Resource+-+Lauren


 * Source Taken:** [|**http://www.gmlearningskills.com.au/sciencecharts.htm**] (Retrieved October 4, 2009). Poster can be purchased from [|Officeworks]for $9.95

This resource, a poster on the solar system, informs its general audience about the structure of the solar system. It then provides general information about each planet of the solar system. It also displays a scale of the distance between each planet to give the audience an idea of how large the solar system is. Overall, it gives the audience an idea of what constitutes the solar system. This poster is not only relevant to Science & Technology but also English. The content of this poster shows the structure of the solar system as well as provides visual grammar for interpretation. The presentational features of this text allow students to explore the English features of visual grammar. A visual image can have many different purposes; it can tell a story, can outline events happened in history or can be informative about a particular topic. In this case, the poster is a display of scientific information. One side of the poster is a structured analytical image of the solar system the other is a covert taxonomy of the solar system. With these two different settings children can see how images can be presented in different ways to convey meaning. As images are common and seen in the everyday lives of our students, examining the images on the poster and constructing their own, will give them a better understanding of how images are used to communicate meaning in our day to day lives. Before being exposed to images, one must know that images are another form of conveying meaning. When children begin school they usually cannot read which brings in the element of visual grammar. Students use visual literacy to create meaning throughout things such as picture books.
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 * Aspect of Literacy suitable to be explored: **
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Students will explore the visual representations focussing on colour, position, labelling, and structure as this is what is relevant in this poster and lesson. Students will begin to understand that scientific diagrams should contain a short description to provide support for the image. They will learn that this image is of medium modality as this image is realistic, however, more detail could be given and because it is a hard topic to explore then it will not always be accurate.

The poster has a structured analytical image as it shows the relations of the attributes of each planets disregarding the accuracy of the distance from each other in the poster (Unswoth, 2001, p. 89) for eg. the distances from each planet is equal which in reality is not true, but is further accompanied by a scale. It is also a covert taxonomy picture of the solar system as it classifies and labels the planets according to their attributes (Unswoth, 2001, p. 80). This gives students the opportunity to learn about the different forms of images that can be informing and the different ways in which they can inform.

Overall, students will that images are so important in our everyday lives and it is they way we interpret them and present them that will shape the world in which we live.

References:

Unsworth, L. (2001). //Teaching multiliteracies across the curriculum: Changing contexts of text and image in classroom practice.// England: Open University.

