The document provides an overview of the stages involved in planning an English inquiry. It discusses establishing a focus of investigation, exploring connections between texts, and introducing students to analyzing language in texts. Key stages include planning the inquiry, developing field knowledge, deconstructing texts, joint construction of new texts, independent construction, and planning assessment. The teacher's role involves negotiating topics, suggesting text types, developing inquiry questions, and scaffolding writing, while students participate in discussions and construction of texts.

1. Planning an English Inquiry
Planning in English is focussed around an inquiry into an aspect of text, language or literacy.
What is the English problem to be solved, question to be answered, significant task to be completed or issue to be explored through the
interpretation or construction of particular texts?
This stage involves:
• Establishing a focus of investigation into the language used to entertain, to move, to express and reinforce cultural identity, and to reflect.
• Exploring connections between the purpose, text type, subject matter, author, audience, mode and medium in these texts
• Introducing students to a process that allows them to talk about the language in the texts they are interpreting and constructing.
What the teacher may do What the students may do
Negotiate a social context (subject matter and audience) for Brainstorm topics of interest and possible audiences.
this unit with the students. Participate in formulating a group decision.
Suggest options from appropriate text type/s within the Decide on an appropriate text type for achieving a particular
genre category. cultural purpose or purposes
Lead the development of an inquiry question that connects Participate in discussion to identify possible directions for the study of texts and
the text type and its purpose to the social context and textual language.
features.
Developing Field Knowledge
The purpose of this stage is to investigate the concept/topic and social context of the written text that was negotiated with this group of learners.
This stage involves:
• Establishing the students’ prior knowledge and understanding of the concept/topic to be developed in the written narrative
• Identifying the ideas to be included – What ideas do we want to find out about the topic, about the text, and about the language of the text?
• Planning experiences that will develop the ideas and information – How will we find out the information?
What the Teacher does What the student does
Developing Field Knowledge
 Establishes the extent of the students’ current knowledge and  Participate in a discussion around the concept.
understanding of the concept and build on it.  Think Pair Share in groups to initiate the discussion.
 Uses a KWL to record information.
 Organise Think, Pair, Share in groups to initiate the discussion

2. Deconstruction
The purpose of this stage is to provide experiences of the text type to be studied. It has two
parts – Deconstruction of Context and Deconstruction of the Text.
Deconstruction – Context of Culture & Context of Situation
This step provides an opportunity for students to become familiar with the text type, its social
purpose, possible audiences, text structure and textual features, through immersion in the
What the teacher does What the students do
Select a range and balance of texts that are models of the genre to
be studied.
Introduce model/s of the text type to the class including those for Read and discuss the texts.
different audiences and specific purposes.
Ask questions from the point of view of the writer. Answer questions in small or whole groups.
- Who would write this kind of text?
- Why would someone write this text?
- Who is the intended audience for the text?
- In what other situation would you need to write this text?
Ask questions from the point of view of a reader. Answer question in small or whole groups.
- Where might you see/find/read this kind of text?
- Who would be interested in reading this text?
- What ideas would you expect to find in this text?
- Why might you need to read or write a similar text?
Provide sample texts and possible audiences. Match sample texts with possible audiences.
Deconstruction – Deconstructing the Text
This step provides an opportunity for teachers and students to investigate the way the text is structured to achieve its purpose. Explicit teaching sessions include
the way the text is organised; the way each stage contributes to the achievement of the purpose; the relationship between the structure and the grammar in
achieving the purpose; and the format - paragraph structure, page layout, visuals genre and exploring mentor/model.
What the teacher does What the students do
Examine the generic structure and the organisation of the text/s. Listen and observe teacher modelling task.
What is the genre? Work individually, in pairs or small groups to
What is the purpose of this genre? identify generic structure, text organisation and
What is the text type? language features
What stages does this text type go through in achieving its purpose?
What clues are there that it is a new phase?
What is the function of each stage?
What language features are associated with each stage?
Prepare cut up texts for students to reassemble. Listen and observe teacher modelling task.
Model the activities Work individually, or in pairs or small groups to
reassemble text according to generic structure.
Reassemble text ordering paragraphs.

3. Cloze: Blank out words that have a specific function, e.g. processes, Listen and observe teacher modelling task.
participants, Work individually, or in pairs or small groups to
circumstances, conjunctions, pronoun reference. Model the activity using complete the cloze.
only one
element each activity.
Models on how to locate and identify using highlighters e.g. Watch and listen to the modelling. Individual, pair,
• language features– participants (noun groups), processes (verb groups), small group work on highlighting specific aspects
circumstances (adverbs/adverbial phrases), cohesive elements of texts.
(conjunctions)
sentence structures, theme position .
What is the process going on here? (process/verb group)
Who or what (followed by the process?) (participant)
When, where, how, why, with whom is the process taking place?
(circumstance)
Joint Construction
This stage has two steps – Preparation and Construction. It enables students to build a new text on the basis of shared experiences and knowledge of language
features. The teacher scaffolds the process by modelling the kind of thinking needed to respond to the task requirements.
Preparation
This step allows students to build up their field knowledge about the subject matter they want to develop for their readers.
What the Teacher does What the student does
Lead the students in Defining the task by asking questions such as: Consider these questions when working individually, in pairs or small groups to help them
What does this writing task require us to do? define the task.
What is our purpose?
What text types are appropriate to the topic?
Who is the audience?
What are some key words and ideas for the topic?
Lead the students in Organising the task by asking questions such as: Consider these questions when working individually, in pairs or small groups to locate the
How could this topic/incident/series of events develop over the ideas they need.
orientation? Create own set of resources.
the complication?
the resolution?
Lead the students in Creating the Ideas by asking questions such as: Consider these questions when working individually, in pairs or small groups to select the
What is the mood of the story – exciting, adventurous funny? information they need.
Who are the characters?
Who is telling the story – a first or third person narrator?
When and where is the story set?
What is the plan of action – the plot?
What is the resolution of the story?
Provide models of ways to Organise the information appropriate to Use the organisers to plan the story.
the genre
Story map ; timeline; choose a path

4. Construction of Text
This stage provides an opportunity for the teacher to scaffold the writing of the text through negotiation and interaction with students. At this stage the teacher
can use ‘think alouds’ and questions to guide the students into understanding the text structure, language features as well as developing; drafting, editing and
proof reading skills. Also at this stage the teacher needs to be confident with the language features of the genre in order to guide the structure and wording of
the text.
What the teacher does What the student does
Scaffold the writing of the text by asking questions, thinking aloud, suggesting, Participate with the teacher in whole class or groups to write the text.
modelling language features, drafting and editing.
Discuss the presentation of the text. Include e.g.punctuation, paragraphing, Make suggestions for presentation.
visuals, animation
Independent Construction
This stage has two steps, preparation and individual writing. It also includes a critical literacy component. In this stage the teacher’s role is vital in providing
demonstrations, guidance and support as the students move through the steps that were modelled during the joint construction stage, either individually, in pairs
or in groups depending on their confidence with writing. Students’ attempts and approximations of the genre are important at this stage.
Preparation
In this step the students develop and organise relevant subject matter for the narrative.
What the teacher does What the student does
Demonstrate and guide strategies for starting a new narrative Select a topic
topic. Brainstorming. - independently construct a text using same subject matter
Clustering events under stages of narrative collected for the joint construction
Concept mapping – identifying vocabulary - with the same theme but different subject matter details
Context mapping – setting circumstances of time and place for - within the same broad theme
events - a self-selected topic

5. Individual Writing of Text
This step involves students drafting, consulting, editing and publishing text.
What the teacher does What the student does
Be available to work on drafting, consulting and editing with Discuss drafts with the teacher, peers or other support staff.
students. Edit, redraft, rewrite.
Use desired outcomes as a focus for the conversations.
Identify steps needed to achieve outcomes.
Keep a checklist of student achievement and needs as an indication for
possible whole class planned teaching/learning activities during this stage.
Model the editing process. Edit writing.
Suggest tools for publication and support students in publishing their work. Publish.
Planning for Assessment
DEVELOPING THE CRITERIA
The purpose of this stage is to plan for ways learners can demonstrate what they know and can do when writing a narrative.
This stage involves:
• Creating a writing task that enables students to demonstrate what they know and can do
• Deciding on explicit criteria drawn from the English outcomes and core content to guide student performance and teachers’ judgements of the written
narrative
• Providing a fair and equitable opportunity for all students to demonstrate what they know and can do
• Scaffolding the assessment requirements with explicit teaching and learning.
What the teacher does What the student does
Discuss the task requirements. Ask questions to clarify the task demands.
Specify criteria for expected/typical level of performance as well as the levels below and Discuss what this may look like.
above.
Indicate clear conditions for performance. Discuss areas for negotiation.

6. Semiotic Systems
Linguistic- the code and conventions of texts. An understanding of how words, clauses and punctuation
combine to make meaning.
Web Tools:
Online graphical dictionary: http://www.visuwords.com/
Wordsift: http://www.wordsift.com or http:// www.wordle.net Paste any text into WordSift/Wordle and you can
engage in a verbal quick-capture. Wordsift helps to identify important words that appear in the text, use
visualization of word thesaurus and Google® searches of images and videos. With just a click on any word in
the Tag Cloud, the program displays instances of sentences in which that word is used in the text.
Visual- the way elements depict an image. It is not universal but culturally influenced, however technology globalisation and influence of design and media
are bridging this differentiation.
Colour Color is one of the most powerful of elements. It has tremendous expressive qualities. Understanding the uses of color is crucial to
effective composition in design and the fine arts.
Placement- meaning of colours and where they are used in the image
Saturation- intensity of colour used
Tone- the amount of light/dark used. This can also create key focal points.
Media, opacity, transparency- indicates quality or make-up of what is being depicted
Questions: Is there a lot of colour used? Are the colours light or dark? What impression do they give you?
Texture Texture is the quality of an object which we sense through touch. It exists as a literal surface we can feel, but also as a surface we can
see, and imagine the sensation might have if we felt it. Texture can also be portrayed in an image, suggested to the eye which can
refer to our memories of surfaces we have touched. Textures are of many kinds: Bristly, rough, and hard -- this is what we usually think of
as texture, but texture can also be smooth, cold and hard, too.
Questions: Are there any objects in the image? How does the image use texture to represent the object? What is the texture like?
Line Line is a visual element to describe movement of dots in an image.
A line is a mark made by a moving point and having psychological impact according to its direction, weight, and the variations in its
direction and weight. It is an enormously useful and versatile graphic device that is made to function in both visual and verbal ways. It
can act as a symbolic language, or it can communicate emotion through its character and direction . Line is not necessarily an
artificial creation of the artist or designer; it exists in nature as a structural feature such as branches, or as surface design, such as striping
on a tiger or a seashell.
Symbolic Use of lines:
Vertical – feeling isolated or lack of movement Horizontal- feeling calmness, lack of strife

7. Doorways-square- solidarity, security Right angles- unnatural
Diagonals- off balance, out of control Jagged- destruction, anger
Curved- movement
Questions: What sorts of lines are used in the image? What impression do the lines give you? Do the lines make it an action image? Do
they connect any people or objects? Are there invisible lines in the image?
Form, shape and Form and shape are areas or masses which define objects in space. Form and shape imply space; indeed they cannot exist without
space space. There are various ways to categorize form and shape. Form and shape can be thought of as either two dimensional or three
dimensional. Two dimensional form has width and height. It can also create the illusion of three dimension objects. Three dimensional
shape has depth as well as width and height.
Form and shape can also be described as either organic or geometric. Organic forms such as these snow-covered boulders typically
are irregular in outline, and often asymmetrical. Organic forms are most often thought of as naturally occurring.
Hue and value are very important cues that tell us whether an object is near or far. In general, we tend to read warm hues as being
closer that cool hues.
Questions What kinds of shapes are shown? Do they have clear outlines? Is there one shape used more than another? Do the shapes
suggest a theme? Do the shapes have hard or soft edges?
Framing Type of shot and angles used to create meaning.
Editing How creator puts images together to give meaning. Parallel Cutting- use of spilt screen to look forward or backward. Speed- effects
mood, draw attention to meaning, Inserts Pacing and Transitions.
Web Tools: www.shauntan.net- great examples in picture book of the elements.
Picture Editing Tools:
BeFunky http://www.befunky.com/
Online Image Editor- http://www.online-image-editor.com/Edit images ONLINE. Resize or crop your images, add text, add borders, or overlay your images, put
your image in a picture frame or add a mask, convert, sharpen, reduce size of your animated gif... and much, much, more...
Picnik- http://www.picnik.com/ Fix your photos in just one click. Use advanced controls to fine-tune your results. Crop, resize, and rotate in real-time. Tons of
special effects, from artsy to fun. Awesome fonts and top-quality type tool. Works on Mac, Windows, and Linux. No download required, nothing to install
Image Sites: Creative Commons
Photo8, PhotoBucket, Photl, Pics4Learning, Corbis Images, Morgue Files, 4FreePhotos, Flickr Images Creative Commons
Web 2.0 Sites Voicethread-http://voicethread.com/ Conversations around images

8. Audio
Volume and Indicates moods and emotions
auditability Eg soft whispers can create intimacy, shouting creates distance
Accentuation on key words to create meaning
Pace Speed sound is delivered
Fast pace- excitement
Slow paced calming
It can draw attention to atmosphere
Web Tools:
Garage Band (MAC) Audacity (PC)
Finding CC Materials: Music & Video
Purple Purple: http://www.purpleplanet.com/
Open Culture: http://www.openculture.com/
Opsound- http://www.opsound.com – CC music archive
Jamendo- http://jamendo.org – CC music distribution site
Soundtransit- http://soundtransit.nl/ -archive of “field recordings” from around the world published under a CC Attribution licence
Owlnn- http://www.owlmm.com/ - a next generation music discovery engine which compares your favourite songs to thousands of others to find similar songs, all
of which are CC licensed
Gestural
Body contact Indicates relationships and social conventions
Proximity
Body position Interaction- can indicate power, intimacy, aggression, compliance, respect
Appearance Indicates personality, social status and culture
Facial expressions Eyebrows, eyes, position of mouth, size of nostrils…
Mood, emotion, agreement, disagreement or disinterest
Posture Interpersonal attitudes, emotional states, nature of character.
The ways people use height, weight and build as part of posture can indicate similar aspects of attitude, emotion and character.
Web Tools:
Comic Creators:
ToonDoo: www.toondoo.com
Go Animate: http://goanimate.com/ Create and share animations in minutes
Spatial- Understanding the components of position (Left-right- Top-bottom- values in society, Foreground/background- importance), distance and framing.

9. Web Tool for Evaluating
Good online story sites eg. www.dustechoes.com
www.youtube.com- ads and movie trailers
Web Tools for Planning Multi modal Texts
Exploratree http://www.exploratree.org.uk/ Free online library of thinking guides
Bubbl.us https://bubbl.us/ Online mindmapping
Mind42 http://www.mind42.com/ Online mindmapping- add images, links..
Stixy http://www.stixy.com/ An online canvas that allows you to add notes, images, task, video
Linoit http://en.linoit.com/ An online canvas that allows you to add notes, images, task, video
Tool for Creating Multimodal Text- PC Photostory, Movie Maker MAC-Movie, Garageband
Web Tools for Creating Multi modal Texts
PhotoPeach- http://photopeach.com/ PhotoPeach you can create a rich slideshow in seconds. Add background music, captions, and comments so you can
elaborate on your story further.
VuVox: http://www.vuvox.com/ VUVOX is an easy to use production and instant sharing service that allows you to mix, create and blend your personal media –
video, photos and music into rich personal expressions.
Glogster Edu http://edu.glogster.com/ - Glogster is an interactive visual platform in which users create a “poster or web page” containing multimedia elements
including: text, audio, video, images, graphics, drawings, and data.
Google search stories: http://www.youtube.com/searchstories add images, sites, music, maps, news and more.
Animoto: http://animoto.com/- Animoto allows users to create short videos, rather like film trailers, from their own uploaded photos and videos clips. The service
provides a library of music from which users can select appropriate music for their video or allows them to upload their own tunes.
Dvolver moviemaker - http://www.dvolver.com/moviemaker/make.html Dvolver Moviemaker is a simple tool that enables you to create your own animated
cartoons by selecting from a range of characters backgrounds and scenarios and adding your own dialogue text bubble. The movies can then be sent by email or embedded
into blogs or websites for others to enjoy.

10. Design Process for a multimodal text
Purpose
Topic/Content
Genre
Audience
Context
After- Before-
selection of resources
Resources Required
Semiotic Systems
available
transforamtion of Reflection:
avaliable designs and for semiotic systems
resources into a and technologies from How did multimodal text meet its
multimodal text. avaliable designs and purpose, audience and context?
Review of design PURPOSE literacy identity
AUDIENCE How did the combination of
CONTEXT semiotic systems achieve
communication purpose?
How did balancing and weighing
among the semiotic systems
During- accomplish the communication
purpose?
designing and recombining avaliable How was salient content identified
designs and resources. through the semiotic systems?
How was cohesion realised within
the semiotic systems and overall
text?

11. Auditing checklist:
Focus of Linguistic Visual Spatial Audio Gestural
practice
continuum
Explicit
teaching
Teacher
directed
Guided
Focus on
learning
acquisition
Student
centred
exploration
Self-directed
Negotiated

12. Story Title _____________________________ Names:__________________________________
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Text Text Text Text Text
Type of shot/ angle Type of shot/ angle Type of shot/ angle Type of shot/ angle Type of shot/ angle
Visual Features Visual Features Visual Features Visual Features Visual Features
Music Music Music Music Music
Gestural Gestural Gestural Gestural Gestural
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Text Text Text Text Text
Type of shot/ angle Type of shot/ angle Type of shot/ angle Type of shot/ angle Type of shot/ angle
Visual Features Visual Features Visual Features Visual Features Visual Features
Music Music Music Music Music
Gestural Gestural Gestural Gestural Gestural
Reference: Evolving Pedagogies Reading and writing in a multimodal world Author: Michèle Anstey and Geoff Bull
http://www.curriculum.edu.au/leader/helping_teachers_to_explore_multimodal_texts,31522.html?issueID=12141