Incredible Stories is a unit of work written for stage five of the 2012 NSW State Syllabus for English, with the embedded objectives of the Australian National Curriculum. The activities can be used and altered to meet the objectives of other state curriculum.
The unifying theme of this unit
is telling stories. It has a particular focus on; how
different textual forms shape meaning, developing voice in creative
writing and sustainable communities. The core text for this
unit is The Incredible Here and Now
(Giramondo, 2013). The unit contains four main sections:
What
is a story?
Students take a close look at what
a story is and why storytelling is an important vehicle for
intercultural understanding and building sustainable communities. The
students are encouraged to evaluate and express their own stories.
The focus of this section is on speaking and listening tasks.
Michael’s
Story
Students complete a close study of
the text The Incredible Here and
Now (Giramondo, 2013) focussing on the main character Michael.
Students engage in comprehension, critical literacy and visual
representation tasks. The focus of this section is learning to
identify and analyse literary techniques.
Community
Stories
Students compare and contrast the
community stories told in The
Incredible Here and Now with the community stories told in the
web documentary ‘Welcome to Pine Point’. The focus of this section
is comparing how meaning is shaped by different textual forms.
Your Story
Students
reflect on what they have learned about the vignette form through their study
of The Incredible Here and Now
and build on their creative writing skills. The focus of this section is on developing creative writing skills such as
the framing of a narrative through the voice of the central
character and the use of imagery in written expression.