Literature

in the Na,onal English

Curriculum and Digital Animated
Movie Making.

Len Unsworth
Professor in Education (English and Literacies Education)
Griffith University, Brisbane, AUSTRALIA.
h"p://www.grith.edu.au/professional-page/len-unsworth
Email: l.unsworth@griffith.edu.au

Re-conceptualizing literacy and

literacy pedagogy to take account of
image-language rela>ons in tradi>onal
paper and new digital electronic
media.

Australian Na>onal Curriculum: English

h"p://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/English/

English / Year 3 / Literature / Crea>ng literature

Create imagina>ve texts based on characters, seLngs and events from students
own and other cultures using visual features, for example perspec>ve, distance and
angle.
English / Year 4 / Language / Expressing and developing ideas
Explore the eect of choices when framing an image, placement of elements in the
image, and salience on composi>on of s>ll and moving images in a range of types of
texts.
English / Year 5 / Literacy / Crea>ng texts
Plan, draP and publish imagina>ve, informa>ve and persuasive print and
mul>modal texts, choosing text structures, language features, images and sound
appropriate to purpose and audience.
English / Year 6 / Literacy / Crea>ng texts
Plan, draP and publish imagina>ve, informa>ve and persuasive texts, choosing
and experimen>ng with text structures, language features, images and digital
resources appropriate to purpose and audience.

h"p://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/English/
English / Year 7 / Literature / Responding to literature
Compare the ways that language and images are used to create character, and to
inuence emo>ons and opinions in dierent types of texts.
English / Year 8 / Literacy / Interpre>ng, analysing, evalua>ng
Explore and explain the ways authors combine dierent modes and media in
crea>ng texts, and the impact of these choices on the viewer/listener.
English / Year 9 / Literacy / Interpre>ng, analysing, evalua>ng
Explore and explain the combina,ons of language and visual choices that authors
make to present informa,on, opinions and perspec,ves in dierent texts

Comparing image-language rela>ons and

interpre>ve possibili>es in literary picture books as
animated movies.

Literature, mul>modal literacy and

digital technologies

Painter, C., Mar>n, J. R., & Unsworth, L. (in press). Reading Visual Narra>ves. London: Equinox.

h"p://www.traileraddict.com/
clip/the-lost-thing/short-lm

Tan, Shaun. (2000). The Lost Thing. Sydney: Hache"e.

The Lost Thing (Tan, 2000) is a humorous
story about a boy who discovers a bizarre-
looking creature while out collec>ng bo"le-
tops at a beach. Having guessed that it is lost,
he tries to nd out who owns it or where it
belongs, but the problem is met with
indierence by everyone else, who barely
no>ce its presence. Each is unhelpful;
strangers, parents are all unwilling to
entertain this uninvited interrup>on to day-
to-day life. Even his friend is unable to help
despite some interest, In spite of his be"er
judgement, the boy feels sorry for this
hapless creature, and a"empts to nd out
where it belongs. Eventually he does nd a
place, which other bizarre looking creatures
inhabit. The lost thing joins them in this
place and he and the boy part company.

Mee>ng the lost thing (book)

Nega>ve Judgment

Composi>onal Prominence to Nega>ve Judgment

Commitment to Aect: Sa>sfac>on (curiosity/puzzlement)

Verbal Commitment

Commitment to Aect: Sa>sfac>on (curiosity/puzzlement)

Verbal Commitment

Visual Commitment

Verbal Commitment

Visual Commitment

Nega>ve Judgment

Coupling Visual Aect: Sa>sfac>on (curiosity/puzzlement)

and Verbal Judgment ve Tenacity and Normality

The only visual depic>ons of curiosity are coupled with

explicit verbal appraisal of Judgment: -ve Tenacity/Normality

..and long shot images with unmediated observe point of

view distanced further by the smallness of the images.

In the movie there

is no explicit
verbal
commitment to
the boys
Aect:Sa>sfac>on

But
curiosity, surprise and puzzlement are evoked through facial
expression and gesture and the 17 seconds of silent walking around
and looking at the lost thing before any u"erance of Judgment is
made.

Mee>ng the lost thing (movie)

aect in the movie

Visual Focaliza>on, Aect and verbal

Judgment in movie

It sure wasnt doing much.

It just sat there

with a really weird look about it.

You know, a sad, lost sort of look.

Book

-ve Normality
-ve Normality
Unhappiness
Insecurity
-ve Normality
-ve Tenacity
-ve Tenacity
-ve Normality

Movie

weird
sad
lost

-ve Tenacity
-ve Tenacity
-ve Normality
Unhappiness
Insecurity
-ve Normality

Book

Movie
Current Demeanor

Characteris>c Traits
-ve Normality
-ve Normality
Unhappiness
Insecurity
-ve Normality
-ve Tenacity
-ve Tenacity
-ve Normality

weird
sad
lost

-ve Tenacity
-ve Tenacity
-ve Normality
Unhappiness
Insecurity
-ve Normality

Book

Movie
Current Demeanor

Characteris>c Traits
-ve Normality
-ve Normality
Unhappiness
Insecurity
-ve Normality
-ve Tenacity
-ve Tenacity
-ve Normality

weird
sad
lost

-ve Tenacity
-ve Tenacity
-ve Normality
Unhappiness
Insecurity
-ve Normality

Saying goodbye
in the book
in the movie

in the book

Focaliza>on and visual and verbal commitment to Aect

Book

Movie

Limited verbal commitment to saying goodbye. NO verbal commitment to saying

Limited visual commitment to saying goodbye. goodbye.
Extensive visual commitment to saying goodbye.

Paucity/Devoid of Explicit Aect

Experien>al token of indierence.

Concentra>on of Explicit Visual Aect

Conguring image-language rela>ons in crea>ng digital

animated movies: Construc>ng meaning at the image-
language interface.

Digital animated lms can now be composed readily by primary

school children en>rely on their computers using easy-to-operate
mul>modal anima>on soPware that is either free online or available
at very modest cost (Extranormal; Anim8tor; Kids Movie Creator;
Moviestorm; Kahootz).

Children authoring animated movies

Unsworth, L. & Thomas, A. (with Paul Chandler & Annemaree OBrien). Teaching
eec,ve 3D authoring in the middle school years: Mul,media gramma,cal design
and mul,media authoring pedagogy. ARC funded Linkage Project University of
New England, University of Tasmania and the Australian Childrens Television
Founda>on 2009-2011.

Exploring image-language
complementarity
In the Goldsh movie by Paige,
the goldsh discuss the risks of the
children throwing a ball inside the
house,
but all we see on screen is a blue
sphere rhythmically passing from
one side of screen to the other.
We also do not see the ball smash
the goldsh tank,
nor is this made explicit verbally,
but we hear a sound of glass
breaking
and then we see the broken tank,
and the goldsh, on the oor.

Modeling image-language
complementarity in animated narra>ve
movies
These early stages of understanding and using visual/
verbal complementarity and intermodal varia>on in
commitment to meaning can be enhanced through the
kind of close analysis of segments of animated movies of
picture books as described here in rela>on to The Lost
Thing (Tan, 2000) and which can be explored in the many
popular movies of established literary picture books.

Implica>ons for mul>modal digital

narra>ve authoring pedagogy
Providing models
Deconstruc>on
Metalanguage

h"p://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/English/

Bibliography
Unsworth, L. (in press). The image/language interface in picture books as animated lms:
A focus for new narra>ve interpreta>on and composi>on pedagogies. In L. Unsworth & A.
Thomas (Eds.), English Teaching and New Literacies Pedagogy: Interpre>ng and Authoring
Digital Mul>media Narra>ves. New York: Peter Lang.
Unsworth, L. (in press). Point of view in picture books and animated lm adapta>ons:
Informing cri>cal mul>modal comprehension and composi>on pedagogy. In E. Djonov &
S. Zhao (Eds.), Cri>cal mul>modal studies of popular culture. London: Routledge.
Unsworth, L. (2008). Comparing and Composing Digital Re-presenta>ons of Literature:
Mul>media Authoring and Meta-communica>ve Knowledge. In L. Unsworth (Ed.), New
Literacies and the English Curriculum (pp. 186-212). London and New York: Con>nuum.
Unsworth, L. (2007). Mul>modal Text Analysis in Classroom Work with Children's
Literature. In T. Royce & W. Bowcher (Eds.), New Direc>ons in Mul>modal Text Analysis
(pp. 331-360). Mahwah, New Jersey: Erlbaum.