Resource+3




 * IMAGE (a) / IMAGE (b) **

**//Description of the resources://** The visual resources chosen to explicitly teach Composition in this unit of work were designed to accompany a new tourism campaign promoting Australia and inviting the world to visit our favourite holiday destinations. While both images promote Australia, the layout and information presented are very different. An in-depth analysis of these two images will not only develop students critical viewing skills it will also enable students to successfully compose their own PowerPoint advertising their chosen state or territory. Image (a) uses a simple layout, featuring a seated woman gazing at the sun setting over Uluru. The text is influential and connects with its audience on a personal level. Image (b) uses more images and framing to convey the message ‘There’s nothing like’ Australia. Images are of iconic Sydney sites; Opera House, Harbour Bridge and our beautiful beaches. The text again is personal, telling of an experience while inviting the world to share it with them.

**//Relevance to the unit outcome://** The resources are very relevant to the Stage 2 HSIE outcome ENS2.5 ‘Describes places in the local area and other parts of Australia and explains their significance’. As each group will be focusing on a different State or Territory when designing their final PowerPoint project, these resources indicate the kind of landmarks and Australian icons they need to include to ensure a successful promotion of their state or territory. Not only do these resources highlight places of interest in Australia, they also arouse curiosity in understanding why and what makes these places significant to Australia. These two resources are also highly relevant to the unit of work as they effectively demonstrate to students how to create a page layout to persuade and influence their viewers; necessary for their final PowerPoint project.

**//Aspects of literacy to be covered://** These resources will be used to explicitly teach students about Visual Grammar; ‘Composition’ of images. Students have already covered the ‘Experiential’ and ‘Interactive’ aspects of visual grammar in previous lessons and are now learning how the layout of images influence and persuade viewers. Students will be scaffolded in their visual literacy learning by examining image (a) as a class, analysing image (b) in small groups, then arranging set images and text to create their own influential image in preparation for their final PowerPoint project. Explicit teaching will take place when examining image (a) to introduce students to technical terms/ language associated with analysing visual grammar. In more detail, students will understand the use of salience; the element that the eye is drawn to first (Unsworth, 2001, p.111), which is established in image (a) by the seated women with the sunset further enhancing her silhouette. Reading path; where the viewer’s eye is guided to on the page (Callow, 2006, p. 13), this is directed by the women’s gaze toward the sun setting behind Uluru. Uluru is also the centre-margin of the image; central element placed in the middle, creating a circular structure (Unsworth, 2001, p.107). Image (b) presents the same visual qualities using more images and also framing; lines, colours, shapes that disconnect/connect elements in the layout, the stronger the frame the more emphasis the element has (Unsworth, 2001, p. 109). Further discussions on visual grammar will also include ‘Ideal and Real’ and ‘Given and New’ evident in both images.

**Reference List:** Callow, J. (2006). Images, politics and multiliteracies: Using a visual metalanguage. //Australian Journal of Language & Literacy, 29 (1), 7-23.//

Tourism Australia (2010). //Images.// Retrieved September 25, 2010 from [|http://www.tourism.australia.com]

Unsworth, L. (2001). //Teaching multiliteracies across the currciulum: changing contexts of text and image in classroom practice.// Buckingham, England: Open University. (Chapter 3: Describing Visual Literacies. pp. 71-112)


 * By Bianca Bleechmore**