Resource+1

Resource 1. Jess'

Yellow Pages //'Let your fingers do the walking'//

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To introduce students to the topic and notion of specific services and products that are made available to people on an individual and community level, the Yellow Pages is a significant resource to be used within this Unit of Work. Students will be given specific direction on how to use the resource both in written form and on the Internet and will be will allowed additional time to explore. By exposing children to both forms of the text, they will develop understanding that the same information can be presented in a variety of ways, because the range of texts that teachers make available to children and expose them to within the classroom, models the variety available in society and mirrors what the teacher considers important (Winch, 2008, p.361). By presenting students with resources and texts such as this, students become familiar with skills and literacy needed in a real life situation. This resource, combined with the lesson will allow students to develop conceptual understandings as to why texts are created and the various purposes they can serve. This highlights the specific literacy focus of texts being created and interpreted for a specific purpose with a clear link formed to the idea of the Unit as shown in the outline.

Many of the texts used today are embedded in the social context within which they are most commonly used, for example, a menu is located at the tables of a restaurant, so their meaning and interpretation are clear. However, some texts for a specific purpose need to be sought out (Winch, 2008, p.44). For this reason, it becomes necessary to expose students to resources and texts where they can access information when they require it. Yellow Pages offers information categorised according to needs, so students need to develop skills in understanding how to navigate their way through and appreciate what the resource has to offer. Furthermore, this practical life skill emphasises the significance and relevance of classroom learning and the necessity to develop conceptual understanding and knowledge of how to utilise this resource.

Aligning with the Unit of Work regarding products and services and the lesson introducing this, creating links with individual and community needs and wants and how these are met, the Yellow Pages is a rich text to be included in the lesson. Students are required to have experience at accessing both Internet and written text forms that allows them to understand products and services as a real life concept and practice by which needs and wants can be met. Furthermore, it requires students to understand the purpose and field of various services and products to locate them within Yellow Pages.

This resource provides clear links to the topic of products and services as it allows students to recognise the need for texts in a range of contexts and aligns with the Stage Two English Syllabus Foundation Statements identifying that students "view familiar and challenging texts and justify interpretations of ideas, information and events, using a range of skills and strategies. They integrate a range of skills and strategies efficiently when reading and interpreting texts and visual images. Students recognise and explore the relationship between writers and readers and how writers use language to create different worlds and achieve a range of purposes" (BOS, 1998, p.13). This resource allows students to explore all these aspects, identifying the needs of the audience when they view this text and how these are met. Students can also explore the visual components of the resource and how these aid with understanding.

Furthermore, the HSIE Foundation Statements outline the necessity for students to "examine how technologies affect the provision of goods and services, lifestyles, the environment and monetary exchange" (BOS, 2006, p.17). This resource provides a clear example of students utilising the technologies made available and the texts people can use to locate goods and services to meet their needs and wants proving a meaningful lesson that will generate purposeful discussion.

References:
 * Board of Studies N.S.W (1998). //K-6 English Syllabus.// Sydney: Board of Studies N.S.W.
 * Board of Studies N.S.W (2006). //K-6 HSIE Syllabus.// Sydney: Board of Studies N.S.W.
 * Winch, G., Johnston, R.R., March, P., Ljungdahl, L., Holliday, M (2006) //Literacy: reading, writing and children’s literature//, Third edition, South Melbourne, Victoria, Oxford University Press.

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