FDT101 Last updated 06 July 2012

Assignment Cover Sheet

S

Student ID*

Postal Address (must be completed by all students)

Number & Street
or PO Box

Unit 18/ 3 manton street

! Mr ! Mrs ! Ms ! Miss ! Dr

Title

! Other _____________________________

Surname*

Wilson

Suburb / Town

Given Names*

Lauren

State

Preferred Name
(optional)

darwin
NT

Postcode

Country
(if outside Australia)

Are you an International Student*

Date of Birth

! Yes
8

! No
9

Unit Code*

ETL411

Unit Name*

Teaching the Curriculum

Assignment Title*

Curriculum through Literacy

Lecturer name*

Contact Phone 1

) 0409 289 940

Contact Phone 2

Peter McDowell

Charles Darwin University is unable to accept and process assignments without a completed assignment
cover sheet.
PLEASE READ THE IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON THE REVERSE OF THIS FORM.
Due date*

Posting date *

26 / 5/2014

26/5/2014

Semester
Semester 1
Term 1

Have you applied for an extension? _____________________________________

Yes

Semester 2

Summer Semester

Term 2

Term 3

Term 4

No _____

Student Comments

Lecturer Comments

Declaration
I declare that all material in this assessment is my own work except where there is a clear acknowledgement and reference to the work of others. I
have read the Universitys Academic and Scientific Misconduct Policy and understand its implications.*
http://www.cdu.edu.au/governance/policies/academicandscientificmisconductpolicy.pdf
I agree

Version 2

I do not agree

Controlled by the Office of Learning and Teaching

Curriculum through Literacy

Context
Mackillop Catholic College located in Palmerston, Northern Territory is a brand new co-ed
catholic college. Opening in 2012, Mackillop College has just over 300 students from years
7 to 11. Mackillop prides itself on serving the local community through providing high
quality Catholic education and opportunities to all, delivered through a diverse
academic curriculum, with a student-centered approach. (Mackillop, 2012) Mackillop
strives to provide all students with a range of engaging and academically challenging
and enlighten subjects based upon the Australian curriculum and co-curricular activities.
The Co- curricular activities offered range from camps, retreats, outdoor education, sports
carnivals and inter-schools sports carnivals, through to excursions at local museums,
galleries, performances and community programs. The Co-Curricular activities at
Mackillop Catholic College not only complement what is taught through the day to day
curriculum but they also offer further opportunities for skill development, creative
expression, team work and co-operation beyond the classroom and away from the
traditional learning areas. (Mackillop, 2012) Out of class activitys, camps and excisions
are an integral part of Mackillops Education. They allow Students to explore their own
capabilities and boundaries, work as a team, grow in confidence and build relationships
with their peers and teachers and develop qualities of leadership, honour and integrity
that will remain with them throughout their life.

Out of class activity:

Excursion to the Darwin Military Museum.
This out of class activity/excursion will involve all Students from all Yr 10 SOSE classes. The
excursion will take place on Friday of week 3 in term 2 shortly after ANZAC day.
During the excursion students will travel from Mackillop College to the Darwin Military
museum at east point by bus. The Defense of Darwin Experience at Darwin Military
Museum at east point reserve provides visitors with an immersive and interactive,
multimedia experience. It portrays the story of Darwin's role in World War II. The exhibition
space includes the Bombing of Darwin Gallery, iconic objects from that time, firsthand

Lauren Wilson S187171

Curriculum through Literacy

accounts and multimedia presentations. The museum also holds artifacts such as artillery
pieces; vehicles, uniforms, firearms, models and paintings and much more. (Darwin military
museum, 2013)
Upon arrival students will be given worksheets and briefed on what is expected of them
work wise and behavior wise during the excursion. Students will be required to complete a
range of different tasks while filling in their work sheets and taking additional note and
photographs from the interactive and replicated displays of artillery pieces; vehicles,
uniforms, firearms, models and paintings as well as multimedia experience exhibited at the
museum.
Students will along with the worksheet take notes and photographs (were appropriate
and allowed) to gather information to help them further develop their understanding of
the effect of WWII on Australia and the effect the bombing of Darwin had on a local level
and also on a national level. Once the excursion is over the students will use the
information they have gathered to compose an extensive research project complied of
both independently researched information, in class work and information gathered from
the excursion to the Darwin military museum for assessment.
Before this trip to the Darwin military museum students will have completed 3 weeks of
investigation both in and out of class and will have prior knowledge into World War II with
a particular focus on Australia and the bombing of Darwin and there efforts, contributions
and changes to their way of life.
Literacies
The seven modes of meaning defined by Kalantzis and Cope, 2012 are that of written,
oral, audio, visual, tactile, gestural and spatial. This excursion and the assessable
assignment task students complete before, during and after cater to all the modes of
meaning making. Very rarely do we use only one of these multimodal designs for
meaning. (Kalantzis and Cope 2012, p.173) these ways of meaning making quite often
happen simultaneously and students are encouraged to use and apply as many of these
modes to their leaning, representation of their learning, and their assessment items where
possible.

Lauren Wilson S187171

Curriculum through Literacy

Assessment item
Using the Bombing of Darwin frontline foundations educational resource package as a
guide through this unit of SOSE studies on World War II, students will complete selected
activities as part of their assessment task. Students will be required to complete two tasks
from unit 2 of the resource text. Within this unit students will develop understandings about
the experiences of soldiers and nurses who served in the Northern Territory during the war.
They will further develop understandings about the impact of the bombing on the city of
Darwin, its people, infrastructure and terrain. (Mountford, 2004)
Students will be encouraged to more closely consider different types of evidence and the
nature of evidence. They will be given the opportunity to consider the value of memoirs,
maps, photos, magazine articles and feature films to an historian. Using the literacies
needs of written language, visual language and or representation, audio representation
and oral representation. All in which nurture students development of critical thinking and
learning.

Tasks
1. Memoirs as historical evidence:
Students are to read and assess the extract A soldier Remembers Edited extracts of a
transcript of interview with William (Bill) Thomas Dedman, OAM From the frontline resource
text. Students are then asked to make meaning using written language to complete a
section of questions that directly relates to the extract.
The information gathered from this extract will develop students written language of both
reading and writing as they work on refining their use of historical terms and concepts.
(ACHHS183)
- Additional task for students working at or above the benchmark:
Students are to imagine they were either a soldier or nurse during WWII and recount the
events that happened to them before, during or after the war. Student should present this
in the form of a recount narrative. Detailing they thoughts, feeling and fears.

Lauren Wilson S187171

Curriculum through Literacy

2. Photos as historical evidence:

Students are to examine photos from the frontline resource text. This task utilises students
ability to make meaning from visual representation. Select and use a range of
communication forms (oral, graphic, written) and digital technologies (ACHHS193)
Student then combine this visual representation of meaning they have made into written
meaning, by completing a section of questions based on the photographs from the text.
- Additional task for students working at or above the benchmark:
Students that have already completed the task from the frontline resource text are then
required to using their own photos taken from the excursion to the Darwin war museum
create a task similar to the one resource text, with a short questionnaire to accompany
their photos that a classmate will complete.
3. Major assessment project
After completing both tasks and if possible the additional task students will be required to
compete a major project using all their finding from the excursion and the information
gathered from completing the tasks from the frontline resource text, as well as their own
research. Students are to create a project about the impact of WWII, with a particular
emphasis on the Australian home front (ACDSEH109). Students are to investigate what
impact of the bombing of Darwin had at a local level and also a national level. Student
should imagine they are either a solider, nurse out at the war or a family member of either
at home. Student should document what it is like to live in Darwin and Australia at that
time, what changes have happened, what working conditions are like. Students are also
to recount the events of and leading up to the bombing of Darwin on the feburary 19th
1942. Student may use any medium they which to represent this information in their
project ACHHS193: (Select and use a range of communication forms (oral, graphic,
written) and digital technologies)
For example student can create a movie, poster, slide show, diorama or research paper.
Giving students the freedom to choose foster independent learning and encourage
student to students to take responsibility of their own learning.

Lauren Wilson S187171

Curriculum through Literacy

The excursion and the assessment tasks that follow are designed to help support students
development of the many modes of meaning making in literacies. Our aim is to nurture
this development and provide new and interesting ways of this growth in our students.
Kalantzis and Cope, 2012 explain how the use of written language is one of the most
important modes of meaning making. During this excursion student will be offered a wide
range of different reading materials that student will use to acquire information needed,
not only to complete their assessment tasks, but further improve their understand and
knowledge of WWII. Students will be required to read displays at the war museum that
detail what the war was like and what Darwin and Australia where like at that time.
Students should utilise this information and take notes and fill in work sheets as the
information will help them later on when completing all three of the assessment tasks.
Students will also encounter Visual language or representation on this excursion as they
observe all the historic artefacts of the photographs, artillery pieces, vehicles, uniforms,
firearms, models and paintings that are on display. Students should be able to translate
the visual cues into meaning and represent this in either written form or oral form.
Students will also experience and use visual representations first hand when they are
required to take photos and incorporate them into their assessment tasks.
Kalantzis and Cope, 2012 also indicate that oral and audio representations go hand in
hand as students will listen to the interactive displays, view documentaries and short
videos from veterans and others that served in the war. They may also get opportunities to
speak with staff at the Darwin Military Museum and ask any questions of their own that will
also help further their understanding. Students may also get the opportunity to use their
own oral and audio literacies skills with the option of student choosing their own medium
to display their finding and information for the major assessment project.

Lauren Wilson S187171

Curriculum through Literacy

Providing this out of class activity/excursions for all Yr10 SOSE students to the Darwin
Military Museum to participate in gives them a far more in depth understanding and
insight to what life was really like during the war not only for the soldiers and nurses on the
frontline but also the families back home in Australia, and also the devastating effect the
bombing of Darwin had on the city and its people. It excursion equips students with a
more varied and credible information and knowledge then what they would receive
behind a computer screen or book, not to mention more exciting and engaging ways of
making meaning through written language, visual language/ representation and oral and
audio representation. The benefits of excursions and out of class activities are imperative
when teaching; a diverse range of students means a diverse range of learning types and
needs. It gives students the change to better engage and interact with different material
and explore different ways of meaning making through the different types of literacies.

Lauren Wilson S187171

Curriculum through Literacy

References

http://www.mackillopnt.catholic.edu.au/about-us cited 19/5/2014 10.48am

http://www.darwinmilitarymuseum.com.au/index.html cited 19/5/2014 11.53am

Kalantzis, M., & Cope, B. (2012). Literacies. Port Melbourne, Vic: Cambridge University
Press.

http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/Download/F10 cited 22/5/2014 2.15pm

http://www.acara.edu.au/curriculum/curriculum.html cited 22/5/2014 2.22pm

Mountford, E (2004) Federation Frontline. A secondary Schools Research Package on

the Bombing of Darwin, NT: Australia Day Council
http://www.frontlineaustralia.com.au/sites/default/files/documents/Bombing-DarwinFEDFrontline.pdf

Lauren Wilson S187171