Connect the dots

Growing Up in the 1960s (Wilson, 2023) is a non-fiction digital narrative that centres around a young boy named Frank. Using a first-person perspective to tell the story, Frank shares facts, photos and videos of what life is like for him growing up in the Victorian town of Yarrawonga. Reading about Frank’s family, home, school, and the fun he has, students can gain a glimpse into what life was like for Frank as a child in the 1960s. After interacting with the text, students are then able make connections between Frank’s life and their own life, identifying similarities and differences to their own experience of growing up in the 2020s.

 

This digital story is primarily designed to be utilised by Year One students, aligning with the Year One History content descriptors of AC9HS1K01 (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA], n.d.-b) and AC9HS1K02 (ACARA, n.d.-a). The intended purpose of this digital story is to provide students with a window into life in the past, bringing Frank’s story to life through the combination of text, video, photographs, and audio. Primarily, it is envisioned that this story would be read by Year One students independently or in small groups. After reading the text, students could represent their thinking on a Venn Diagram to identify similarities and differences between themselves and the main character Frank (Fehring, 2019, p. 88).

 

As the intended audience for this digital story is junior primary, digital enhancements have been included to support early readers in accessing the text. An optional “read to me” function is embedded wherever there is text to support early readers in accessing the story. The text can also be read without the narration, giving the reader the option to read at their own pace and not compete with the narration coming from the device (Hoel & Jernes, 2023, p. 11). The narration takes “appropriate advantage of what the digital world allows” (Yokota & Teale, 2014, p. 581) through the use of a text-to-speech generator to create a young boy’s voice telling the story. This gives authenticity to the narration, making it appear as though Frank himself is telling the story directly to the reader.

 

Throughout the story, students are encouraged to make text-to-self connections between their own personal experiences of growing up and Frank’s experience in the 1960s. A yellow tab appears in the bottom left-hand corner which provides questions that prompt the reader to reflect upon the story being told and make connections to their own lives. Using hotspots for questioning is recommended as an effective way to engage students with the text without detracting from the story itself (Xu, et. al., 2021, p. 222). These text-to-self prompts assist students to understand and interpret the information that is being presented to them within the digital narrative (Ewing, 2022, p. 184). Not only does this meet the Year One History outcomes as mentioned previously, but it also simultaneously meets the Year One English outcome of AC9E1LE02 (ACARA, n.d.-c).

 

An example of the questions included to promote text-to-self connections (Wilson, 2023)

 

Further digital enhancements are utilised through the embedding of hotspots into a couple of the pictures to give further context to the photos that are included. For example, a historical arial map of Yarrawonga has been included. On its own, this map may not be of any significance to a student. However, the map is embedded with hotspots that pinpoint places of significance to Frank. These hotspots are aligned with the story to ensure that they support comprehension and engagement (Hoel & Jernes, 2023, p. 12). From developing a more comprehensive understanding of the places significant to Frank, students can then make inferences about his life in Yarrawonga and how he may have moved about the town.

 

An example of how hotspots were embedded to add context and meaning (Wilson, 2023)

 

Genially (Genially, n.d.) was selected as the platform for this digital story as it provided the functionalities needed to create a non-linear story, giving students control in how they navigate the story. Exploring digital literature in a non-linear format is beneficial to younger students, as it aligns with how they access information within today’s hyper-connected world (Manresa, 2015, p. 117). Growing Up in the 1960s can be read in any order without it impacting on the story line.

 

Contents page (Wilson, 2023)

 

This digital story has many applications within the classroom and across year levels. It could also be used as a launch pad for students to create their own on piece of literature on an older person who is significant to them. It’s uses also extend beyond the Year One classroom, as it can be used across all year levels as an example of digital literature or as a proforma for creating biographies.

 

Click here to read the digital story Growing Up in the 1960s (Wilson, 2023)

 

References

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (n.d.-a). Continuity and change between aspects of their daily lives and their parents’ and grandparents’ childhoods (AC9HS1K02). Australian Curriculum. https://v9.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/learning-areas/hass-f-6/year-1/content-description?subject-identifier=HASHASY1&content-description-code=AC9HS1K02&detailed-content-descriptions=0&hide-ccp=0&hide-gc=0&side-by-side=1&strands-start-index=0&subjects-start-index=0&view=quick

 

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (n.d.-b). Differences in family structures and roles today, and how these have changed or remained the same over time (AC9HS1K01). Australian Curriculum.  https://v9.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/learning-areas/hass-f-6/year-1/content-description?subject-identifier=HASHASY1&content-description-code=AC9HS1K01&detailed-content-descriptions=0&hide-ccp=0&hide-gc=0&side-by-side=1&strands-start-index=0&subjects-start-index=0&view=quick

 

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (n.d.-c). Discuss literary texts and share responses by making connections with students’ own experiences (AC9E1LE02). Australian Curriculum. https://v9.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum.html/learning-areas/english/year-1/content-description?subject-identifier=ENGENGY1&content-description-code=AC9E1LE02&detailed-content-descriptions=0&hide-ccp=0&hide-gc=0&side-by-side=1&strands-start-index=0&subjects-start-index=0&view=quick

 

Ewing, R. (2022). English and literacies : learning how to make meaning in primary classrooms. Cambridge University Press.

 

Fehring, H. (2019). Literacies Assessment: Theory and Practice. In Henderson, R. (Ed.), Teaching Literacies: pedagogies and diversity (2^nd ed., pp. 70-98). Oxford University Press.

 

Genially. (n.d.). Genially. https://genial.ly

 

Hoel, T., & Jernes, M. (2023). Quality in children’s digital picture books: seven key strands for educational reflections for shared dialogue-based reading in early childhood settings. Early Years. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2023.2172552

 

Manresa, M. (2015). Traditional Readers and Electronic Literature: An Exploration of Perceptions and Readings of Digital Works. In M. Manresa & N. Real Mercadal (Eds.), Digital Literature for Children: Texts, Readers and Educational Practices. P.I.E. Peter Lang.

 

Wilson, A. (2023). Growing Up in the 1960s. https://view.genial.ly/64f46e5725668e00136d4c70/presentation-growing-up-in-the-1960s

 

Xu, Y., Yau, J. C., & Reich, S. M. (2021). Press, swipe and read: Do interactive features facilitate engagement and learning with e‐Books? Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 37(1), 212–225. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12480

 

Yokota, J., & Teale, W. H. (2014). Picture Books and The Digital World: Educators Making Informed Choices. The Reading Teacher, 67(8), 577–585. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1262