First Aid kit Video camera Microphone Desks Chairs Teacher journal

LESSON SIXTEENSynthesising In the groups students worked in for the excursion, inform students that they are to assess the interview findings they obtained and construct an impartial news article or television news report on

As a group, students will collate the interview findings they gathered at the excursion and will choose to either transform their findings into a written newspaper article or short television news report that will be acted out. Students will complete this task,



Clear instructions for task

Marked student drafts Teacher journal

21


the event or issue.

Teacher walks around the room during this activity to check for understanding.

During this activity, call students one by one to collect their marked assessment draft and conference with the teacher on the draft.

At the end of the allocated time for the activity, call on student groups to move to the front of the classroom and present either their television news report by acting it out or read their newspaper article to the class.

Ask for students to evaluate after each group has presented whether they thought the report was impartial.Q. Are there gaps and silences?Q. Is there foregrounding and privileging?Q. Has anyone mentioned in the article represented themselves and not been spoken for?


ensuring that the report is impartial and noting their use of appraisal grammar (particularly affect and judgement, but also graduation and engagement).

Students collect their assignment draft form the teacher when their name is called and conference with the teacher as to what was good about their draft and what needed improvement including considering ways that these improvements might be made.

Students read their newspaper article or perform their television news segment in front of the whole class.

Students who are not presenting will listen to the other students present and at the end of the presentation give peer feedback/evaluation to the group that presented.

Student journal refection of lesson.

verbally expressed and written on the whiteboard.

Teacher checking for student progress and understanding.

Peer evaluation.


LESSON SEVENTEEN-EIGHTEENSynthesising Teacher allows for independent class time for students to work on their summative assessment task.

Walk around the classroom during the lesson to conference with students and check for understanding and progress.

At a random point in the lesson, stop students from working on their summative assessment tasks

Students use the allocated class time to work individually on their summative assessment task.

Students should use this time to also conference with the teacher regarding any concerns they may have about the assessment task or the due date.

Students will stop working on their task and engage in the impromptu focused learning episode on an aspect of grammar


Class time allocated for working on the summative assessment task.

The teacher is able to gauge student progress and understanding through the work they have already completed on their summative assessment task.

Whiteboard Whiteboard markers Whiteboard eraser

22


and conduct a 10 minute focused learning episode on an aspect of grammar (lesson eighteen: topic sentences; lesson nineteen: active and passive voice).

Remind students that the summative assessment task is due next lesson.

taken from the QSA Yr 9 Grammar Scope and Sequence Guide (QSA, 2009).

Advanced students who have already completed their summative assessment task may be asked to help students who are not as competent.

LESSON NINETEENSynthesising

Teacher collects summative assessment task from students.

Whole class ‘round robin’ (DEST, 2002) about how students will use what they have learned in this unit to benefit themselves and be more powerful, active and critical citizens in society.

Teacher facilitates whole class ‘PMI’ chart (DEST, 2002) on the whiteboard about the unit.

Briefly inform students of the next unit topic.


Students will hand their completed summative assessment task to the teacher. Any student who has not completed their summative assessment task should conference with the teacher as to the reason why, and negotiate when they must hand in their assignment if they have reasonable circumstances surrounding the non-submittal of their assignment.Students will move their chairs and sit in a circular formation. Students take turns to discuss how this unit has changed the way they will read or view the news.

Students will offer feedback on the unit and how it was taught by informing the teacher of what they liked, what they didn’t like and what they found interesting, including the reasons behind their feedback.


Allowing students to explain the reason for them not submitting their assignment on time and being accommodating to reasonable circumstances that resulting in non-submittal of assignment.

Relating learning to real-life.

Student feedback obtained so that the next time the unit is taught, the teacher can improve.

Whiteboard Whiteboard markers Whiteboard eraser Folder to place summative

assessment tasks Teacher journal

WAYS TO MONITOR LEARNING AND ASSESSMENT (FORMATIVE EVALUATION OR FEEDBACK)

Teacher observation of students’ work during activities. Teacher frequently checks for all students’ understanding of the tasks and content through asking specific questions about the task or content. Frequent consultation with students about their progress and learning. Focussed analysis of the students’ assignment drafts. Consultation with students about their assignments. The ability for students to perform peer evaluation and feedback. The quality of student responses to questions. Student self-evaluation and reflection through the use of a student journal. Teacher self-evaluation and reflection through the use of a teacher journal. Diagnostic evaluation at the beginning of the unit and at frequent intervals throughout the unit.

23


Observation of the students’ ability to work in groups, pairs and individually. Observation of students being able to jointly analyse a newspaper article and construct an appropriate response. Observation of active participation by all students Student feedback obtained at the conclusion of the unit Observation of the students’ homework.

24


HARTFIELD STATE HIGH SCHOOL

Student’s Name: Class: Year 10 EnglishTeacher: Unit: ‘Wording Our World’

Text-type: Response in the format of a letter to a newspaper editor

Draft Due Date: Week 3

Word Length: 450 words minimum Due Date: Week 4

Conditions: 3 weeks notice of task Completed in class and own time Draft must be submitted in week 3 Draft must be submitted with final copy The newspaper article chosen and analysed must be submitted with the final copy

Assessable English Mode Organisers: Reading and Viewing Writing and Designing

CONTEXT: During this unit you have explored and analysed the power of the news (mainly print news) to represent cultures, position readers and strengthen dominant Australian values, attitudes and beliefs. You have read, viewed and analysed several news texts and as a result have learned that the reporting and presentation of news represents people, cultures and events in particular ways for a particular purpose through language choices, foregrounding and privileging, gaps and silences, representations and positioning the reader/viewer.

(Image from abcteach, 2010)

TASK: You are to search through Australian newspapers and choose a print newspaper article that represents a particular culture or cultural event in a negative way. With your selected newspaper article, you will analyse the newspaper article and write a response to the newspaper article in the format of a letter to the newspaper editor of the newspaper that the article was published in. Your response letter will:

Identify the title of the newspaper article analysed, the name of the person who wrote the newspaper article, when the newspaper article was published, a brief summary of what the newspaper article is about and the purpose for presenting this news.

Analyse and support with examples from the newspaper article the language choices used, who/what is foregrounded or privileged in this newspaper article and the effect of this, who/what is silenced or marginalised in this newspaper article and the effect of this, gaps and silences and the effect of these in the newspaper article and how all of these elements allocate power, represent cultures, position readers and strengthen dominant Australian values.

Provide your opinion on the newspaper article in consideration of the analysis. Provide some suggestions as to how this newspaper article could be improved to make it

impartial.

YOUR ROLE: You are an active and informed citizen of the local Hartfield community who is

25


concerned with the way that newspaper articles frequently represent particular cultures or cultural events in negative ways for a particular purpose.

TARGET AUDIENCE: Your response to your chosen newspaper article which is in the format of a letter will be sent to your target audience. Your target audience for your letter response is the editor-in-chief of the newspaper from which your newspaper article was sourced. Make sure you address your letter to the editor-in-chief of the newspaper. Your relationship with the target audience is as a concerned member of society asking the editor-in-chief, who has the power, to change the way news events are reported.

NEGOTIABLE ELEMENTS:If you would like to analyse and respond to a segment of a television news program instead of a newspaper article and address your letter to the producers of the television news program, please discuss this with the teacher.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GETTING STARTED

The title of my chosen newspaper article is: ____________________________________________

My chosen newspaper article was found in this newspaper: _______________________________

The journalist who wrote my newspaper article is: _______________________________________

The date that this newspaper article was published is: ____________________________________

The editor-in chief for this newspaper is: _______________________________________________

This newspaper article is about: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The purpose for presenting this news is: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

26


Answer these questions to help you analyse the newspaper article:

What language choices are made in the newspaper article that allocate power, represent cultures, position readers and/or strengthen dominant Australian values?

Language Choice How this allocates power, represents cultures, position readers and/or strengthen dominant Australian

values

The effect/consequences of this language choice

What are the values, attitudes and beliefs in this text and how does this newspaper article show this?

Attitudes, values and beliefs How the text shows this

27


Who/what is foregrounded or privileged in this newspaper article?

Foregrounding and Privileging Effects/Consequences

Who/what is silenced or marginalised in this newspaper article?

Silenced or Marginalised Effect/Consequences

How are readers positioned when reading this newspaper article (e.g. in support of one side over the other)?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What is your judgement/opinion of this newspaper article and the way it has presented news? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

28


____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How could this newspaper article be improved to make it impartial?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

WHEN YOU HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION TO WRITE ABOUT (CHECK WITH YOUR TEACHER) YOU ARE

READY TO START PLANNING YOUR RESPONSE LETTER TO THE EDITOR.

29

HANDY HINTS:

Follow the correct format for a letter as modelled in class. Make sure your response has an introduction (context), description of the newspaper

article (analysis) and judgement of the newspaper article (your opinions and recommendations).

As this is a letter, write in first person. Use present tense. Make language choices that express your judgements and attitudes to this newspaper

article (i.e. appraisal grammar) Mark your own assignment against the criteria sheet to see what mark your

assignment might get. Check your spelling and grammar. Have fun!


APPENDIX

Contents:

Appendix A..............................................................................................................................................P. 30-31

Appendix B..............................................................................................................................................P. 32

Appendix C..............................................................................................................................................P. 33

Appendix D..............................................................................................................................................P. 34

Appendix E..............................................................................................................................................P. 35-37

Appendix F..............................................................................................................................................P. 38

Appendix G............................................................................................................................................ P. 39

Appendix H.............................................................................................................................................P. 40-43

Appendix I.............................................................................................................................................. P. 44-46

Appendix J.............................................................................................................................................. P. 47

Appendix K............................................................................................................................................. P. 48

Appendix L............................................................................................................................................. P. 49

Appendix M............................................................................................................................................ P. 50-51

Appendix N............................................................................................................................................. P. 52-53

Appendix O............................................................................................................................................. P. 54

Appendix P............................................................................................................................................. P. 55

Appendix Q............................................................................................................................................. P. 56-57

Appendix R............................................................................................................................................. P. 58

Appendix S............................................................................................................................................. P. 59-61

30


APPENDIX A

31

‘Does my head look big in this?’(Abdel-Fattah, 2005)

TASK: Read the following excerpts from the novel ‘Does my head look big in this?’ (Abdel-Fattah, 2005, pp. 146-148).

EXCERPTS:

I’m sitting in home room on Monday morning fuming over a newspaper article about crime and ‘people of Middle Eastern appearance’ when Tia walks up to my desk.‘Hey Amal, did you watch that interview with those girls who were raped by those Lebo Muslims? You must feel so ashamed.’‘Why?’‘Don’t you have any feelings?’‘The only thing I’m feeling right now is that artificial intelligence beats real stupidity.’‘Funny,’ she says sarcastically and walks away.

Tuesday morning. I’m at my desk in home room, fuming over an article about terror suspects and ‘people of Middle Eastern appearance’ when Tis walks up to my desk again.‘Hey Amal, how’s it going?’ she asks in a sickly sweet voice. ‘Did you catch that doco on those Muslim fundamentalists last night? You’re Arab aren’t you? It must feel awful knowing you come from such a violent culture.’‘You know, Tia, I came across a book the other day. The shortest book in world history. It was called My Thoughts by Tia Tamos.’For a moment she looks at me in mock-stunned silence, then she flips her hair and walks away.

Wednesday morning. I’m at my desk in home room, reading an article about Jennifer Lopez’s exercise regime, when Adam is suddenly in front of my desk, smiling down cheerfully at me.‘Hey Amal, what’s up?’‘Nothing much,’ I answer.‘There was a mad doco last night on September 11. Man, they were showing how these guys were all religious and holy and shit. Spin out! Did you see it?’I’ve had it. I try to think of daffodil meadows. The moment the ugly stepsisters realise Cinderella’s got the prince. Sunsets at the beach, the instant you take a bite of food after a day of fasting in Ramadan, and why people just won’t give me a break. Do they think I’m a walking ambassador, that because I’m wearing the hijab I’m watching every single documentary about Islam?

I take a deep breath. ‘Look, Adam, sorry to disappoint you but just because I’m Muslim doesn’t mean I’m a walking TV guide for every “let’s deal with the Muslim dilemma” documentary churned out.’‘Huh?’‘And why can’t you and other people get that you can’t be very holy if you’re going around blowing people to smithereens?’‘Sorry,’ he says. ‘I didn’t mean to offend you. I just thought you might have seen it. I’ll let you chill.’ He walks off and I bite my lip, feeling instantly guilty for lashing out at him. I jump up and run after him into the locker arear.‘Hey,’ I say.


32

‘Look, Adam,’ I say, ‘I’m sorry for losing my temper at you but try to see it from my perspective.’‘Which is?’‘It’s just...overwhelming. Do you have any idea how it feels to be me, a Muslim, today? I mean, just turn on the television, open a newspaper. There will be some feature analysing, deconstructing, whipping up some theory about Islam and Muslims. Another chance to make sense of this phenomenon called “the Muslim.” You know what I’m saying? It feels like you’re drowning in it all. Like you can never come up for air. Another headline or documentary comes back and slams you under the water again.

Abdel-Fattah, R. (2005). Does my head look big in this?. Sydney, NSW: Pan Macmillan Australia.


APPENDIX B

33

YEAR 10 ENGLISHNAME:______________________________DATE: ______________________________

TASK: Look at the following image and write a story or newspaper article to correspond with the image.

(The International Cocktail, 2010)______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


APPENDIX C

34


TASK: View the cartoon below and respond to the questions posed by the teacher on this cartoon.

(Cartoon sourced from Guest, Eshuys, Kimber & Yaxley, 2000, p. 212)

Guest, V., Eshuys, J., Kimber, S., & Yaxley, R. (2000). Nelson Senior English: a practical skills-based course. South Melbourne, VIC: Nelson Thomson Learning.


APPENDIX D

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TASK: View the cartoon below and respond to the questions posed by the teacher on this cartoon.

(Cartoon sourced from Guest, Eshuys, Kimber & Yaxley, 2000, p. 204).



APPENDIX E

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STEP ONE: Read the following newspaper article.

Stern Hu to be tried in closed court, decision slammed

Cathy Alexander March 18, 2010 The Courier-Mail

AUSTRALIAN businessman Stern Hu will be tried in closed court in China, a situation slammed as "outrageous'' by the Australian Greens.

Authorities have announced the Rio Tinto mining boss' trial on charges of taking bribes and infringing commercial secrets will begin on Monday.

Hu has been in jail in China for eight months.

Australian officials will be able to attend some hearings, but not the parts that deal with infringing commercial secrets - which carries a maximum sentence of seven years' jail.

The trial is likely to cast a pall over Australia's relations with China, a powerhouse economy whose thirst for resources is tipped to drive the domestic economy for years to come.

Greens leader Bob Brown said: "The trial won't be fair''.

"It's outrageous'', he said of the decision to hold hearings in closed court.

"The man's future is at stake.''

Senator Brown said there would be no way to monitor the fairness of the trial and the legal processes. Australian officials would be barred from court while the Chinese government would be "running the trial''.

"Stern Hu has every right to have his Australian representatives on hand,'' he told AAP.

The Greens have called on Foreign Minister Stephen Smith to lobby his Chinese counterpart for an open trial.

Hu and three other employees of mining giant Rio Tinto were detained in China on July 5 during contentious iron ore price talks with China's steel industry group.

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) on Wednesday announced the trial of Hu and the other employees would begin on Monday, March 22, in the Shanghai No 1 Intermediate People's Court.

Hu will be represented by lawyers. A DFAT spokesperson said Australian officials would attend the open sessions.


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"At the request of one of the parties and in accordance with Chinese law and procedure, the court has decided that the sessions dealing with the infringement of commercial secrets should be closed,'' the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said Australia had asked for this to be reconsidered so officials could attend the hearings.Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop said the trial would give Hu the chance to defend himself.

"I welcome the fact that Australian Consular officials will be able to attend select parts of the trial. However, it would be preferable for the entire trial to be open,'' Ms Bishop said.

Ron Huisken, a China expert with the Australian National University's strategic and defence studies centre, said it was not unusual for China to hold trials behind closed doors. But it was a problem.

"I think the Chinese are silly. This just confirms widespread suspicions that all this is very arbitrary, at least by the standards of the west,'' Dr Huisken told AAP.

"Their laws can be skewed around but they don't want anybody to witness the process.''

Dr Huisken said the trial would be a "sore in the wound'' in relations between Australia and China. Public opinion in Australia would likely compel the government to cool its ties with China in protest.

Economic factors might limit the damage.

"We're making an awful lot of money out of China ... (There are) very strong motives on our part not to needlessly rock the boat.''

Mr Smith was not available for comment on Thursday evening. Nor was Rio Tinto.

Iron ore price negotiations between Australia and China look set to be more contentious this year than ever before.

The China Iron and Steel Association - whose members represent about 90 per cent of the Asian superpower's steel mills - expressed outrage on Tuesday that iron ore majors including Brazil's Vale had called for an 80 to 90 per cent increase in the benchmark price for the bulk commodity.


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STEP TWO: In the table below, write down any statements in this newspaper article that you consider to be factual – that you would find difficult to dispute. Often, this includes statistics or results from research or investigations, or things that we know have happened. Also note whether there are any sources for these facts.

Fact Source

Newspaper sourced from Alexander, C. (2010, March 18). Stern Hu to be tried in closed court, decision slammed. The Courier-Mail. Retrieved September 14, 2010, from http://www.couriermail.com.au/business/stern-hu-to-be-tried-in-closed-court-decision-slammed/story-e6freqmx-1225842144822.

Activity sourced from Hannant, K. (n.d.). Centenary Heights State High School Year 8 English Water Unit. Retrieved September 14, 2010, from http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_63107_1%26url%3D.


APPENDIX F

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SECTIONS OF A NEWSPAPERTASK: With the selection of newspapers that you have been given, look through all of these newspapers and fill in the table below.

Section of newspaper

Location in newspaper

Typical audience Excluded or marginalised

audience

Language choices and discourses

Sport

Back of newspaper Males; athletes; sport followers; supporters of teams

Many female readers; readers interested in arts or culture

Words emphasising competition (e.g. contest, victory, glory)

World news

Business

Fashion

Entertainment

Local news

Politics

(Activity adapted from Anderson & Anderson, 2003, p. 217; Yaxley, Uscinski, Jorgensen & Mackey, 2003, p. 166).

Anderson, M., & Anderson, K. (2003). Composing and Responding in English: Stage 4. South Yarra, VIC: Macmillan Education Australia.

Yaxley, R., Uscinski, S., Jorgensen, M., & Mackey, L. (2003). Nelson Queensland English One. South Melbourne, VIC: Cengage Learning Australia.


APPENDIX G

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Robins, E., & Robins, P. (1994). The Inside Story: An Anthology of Fiction and Non-Fiction Texts. Melbourne, VIC: Oxford University Press.

APPENDIX H

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Catching a wave of optimism

Dot Whittington | October 18, 2009 The Sunday Mail

Whittington, D. (2009, October 18). Catching a wave of optimism. The Sunday Mail, p. 52-53.

HE is small, wiry and Bam Bam's toothpick-thin legs look as though they might snap under the weight of the towel that envelopes him.

But his fragile physical characteristics did not prevent Bam Bam from being expelled from school for fighting.

He doesn't look like he could win a fight.

But then, he doesn't look like he was addicted to petrol-sniffing at 13, either.

As a 16-year-old whose elfin stature belies his age, he says: "I was real bad on it (petrol-sniffing). It was hard to quit. I was a bit frightened. Then I suddenly stopped."

He has the appearance of a little boy, but there's also a fierce independence about him that issues a silent warning that he should be approached with caution.

This young man clearly knows how to handle himself.

His mate is named Casper, a nickname he said he earned from his ability to disappear when the cops were after him.

Casper's infectious smile, revealing a row of perfect white teeth, lights up his face so that he doesn't look at all like someone who might ever have to run from the law.

During his 16 years, he has lived in so many Queensland and Northern Territory places that it's impossible to list them all, much less spell some of them.

He rattles off the names: Batchelor, Boulia, Katherine, Darwin, Rockhampton - the best known among them - listing his addresses like another child might list favourite characters from Harry Potter.

Bevan is lean and lanky and has the grace of a dancer as he performs random somersaults before diving in the surf.

He has just been released from a detention centre. He is 15.

All of the boys are from Woorabinda aboriginal community, 175km southwest of Rockhampton, where last month police officers locked themselves inside the station as it was pelted with rocks and metal bars.

It's a tough town that has a reputation for violence and juvenile crime - break-ins, vandalism, truancy and assaults - where adults let children run wild, and it's hard to see there's an alcohol ban.


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To these boys, it's home.

But, despite their relative youth, they are keen to leave and build themselves a better life.

As participants in the Longreach-based Beyond Billabong program, the boys are eagerly looking forward to bigger and better things.

The program aims to change attitudes for long-term results, rather than giving short-term employment fixes.

For the first time in their young lives they have hope, pride and respect.

That is the key to Beyond Billabong, a federally funded program led by 43-year-old Boyd Curran - a visionary who has been working in personal development training for indigenous youth for the past nine years.

"As a parent, you provide love and care and educate your children. Kids have a right to be educated and loved," Boyd says.

"I want to create a better life for my children, so we refer that to these kids all the time to get them thinking about what they would want for their children."

For kids like Bam Bam, Casper and Bevan, who have grown up in a dusty outback town where there is no routine - you can do whatever you please whenever you please - even having the structure of meal times, bed times and behaviours is something new, different and challenging. Boyd and his committed team understand this and from the outset focus on respect, pride, care and love.

The four-week program begins in Longreach, where 12 participants are given health checks and outfitted with boots, jeans, belts and Akubras, so that they immediately feel good about their appearance.

They are given free entry by the Stockman's Hall of Fame, where they get a better understanding of their heritage and are given talks on indigenous history, their culture and the importance of their race.

"From day one, we stress where we come from. We all come from women who give birth to us and nurture us for the first part of life. If we lose respect for them, then we lose our future," Boyd says.

"Every issue about what occurs in communities, the violence and abuse, is covered by the programs.

"We talk about normal as opposed to standard behaviour, and try to address the fact that some of the behaviours that they grow up with might be normal in communities but it's not right."

The first week's activities are horsemanship and leatherwork and he is very particular about his trainers.

Andrew Curry comes from Monto in the South Burnett to teach horsemanship, and Lyle Kent, of Kent Saddlery, comes from Stanthorpe in the Granite Belt for the leatherwork classes.

"We try to involve extraordinary people who have a passion for teaching and a high level of moral fibre, who are great communicators and have a sense of humour," Boyd says.

"They are also working on life skills and moral lessons that build trust.

"They share stories and work on black and white issues. We break that down and talk openly about it and hope that one day we don't see in black and white."


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In the second week, they learn painting. Although many display real talent, most have never even seen a paint pot before.

Their works are donated to the Beyond Billabong Foundation, and are being held at the offices of the program's sponsor, the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) in Adelaide Street in Brisbane, awaiting auction.

Funds raised will help indigenous youngsters from remote areas attend sporting and cultural events, and those in the 11 to 13 years bracket attend leadership camps.

"It's about the spirit of giving. They work to help other indigenous kids," Boyd says. "They also do a couple of days of computer work and that goes down very well."

The third week is the big adventure to southeast Queensland and, for most, it's their first flight.

They stay on the Sunshine and Gold Coasts and meet role model sportsmen in Brisbane.

Their visit is not so much a holiday camp as a challenge, a test of their willingness to learn and their endurance in a completely foreign environment.

"We are building their confidence, showing them that they deserve to have a life like this and not just showing them a bigger world, or giving them a holiday or a day at the beach," Boyd says.

"One of the greatest learning experiences in life is being challenged to do something you don't think you can do, and going out and doing it. To get on a plane, a bus and go surfing are all huge life experiences for them."

Team leader for this part of the journey is 29-year-old Luke Miller, an Australian surfboat rowing champion and AFL player who, after completing his carpentry apprenticeship, decided he would do what he had always really wanted to do.

He signed on with Boyd in Longreach two months ago.

With his brother Clint, 31, he has walked away from a perfectly good job and surf lifesaving on the Sunshine Coast to work with young people from indigenous communities in the Outback.

While Clint works in building the programs and procedures, Luke is loving every minute of his vocation working beside the youngsters.

"You just have to be aware of how different it is for them," he says. "They don't know to shut doors, turn off taps and put rubbish in bins.

"It needs patience and consistency, but you have to be flexible and give a bit of freedom.

"If they are swearing, tell a story and include them in it.

"You just have to remember that they have grown up in a community where nobody cares for 15 years, and then they are told to wear name tags and when to get up.

"This is their first taste of life on another level."

Boys who have grown up without a positive influence in their life, who have had little instruction in anything at all and who have lived in communities where a lot of bad things happen readily respond to muscular Luke's brand of mentoring.


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He says "Geez, you're a good bloke, mate" and a smile spreads across a small face.

"It comes down to something as simple as telling them to tuck their shirt in, something they have never had to do before," Luke says.

"I only have to tell them, 'Geez, you look good, mate' and they will do it every day. 'You look good', they don't hear that often."

Some of the youngsters, born in Woorabinda, Normanton, Doomadgee and Mornington Island, have never left their communities before and know no other way.

But, Luke says, they are learning that there's something there for them if they want it.

"I went to Woorabinda for a couple of hours while I picked the boys up," he said.

"There was a lot of damage and graffiti and packs of five-year-olds were just walking about the streets at 9am.

"They talk about some terrible things and what's happened to them like it's a normal occurrence, an everyday event."

It only takes a day or two for him to recognise those participants who are responding to the program, those who will go on to further courses and employment and those who will go back to the drinking and the nothingness of where they live.

Even the trip to the coast is revealing. One participant was escorted home last week when the pressure of structure, homesickness and fear of a new environment became too much.

Generally, though, the results are good and, as Luke says, if he wasn't confident that they would go back to a more meaningful life, he wouldn't be in the job.

This week, the boys from Woorabinda return to Longreach for the final week of their experience, when they will focus on vocational opportunities, building their individual pathways and discussing their hopes, aspirations and needs.

The time will then come to find a job.

Bam Bam and Casper are hoping to become mechanics, and would love to work in the mines in Mt Isa.

"We're not going back to where we came from," the say. "There's nothing to do."

And when they say nothing, they mean absolutely nothing.

There's a lot of optimism, not just among the young people wanting a chance at a better life, but among Boyd Curran and his team who see they are at what he calls "tipping point" - when various education and employment groups are coming together to change the cycle from despair to hope for the long term.

DEEWR state manager Catherine O'Sullivan agrees.

"It's a unique space because we have got quite a few strands working at the same time in a strong effort and with a lot of energy," she says.

"Boyd Curran has high street cred. They are picking up these kids who have been failed by the system, who can't sign their own name on their artwork or order from the board at McDonald's, and they are breaking the cycle. I like to think these changes being made at the front end will give choices and that they won't need us in 20 years."


APPENDIX I

45


Bridge collapse threatens Delhi Commonwealth Games as teams cry foul over facilities

n.a September 22, 2010 The Courier-Mail

THE Delhi Commonwealth Games were thrown into chaos last night after a footbridge near the main stadium collapsed and major teams threatened to pull out over the state of the athletes' village.

Doubts were also raised about India’s ability to protect athletes and spectators from terrorist attacks after an Australian TV crew exposed shocking security flaws.

Australian discus champion Dani Samuels last night became the first athlete to pull out over security fears.

She said that no gold medal was "worth risking her life".

World triple jump champion Phillips Idowu is also considering pulling out and said early this morning that he had serious concerns about preparations in India.

India won the right to host the event seven years ago and spent an estimated $3.16 billion preparing for the biggest multi-sports event in its history, a showpiece that it hopes will project it as a regional power to rival China.

But with less than two weeks to go until the opening ceremony, many facilities have yet to be completed - including the athletes’ village, which is due to open in just two days’ time.

The collapsed footbridge from the parking lot to the arena was among the building projects.

Police said that at least 23 people were injured in the collapse, five of them seriously.


46

The 100-metre overhead bridge was to connect a parking lot with the main stadium, which is to host the opening and closing ceremonies of the $3.17 billion Games.

Nitin Gokhale, security editor for Indian channel NDTV, told Sky News that most of the injured are thought to be construction workers, who were working ahead of the opening ceremony on 3 October.

He said the bridge could have been weakened by weeks of heavy rains in the area.

A spokesman for Delhi police told reporters there was no need to panic over the incident. "There is no need to panic and the pictures on TV make it look much worse than it is," he said.

But the accident has stoked fears that New Delhi is seriously under-prepared to welcome the 7000 athletes and staff due in the next week for the Games.

The president of the Commonwealth Games Federation, Mike Fennell, said earlier yesterday that he had asked for the urgent intervention of the Indian government after severe delays in the completion of the village, where the thousands of participants are to be housed.

Team officials went further, with both England and Scotland issuing veiled threats to withdraw from the Games.

New Zealand, Canada and Ireland also objected strongly to the condition of accommodation given to them in the village, with the New Zealand team taking the unprecedented step of switching its accommodation because of the lodgings, described as "filthy," "uninhabitable" and "not fit for humans" by participants and officials.

The Games organisers called a press conference to allay fears about the village's state. They said the bridge collapse was "unfortunate" but insisted everything was under control.

With reference to cleanliness, the organisers said 60 to 70 percent of the residences were complete and everything else would be ready "in the next 36 hours"

"We are doing our best and we are sure and confident that we will be able to complete the entire cleaning of the residential wing," they said.

Meanwhile, a crew from Australia’s Channel 7 filmed the backstreet trade in ammonium nitrate and a range of other powerful explosives from illegal stores in the Indian capital.

The crew also filmed a salesman in a parking lot illegally offering a “remote detonation kit” built into a rolling suitcase.

The Channel 7 reporter Mike Duffy subsequently wheeled the empty case past armed police guarding the Nehru stadium without once being challenged.

Security fears were already high in the capital after a gun attack outside the Indian capital's main mosque injured two Taiwanese tourists at the weekend.


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Both the US and Australia issued warnings to their citizens over the incident, which prompted Australian discus gold medal favourite Samuels to pull out of the Games altogether.

British athletes Christine Ohuruogu and Lisa Dobriskey also withdrew today, but because of injuries.

Delhi police said they increased patrols across the city, particularly in areas frequented by foreigners.

n.a. (2010, September 22). Bridge collapse threatens Delhi Commonwealth Games as teams cry foul over facilities. The Courier-Mail. Retrieved September 15, 2010, from http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/bridge-collapse-threatens-delhi-commonwealth-games-as-teams-cry-foul-over-facilities/story-e6frep5o-1225927638608.


APPENDIX J

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EMOTIONS (AFFECT)Writers and speakers use evaluative vocabulary to express feelings so that they can build up empathy with readers and listeners. When writers or speakers use words to build up empathy it is called Affect.

The table below highlights the categories of Affect (emotions) that might be found in newspaper articles, either through statements made by the writer or comments attributed to others.

Positive NegativeHappiness: relieved, contented, fulfilled, pleased, ecstatic, laugh, love – affection: understanding, hug, compassionateattraction: desirous, yearning, longing

Unhappiness: sad, despondent, heavy-hearted, dejected, downcast, depressed, anguished, misery, dislike, anguished, grief-stricken, distressed, pessimistic, alienated, rejected, isolated, abuse, etc.

Security: reassure, trusting, together, confident, assured, comfortable,

Insecurity: uneasy, restless, fearful, tremble, anxious, startled, tremble, etc.

Satisfaction: engaged, attentive, impressed, interested, involved, absorbed, pleased, thrilled, etc.

Dissatisfaction: flat, jaded, bored, embarrassed, empty, enraged, frustrated, angry, furious, embittered, jealous, spiteful, disgusted, vengeful, resentful, etc.

TASK: In the table below, read the statements, write down the feeling that is being expressed and the emotional category it belongs to.

Extracts highlighting emotions in the articles Emotions Emotional CategoryDoubts were also raised about India’s ability to protect athletes and spectators from terrorist attacks after an Australian TV crew exposed shocking security flaws.A spokesman for Delhi police told reporters there was no need to panic over the incident. "There is no need to panic and the pictures on TV make it look much worse than it is," he said.But the accident has stoked fears that New Delhi is seriously under-prepared to welcome the 7000 athletes and staff due in the next week for the Games.New Zealand, Canada and Ireland also objected strongly to the condition of accommodation given to them in the village, with the New Zealand team taking the unprecedented step of switching its accommodation because of the lodgings, described as "filthy," "uninhabitable" and "not fit for humans" by participants and officials.

Hannant, K. (n.d.). Centenary Heights State High School Year 8 English Water Unit. Retrieved September 14, 2010, from http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_63107_1%26url%3D.


APPENDIX K

49


WORDS OF JUDGEMENTWriters use evaluative vocabulary to make positive or negative judgements about people and events that have occurred. Through the use of specific words and phrases, writers can influence us in the way we think about people or issues. In the table below, some statements from the text have been included, with specific words or phrases highlighted. Your task is to focus on the highlighted words or phrases and consider what impact these particular words might have on the meaning of the text. Then consider whether this gives a positive or negative view of the issue.

Statement Meaning Positive or Negative?

THE Delhi Commonwealth Games were thrown into chaos last night after a footbridge near the main stadium collapsed and major teams threatened to pull out over the state of the athletes' village.

Doubts were also raised about India’s ability to protect athletes and spectators from terrorist attacks after an Australian TV crew exposed shocking security flaws.

The president of the Commonwealth Games Federation, Mike Fennell, said earlier yesterday that he had asked for the urgent intervention of the Indian government after severe delays in the completion of the village, where the thousands of participants are to be housed.



APPENDIX L

50


VALUES, ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS

TASK: With the newspaper article we have been reading in class, look through the article to identify the values, attitudes and beliefs in this text and provide an example of how the article shows this.

ATTITUDES, VALUES AND BELIEFS HOW THE TEXT SHOWS THIS

Activity adapted from Yaxley, R., Uscinski, S., Gardiner, J., Jorgensen, M., King, D., Taylor, R., et al. (2005). Nelson Queensland English Three. Victoria: Thomson Nelson.


APPENDIX M

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‘Commonwealth Games Chaos’TASK: View the television news segment ‘Commonwealth Games Chaos’ (Futcher, 2010) and answer the questions below.

QUESTIONS:

1. What is television news report about (e.g. who, what, when, where, how)?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Listed below is some of the language used in this news report. Consider the affect (emotions) in the following excerpts, the judgement in the following excerpts and the degree of certainty in the following excerpts (high or low certainty):

Excerpt Affect (emotions), judgement and the degree of certainty (high or low certainty) in the following

excerptsComplete chaos

Mounting safety concerns

Infrastructure under fire

Controversies were mounting

Last thing organisers needed

Quite amazing that nobody was killed


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It could have been catastrophic

Probably can’t believe what they are seeing

3. Did you notice anything about the tone of the voice used when reporting this news? Did the speakers emphasis any words or phrases?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. What images were shown on the television news segment? What purpose and effect did showing these pictures have?_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. How does this target audience affect the way the news is presented?___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. How are you as a reader positioned by this news text?___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. How was the reporting of the same news event on television similar or different against the reporting of the event in print news?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Video: Futcher, M. (Reporter). (2010). Commonwealth Games Chaos [Television program segment]. In Channel Ten News. Brisbane: Channel Ten. Retrieved September 20, 2010, from http://ten.com.au/video-player.htm?vxSiteId=cb519624-44a2-4bf7-808b-3514d34e96e4&vxChannel=News%20Daily&vxClipId=2683_news-delhi-220910&vxBitrate=300&vxTemplate=integrated.swf&vxClickToPlay=false.


APPENDIX N

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Ban burka in the name of freedomJill Singer June 25, 2009 Herald Sun

WHETHER to ban the burka is back on the political agenda, thanks to French President Nicolas Sarkozy and US President Barack Obama.

Sarkozy told his nation in a speech at Versailles this week that the burka was not welcome in France.

Stopping short of banning the most extreme form of dress for Muslim women, he described the face-covering, floor-length black garment as a symbol of subservience that turns women into prisoners behind a screen.

Sarkozy's performance made quite a statement, delivered as it was in a place renowned for extreme dress -- powdered wigs and all -- and attended by his glamorous wife Carla Bruni, who in a previous incarnation was known to shed all her kit at the drop of a chapeau.

France's attitude to the burka is understandable -- the country thrives on the appreciation of fashion and physical beauty.

No matter what your personal views about the burka -- a symbol of oppression or expression of religious identity -- it is an undeniably ugly item of clothing.

Burkas also make life hard for the women who wear them, being stiflingly hot in summer, and extremely restricting vision.

Only a masochist would opt to wear one, designed as they are by sadists.

It is no coincidence that Muslim men in Saudi Arabia, for example, drape themselves in cooling white while insisting their women bake in black.

Why would it be disrespectful to God for women to also cover up in white?

It's all such a load of male supremacist tosh.

The burka sends all sorts of messages that are anathema to ideals of freedom and gender equality.

Such controls on women's sexuality are pointless, and that should be condemned along with other mumbo-jumbo still practised across the world.


54

Sarkozy's speech came hot on the heels of Mr Obama's address to the Muslim world from Cairo, in which he supported women's right to wear the burka.

His view is that decisions such as what to wear are not matters to be imposed upon people by the state.

Australian politicians tend to tread very carefully on the issue of burkas.

And really, what's the best you could say about them in the Australian climate -- they keep the flies and sun off?

Former PM John Howard tested the waters by stating his belief that he found the full covering pretty confronting.

It caused a stir at the time and triggered allegations of religious intolerance.

The political leaders who have followed him are more cautious, apart of course from former Democrats leader Natasha Stott-Despoya, who once donned a scarf in public in solidarity with her oppressed Muslim sisters.

She didn't wear the full catastrophe of course because it would have kind of spoiled the photo opportunity.

Singer, J. (2009, June 25). Ban burka in the name of freedom. Herald Sun. Retrieved September 16, 2010, from http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/ban-burka-in-the-name-of-freedom/story-e6frf7l6-1225739819063.


APPENDIX O

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POVERTY, BOOZE AND JAIL

Stephen Lunn June 25, 2009 The Australian

GINO Vumbaca doesn't mince his words about the ____________ number of ___________in jail. "We've had numerous reports, papers, pledges and inquiries about prisons and their indigenous population. Yet despite all the ___________intentions, the proportion of Aborigines in ___________continues to increase.

"At some point we need to realise what we've been trying is on the periphery. The system is broken and we can't keep trying to fix it up, we have to replace it. __________ justice just doesn't work for indigenous people."

Vumbaca, executive director of the Australian National Council on Drugs will today join Health Minister Nicola Roxon in Canberra to launch a new ANCD report on indigenous incarceration and health, one that calls for ___________changes to the status quo.

The study, by the group's National Indigenous Drug and Alcohol Committee, presents a withering critique, highlighting the __________numbers of indigenous people in detention and concluding too many are _______________without sufficient regard to the underlying reasons behind their crimes, most typically ___________and __________abuse.

"Since health, substance misuse and wellbeing issues are closely linked to _____________violence, offending and incarceration, interventions that address _______________misuse have the potential to significantly reduce the overrepresentation of indigenous Australians in our correctional system," says the report titled Bridges and Barriers.

"Now, more than ever, there is an ____________need to reduce recidivism and the inter-generational effects of indigenous incarceration by developing a national program that not only uniformly tackles the health inequalities in our corrections system but is also responsive to strengthening the health and cultural wellbeing of indigenous Australians," it says.

However many times one reads it, comprehending the numbers of _____________people in _________gets no easier.

Indigenous adults are 13 times __________ likely to be locked up than other Australians. In 2007, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported 31 per cent of adult female prisoners and 24 per cent of adult male prisoners were ______________, despite the fact they comprise only about 2 per cent of the adult population.

****

The NIDAC report finds two main factors lie behind indigenous over-representation in the corrections system. The first is a long history of chronic socio-economic disadvantage, including ___________health and living conditions as well as cultural displacement. The second is _________.

"______________is well known as a common precursor to offending among indigenous Australians, with indications that it could be a factor in up to 90 per cent of all indigenous contacts with the justice system," the report says.

Lunn, S. (2009, June 25). POVERTY, BOOZE AND JAIL. The Australian.


APPENDIX P

56


POVERTY, BOOZE AND JAIL

Stephen Lunn June 25, 2009 The Australian

GINO Vumbaca doesn't mince his words about the high number of Aborigines in jail. "We've had numerous reports, papers, pledges and inquiries about prisons and their indigenous population. Yet despite all the good intentions, the proportion of Aborigines in detention continues to increase.

"At some point we need to realise what we've been trying is on the periphery. The system is broken and we can't keep trying to fix it up, we have to replace it. White justice just doesn't work for indigenous people."

Vumbaca, executive director of the Australian National Council on Drugs will today join Health Minister Nicola Roxon in Canberra to launch a new ANCD report on indigenous incarceration and health, one that calls for radical changes to the status quo.

The study, by the group's National Indigenous Drug and Alcohol Committee, presents a withering critique, highlighting the huge numbers of indigenous people in detention and concluding too many are locked up without sufficient regard to the underlying reasons behind their crimes, most typically alcohol and drug abuse.

"Since health, substance misuse and wellbeing issues are closely linked to indigenous violence, offending and incarceration, interventions that address alcohol and other drug misuse have the potential to significantly reduce the overrepresentation of indigenous Australians in our correctional system," says the report titled Bridges and Barriers.

"Now, more than ever, there is an urgent need to reduce recidivism and the inter-generational effects of indigenous incarceration by developing a national program that not only uniformly tackles the health inequalities in our corrections system but is also responsive to strengthening the health and cultural wellbeing of indigenous Australians," it says.

However many times one reads it, comprehending the numbers of Aboriginal people in jails gets no easier.

Indigenous adults are 13 times more likely to be locked up than other Australians. In 2007, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported 31 per cent of adult female prisoners and 24 per cent of adult male prisoners were indigenous, despite the fact they comprise only about 2 per cent of the adult population.

****

The NIDAC report finds two main factors lie behind indigenous over-representation in the corrections system. The first is a long history of chronic socio-economic disadvantage, including poor health and living conditions as well as cultural displacement. The second is alcohol.



APPENDIX Q

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Tony Abbott reopens debate on burka, wishes fewer Australians wore it

Joe Kelly August 4, 2010 The Australian

TONY Abbott says he finds the burka confronting and wishes fewer Australians wore it.

His comments come as a Perth judge is set to decide this week whether a Muslim woman can wear a full Islamic head-to-toe covering while giving evidence before a jury in a fraud case.

Western Australia District Court Judge Shauna Deane is due to hear submissions tomorrow from lawyers for the prosecution and defence regarding the witness who wishes to wear the burka.

The woman is a strict Muslim who does not want to show her face to men.

Asked about the issue today, the Opposition Leader said: “I find the burka a particularly confronting form of attire. And I would very much wish that fewer Australians would choose it.”

Previous calls by Liberal senator Cory Bernardi for a ban on the burka have been greeted by anger among Australia's Muslims, although Mr Abbott said in May those views were not Coalition policy.

Federal Nationals leader Warren Truss, however, said women in Australia should be allowed to wear the burka, in most circumstances.

“Generally speaking, as matter of principle, I believe people should be able to wear what they choose, so long as that does not in any way disadvantage the rights and privlieges of other Australians,” Mr Truss said in Canberra.

In May, Mr Abbott said he could understand Senator Bernardi's position, adding: “I think a lot of Australians find the wearing of the burka pretty confronting but it's not the subject of Coalition policy and I don't intend that it's going to be.”

But Mr Abbott was accused by then prime minister Kevin Rudd of “walking both sides of the street” for distancing himself from the Liberal senator's remarks.

Around the same time, then deputy prime minister Julia Gillard said she understood concerns about the burka, but stopped short of supporting a ban.


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"I can understand Australians that do find it a bit confronting, it's a little different on our streets,'' she said in May.

"It's something for people to think about, I don't think it actually makes a difference trying to ban an article of clothing, I'm not sure that's what we want to do.''

Last month, Senator Bernardi stepped up his attacks on the burka, saying it was a sign of Islamic oppression and could not be tolerated in Australia.

“We all need to constantly reaffirm the values that unite us rather than appease the customs that isolate some from their fellow Australians,” he wrote on his blog.

“For too long, political correctness has allowed the power of vocal minorities to intimidate, cajole, bully or shout down any critics who dare question their 'rights'.

“To me, concealment of the face is akin to slavery ... We need to stop the expansion of fundamentalist Islam in Australia ... Defending our culture can start with an effective ban on the burka.”

Senator Bernardi said Australia needed to learn from the experience of nations in Europe such as France, where the lower house of parliament last month voted overwhelmingly to ban the wearing of face-covering veils in public spaces.

Other European nations are also debating similar measures.

On the issue of whether witnesses should be allowed to wear the burka, Mr Abbott said he did not want to interfere in the court system.

However West Australian Premier Colin Barnett said today Muslims giving evidence in court should remove burkas so the “true nature” of their evidence could be seen.

Mr Barnett said although he defended the right of people to dress according to their faith and religion, he believed that in this case it would be appropriate for the woman to remove her burka.

“I would think, normally, witnesses should have their faces exposed,” he said in Perth.

“I think it's important for the judge and jury to see the true nature of any evidence given, the expressions and the like. But that is a matter for the judge.”

Kelly, J. (2010, August 4). Tony Abbott reopens debate on burka, wishes fewer Australians wore it. The Australian. Retrieved September 15, 2010, from http://www.news.com.au/features/federal-election/tony-abbott-reopens-debate-on-burka-wishes-fewer-australians-wore-it/story-e6frfllr-1225901230710.


APPENDIX R

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Sourced from: Anderson, M., & Anderson, K. (1998). Text Types in English 3. South Yarra, VIC: Macmillan Education Australia. PAGE 13


APPENDIX S

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TJ's life played out in the 'dead zone'Jamie Walker February 4, 2004 The Australian

SLEEP comes late to the children of Walgett. At 1.10am yesterday, groups of them were wandering the streets of this troubled north-western NSW town, waifs in the hot airless night, just like TJ used to be.

Di Tuhura says they inhabit a "dead zone". She stops herself mid-sentence, because it's such a raw thing to speak of after what happened to Thomas "Junior" Hickey - the 17-year-old whose death in Sydney last Saturday lit the fuse of the Redfern riot, bringing long-simmering anger and bitterness in the Aboriginal community boiling to the surface.

While the circumstances of his death remain in sharp dispute, the road he took from Walgett to Redfern - from the happy-go-lucky boy who played football with quicksilver bare feet, to the socially marginalised youth who left school early and drifted into petty crime and impulsive violence -- is a wake-up call to Australia, as ominous as the clang of bricks and bottles on police shields during Sunday's melee in Sydney.

Tuhura, TJ's former junior rugby league coach, says his story could be that of just about any Aboriginal kid growing up in Walgett.

The TJ she likes to remember is the boy she met in the under8s, stick-skinny but a real natural, with a neat right step and speed to burn.

At the time, he was living with his grandparents, Elizabeth and Thomas Hickey. His mother, Gail, divided her time between Walgett and Sydney; his father, Ian West, was in and out of jail.

"He was a lovely kid," Tuhura says. "Loved his footy, loved going cotton-chipping with his grand-dad ... a good kid at heart, like all the other kids around here." Then he entered his teens - and things began to change. The football cut out because there was no intermediate junior competition between the under-12 and under-18 age groups.

TJ would hang out on the streets with his friends, often until the early hours of the morning. His family says he left school three years ago when in Year 9, aged 14.

So did his classmate, Edward Fernando, now 17, who remembers how they would "just walk around for fun ... you know, something to do".

The combination of boredom, family dysfunction and social alienation is a potent one in Walgett, just as it is elsewhere in Aboriginal Australia, from remotest Wiluna, in Western Australia, to Doomadgee in northwest Queensland.


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Talk to the non-indigenous locals, the 40per cent minority in Walgett's 2300-strong population, and you will hear story after story about the Aboriginal kids being out of control, how the youngest of children thieve and smash-and-grab at will. The youngsters in question, and many of their parents, reply with accusations of police harassment or racial victimisation. The sense of menace is given physical expression by the grilles on shopfronts lining the main street.

Although police won't release crime figures for the town, the break-in rate for the surrounding Moree Plains local government area is 2 1/2 times the state average. General and sexual assault are three times higher, although homicide and serious hard drug offences are virtually non-existent.

Last year, attendance at the local high school was revealed to be as low as 10per cent -- a figure disputed by the Education Department. Overall turnout was more like 70per cent, a spokesman said yesterday. Yet one local teacher said she often taught her mainly Aboriginal class with two-thirds of the desks empty.

This is what Tuhura is getting at with her talk of the "dead zone". Her frustration is palpable. TJ was not just a star turn on her football team, he was kin. Having emigrated from New Zealand, she married into the Hickey family, becoming mother-in-law to TJ's cousin, Vanessa. "The truth is they are all great kids," she says.

"But when they get to 12 or 13, to being teenagers, the town is just dead for them. I mean, why go on at school when there's no jobs? Why try and play sport when there's no organised competition? The local pool closes at 7 o'clock at night in summer, when it's still 35 or 40 degrees. The community centre doesn't open when it's supposed to be open every day after 3. There's just nothing for the kids to do except get into trouble."

If that's a bleak view of growing up in Walgett, TJ's life was made immeasurably sadder by the death of his grandmother, Elizabeth, in April 2001. She and husband Thomas had brought him up from the age of 4. Her death took from him the most important moderating influence he'd known.

He was soon smoking marijuana and drinking beer with the other boys. Still slight, weighing barely 55kg, he was "little brother" to Jason Kennedy, now 19. "We'd hang around all the time ... drinking a bit, smokin' a bit," he says.

Two cousins, to whom TJ was very close, were in trouble with the police. The Hickeys had a reputation around town, and Cynthia, one of TJ's three maternal aunts, believes the local police had all the boys in their sights. Her three brothers, William, Thomas and Joseph, were doing time in prison, along with TJ's dad, Ian.

TJ, though, kept himself out of serious trouble until moving to Sydney to join his mother. His six sisters, all younger, remained at school in Walgett, sharing Cynthia's overcrowded three-bedroom house with her seven children and partner, Greg.

Grandfather Thomas says he was aware TJ was getting up to "a bit of mischief" with purse snatching. Cynthia admits he was "no angel", but that was understandable, because kids in Walgett had to grow up tough.

TJ was living a hand-to-mouth existence in Sydney, alternating between Gail's place in Redfern and that of Vanessa's mother, Virginia, in Waterloo. Court records show he appeared in Bidura Children's Court at Glebe last September 10 to admit to offences of stealing from a person, resisting police and possession of a small quantity of marijuana. The case was adjourned to March 22 pending the outcome of juvenile conferencing.


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By most reckonings, his criminal history was relatively light, at least by Walgett standards.

In November last year, TJ made what would be his final visit home with Gail. Cynthia says he had always been intensely protective of his sisters and female cousins. On the evening of November 22, Gail asked him to find his sister, Rebecca, 14, who had gone visiting on the other side of town with one of her cousins, also 14. Their destination was the home of a non-indigenous man with whom the Hickeys had had a series of disputes.

With his partner, an Aboriginal woman, the man was looking after a girl distantly related to the Hickeys. TJ lost his temper when he turned up at the house. He stormed in and struck the man's partner with a stick, which he also used to assault his cousin, who had been playing on the computer with Rebecca. Another aunt, Linda, insists he was only looking out for his own - "He protected all his little cousins ... he was brother to them all," she says.

The police were called and this time TJ found himself facing serious criminal charges: assault causing actual bodily harm in regard to the woman, who was left with a 6cm welt on her face, and assault of his cousin. He was convicted in absentia after failing to attend the Children's Court in Walgett on December 11. Magistrate Sue Seagrave issued warrants for his arrest, which were in force at the time of his death last Saturday. He was also made subject to a 12-month apprehended violence order concerning his cousin.

TJ would have been fully aware he was wanted. The police turned up at grandfather Thomas's place the week before his death, trying to serve documents. The teenager kept low in Sydney, enmeshed in the netherworld of The Block in Redfern, marking time with his girlfriend, April.

It seems he must have decided to return to Walgett. Cynthia saw him about three weeks ago and he was talking about going cotton-chipping and stick-picking to earn some money.

The streets of Walgett were quiet at 1.10am yesterday, just the kids out and about, rollerskating and riding their bikes through the heat of the night. Dwayne Doolan, 13, said he was too bored to go home, because what was the point, he wouldn't sleep anyway. As is the way of things in Walgett he was distantly related to TJ. He'll be there for the funeral next week, when the young man will be laid to rest by his family and an honour guard from the Walgett Dragons rugby league club. "Nothin' else to do," he shrugged

Walker, J. (2004, February 21). TJ's life played out in the 'dead zone'. The Australian.


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