New Literacies and the English Curriculum

In an age where the use of electronic media is expanding and the nature of traditional texts and text-based learning is changing, new literacies are becoming increasingly important in the school classroom. This volume examines how new literacies can be used in the English curriculum, and presents a series of research-based studies applied to every level of school-age education. The chapters examine: early literacy; picture books; the internet; secondary school English; and the problems of assessment in the new literacy age. This forward-thinking volume will be of interest to teachers and academics researching education, literacy, applied linguistics, and social semiotic theory. 

In an age where the use of electronic media is expanding and the nature of traditional texts and text-based learning is changing, new literacies are becoming increasingly important in the school classroom. This volume examines how new literacies can be used in the English curriculum, and presents a series of research-based studies applied to every level of school-age education. The chapters examine: early literacy; picture books; the internet; secondary school English; and the problems of assessment in the new literacy age. 

This forward-thinking volume will be of interest to teachers and academics researching education, literacy, applied linguistics, and social semiotic theory. 

I. Introduction1. Negotiating New Literacies in English Teaching, Len Unsworth (University of New England, Australia)II. Multimodality in Early Literacy Learning2. The Designs of Culture, Knowledge, and Interaction in the Reading of Language and Image, Peter Freebody (University of Sydney, Australia) and Bette Zhang Bin (The University of Queensland, Australia)3. Multimodal Texts and Emergent Literacy in Early Childhood (Jane Torr, Macquarie University, Australia)III. Interpreting Literary Picture Books: Social Semiotic Perspectives4. Anthropocentricism and the Hacceitas of Nature in Multimodal Ecological Discourses for Children (John Stephens)5. The Role of Colour in Children's Picture Books, Clare Painter (University of New South Wales, Australia)6. Intermodal Reconcilation: Mates in Arms, J. R. Martin (University of Sydney, Australia)7. Savvy Sambo: Appraising an Icon, Corinne Buckland (University of New England) and Andrew Simpson (SOAS, UK)IV. New English and Net-Age Students in the Middle Years 8. Machinima: Composing 3D multimedia narratives (Angela Thomas)9. Comparing and Composing Digital Re-presentations of Literature: Multimedia Authoring and Meta-communicative Knowledge, Len Unsworth, (University of New England, Australia)V. Re-Thinking Text Responses in Secondary School English10. Senior Secondary English and Its goals, Frances Christie (University of Sydney, Australia) and Sally Humphrey(University of Sydney, Australia) 11. Appreciation and Interpretatiion of Prose Fiction Online, Kristina Love (University of Melbourne, Australia)VI. Challenges of  Assessment in the English Curriculum12. The Influence of Images in Reading Comprehension Assessment in Group Texts, Ann Daly and Kate O'Donnell (University of Canberra, Australia)13. Multiliteracies and ‘Basic Skills' Accountability, Mary Macken-Horarik (University of Canberra, Australia)14. Secondary School English, Literacy Examinations and Attitude: Utilizing Appraisal to Interpret Values in Image/Text Relations, David Baxter and Andrew Simpson15. Assessing Digital Literacies: Can Assessment Ever Be the Same?, Claire Wyatt-Smith (Griffith University, Australia)Appendix 1: Performance Terrain in Shaping Online Multimodal TextsIndex