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Subject: English

K-6 English: Connect, Create & Communicate!

K-6 English: Connect, Create & Communicate!

Overview

 If you wish to apply to attend a single day of this three-day course, please email us at cpl@nswtf.org.au

Please note that this is a three-day course, but each episode can also stand alone. Although participants will benefit greatly from attending all episodes, they can enrol for one, two, or all three days. 

Each day of this course is NESA Accredited. Please see the ‘Accreditation’ bar for further details.

(Please email cpl@nswtf.org.au if you wish to attend each day separately.)

The focus of this three-day course presented by Kathy Rushton and Joanne Rossbridge is to develop understandings and strategies for participants to support students in the English K-6 subject area in mainstream classrooms whilst also considering the needs of EAL/D learners.

In three connected episodes we will focus on a model of language and the teaching and learning cycle to select and plan for the use of texts across the various modes of reading, speaking, and listening and writing.  With the selection of quality literature, we will consider the explicit teaching of language features/grammar, vocabulary, and spelling in context.

Practical strategies will be provided to engage students with texts while also developing their language and literacy skills. Throughout, participants will have opportunities to develop their own lesson plans or teaching sequences with links made to the English K-6 Syllabus.

Open All

Surry Hills (3 Days, April, June, August)

Federation House

23-33 Mary St, Surry Hills, NSW 2010

Day 1 – Friday 28 April 2023

Day 2 – Friday 2 June 2023

Day 3 – Friday 4 August 2023

Day 1 – Reading

Literature; Vocabulary; EAL/D

  1. A framework for text deconstruction: Field, Tenor and Mode
  2. Vocabulary to link reading and writing
  3. Strategies for field building
  4. Selecting and reading texts
  5. Modelling reading: cognitive, social and personal benefits of reading for enjoyment
  6. Responding to reading
Day 2 – Speaking and listening

Language; Spelling; EAL/D

  1. English as a morpho-phonemic language: spelling
  2. The mode continuum – Talk as process and performance
  3. Translanguaging
  4. Strategies: for speaking and listening
  5. Working with texts
  6. Developing a lesson plan
Day 3 – Writing

Literacy; Grammar; EAL/D

  1. A model of language to support students with literacy, writing/reading and grammar
  2. Identifying features of texts
  3. The teaching and learning cycle for planning and programming
  4. Selecting texts as models for writing
  5. Supporting EAL/D students
  6. Moving from modelling to joint construction
  7. Developing and sharing a teaching and learning cycle
Kathy Rushton

Kathy Rushton is interested in the development of language and literacy especially in disadvantaged communities. She has worked as a classroom teacher and literacy consultant and provides professional learning for teachers in the areas of language and literacy development. Her current research projects include a study of multilingual pre-service teachers and the impact that teacher professional learning has on the development of a creative pedagogical stance which supports translanguaging and student identity and wellbeing.

Joanne Rossbridge

Joanne Rossbridge is an independent language and literacy consultant working in both primary and secondary schools and with teachers across Australia. She has worked as a classroom teacher and literacy consultant with the DET (NSW). Her expertise and much of her experience is in working with students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Joanne is particularly interested in student and teacher talk and how talk about language can assist the development of language and literacy.

Please note each day is accredited separately
Day 1 Accreditation

Completing K–6 English: Connect, Create & Communicate! (Reading) will contribute 5 hours of NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) Accredited PD in the priority area of Delivery and Assessment of NSW Curriculum/EYLF addressing standard descriptors 1.5.2, 2.5.2 & 3.3.2 from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers towards maintaining Proficient Teacher Accreditation in NSW.

Day 2 Accreditation

Completing K–6 English: Connect, Create & Communicate! (Speaking and Listening) will contribute 5 hours of NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) Accredited PD in the priority area of Delivery and Assessment of NSW Curriculum/EYLF addressing standard descriptors 1.5.2, 2.5.2 & 3.3.2 from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers towards maintaining Proficient Teacher Accreditation in NSW.

Day 3 Accreditation

Completing K-6 English: Connect. Create & Communicate! (Writing) will contribute 5 hours of NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) Accredited PD in the priority area of Delivery and Assessment of NSW Curriculum/EYLF addressing Standard Descriptors 1.5.2, 2.5.2, 3.3.2 from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers towards maintaining Proficient Teacher Accreditation in NSW.

Classroom teachers in K-6

Federation members only

$600 for all 3 days

Face to face

NSW Teachers Federation
23-33 Mary Street
Surry Hills NSW 2010

Secondary English Conference – Vision, Values and Inspiration: Getting Ready for the New 7-10 English Syllabus

Secondary English Conference – Vision, Values and Inspiration: Getting Ready for the New 7-10 English Syllabus

Overview

The CPL’s Secondary English Conference team is back in 2023 with a focus on the new 7-10 English syllabus.

Professor Jackie Manuel will deliver a keynote address on why English matters and how the new syllabus is an opportunity to renew and reassert the importance of the subject of English.

Other conference sessions will include an overview of the new 7-10 English syllabus and insights into programming.

Sessions on syllabus text requirements and texts to inspire student interest and engagement will provide many ideas.

Our classroom practitioners will share how they intend to plan and program while showcasing teaching and learning relevant to the new syllabus through specific classroom snapshots.

We will end the day with a Q and A panel providing an opportunity for all participants to pose questions about the implementation of the new 7-10 English syllabus.

Session 1

Keynote: Professor Jackie Manuel will present an historical perspective on the vision, values and development of junior secondary English in NSW. Her presentation will identify what has endured and what has changed in our subject over the past 110 years. The presentation will highlight the empowering influence of historical knowledge on our critical role as English teachers.

Head Teacher insights to programming the new 7-10 English syllabus Steve Henry and Rosemary Henzell

Realities of the current context

  • Where are we right now?
  • Where do we want to go?
  • Why do we want to go there?

Deb McPherson and Jane Sherlock:

  • An overview of the key features of the syllabus
  • Examine opportunities for text selection and faculty audit
Session 2

Focus on Stage 4

Head Teacher insights from Steve Henry and Rosemary Henzell

Explore how two schools showcase Stage 4 teaching and learning relevant to the new syllabus through specific classroom snapshots

Text requirements and selection for Stage 4

Deb McPherson and Jane Sherlock

Exploring the new requirements of the syllabus

Showcasing Stage 4 texts and ideas to inspire student interest and engagement with the new syllabus

Session 3

Focus on Stage 5

Head Teacher insights from Steve Henry and Rosemary Henzell

Explore how two schools showcase Stage 5 teaching and learning relevant to the new syllabus through specific classroom snapshots

Text requirements and selection for Stage 5

Deb McPherson and Jane Sherlock

  • Exploring the new requirements of the syllabus
  • Showcasing Stage 5 texts and ideas to inspire student interest and engagement with the new syllabus

Q&A with panel

Registrants have the opportunity to post questions about the implementation of the new 7-10 English syllabus

Surry Hills

Friday 16 June

Federation House

23-33 Mary St, Surry Hills, NSW 2010

$250 for the day

Completing Secondary English Conference – Vision, Values and Inspiration: Getting Ready for the New 7-10 English Syllabus will contribute 5 hours of NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) Accredited PD in the priority area of Delivery and Assessment of NSW Curriculum/EYLF addressing Standard Descriptor 2.2.2 from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers towards maintaining Proficient Teacher Accreditation in NSW.

A century of professional learning: Teachers Federation Library Centenary 2022

Mary Schmidt guides us through the history of the Federation Library that this year celebrated its centenary. She shares with us her knowledge of the items in the Treasures collection held by our library . . .   

HISTORY OF THE TEACHERS FEDERATION LIBRARY

The Teachers Federation Library has a key role in supporting the work of the union. It has an established role in supporting the union’s campaigning on industrial and equity issues; the professional learning of members, and an emerging role in preserving the union’s cultural and heritage artefacts (NSW Teachers Federation, 2008, p. 51). 

How the library was founded is a fascinating story and involves generosity, the dedication of many, and sustained support from the union and its members. 

Origins of library 1890s 

The foundation collection of the library belonged to a school inspector with the NSW Department of Public Instruction, David Cooper. For more than a decade (1890-1901) he was a district inspector in Goulburn. (“Tragic Death of Mr. D.J. Cooper, M.A.,” 1909). Library folklore, handed down over the last century, is that he travelled by horse and buggy visiting schools in the Goulburn district and always had some volumes from his personal collection of literature, history and professional learning resources to lend to isolated teachers. 

David John Cooper 1848-1909, the founder of the Cooper Library. Australian Town and Country Journal Wednesday 17 November 1909, p. 53. 

David Cooper died suddenly while giving a speech at Fort Street School on November 12, 1909. He was 61 years of age (“Obituary: Sudden Death,” 1909). 

David John Cooper was very highly regarded. At the unveiling of a monument to his memory at Waverley Cemetery on 12 November 1910, exactly one year after his death, the Under-Secretary for Education Mr. Peter Board, praised the late Principal Senior Inspector’s achievements, particularly his organization of the technical education system in NSW and the founding of the teachers’ library (“The Late Mr. D. J. Cooper,” 1910).  

The Teachers Federation acquires Cooper Library  

In May 1910, the Public School Teachers’ Association of New South Wales accepted the offer of the Cooper collection, from the Western and North-western Inspectorial Associations, on condition that the library be called “The Cooper Library” (“A Teachers’ Library,” 1910; “Teachers Association,” 1910).  

The Public School Teachers’ Association of NSW was a founding Association of the New South Wales Public School Teachers’ Federation (Mitchell, 1975, p. 45). When the Teachers Federation was formed in 1918, the collection was transferred to the Federation. Consideration was given to the “installation of the Cooper Library, already the Federation property”, at a meeting of the Teachers’ Institute Sub-Committee in September 1920 (Berman, 1920, p. 296). 

At the time of the Sub-committee’s deliberations in 1920, the Cooper Library was at Sydney Girls’ High School. The library was open on Friday evenings for books to be borrowed (“The Cooper Library,” 1910) but in 1921, when that school relocated from the Castlereagh Street premises, to its current location in Moore Park “the Committee directed the removal of the Cooper Library therefrom to the Federation Office” (“Teachers’ Institute Committee: Report to Council,” 1921, p. 15). 

Official opening 1922

The Cooper Library, as the Teachers Federation Library was originally known, was officially opened on the 24 February 1922 at the Federation rooms (“A Pleasant Evening at the Cooper Library,” 1922),  

12 O’Connell Street, Sydney (“Cooper Library,” 1922).  

At the official opening, the chairman of the Library Committee, Mr. P. Bennett, presided in the unavoidable absence of Mr. Dash, the President. There were many distinguished guests. The Assistant Under-Secretary for Education Mr. Smith promoted the virtues of books and bookmen and pointed out that it was not sufficient for a good library to have books on the shelves to be looked at, they must be “well thumbed.” Mr. Inspector Finney echoed this sentiment stating that books “were nothing to him, but valuable only where they brought out and improved the mind and character of the individual who read them.” (“A Pleasant Evening at the Cooper Library”, 1922, p. 8). 

To add to the festivities, Fisher Library at the University of Sydney, loaned a number of exhibits, including facsimiles of the Book of Kells and the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead.  

The late Mr Cooper was represented by two of his sons and a daughter, the last of whom declared the Library open (“A Pleasant Evening at the Cooper Library”, 1922, p. 8). 

Growth of the library

The collection of the Cooper Library transferred to the Teachers Federation numbered some 300 volumes (Taylor, 1922). The first accession register lists the titles transferred, principally, history, English literature, philosophy and education texts (N.S.W.P.S.T.F. Cooper Library Accession Book: 1 – 10,000, n.d.). 

The union applied considerable resources to get the books of the Cooper Library into the hands of teachers. From the beginning there were regular features in Education: The Official Organ of the New South Wales Public School Teachers’ Federation listing the books and journals available from the library. The July and August 1922 issues published a list of the library’s holdings (“Author List of Books in the Cooper Library”, 1922, July 15; August 15). 

The Cooper Library rules and regulations for 1922 included provision for a postal service. Federation paid the outwards postage, with the return postage paid by the borrower. The loan period was 14 days for city-based members. Country members could request an additional 14 days. There was a fine of one penny a day for each day a book was overdue (Bennett, 1922).  

In August 1931, the Federation’s Executive made a special grant of £100 to build up a collection of Australiana. The collection numbered 6,000 volumes (Hancock, 1931). The move to O’Brien House, Young Street, Sydney, about October 1931, benefited the library, with new shelving and extras such as a clock and a carpet (Hastings, 1968). 

Cooper Library catalogue 1933

In 1933, the Federation published a printed catalogue of the books and journals held by the library (Taylor, 1933) some 7,000 titles. Members could purchase this catalogue for 2 shillings at the counter (“Library Catalogue,” 1934). 

“Federation has been forced to move five times owing to the growing pains of the Cooper Library,” claimed General Secretary Bill Hendry at the 1935 Annual Conference. The library had 8,420 books, (“Observations,” 1936, p. 102) having grown from 675 books in June 1922 (“Cooper Library: Report,” 1923). 

In 1936 the Commonwealth Savings Bank of Australia made a gift of £100 worth of books in recognition of teachers’ services with school banking. This support continued for many years, well into the 1970s (“Gift to Cooper Library,” 1936). In 1968 a special grant of $2,000.00 was made by the Bank to commemorate the Federation’s move to Sussex Street (Hastings, 1968). In later years, the books purchased with these funds had an elaborate book plate.  

Commonwealth Savings Bank of Australia bookplate

1938 marked the completion of the Federation’s own building in Phillip Street, Sydney (“NSW Public School Teachers’ Federation,”1938, p. 7). The library was located at the rear portion of the 7th floor (“Federation House,” 1939). 

Folklore handed down by former library staff, is that in the Phillip Street building, there were separate reading rooms for men and women. Early plans for a Teachers Building published in Education in September 1920, includes “as an irreducible minimum by way of conveniences, a Reading Room and Library; a common room for women members with retiring room; a smoke room extended into a billiard room with retiring room” (presumably for men), which lends substance to this (Berman, 1920, p. 296). 

At the New South Wales Public School Teachers’ Federation Annual Conference, held in December 1940, Miss Bocking of the Girls’ Mistresses Association, moved, and it was agreed to, that the name of the library be changed to Teachers’ Federation Library (“General Business,” 1941, p. 94), in recognition of its growth from small beginnings to become a significant part of the Federation’s activities (Hastings, 1968). 

The Teachers Federation moved to 300 Sussex Street, Sydney in 1967, with a spacious library on the 2nd floor (NSW Teachers’ Federation, 1967, p. 4). The library occupied two-thirds of the second floor, adjacent to a lounge and reading room area. The photographer Max Dupain photographed the occasion (“Federation House,” 1967).  

The New Library, photo by Max Dupain. Education: journal of the New South Wales Teachers’ Federation, 48 (20) 29 November 1967, page 167

In the thirty years before the Federation’s move to Sussex Street, the library’s book stock increased to over 23,000 volumes, writes Valmai Hastings, Librarian (Hastings, 1968). 

From the 1970s through to the mid-1980s the Promotion Reading List, advertised in the library column of the Federation’s journal, Education, and prepared by the library, was sought after by members. This publication listed texts which would assist members preparing for assessment for promotion.    

In the 1960s and 1970s through its postal service, and by acquiring relevant texts, the library supported members who were upgrading their teaching qualifications, by studying externally at university. (“Federation Library,” 1979). 

From the mid-1970s, the focus of the library gradually expanded to include support for the industrial and campaigning work of the union, as well as professional learning for members (Schmidt & Stanish, 2001; Fitzgerald, 2011, pp. 196-197; Doran, 2019, p. 280). 

The NSWTF headquarters moved to Mary Street, Surry Hills in December 1998 (NSW Teachers Federation, 1999, p. 11) and the library’s location in close proximity to the Federation’s Centre for Professional Learning assists the library in understanding member’s professional learning needs and in delivering relevant services. 

The library in 2022 has a stock of 14,500 physical items, mostly books (NSW Teachers Federation, 2022, p. 65). 

NOTABLE LIBRARIANS

Several prominent librarians have held the position of Librarian at the NSW Teachers Federation. The position was hotly contested from the very start. Among the librarians are:  

A. Vernon Taylor, Librarian 1921-1933; 1935-1941

The Executive chose Mr. A. Vernon Taylor from Fisher Library, at the University of Sydney, as the first Librarian. Vernon Taylor was born on the Isle of Man and served as a Private in the A.I.F. in France during the First World War from 1916-1918. Under the A.I.F. Education Scheme, he attended a course in cataloguing at the Central Public Library, Portsmouth, prior to demobilisation. He was employed as a Librarian at Fisher Library, University of Sydney from 1920-1939 (University of Sydney, 2021). When the part-time appointment was announced at Council on 5 November 1921, some members opposed the appointment of an outsider (“Council Meeting,” 1921a, p. 18). The Assistants’ Association was disappointed that Mr. H.J. Munro, who had managed the collection in an honorary capacity for 8 years was overlooked by an applicant who was neither a Federation member nor a teacher (S.E.H., 1921). 

At the Council meeting of 3 December 1921, Mr. Bendeich, of the Assistants’ Association moved “that the appointment be reviewed, a month’s notice given, and fresh applications be called.” Following a “heated discussion” the motion was lost after the President, Mr. Dash, stated that Council had authorised the Library Committee to make the appointment (“Council Meeting,” 1921b, p. 27).  

The annual salary was £52, and initially Mr Taylor was required to attend each Friday from 7.30 pm until 9 pm and to undertake other duties as directed (“New South Wales Public School Teachers’ Federation,” 1921). By 1929, the Assistant Librarian, Miss Synnott attended all day until 5pm, and Mr Taylor, who was also employed at Fisher Library at the University of Sydney, attended the Cooper Library at 42 Bridge Street, every evening until 9 pm and on every Saturday morning (Acorn, 1929, p. 243). 

But Librarian Taylor’s troubles were not over. 

In 1933 Mr Taylor was given notice that his engagement with the Federation would be terminated (“N.S.W.P.S. Teachers’ Federation,” 1933, p. 36). 

There were protests from the Isolated Teachers’ Association, the Assistants’ Association, the Cookery Teachers’ Association, the Infants’ Mistresses Association, and the Women Assistant Teachers’ Association, to no avail. The General Secretary advised that the termination of Mr. Taylor’s engagement had been carefully considered by the Executive and Council and was part of the reorganisation of the Federation office. (“N.S.W.P.S. Teachers’ Federation,” 1933, p. 39). 

Wilma Radford (1912-2005), Librarian 1933-1935

From 56 applicants, the Executive and the President of the Library Committee chose Miss Wilma Radford, 21 years of age (a former university lecturer of mine) as the next Librarian at an annual salary of £200. She was employed from September 1933 (“N.S.W.P.S. Teachers’ Federation,” 1933, p. 36), and her resignation was accepted by the Council in April 1935 (“N.S.W. Teachers’ Federation: Council Meeting,” 1935, p. 227). 

Miss Radford had a distinguished career. One of her many achievements was in 1968 when she was appointed Professor of Librarianship at the University of NSW, the first chair of librarianship in Australia (Jones & Radford, 2005). 

Miss Wallace, the assistant librarian managed the library until Mr. Taylor’s reappointment (“Minutes of Executive Meeting,” 1935, p. 323). At the May 1935 Council meeting, it was moved by Mr. Murray, seconded by Miss Rose, and carried by 34 votes to 13 that the matter be referred back to Executive (who had endorsed the employment of another librarian), with a recommendation that Mr. Taylor be appointed (“Minutes of Adjourned Council Meeting,” 1935). 

Librarian A. Vernon Taylor retired on 30 June 1941, (New South Wales Teachers’ Federation,1941) and a great debt is owed to him for his organisation of, and dedication to, the library. 

Eric Richard (Dick) Edwards, Librarian 1941-1945

In 1937 the position of Assistant Librarian was advertised. The position was open only to male applicants 17-25 years of age. (“Positions Vacant,” 1937). Mr. Eric Richard (Dick) Edwards was appointed. (“Minutes of Council Meeting,” 1937, p. 432). From the pages of the Federation’s journal, Education, in which he is referred to as the Librarian from October 1941, it is apparent that he succeeded Mr. Taylor. He relinquished the Librarian position in October 1945, to setup in business (NSW Public School Teachers’ Federation, 1945, p. 20). 

With a friend, Rod Shaw, he established, while still at the Federation, Barn on the Hill Press in 1939. This was re-named Edwards & Shaw in 1945. Both a printery and publisher, Edwards & Shaw’s customers included publishers, universities, architects, designers, artists, art galleries, the NSW Teachers’ Federation, and the NSW Teachers’ Federation Health Society (Stein, 1996). In 1994, Dick Edwards was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for services to the Australian printing and publishing industry.  

Dorothy Peake, Librarian 1954-1956

In the succeeding years a number of librarians were appointed, including Miss Dorothy Peake, who judging by the pages of Education, held the position for two years 1954-1956. Like Wilma Radford, she later became a prominent figure in Australian librarianship, becoming the foundation University Librarian of the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) and a pioneer in implementing automated systems and electronic networking of Australian Libraries (Maguire & Schmidmaier, 2015). 

Editor’s note: 

You will notice, at the end of this article, that Mary makes only a one sentence comment about her time as Federation Librarian. This is not enough acknowledgement for someone who has dedicated over forty years’ service to the Federation Library. 

Hence the addendum below (written by Graeme Smart, Federation’s Deputy Librarian):  

Mary Schmidt, Librarian 1975-present

Mary completed her Graduate Diploma in Librarianship at the University of NSW in 1973. After relatively short spells at the UNSW Law Library and Sydney Teachers College, she became Federation Librarian in 1975, succeeding Miss Valmai Hastings. Unbeknownst to her at the time, she already had a connection with the library; one of her lecturers in 1973 had been Professor Wilma Radford, the Federation Librarian 40 years earlier, between 1933 and 1935.  

Library staff numbers have varied over the years, but in Mary’s early years, she was supported by a library technician and two library assistants; since 2015, the staff has comprised a Librarian (Mary) and a Deputy Librarian. From the mid-1980s, when her children were born, until 1999, Mary job-shared the Librarian position, after which she resumed the role full time.  

Mary’s time at the Federation has coincided with the emergence of computer technology, which has transformed the storage and dissemination of information. Reflecting this change, the library has shifted its focus, becoming an information and research service in addition to performing its traditional role as a lender of books (NSW Teachers Federation, 1993, p. 77).  

Mary has responded to the rapidity of change in the provision of library services in the twenty-first century with indefatigable enthusiasm and thoughtfulness. She is always looking to improve the relevance and quality of the library collection and ensuring that the information needs of Federation Officers, members and staff are met in a timely and appropriate fashion. At the same time, she has never lost sight of the importance of the union’s history and has overseen the preservation of a great variety of artefacts (banners, posters, photographs, documents, etc). But these are not hidden away; many are digitised and can be viewed on the library catalogue, and some are always on display in the library. Their accessibility ensures that the union’s history lives. 

Although Mary would be the first to observe that the librarians, like the Federation itself, work in union, it cannot be denied that her own contribution to the Teachers Federation Library has been immeasurable – truly, a notable librarian. 

OTHER TEACHER UNION LIBRARIES

Teacher union libraries were established in other Australian states. 

1922 NSW Teachers Federation

It appears that the Cooper Library in 1922 was the first teacher union library established in Australia. If NSW was not the first, it was certainly a leader. 

1924 State School Teachers’ Union (Tasmania)

The Daily Telegraph (Launceston) on 31.10.1924, reported that at a meeting of the Executive of the State School Teachers Union, “It was decided to institute a circulating library which would be available to members throughout the state” (“School Teachers’ Union,” 1924). 

1929 South Australian Public Teachers’ Union

The Advertiser reported on 23 August 1929 that the “South Australian Public Teachers’ Union has established a fine library” and there are 500 volumes on the shelves (“Teachers’ Union Library,” 1929). 

1938 Queensland Teachers’ Union

The Queensland Teachers’ Union officially opened its library on 1 July 1938.  

Two officers from the Queensland Teachers’ Union visited the Teachers’ Federation Cooper Library in 1934 to assess its suitability as a model for a library for Queensland teachers. Their initial report back to the Queensland Teachers Union was that it was too expensive, particularly the postal service, but eventually in 1938 the Queensland Teachers Union did establish a library for members, which included a postal service (Spaull & Sullivan, 1989, p. 206). 

TREASURES

To commemorate the Federation Library’s centenary in February this year, a special Friday Forum, Treasures, was held (on Friday, 18 February 2022 at Teachers Federation House) in order to display many of the Federation’s precious cultural and heritage artefacts. Volunteer guides, drawn from Federation Officers and staff, assisted visitors to find their way and with interpreting the heritage artefacts. 

A growth area of the library’s work is the conservation, preservation and celebration of the union’s cultural and heritage artefacts. There are now nearly 600 Treasures, including badges, banners, medals, pictures, posters, objects and sculptures in the library’s Artworks Collection. 

Images of the Treasures may be viewed on the library catalogue, by selecting the Artworks button on the main menu. https://library.nswtf.org.au/libero/WebOpac.cls  

Historic posters
Heritage poster, Progress in public education demands federal finance. Sydney: NSWTF, 1965. Printed by Edwards and Shaw.   

The library has a collection of over 300 posters in the Artworks Collection, stored archivally in plan cabinets. As display is inherently damaging to fragile originals, fine art reproductions, made from digitised originals, are provided for display throughout Federation House at Mary Street, Surry Hills, and in regional offices. 

Historic banners

The library has a collection of over 30 historic NSW Teachers Federation banners. Rolled storage, on archival cylinders, is used to protect the larger banners. Smaller banners are stored flat in plan cabinets. 

For the NSW Teachers Federation centenary in 2018, 14 bannerettes, made of silk, were created to highlight the historic sectional Associations, that once comprised the Federation.  

Cookery Teachers bannerette

The NSW Public School Cookery Teachers Association, which predated the Federation, being founded in 1912, was very active. The Association produced several successful cookery and domestic science books for pupils in public schools and assisted with raising funds for the war effort, Red Cross and other charitable institutions. The teachers involved also provided food for invalids during the 1919 influenza pandemic (“N.S.W. Public School Cookery Teachers’ Association,” 1919). 

Historic volumes

The library has many historic volumes, and still has books from the original Cooper collection (N.S.W.P.S.T.F. Cooper Library Accession Book: 1-10,000, n.d.). Many of the older books are quite worn and were rebound to extend their life, which lessens their value in dollar terms and their intrinsic value as artefacts. However, the founders of the library could take satisfaction in that the books that were in their care are ‘well thumbed’ as they intended. 

The first book listed in the library’s accession register from the Cooper collection is a Primer of logic, by Emily Elizabeth Constance Jones, published London, 1905. The early librarians were thorough in their record keeping and this book is noted as missing in 1940, and not seen since.  

Helen Keller
Frontispiece portrait of Miss Keller and her teacher 1895.

However, the second book accessioned, The story of my life, by Helen Keller, published London, 1906, is still part of the library collection.  Born in Alabama in the United States of America, Helen Keller was deaf, blind and mute at an early age and overcame these adversities to become a special educator and authored a number of works. This book includes several quality black and white plates, photographs of her as a child, and later with Alexander Graham Bell and Mark Twain. The stamp of the Cooper Library is on the title page and the volume is notated ‘No. 2” inside the front cover (Keller, 1906).  

Maria Montessori

The library is fortunate to have several texts from the early 20th century by, and about, the work of Maria Montessori, a pioneer in the development of early childhood education. Her reforms are still instructive today and sought by Federation members. The Montessori principles and practice: A book for parents and teachers by E. P. Culverwell, 2nd edition, published London, in 1914, has many charming black and white plates featuring children, with captions such as “Putting the chair down quietly” (Culverwell, 1914, p. 225)

Sir Henry Parkes
Frontispiece portrait of Sir Henry Parkes

Of all the historic volumes held by the library one of the most appreciated is Fifty years in the making of Australian history by Sir Henry Parkes, five times Premier of NSW between 1872 and 1891. The book was published in London by Longmans, Green in 1892 (Parkes, 1892). 

This book is significant as it contains The Tenterfield Oration, seen as the first appeal to the public rather than politicians for a federation of Australian states. 

Also in this book, Henry Parkes outlines the struggles to achieve the passing of the Public Instruction Act of 1880 through the NSW Parliament, an Act which established the Department of Public Instruction, and made for compulsory education for children 6-14 years.  

Researchers and historians are aided by having an eBook version freely available from the University of Sydneyi minus the portraits, and a digital facsimile, with portraits, from the National Library of Australiaii  but there is something compelling and inspirational in having the original text. 

All of these texts are available for viewing in the library. 

TROVE partnership

The library works to preserve the union’s cultural heritage through the TROVE partnership with the National Library of Australia. In 2017, with the assistance of the State Library of NSW, the library commenced digitisation of the Federation’s publication, Education, which has been in publication since 1919. The archive from 1919 – 2019 is available on TROVE, the National Library of Australia’s platform for digital resources. This preserves this unique and fragile resource, brings it to an international audience, and makes accessible the rich history contained within its pages (Education, 1919-). 

Dash Archive
Illuminated address presented to Ebenezer Dash by NSW Public School Teachers Federation 1925

In 2019, five grandsons and one great-great-grandson of Ebenezer Dash, the Federation’s second President, donated a collection of photographs, illuminated addresses, letters, scrap books and other items that belonged to Ebenezer Dash. These items which date from 1892, are on permanent display in the Dash Archive in the library (Coomber, 2019). 

Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal

Queen Elizabeth II jubilee medal

In 2013, Susie Preston, the daughter of the Federation’s former President, Dr Eric Pearson, donated her father’s Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal, awarded (posthumously) to Dr. Eric Pearson, in 1977, for service to the trade union movement. (Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal, 1977) 

Federation members and members of the general public have shown trust in the Federation and the library to care for and appreciate their precious artefacts. Perhaps it’s not just the artefacts that comprise the Treasure, but also the trust transferred with them. 

Mary Schmidt has been the Federation’s Librarian since 1975. 

My thanks to Mr. Graeme Smart, the Federation’s Deputy Librarian, for extensive research support. 

i Parkes, H. (1892). Fifty years in the making of Australian history. Sydney: University of Sydney Library, Scholarly Electronic Text and Image Service, 2000. Digital edition. https://setis.library.usyd.edu.au/ozlit/pdf/fed0024.pdf  

ii Parkes, H. (1892). Fifty years in the making of Australian history. Longman Green. National Library of Australia digitised item. Facsimile edition. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3578896/view?partId=nla.obj-4109097#page/n58/mode/1up 

Find out more about the Cooper Library and the Teachers Federation Library in the library’s catalogue https://library.nswtf.org.au/libero/WebOpac.cls  

Acorn. (1929, May 15). Federation library. Education: The Organ of the New South Wales Public School Teachers’ Federation, 10(7), 243-244. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-531758096/view?partId=nla.obj-531808477#page/n28/mode/1up

Author list of books in the Cooper Library [A-L]. (1922, July 15). Education: The Organ of the New South Wales Public School Teachers’ Federation, 3(9),25-27. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-572024841/view?partId=nla.obj-572063636#page/n26/mode/1up

Author list of books in the Cooper Library [L-Y]. (1922, August 15). Education: The Organ of the New South Wales Public School Teachers’ Federation, 3(10),30-31. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-572024864/view?partId=nla.obj-572070425#page/n39/mode/1up

Bennett, P. J. (1922, June 15). Cooper Library: Rules and regulations. Education: The Organ of the New South Wales Public School Teachers’ Federation, 3(8), 6. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-572024829/view?partId=nla.obj-572056244#page/n7/mode/1up

Berman, F. (1920, September 15). Teachers’ Institute: Sub-committee’s progress report. Education: The Organ of the New South Wales Public School Teachers’ Federation, 1(11), 294-296. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-530069878/view?partId=nla.obj-530115416#page/n23/mode/1up

Coomber, S. (2019, March 13). Dash of history to be preserved in library. Education. https://news.nswtf.org.au/blog/news/2019/03/dash-history-be-preserved-library

The Cooper Library. (1910, July 26). Sydney Morning Herald, 3. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/15166830#

Cooper Library. (1922, February 15). Education: The Organ of the New South Wales Public School Teachers’ Federation, 3(4), 9. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-572024745/view?partId=nla.obj-572040988#page/n10/mode/1up

Cooper Library: Report for year ending July 31st, 1923. (1923, September 15). Education: The Organ of the New South Wales Public School Teachers’ Federation, 4(11), 5. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-530314417/view?partId=nla.obj-530397916#page/n6/mode/1up

Council meeting. (1921a, November 15). Education: The Organ of the New South Wales Public School Teachers’ Federation, 3(1), 18-19. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-572024685/view?partId=nla.obj-572027679#page/n19/mode/1up

Council meeting. (1921b, December 15). Education: The Organ of the New South Wales Public School Teachers’ Federation, 3(2), 26-27. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-572024700/view?partId=nla.obj-572033432#page/n27/mode/1up

Culverwell, E. P. (1914). The Montessori principles and practice: A book for parents and teachers (2nd ed.). G. Bell & Sons.

Doran, S. (2019). On the voices: 100 years of women activists for public education. John Dixon [for NSW Teachers Federation].

Education: The Organ of the New South Wales Public School Teachers’ Federation. (1919-). https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-525471579

Federation House: A two purpose building designed to accommodate club premises and commercial offices. (1939, March 1). Decoration and Glass: A Journal for Architects, Builders and Decorators, 4(10), 10-15. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-374111330/view?partId=nla.obj-374563077#page/n11/mode/1up

Federation House. (1967, November 29). Education: Journal of the New South Wales Teachers’ Federation, 48(20), 167. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-710434295/view?partId=nla.obj-710471049#page/n6/mode/1up

Federation Library: Services to members. (1979, February 14). Education: Journal of the NSW Teachers’ Federation, 60(2), 41. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-721805454/view?partId=nla.obj-721866279#page/n16/mode/1up

Fitzgerald, D. (2011). Teachers and their times: History and the Teachers Federation. University of New South Wales Press.

General business: Various matters debated during later hours of conference. (1941, January 28). Education: Official Organ of the New South Wales Public School Teachers’ Federation, 22(3), 87-96. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-531917337/view?partId=nla.obj-531943712#page/n24/m   ode/1up

Gift to Cooper Library. (1936, August 15). Education: The Organ of the New South Wales Public School Teachers’ Federation, 17(10), 319. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-531758814/view?partId=nla.obj-531886953#page/n8/mode/1up

Hancock, H. S. (1931, September 15). Cooper Library. Education: The Organ of the New South Wales Public School Teachers’ Federation, 12(11), 355. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-533182648/view?partId=nla.obj-533274908#page/n22/mode/1up

Hastings, V. (1968, December 4). Federation library. Education: Journal of the New South Wales Teachers’ Federation, 49(20), viii. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-717087475/view?partId=nla.obj-717129136#page/n10/mode/1up

Jones, D. J. & Radford, N. A. (2005). Radford, Wilma (1912-2005). Obituaries Australia. https://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/radford-wilma-14113

Keller, H. (1906). The story of my life: With her letters (1887-1901) and a supplementary account of her education, including passages from the reports and letters of her teacher, Anne Mansfield Sullivan by John Albert Macy. Hodder & Stoughton.

The late Mr. D. J. Cooper: Memorial at Waverley. (1910, November 14). Sydney Morning Herald, 8. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/15207658#

Library catalogue. (1934, November 15). Education: The Organ of the New South Wales Public School Teachers’ Federation, 16(3), 25. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-530448660/view?partId=nla.obj-530521837#page/n26/mode/1up

Maguire, C. & Schmidmaier, D. (2015). Dorothy Peake 1930-2014: Inspirational librarian, visionary leader, artist. Australian Academic & Research Libraries, 46(2), 135-137. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00048623.2015.1040149

Minutes of adjourned Council meeting, held at 9 a.m., Saturday, 25th May, in the Assembly Hall, Education Department. (1935, June 15). Education: The Organ of the New South Wales Public School Teachers’ Federation, 16(8), 269. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-530448802/view?partId=nla.obj-530561706#page/n38/mode/1up

Minutes of Council meeting, held in Science House, Gloucester Street, on Saturday, October 9, at 9 a. m. (1937, November 15). Education: Official Organ of the New South Wales Public School Teachers’ Federation, 19(1), 432-434. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-534083414/view?partId=nla.obj-534108688#page/n33/mode/1up

Minutes of Executive meeting held in the Federation Club Rooms, O’Brien House, July 26, 1935. (1935, August 15). Education: The Organ of the New South Wales Public School Teachers’ Federation, 16(10), 323-326, 340-341. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-530448844/view?partId=nla.obj-530569891#page/n12/mode/1up

Mitchell, B. (1975). Teachers, education and politics: A history of organizations of public school teachers in New South Wales. University of Queensland Press.

New South Wales Public School Teachers’ Federation. (1921, September 15). Education: The Organ of the New South Wales Public School Teachers’ Federation, 2(11), 32. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-571297941/view?partId=nla.obj-571303404#page/n37/mode/1up

N.S.W. Public School Cookery Teachers’ Association. (1919, December 15). Education: The Organ of the New South Wales Public School Teachers’ Federation, 1(2), 42. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-530069699/view?partId=nla.obj-530077740#page/n19/mode/1up

NSW Public School Teachers’ Federation. (1938). Annual report and agenda paper.

NSW Public School Teachers’ Federation. (1941, June 7). Report of Library Investigation Committee to Council on Saturday 7th June 1941. NSW Teachers Federation Documents collection (No. 502), Sydney, NSW.

NSW Public School Teachers’ Federation. (1945). Annual report.

NSW Teachers’ Federation. (1967). Annual report.

NSW Teachers Federation. (1993). Annual report.

NSW Teachers’ Federation. (1999). Annual report.

NSW Teachers Federation. (2008). Annual report.

NSW Teachers Federation. (2022). Annual report.

N.S.W. Teachers’ Federation: Council meeting. (1935, May 6). Education: The Organ of the New South Wales Public School Teachers’ Federation, 16(7), 225-228. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-530448781/view?partId=nla.obj-530555014#page/n26/mode/1up

N.S.W.P.S. Teachers’ Federation: Executive report of 22nd and 25th September to Council, 6th Oct. (1933, December 15). Education: The Organ of the New South Wales Public School Teachers’ Federation, 15(2), 36-39. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-530447190/view?partId=nla.obj-acce530469353#page/n5/mode/1up

N.S.W.P.S.T.F. Cooper Library accession book: 1 – 10,000. (n.d.).

Obituary: Sudden death of Mr. D. J. Cooper, M. A. (1909, November 17). Australian Town and Country Journal, 79(2076), 53. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/263710468?searchTerm=%22sudden%20death%20of%20mr.%20d.%20j.%20cooper%22

Observations. (1936, January 29). Education: The Organ of the New South Wales Public School Teachers’ Federation, 17(3), 102-103. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-531758653/view?partId=nla.obj-531831190#page/n39/mode/1up

Parkes, H. (1892). Fifty years in the making of Australian history. Longmans, Green.

A pleasant evening at the Cooper Library. (1922, March 15). Education: The Organ of the New South Wales Public School Teachers’ Federation, 3(5), 8-9. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-572024768/view?partId=nla.obj-572044490#page/n9/mode/1up

Positions vacant. (1937, July 17) Daily Telegraph [Sydney], 14.

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/247220448?searchTerm=advertisement%20librarian%20%22cooper%20library%22#

Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal. (1977). https://library.nswtf.org.au/libero/WebOpac.cls?VERSION=2&ACTION=DISPLAY&RSN=16462&DATA=TFB&TOKEN=keCm9WMJqv6304&Z=1&SET=1

Schmidt, M. & Carr, K. (2022). Library books its place in history. Education Quarterly: Journal of the New South Wales Teachers Federation, 2022(1), 30-31. https://news.nswtf.org.au/education/editions/education-quarterly-online?c=issue-1-2022-quarterly-magazine&page=30  

Schmidt, M., & Stanish, F. (2001, March). From horse and cart to heritage building. Incite: Magazine of the Australian Library and Information Association, 22(3), 18. https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/journals/inCiteALIA/2001/37.html#

School teachers’ union. (1924, October 31). The Daily Telegraph [Launceston], 4.

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/153704520?searchTerm=%22State%20School%20Teachers%20Union%22%20AND%20%22library%22

S.E.H. (1921, December 15). Assistants’ Association. Education: The Organ of the New South Wales Public School Teachers’ Federation, 3(2), 12. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-572024700/view?partId=nla.obj-572031615#page/n13/mode/1up

Spaull, A. & Sullivan, M. (1989). A history of the Queensland Teachers Union. Allen & Unwin.

Stein, H. (1996). From the Barn on the Hill to Edwards & Shaw: 1939-1983: The story of two young men who built a master printery and publishing house that became a major influence on printing and book design in Australia. State Library of New south Wales Press.

Taylor, A. V. (1922, February 15). The Cooper Library. Education: The Organ of the New South Wales Public School Teachers’ Federation, 3(4), 9. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-572024745/view?partId=nla.obj-572040988#page/n10/mode/1up

Taylor, A. V. (Compiler). (1933). A short title class list with an author & a subject index of the books in the Cooper Library. N.S.W. Public School Teachers’ Federation.

Teachers’ Association. (1910, May 18). Daily Telegraph [Sydney], 15. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/239402225

Teachers’ Institute Committee: Report to council. (1921, August 15). Education: The Organ of the New South Wales Public School Teachers’ Federation, 2(10), 14-15. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-529384765/view?partId=nla.obj-529438509#page/n15/mode/1up

A teachers’ library. (1910, May 11). Daily Telegraph [Sydney], 12. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/239397125

Teachers’ union library. (1929, August 23). The Advertiser, 19. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/29616046?searchTerm=%22teachers%20union%20library%22

Tragic death of Mr. D. J. Cooper, M.A. (1909, November 13). Sydney Morning Herald, 10. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/15110704?browse=ndp%3Abrowse%2Ftitle%2FS%2Ftitle%2F35%2F1909%2F11%2F13%2Fpage%2F1306473%2Farticle%2F15110704

The University of Sydney. (2021, March 2). Beyond 1914: The University of Sydney and the Great War. https://heuristplus.sydney.edu.au/heurist/?db=ExpertNation&ll=Beyond1914

Policy

In 2007 the Executive of the Federation confirmed the library’s role in supporting the work of the Federation, assisting in recruitment of new members, supporting the professional development needs of members, and conserving and preserving the cultural and heritage artefacts of the union (NSW Teachers Federation, 2008, p. 51).

Online catalogue

Since 2013 the library’s Web based Libero catalogue has enabled members anywhere to discover the library’s resources and make a request online for resources to be posted to them. In a way this is nothing new. In 1933, the library’s catalogue was made available to members throughout the state in printed form. Using current technology, the catalogue is delivered to members online, the commitment to member professional learning continues.

Postal service

Members can have resources posted to them at no cost.  If members need assistance with returning resources to the library, pre-paid mail satchels are provided for returning borrowed items.

Recommendations for purchase

Members can also make recommendations for purchase of new resources, not held by the library. Professional learning resources are expensive, and this service, where members can access the resources they need, without any cost to them, offers great support for members’ professional learning.

Hot Topics

Members can discover the library’s resources through the online Libero catalogue. Another convenient way for members to discover the library’s resources is by using the library’s Hot Topics guides. These short guides, lead members to the most popular and up-to-date resources on professional learning themes. The library currently maintains nearly 90 Hot Topics, which are available to members both online and in print form.

Synergy

After refurbishment of the 1st floor in 2017 the library is now situated in close proximity to colleagues from the Centre for Professional Learning (CPL) which provides for a synergy between library and professional learning activities. Hot Topics on relevant themes and class sets of resources are provided to support members attending Centre for Professional Learning courses.

The library works closely with the Aboriginal Education Coordinator, the Women’s Coordinator, the Multicultural Officer, and the Trade Union Training Officer to develop collections of relevant resources and focused Hot Topics guides to support members attending their training programs and events.

Library tours and briefings on library services, are provided to members participating in training, targeted to their interests. This also provides the library with the opportunity to meet and interact with active Federation members and learn directly about their interests and information needs.

Support for Councilors

The library provides a specific service for Councilors attending the Federation’s Saturday Council meetings. The library is open, and a Library Bulletin of new resources is distributed to delegates. Many delegates are from country areas, distant from any library. Access to the library for professional reasons, for Federation business, or recreation, is a valuable opportunity.

Library facilities

Members may visit the library for relaxation or study. A comfortable lounge area is provided, as well as computers, WiFi and study areas. Members may book the library meeting room at no cost.

The library premises are open to members throughout the year, including during vacations. The library opens from 9 am – 5 pm Monday to Friday. The library also opens on the Saturdays when the Federation Council meets, from 9 am – 1.30 pm.

Mary Schmidt is the Federation’s librarian.

Mary completed a Bachelor of arts Degree at the University of Queensland in 1972, followed by a Graduate Diploma of Librarianship at the University of NSW in 1973.

Having worked in the University of NSW Law Library while a student, and after graduation at Sydney Teachers College, Mary commenced work at the NSW Teachers Federation in 1975, International Women’s Year, an inspiring time to begin work with one of Australia’s leading trade unions.

Highlights include: the expansion of the library’s services to include support for the union’s industrial and campaigning work, as well as providing professional learning resources for members; the publication of the library’s online catalogue in 2013; digitisation of the Federation’s journal, Education, in partnership with the National Library of Australia, for the Federation’s centenary in 2018.  Currently, the archive from 1919-2019 is available on TROVE.

A-Century-of-Professional-Learning-Mary-SchmidtDownload
Schmidt-AppendixDownload

Teaching Drama in Primary School

Natalie Lopes examines the reasons why teaching Drama in primary school classrooms is so important. She writes about the benefits brought by Drama for students’ learning and development as well as the joy it brings to them . . .  

I have a clear memory of my seven-year-old self running home from my first speech and drama lesson to set up my bedroom like the room in which my teacher taught. Sarah, from across the road, came over to play and I tried to give her the lesson I’d just experienced, much to her annoyance. From that moment on drama and performance became my strongest passion and I relished any opportunity for them.  

We did very little drama at my primary school, but I had my weekly lessons outside of school. I studied Drama at high school and completed a Bachelor of Arts (Acting for the Stage and Screen) at university. When faced with the choice between Honours or a Diploma of Education (Secondary Drama) I chose the Dip Ed, knowing that, as a performer in Australia, I’d need a day job. I always felt teaching Drama would be more fulfilling than being a waitress. I never planned to be a full-time teacher; it would be suitable work whilst I was waiting for the phone to ring.  

After five years as a casual teacher, I was offered a Drama RFF teaching role in a primary school. I decided to take it because securing part time work in the summer school holidays was becoming tiresome. Sixteen years later I am still at the same primary school teaching Drama. 

When I was asked to write this article I immediately panicked, and my imposter syndrome reared its ugly head. I’ve taught Drama for many years, but what do I know really? I didn’t plan to be a primary school teacher, and always thought I’d end up in a high school. I decided to talk to my students about it. ‘Why do you think Drama is important in primary school?’ I asked them. ‘What does Drama mean to you?’ Their answers helped inspire what I realised I could share with you. 

‘Drama is great because you can escape the real world and jump into a different reality.’ – A Year 5 student 

Drama allows its participants to pretend. Young children love to engage in make believe role playing when they play together, and drama is an extension of this natural ability. Drama is a chance to play, to imagine, to create characters and act like other people, to create ideas, stories, worlds. Playing roles also gives students the option to use the role as a shield, where they can let themselves go in a manner they wouldn’t be able to if they weren’t ‘playing a role’. 

‘It lets me reach out and stretch my imagination and creativity.’ – A Year 5 student 

Drama is an imaginative experience where the students are constantly creating. When students improvise and devise their own performances, they are using critical and creative thinking to do so. The ability to spontaneously improvise and really ‘be in the moment’ is an amazing skill to develop. Students learn to resist the temptation to pre-plan what they will do when performing. One must surrender to the experience. 

‘It boosts your confidence and lets your emotions out with joy.’ – A Year 6 student 

More people in this world fear public speaking than death. This means, (I tell my students regularly) that more of the population would rather die than get up in front of an audience and perform. If you can do that confidently from a young age that is an excellent skill to have.  Drama, when taught in a safe environment (and by safe, I mean a space where students feel they can explore and present ideas without ridicule and extreme judgment), helps to foster self-confidence in students. Each time they participate in a drama activity their confidence grows. Students develop trust with the space, with each other and with the teacher. A safe creative environment cannot operate successfully without a level of trust. Students know they won’t be ‘wrong’ if they participate. They can always grow and improve, but the space is a safe one to experiment and take risks. Drama also becomes a safe space to explore feelings and emotions that they might not feel comfortable expressing in real life.  

‘Drama helps me understand what characters are thinking.’ – A Year 4 student 

Drama helps students to develop empathy. By looking at situations from different characters’ points of view, they begin to understand that all humans deal with life differently: that we are complex beings and that we respond to experiences with varying feelings and emotions. When we play characters, we put ourselves in other’s shoes.  Empathy and understanding grow because of this. 

‘I like working with others. You can show all your ideas and have fun.’ – A Year 6 student 

Drama is a group-based subject. In my classroom the students know that to devise in a group they must do the three C’s – Collaborate, co-operate, and compromise. 

Collaborate – they need to creatively work together as a team. 

Co-operate – they need to cohesively work together as a team. Save the drama for the stage! 

Compromise – they must meet in the middle with their ideas. This is often the trickiest skill to develop when you have several passionate group members who want to be in creative control of the idea. 

Group Drama activities call on these skills to be in constant use and the students develop confidence in using them for group work. Group devising in Drama allows students to develop their ability to problem solve. 

‘You can be whoever you want to be.’ – A Year 6 student 

Drama is fun! Whether students are improvising and creating their own stories, playing Drama games, or acting out scripts or texts others have written, Drama is a joyful experience that most children love. Drama is not competitive in the classroom and can be a subject students realise they enjoy and are good at, despite their ability in other areas. Drama is an organic subject – you don’t need anything to do it except yourself. Drama is for everyone. Experiencing and participating in Drama is not just about rehearsing for a performance. That is, of course, one part of it – and a rewarding and fun part of it indeed – but the benefits of exploring drama in the classroom go much deeper than simply the ability to perform well. The confidence, creativity and imagination, problem solving skills and ability to work in a team are lifelong skills that benefit all students. 

A specialist Drama teacher RFF role in a primary school is a privileged position and I can appreciate that not all schools can accommodate this. However, there are many ways that Drama can be incorporated into a primary school teacher’s lesson.  

These are a few suggestions for ways to use more Drama in your classroom. 

  1. As a physical activity often linked to PDHPE. There are numerous Drama games and activities that involve using your body. These are well suited as warm up games at the start of a PDHPE lesson. K-2 students enjoy games like Traffic Lights and Knights in the Museum whilst 3-6 students love Wolf in a House and Zombie Tag.  They can also be great as brain breaks in the classroom, for example, Knife and Fork, What Are You Doing? and can be utilised to get students using their bodies to help fire up their creativity and imagination when brainstorming. 
  1. As a literacy tool. Drama and literacy are intrinsically linked and the use of Drama when exploring texts in the classroom is a way of developing a deeper understanding whilst having fun. Having the chance to move and/or act like a character from a text can bring it to life. Simple storytelling games where students retell the events of a story can enhance the students understanding of the plot and characters. Improvising and acting out scenes that happen in the text, as well as creating scenes that do not happen in the text (for example, alternative endings) provide wonderful opportunities for students to delve deeper into the text. 
  1. As a devising tool. Improvisation can be used to help plan stories and scripts. It is also a valuable tool when students are beginning group work in a range of subject areas. For example, students might improvise a story for the Drama activity of Typewriter where they narrate the story out loud. Later, they might use that story as a first draft for a piece of creative writing. A group of students might improvise a television commercial they are planning for the product/service they have created in a unit of work in HSIE. 

For more suggestions of how to use Drama in the primary school classroom check out the following resources –  Act Ease and  Arts Unit  here  

‘Drama’s just the best…yeah that’s all.’ – A Year 6 student  

It’s hard not to feel inspired about why Drama is important in the primary school classroom when you see the joy it brings the students. I hope this article has helped to highlight the importance and some of the many benefits of utilising Drama in your classroom. 

NSW Department of Education (2020) Act Ease https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/creative-arts/early-stage-1-to-stage-3/drama

NSW Department of Education Arts Unit: https://artsunit.nsw.edu.au/digital-resources/drama 

Natalie Lopes is a drama teacher at Stanmore Public School where she teaches RFF Drama to students in K-6. She also runs an after-school Drama program for students in Years 3-12. Natalie also works as an actor, writer and director in the theatre and TV industry, however the arrival of two small thespians of her own have meant less time for this area of her life in recent years. 

Teaching-Drama-in-Primary-School-Natalie-LopesDownload

Extended Response Writing in Secondary Schools

Extended Response Writing in Secondary Schools

Overview

The focus of this three-day course presented by Kathy Rushton and Joanne Rossbridge is supporting participants to identify the language demands of texts commonly read and written in the secondary school and recognising the features of their students’ writing.

We will focus on the teaching of writing as the context in which grammar is taught to support meaning and we will outline those grammatical features which best support teachers to make an impact on students who are writing extended responses.

Our aim is not to focus on the basics, but we will briefly review or address grammar for those who may be addressing it explicitly for the first time. This will support participants to identify and address their students’ needs as they analyse their written work. We will provide practical examples of strategies for engaging students in writing and supporting students to write effectively.

Day 1 – Friday 11 August 2023

Day 2 – Friday 25 August 2023

Day 3 – Friday 15 September 2023

Federation House

23-33 Mary St, Surry Hills, NSW 2010

Day 1

Talking and Listening – What’s the difference? (Grammatical intricacy and lexical density)

Reading – What’s going on? (The verbal group)

  1. Overview of sessions.
  2. Discussion of Assessment tasks.
  3. Introduction of field, tenor and mode:

    Mode continuum.
  4. Types of verbs and aspects of verbal groups identified and discussed.
  5. The importance of teacher identification of verbal groups for exploring clause patterns in texts students are both reading and writing.

Whole group trials and share strategies for supporting students to explore verbal groups

Day 2

Theme (Marked)

Reading – Who and What? (The noun group)

Writing – Where? When? How? (Adverbials and Theme)

  1. Aspects of the extended noun group explained as well as the use of noun groups in developing lexically dense texts.
  2. Analysis of texts suitable for all stages. Discussion at clause and group levels building on knowledge of the verb group to introduce the concept of marked theme of clause realised as an adverbial phrase of time, place or manner.
  3. Analysis of texts and strategies for teaching adverbial phrases and their use in thematic position across the stages of texts.
  4. Sharing of scaffolds.
Day 3

Sentence structure

The third voice in your classroom – Using quality texts. (Nominalisation)

  1. Identifying the role of nominalisation and active and passive voice in quality texts and how they are used to develop theme across the stages of texts.
  2. Identifying strategies for developing writing through a joint construction.
  3. Sharing of notes for a joint construction.
Kathy Rushton

Kathy Rushton is interested in the development of language and literacy especially in disadvantaged communities. She has worked as a classroom teacher and literacy consultant and provides professional learning for teachers in the areas of language and literacy development. Her current research projects include a study of multilingual pre-service teachers and the impact that teacher professional learning has on the development of a creative pedagogical stance which supports translanguaging and student identity and wellbeing.

Joanne Rossbridge

Joanne Rossbridge is an independent language and literacy consultant working in both primary and secondary schools and with teachers across Australia. She has worked as a classroom teacher and literacy consultant with the DET (NSW). Her expertise and much of her experience is in working with students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Joanne is particularly interested in student and teacher talk and how talk about language can assist the development of language and literacy.

Secondary teachers especially teachers of all subjects requiring extended response writing such as HSIE, English, PDHPE and Science.

$600 for three days

Three whole-day workshops with participants actively engaged in each session and undertaking pre-course and in-between course readings.

JPL Articles

Helping Your Students to Become Better Writers
Helping Your Students to Become Better Writers
Critical Literacy in English and History: Stages 3 & 4
Critical Literacy in English and History: Stages 3 & 4

Tell Me Your Story: Supporting EAL/D Students from K-8

Tell Me Your Story: Supporting EAL/D Students from K-8

Overview

If you wish to apply to attend a single day of this three-day course, please email us at cpl@nswtf.org.au

We will focus on oral language development as the basis for developing literacy through the cyclical use of a range of strategies. This will be achieved through consideration of how students need to make meaning in curriculum contexts with a particular emphasis on developing knowledge about language, particularly grammar and vocabulary.

The focus of this three day course presented by Kathy Rushton and Joanne Rossbridge is to develop understandings and strategies for participants who support EAL/D students in both small groups and mainstream classrooms.

Practical strategies will be provided to foster the use of English Language (L2) while encouraging students to use all the linguistic resources that they bring to school, including the use of their first language (L1). Consideration will be given to the wellbeing framework and supporting students in an inclusive environment which honours and confirms their identity, language, and culture.

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Surry Hills (3 Days, March – June)

Day 1 – Friday 26 May 2023

Day 2 – Friday 23 June 2023

Day 3 – Friday 21 July 2023

Federation House

23-33 Mary St, Surry Hills, NSW 2010

Surry Hills (3 Days, November – December)

Day 1 – Friday 3 November 2023

Day 2 – Friday 17 November 2023

Day 3 – Friday 1 December 2023

Federation House

23-33 Mary St, Surry Hills, NSW 2010

Day 1 – Speaking and Listening
  1. Principles of second language learning
  2. Lexical density and grammatical intricacy: The relationship between grammar and vocabulary development
  3. The Mode Continuum
  4. Elaborated and restricted codes and the relationship between L1 and L2
  5. Strategies for developing oral language through planning and the cyclical use of range of activities, e.g. communicative activities, group work, drama, rhymes, chants, poems. Link back to the mode continuum.
  6. Select a picture book and, based on today’s session, prepare strategies. Explanation of task for Session 2.
Day 2 – Reading
  1. Introduction of Field, Tenor and Mode.
  2. Before, during and after reading and in preparation for writing with a focus on:
    – field building activities to acknowledge and build on cultural knowledge (before)
    – intonation, pronunciation, punctuation and spelling (during)
    – inferential comprehension (after)
  3. Strategies for categorising vocabulary and working with language features
  4. Share strategies for selected picture book with a small group
  5. Explanation of task for Session 3.
Day 3 – Writing
  1. The teaching and learning cycle
  2. Identifying strategies for developing writing through a joint construction.
  3. Strategies for supporting written like text, eg Readers Theatre, Dictogloss, Running dictation, Advance /Detail
  4. Making links to the community through writing for a purpose
  5. Prepare notes for the joint construction of a Literary Recount and an Exposition using selected text.
Joanne Rossbridge

Joanne Rossbridge is an independent language and literacy consultant working in both primary and secondary schools and with teachers across Australia. She has worked as a classroom teacher and literacy consultant with the DET (NSW). Her expertise and much of her experience is in working with students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Joanne is particularly interested in student and teacher talk and how talk about language can assist the development of language and literacy.

Kathy Rushton

Kathy Rushton is interested in the development of language and literacy especially in disadvantaged communities. She has worked as a classroom teacher and literacy consultant and provides professional learning for teachers in the areas of language and literacy development. Her current research projects include a study of multilingual pre-service teachers and the impact that teacher professional learning has on the development of a creative pedagogical stance which supports translanguaging and student identity and wellbeing.

Day 1

Completing Tell Me Your Story: Supporting EAL/D Students from K-8 (Speaking and Listening) will contribute 5 hours of NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) Accredited PD in the priority area of Delivery and Assessment of NSW Curriculum/EYLF addressing standard descriptors 1.3.2, 2.5.2 & 3.3.2 from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers towards maintaining Proficient Teacher Accreditation in NSW.

Day 2

Completing Tell Me Your Story: Supporting EAL/D Students from K-8 (Reading) will contribute 5 hours of NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) Accredited PD in the priority area of Delivery and Assessment of NSW Curriculum/EYLF addressing standard descriptors 1.3.2, 2.5.2, 3.3.2 from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers towards maintaining Proficient Teacher Accreditation in NSW.

Day 3

Completing Tell Me Your Story: Supporting EAL/D Students from K-8 (Writing) will contribute 5 hours of NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) Accredited PD in the priority area of Delivery and Assessment of NSW Curriculum/EYLF addressing standard descriptors 1.3.2, 2.5.2, 3.3.2 from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers towards maintaining Proficient Teacher Accreditation in NSW.

Primary and Secondary teachers who support EAL/D students in both small groups and mainstream classrooms.

$600 for 3 days

Three whole day workshops with participants actively engaged in each session and undertaking reading and assignments between sessions.

The NSW Teachers Federation Conference Centre is a registered COVID safe business, and all courses are run in compliance with the Federation’s COVID safety plan.

JPL Articles

Critical Literacy in English and History: Stages 3 & 4
Critical Literacy in English and History: Stages 3 & 4
Helping Your Students to Become Better Writers
Helping Your Students to Become Better Writers
Tell Me Your Story: Working with EAL/D Students in Mainstream Classrooms
Tell Me Your Story: Working with EAL/D Students in Mainstream Classrooms

Assessment Literacy for School Teachers

Assessment Literacy for School Teachers

The CPL and The University of Sydney’s Centre for Educational Measurement and Assessment (CEMA) have entered into a collaborative partnership to deliver professional learning Literacy modules for all K-12 teachers.

About the Assessment Literacy modules

The six modules include video presentations by Professor Jim Tognolini, downloadable PDF files, formative self-assessment, reflective questions, recommended short readings, and collaborative webinar opportunities.

Each module will take you between four and six hours to complete and achieve the requisite PD hours towards maintenance of accreditation.

You will be able to: develop an understanding that assessment involves professional judgement based upon an image formed by the collection of information and is used to locate student performance on a developmental continuum; contextualise the role of assessment in teaching, and know, understand and use assessment related terms and strategies including reliability, validity, assessment for learning, assessment of learning, performance standards, and normreferenced assessment. Modules also include a specific consideration of the standards referenced system used in NSW, predicated on a measurement model.

Module 1 – Modern assessment theory including standards referencing

Module 2 – Constructing selected response and short-answer items including Higher Order Thinking Skill (HOTS) items

Module 3 – Constructing extended response and performance tasks, and writing analytic and holistic rubrics

Module 4 – Evaluating the function and classroom assessment tasks and tests

Module 5 – Examining the impact of feedback on learning

Module 6 – Exploring the role of moderation and reporting in classroom assessment

  • A leading expert in educational assessment has designed the modules
  • You can start the fully-online modules when convenient and complete them at your own pace
  • Each module is competitively priced
  • Each module is accredited 
  • Modules address Standard Descriptors in Proficient Teacher Standard 5: Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning (5.1.2, 5.2.2, 5.3.2, 5.4.2, 5.5.2)
  • The University of Sydney has approved the modules for articulation to postgraduate award courses. Details are available on the Centre for Educational Measurement and Assessment’s website

Please click here for further details on Assessment and Data Literacy.
Data Literacy modules will be available at a later date.

$300 for each module.

Federation financial members are eligible to receive a 10% discount on each module.

On confirmation of your financial membership with the NSW Teachers Federation, you will be sent further details on how to register for the modules.

All Teachers K-12

These modules are delivered online and can be completed at your own pace.

  • Professional Learning in Assessment and Data Literacy
  • CEMA: Who we are, What we do

Preschool – Year 2 Connecting, Creating & Communicating Using Quality Children’s Literature

Preschool – Year 2 Connecting, Creating & Communicating Using Quality Children’s Literature

Overview

 If you wish to apply to attend a single day of this three-day course, please email us at cpl@nswtf.org.au

The focus of this three-day course presented by Kathy Rushton and Joanne Rossbridge is to develop understandings and strategies for participants who support English speaking and EAL/D students in early learning educational settings both in pre-schools and schools.

In three connected episodes we will focus on the development of oral language, both speaking and listening and how this provides the basis for developing literacy. With a focus on making meaning using quality children’s literature and developing engagement through play in curriculum contexts, we will explore the development of knowledge about language and literacy.

Practical strategies will be provided to support the development and use of both English language and all linguistic resources including first languages or dialects (translanguaging). Throughout the three episodes, participants will be supported to identify important links between language and literacy development and how through the selection of quality texts and by initiating and joining in play, participants can support the development of valuable skills and knowledge across all curriculum areas, especially subject English.

Day 1 – Friday 9 June 2023

Day 2 – Friday 28 July 2023

Day 3 – Friday 1 September 2023

Federation House

23-33 Mary St, Surry Hills, NSW 2010

Day 1 – Spelling and Speaking and Listening
(language; phonics & phonemic awareness; spelling; EAL/D; the role of play)
  1. Oral language as the basis of literacy development.
  2. Sound letter correspondence, spelling and learning through play to make meaning in a morpho-phonemic language, English.
  3. Talk as process and performance and their relationship to the Mode Continuum, ELYF and the K-2 syllabus.
  4. Strategies to develop speaking and listening as a bridge to literacy. E.g. action songs/poems; teacher in role; collective drawing; soundscape; puppetry; speech making “I like… because”.
  5. The role of translanguaging in supporting learning.
  6. Choosing texts which prompt the choice of a context for independent play.
  7. Introduction to readings and tasks for Episodes 2 & 3.
Day 2 – Writing
(literacy; grammar; EAL/D; the role of play)
  1. What writing looks like in subject English.
  2. Identifying context, purpose and audience in student writing.
  3. A model of language for planning and identifying contextual and grammatical features.
  4. Exploring the teaching and learning cycle and selecting and ranking texts to support writing.
  5. Selecting play-based experiences for writing and preparing for a joint construction.
  6. Selecting an experience for drawing and writing.
  7. Discussion of readings and presentation of task.
Day 3 – Reading and viewing
(literature; vocabulary; EAL/D; the role of play)
  1. A framework for text deconstruction: Field, Tenor, Mode.
  2. Deconstruct and discussion of texts.
  3. Selecting vocabulary and preparing for a joint construction. e.g. a shopping list, a description of today’s weather; procedure for using play equipment etc.
  4. Working with a text: using a demonstrated strategy for supporting field building such as drama and visible thinking routines; floor storming; a matrix; labelling.
  5. Selecting and reading texts suitable for Modelled Reading.
  6. Using ‘think alouds’ and ‘margin questions’ to support decoding and comprehension and to inspire play.
  7. Selecting a text and choosing a demonstrated response such as: walking in role; freeze frame; mind map; re-telling the story; innovating on the text.
  8. Discussion of readings and presentation of task.
Please note each day is accredited separately
Day 1 Accreditation

Completing Preschool- Year 2: Connecting, Creating & Communicating using quality children’s literature (Speaking and Listening) will contribute 5 hours of NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) Accredited PD in the priority area of Delivery and Assessment of NSW Curriculum/EYLF addressing Standard Descriptor(s) 1.5.2, 2.5.2 and 3.3.2 from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers towards maintaining Proficient Teacher Accreditation in NSW.

Early Childhood, Early Stage 1 and Stage 1 teachers

Face-to-face at NSW Teachers Federation, 23-33 Mary Street, Surry Hills, NSW 2010

Federation members only

$600 for all 3 days

Stay still, dive deep-approaches to read to write and the craft of writing

Jowen Hillyer and Rosemary Henzell give some practical advice on how to teach Reading to Write and Module C the Craft of Writing of HSC English Advanced and Standard syllabuses . . .

When we first encountered Module C there was a bit of confusion and in some cases trepidation. We found that reactions went a few ways:

  1. Hooray I get to work on the intricacies of refining writing with my kids!
  2. Oh great, a whole MODULE on writing with my kids (who barely pick up a pen)
  3. So, we annotate and look mainly at language techniques, right?
  4. If it’s not a close study then what is it?

Really the answer lay somewhere in between and was often context dependant. Due to Covid blocking our initial Centre for Professional Learning (CPL) conference plans, we had a whole year to actually apply what we presented. Despite our very different contexts, we decided to trial a uniform approach in both our schools to see if it would be effective.

From there we presented some approaches that worked.

Ultimately the philosophy behind both Read to Write and Craft of Writing did not change between courses or context:

Stay still, dive deep

READ TO WRITE

Some early approaches to this module, which worked brilliantly in many contexts, did not work for us. Many teachers created exciting units with a focus area and worked with texts centred on that concept- such as ‘Dystopian texts’ or ‘voices of protest’. While this helped us to tie things together in our minds it did not always work for students. Sometimes students saw the texts and the concept before they understood the module and their focus was diverted. Ultimately the module is not about a concept but about: incremental skill building, testing those skills and then expanding on them.

It was better to strip it back to the pure tools of writing where form is the focus. Asking students to consider the purpose of form was one of the most powerful things we uncovered.

In Read to Write we introduce students to “the writer’s toolbox/toolkit”- Vocabulary & grammar, elements of style, elements of composition and the often neglected one- fine tuning and refining.

The last tool was very important because, although it appears in our syllabus documents, the temptation for students to say ‘one and done’ is great. This module offers a chance at a retraining of PROCESS.

We devised a few steps to keep us on track too:

  • Read
  • Discuss
  • Zoom in
  • Create

The secret to success was to not skip any steps. It is so tempting last period Friday with a recalcitrant group to not bother discussing and just annotate and write silently but we tried that too and it led to incomplete writing and running out of things to say. Skipping steps means skipping process and that is what this module is training students for – the process and particulars of writing. It is called Read to Write so that the focus is on the students wide reading- a springboard into having something to say.

Kicking off reading to write

To begin the unit, we would start with letters to themselves on their last day of year 12- it acts as goal setting, introduces you to them and allows you to have a good idea of where they are at with discursive writing

Then we follow the process. An example might be Roald Dahl’s Lamb to the Slaughter:

  1. We read aloud, this helps students to hear the craft of the text and to understand performative aspects of text (as well as simply enjoying being read to)
  2. Discuss – this is not random ‘around the room with someone holding court’ It must be a guided discussion. Using the 4Cs routine was our chosen thinking organiser – often in group work .
  3. Zoom in on the text using different lenses go over it once for vocabulary and grammar, then for elements of style, then elements of composition
  4. Create Now that they understand how the text works and how they think and feel about it, they create a text which springboards from it- it could be an alternate version, a different context or even just an element of style or composition which was important in creating meaning in that text.
Table 1. The 4Cs Routine (Harvard Graduate School of Education, Project Zero)
Our reflections

Students enjoyed it more- there is safety in structure. It gave us an opportunity to purposefully choose texts to dive into and model excellent examples of discursive and persuasive texts.  Students reported seeing the practicality behind English, reading long form fiction for the first time in years and most importantly about why we read and write.

CRAFT OF WRITING – THE EVOLUTION FROM READ TO WRITE

In Read to Write students engage with other’s writing to build their own.

In Craft of Writing students focus on their own authorship. 

In Read to Write they are building a bicycle with an instruction manual (complete with scaffolded training wheels sometimes).

In Craft of Writing, they ride the bike.

In Read to Write we filled the toolkit.

In Craft of Writing, we build things- not well at first sometimes but practice is key with little bits of writing regularly.

In Module C the texts, on the prescriptions list, do not contribute to the pattern of study so it is a good opportunity to expose students to textual forms they are not as strong in or need development in. Not only does it assist with their crafting, but it helps strengthen the Paper 1 Section 1 muscle too.

Alongside the texts that teachers choose, students should be encouraged to read widely and in the 30 mandated hours for this course there can still be lots of other modelled texts to explore, alongside the prescribed ones selected.

Regardless of the course (Advanced or Standard), most Module C texts are hybrids.

The process doesn’t change much from Read to Write in the way we approach texts. This is not a close study and extreme annotation is not the aim of the game.

The steps are:

  1. Read & think- what emotions/idea does it raise, why did the author write this?
  2. Zoom in- with a layers routine (think of the text like a dish on MasterChef- look at the whole story, break it apart and look at the elements, look how it fits together so we understand the whole, evaluate).

  3. Springboard from layers- look at FORM, DYNAMICS, THEMES/IDEAS
  4. Create
  5. Reflect- This is a structured activity. – we are not defending our work but making direct connections between our own writing and the techniques chosen from the texts we have read. You are composer and critic in Module C.
Table 2. Layers routine 1 (Harvard Graduate School of Education, Project Zero) 
Table 2. Layers routine 2 (Harvard Graduate School of Education, Project Zero) 

Ultimately, both Read to Write, and The Craft of Writing are about skill development through creative exploration. Students and teachers will find in these modules a space to explore great writing from all genres, times and places. Most importantly it is a space to work with students as they discover the power and versatility of language.

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Harvard Graduate School of Education. (n.d.). Project zero. http://www.pz.harvard.edu/ 

Jowen Hillyer

Jowen Hillyer is currently Head Teacher of English, HSIE and languages at Aurora College, the Department of Education’s first selective virtual school for rural and remote students (7-10) and remote students in Stage 6.

Jowen has been a teacher, head teacher and teacher educator for 26 years, with experience in both rural and disadvantaged public schools, as well as 3 years as an Associate Lecturer at The University of Sydney.

In her current role Jowen leads a large, diverse faculty situated all over the state in new approaches, innovation, and student engagement. Her research interests are centred on project-based learning, boy’s writing in the middle years and mentoring programs for beginning English teachers.

Jowen has also contributed to the Journal of Professional Learning and recently has had a peer reviewed article published on post pandemic teaching in the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy.

Rosemary Henzell

Rosemary Henzell is an English and Drama Teacher at Willoughby Girls High School. Rosemary has a keen interest in project-based learning ranging from individual creative writing projects to building a whole-grade website exploring the modern relevance of Shakespeare.

As a senior member of her school’s Professional Learning Team, she is helping lead the school-wide implementation of Costa’s Habits of Mind, and Project Zero’s Cultures of Thinking Project.

Rosemary has also contributed to the Journal of Professional Learning and the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy.

Helping Your Students to Become Better Writers

Joanne Rossbridge & Kathy Rushton share a framework for improved extended response writing…

Introduction

Teacher knowledge about language and how it works is critical for not only developing dialogue around texts but can make explicit for students the strategies used by effective writers across subject areas. This requires understanding of the grammatical features of the common genres students commonly are asked to write in the secondary school.

This article looks at the extended response to support teachers to analyse student writing and examine both the language and literacy demands related to writing extended responses in secondary settings. The following outlines the approach and principles that are drawn upon in both a one-day and three-day CPL course entitled Conversations about Text in the Secondary School and Developing Dialogue about Text in the Secondary Schools respectively.

Making appropriate choices – Field, Tenor and Mode Framework for writing

Texts can be discussed using a framework developed by Michael Halliday (Halliday & Hasan, 1985) in which the three critical aspects of the register of the text, field, tenor and mode are utilised to analyse and understand how successful texts are constructed to reflect their context and purpose:

  • Field refers to the subject matter of the text and this of course will differ across and within subjects;
  • Tenor is the relationship established between the reader and writer;
  • Mode addresses the nature of the text itself and the role language plays within it.

When viewed together, all students can be supported to understand the range of language choices which need to be made to successfully realise the purpose of a text for the audience it is addressing.

For further explanation see Halliday & Hasan, 1985 and Rossbridge & Rushton, 2015.

This helps students to realise that careful reading and note-taking may address field but to meet the challenges of engaging an audience and establishing a clear purpose for their text a range of other language choices need to be made.

The following framework provides teachers with a time-saving and focussed way to provide the support that developing writers may need at all levels of text from word, clause, group and sentence to paragraph and text levels (Derewianka, 2011).

Choices in context: a case study from the ancients

The context for writing in secondary schools is provided by the subject areas. Students may be involved in field building through the focus on teaching content around a topic such as an example of The Ancient World in History. In addition to acquiring the field knowledge we also need to be explicit about who the audience may be that they are writing for as well as the relationship between the writer and reader.

The following examples show how the field of the writing may be similar but the tenor and mode differ. This can be seen by the more personal connection with the audience in Text 1 while Text 2 seems to convey more authority on the topic. In addition, the mode of the texts may differ in that the writing may be more spoken or written-like as evident in Text 2, which sounds more written-like or academic in the way the ideas have been packaged and organised.

Text 1

Have you ever wondered what life was like for women in Ancient Sparta? They had lots of power and could think for themselves more than some of the other women in other places in Greece.

Text 2

Spartan women had a reputation for strength and independence. They enjoyed greater freedom and power than women in other city-states in Ancient Greece.

This framework for considering and talking about language choices in context can provide the basis of a strong scaffold (Hammond, 2001; Vygotsky, 1986) for adolescent writers.

Writing pedagogy

The genre based pedagogy known as the Teaching Learning Cycle was originally developed by Sydney School genre theorists… [it] has proved a powerful resource for scaffolding literacy development, with numerous published units of work documenting and/or guiding its implementation.                        (Humphrey & Macnaught, 2011, p. 99)

The Teaching Learning Cycle includes building the field, text deconstruction, joint construction and independent construction. Our focus is on supporting teachers to undertake the more challenging text deconstruction and joint construction.

We consider that the critical dialogue about text occurs during text deconstruction and joint construction (Rossbridge & Rushton, 2014). In many classrooms, texts are modelled but the rich language about language, metalanguage, can only be developed when the teacher and students talk together about the language features of the texts they are reading or writing (Lemke, 1989).

For this reason, one of the courses involves the conversations about text that teachers can develop to support writing development (Rossbridge & Rushton, 2010 & 2011). By using the field, tenor, mode framework for writing, not just the field (content) but also the tenor (relationship) and mode (nature) can easily be the focus of these conversations.

What a conversation might lead to

The following transcript provides an example of the conversations which might occur between a teacher and students. In this example from a whole class joint construction the notion of perspective in History texts is explored by considering the development of the noun group to name participants in events.

Student: Dan would say he’s like a visitor because he wouldn’t say he is trespassing or doing anything wrong. He’d say he’s visiting and helping out his country.

Student: You probably know that their settling there as a new country.

Teacher: So are you saying he’s a settler?

Student: Yeah. Like saying he would know he’s not really going to be going anywhere.

Teacher: So, is he a visitor or a settler?

Students: Settler.

Teacher: What have we built? Dan, who was a young British settler. What have we just built?

Student: Noun group.

Teacher: Yes, we’ve built a whole noun group with an adjectival clause.

(See Rossbridge & Rushton, 2014 & 2015)

Key principles for developing a critical dialogue about text

  • The key principles for developing the critical dialogue about text are, in our view, language, the learner and the support or scaffold provided for the student. The teacher needs to be very clear about the language needed to write target texts as well as having a clear view of the purpose of talk in the classroom.
  • The dialogue can be supported by questioning, Think Alouds (when the teacher verbalises their thinking as they read for meaning to model the thinking skills required for comprehension) and other strategies which provide opportunities for talk and substantive communication.
  • The learner needs to be both engaged and supported to undertake risks (Hammond, 2001) if they are to master the challenges of writing an extended response in an academic context. The support needed is not just modelling but the ability to hand over the tasks to the students (Gibbons, 2002 & 2006) at the right point, the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) (Hammond, 2001; Vygotsky, 1986). This may require both micro and macro scaffolding when programming and teaching.
  • One of the most important understandings about language development is that it can be viewed on a continuum from spoken-like to written-like language, the mode continuum. At one end of the continuum is oral language which differs from written language mainly in its density. Written language is lexically dense in the sense that more meaning is carried in fewer words (Halliday, 1985). The challenge teachers face is to support students to develop the lexically dense texts which are valued in our education system.Written language is lexically dense in the sense that more meaning is carried in fewer words

Nominalisation and theme

Using the framework of field, tenor and mode two very useful tools for writing can be drawn upon. These are the features of nominalisation and theme which can be identified in texts. Students can be taught how to use them to make their texts more effective.  Nominalisation is a resource that allows writers to change verbs, conjunctions and adjectives into nouns.

Making language more powerful

We should reduce mining near the coastline.

The reduction of mining near the coastline will result in greater preservation of coastal ecosystems.

In the example the verb group in the first clause has been turned into a noun group (nominalised) and placed at the front of the second clause in theme position. By doing this the main focus of the writing can be put up front, the writing sounds more written-like and by repackaging the first clause into a noun group the writer is able to add additional information.

Such conversation and dialogue around text enables students to take on knowledge about language in the context of texts and apply it to their own writing.

The use of these features relates to the genre of the target text (Macken & Slade, 1993; Martin & White, 2005; Martin & Rose, 2008).  While unfamiliarity may initially challenge students, when teachers become adept at deconstructing both modelled and student texts even very young students are able to grasp the concepts and begin to utilise them in their writing.

Our CPL courses demonstrate a range of strategies for developing extended responses which include the effective use of these features and support students to master them.

References:

Derewianka, B. (2011) A new grammar companion for primary teachers. Newtown: PETAA

Gibbons, P. (2006) Bridging discourses in the ESL classroom: Students, teachers and researchers (pp.59-70). London: Continuum

Gibbons, P. (2002) Scaffolding language, scaffolding learning: Teaching second language learners in the mainstream classroom (pp.77-101). Portsmouth: Heinemann:

Halliday, M.A.K.(1985) Spoken and written language (pp.61-67). Victoria: Deakin University Press

Halliday, M.A.K. & Hasan, R. (1976) Cohesion in English (pp.238-245). London: Longman

Halliday, M.A.K. & Hasan, R. (1985) Language, context, and text: Aspects of language in a social-semiotic perspective (pp.238-245). Victoria: Deakin University Press

Hammond, J. (Ed.) (2001) What is scaffolding?  Scaffolding teaching and learning in language and literacy education (pp.1-14). Newtown:PETAA

Humphrey S., Droga, L. & Feez, S. (2012) Grammar and meaning: New Edition.  Newtown: PETAA

Humphrey, S. &  Macnaught  S. (2011) Revisiting joint construction in the tertiary context. Australian Journal of Language and Literacy. 34(1), 98-116

Lemke, J. (1989) Making text talk: Theory into practice. Columbus, Ohio: College of Education Ohio State University

Macken, M. & Slade, D. (1993) Assessment: A foundation for effective learning in the school context. In Cope. B & Kalantzis, M. (1993) The powers of literacy: A genre approach to teaching writing. (pp.203-222)  Bristol, P.A.: The Falmer Press

Martin, J. & Rose, D. (2008) Genre relations: Mapping culture London: Equinox Publishing

Martin, J. & White, R. (2005) The language of evaluation: Appraisal in English. (pp.26-38) Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan

Rossbridge, J. & Rushton, K. (2015) Put it in writing. Newtown: PETAA

Rossbridge, J. & Rushton, K. (2014) PETAA Paper 196 The critical conversation about text: Joint construction. Newtown: PETAA http://www.petaa.edu.au/imis_prod/w/Teaching_Resources/PETAA_Papers/w/Teaching_Resources/PPs/PETAA_Paper_196___The_critical_conversation_.aspx

Rossbridge, J. & Rushton, K. (2010) Conversations about text: Teaching grammar with literary texts. Newtown: PETAA

Rossbridge, J. & Rushton, K. (2011) Conversations about text: Teaching grammar with factual texts. Newtown: PETAA

Vygotsky, L. (1986) Thought and Language. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press pp.xi-xliii

About the authors

Dr Kathy Rushton is interested in the development of literacy, especially in socio-economically disadvantaged communities with students learning English as an additional language or dialect. She has worked as a literacy consultant, EAL/D and classroom teacher with the DOE (NSW), and in a range of other educational institutions. Kathy is a lecturer in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Sydney.

Joanne Rossbridge is an independent English, language, literacy and EAL/D consultant working in both primary and secondary schools across Sydney and Australia. She has worked as a classroom and ESL teacher, literacy consultant and lecturer in universities. Much of her experience has involved working with students with language backgrounds other than English. Joanne is particularly interested in student and teacher talk and how talk about language can assist in the development of language and literacy skills.

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