The New English Syllabus, Quality Literature and Multimodal Texts…

Teachers and librarians alike are rejoicing as the new Australian NSW BOS K-10 English syllabus aims to engage students in ‘quality’ literature.

But what does constitute ‘quality’ and where do teaches find quality texts that incorporate the big three perspectives?

The term ‘quality’ is in itself a culturally loaded concept. What constitutes ‘quality’ in the eyes of some does not in the eyes of others.

In a recent article John Marsden commented that although some authors are not considered part of the literary cannon, their works are still highly valuable.

“…good on Paul Jennings, Morris Gleitzman, Andy Griffiths, the late Roald Dahl, and Dave Pilkey (creator of Captain Underpants). These half a dozen writers have done more than anyone else on the planet to get 21^st century children reading.”

He went on to say that educators should be aiming high – rather than being satisfied with the functional, we should be pulling students up to poetic literacy (a level where students can “ ..distil complex thoughts and ideas into intelligible words, argue a case express a feeling, state an opinion or convey a sense of self to others..”).

Marsden, John ( 2013). If kids are literate but don’t like reading, then fine. Aurora Magazine. Catholic Diocese of Maitland Newcastle. 

When selecting an appropriate text, we need to recognize that reading is a two-way transaction. Readers take something away from the text which affects or even changes them, as well as bringing their reading selves and their individual experiences to the text itself. Matching the target audience to text is vital.

We need to keep in mind:

*Reader Identity: the past experiences, literary expectations and reading taste of the reader

*Immersion: how the readers engage through empathising with characters and evoking images

Maine and Waller (2011). Children's Literature in Education

Volume 42, Issue 4, pp 354-371

While the list of suggested texts seeks to provide a list of ‘quality reading and viewing’  for years 7-10; it is merely a starting point.

Other annotated bibliographies are being produced for the Australian Curriculum. The ‘Literature to Support the Australian Curriculum booklet’ is one such example.