PREPARATION
the action or process of preparing or being prepared for use or consideration
When I am chairing a meeting, I am the type person who needs to write all my questions, discussion points and possible responses that I may get. I like to go into a meeting prepared knowing what I am going to say and anything else that may arise. This type preparation can be draining but it is rewarding because I feel equipped for what I am going to cover. I have spoken before about the importance of being proactive rather reactive when it comes to the pastoral and academic care for my students.
The first assessment on the calendar for my Level 3 English class is 91480 - Close Viewing. In preparation for this assessment I have tried a different approach. The premise of this assessment is close viewing of a visual text with a focus on the student responding critically and perceptively to the significant aspects of the film (film techniques). As mentioned in an earlier post, my Segway into Close Viewing is through Close Reading. The purpose of this is to hone in on the skill of 'close reading' - the skill being the ability of unpacking a text by:
1) Identifying the key techniques (language or film techniques) used by the writer/director in the text (written or visual).
2) Understand both the purpose of the technique, the effect of the technique and how the technique influences the overall text.
3) WIDER CONTEXT - Understand and identify the writer or director's purpose in using this technique.
4) WIDER CONTEXT - Understand and identify how these techniques work together to create meaning.
5) WIDER CONTEXT - Understand and identify how these techniques highlight who the target audience is.
6) WIDER CONTEXT - Understand and connect the text, the techniques used and the writer/director's purpose to the student's own personal experience or to society.
The purpose of starting with a close reading of a written text, considering that the assessment is centered around the close viewing of a visual text, is to highlight that skill of 'unpacking a text' is transferrable. Regardless if the text is written or visual, the skill in knowing how to identify the key techniques used and how they work in a text is vital.
PRACTISE
perform (an activity) or exercise (a skill) repeatedly or regularly in order to acquire, improve or maintain proficiency in it.
As with close reading, close viewing is a task that requires time and practice. The more you put in, the more you will understand and attain. Initially I would focus on the study of the film first when it comes to Close Viewing. There would be a specific focus on the development of character and major themes in the film. The actual practice of close viewing would be something that I would leave at the end of the film study. By doing this, the results of the close viewing highlighted that the knowledge of the film was sufficient but the skill in close viewing was lacking. We start this phase with revisiting the important film techniques that they need to know (Film Technique Document)
This time around I have focused on the task of close viewing. This week I will be providing different close viewing tasks centered around the same focus questions.
1) How does the director develop character in this scene?
2) How does the director develop conflict in this scene?
3) How does the director develop tone in this scene?
The questions require the students to think about 'HOW the director develops a, b and c' - The HOW in the questions require the students to think about the elements the director uses (film techniques). Encouraging the student to unpack the text as opposed to proving a recount of the text. The questions mirror the type of questions that the students could get in an Unfamiliar Text exam paper. The visual texts linked in the assessment are also unfamiliar in that they are texts that we do not cover in class. Again mirroring the nature of the Unfamiliar Text exam paper.
Below is an example of close viewing prac that I am currently covering with my students.
We are looking at the opening scene from Ron Howard's 'A Beautiful Mind'. Attached is the close viewing analysis document that accompanies the scene. The purpose analysis is to give the students a scaffolded framework for the students. The scaffold framework is broken into 5 parts. These 5 parts are specific to how the assessment is designed. They are:
1) Describe the scene
2) Identify the key techniques used in the scene
3) Link to the question
4) Target audience
5) Director's purpose + connecting to personal experience/society
I look forward to reviewing this phase with my students. My ultimate goal for this phase of the preparation for the close viewing assessment is that I want my students to know how to unpack a visual text. I want them to feel confident and comfortable with this and I know that practice makes perfect! Stay tuned.
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