Qwiller Teaching Unit: Storytelling and Mythology (Australian English Curriculum V.9)

This unit gives students the opportunity to explore the nature of storytelling and trace its development over time through analysis of various fiction and non-fiction texts. They will critically study the connection between mythology, storytelling and the landscape and reflect on how these aspects represent changing values and cultural practices and beliefs. They will also explore the connection between storytelling and mythology and Aboriginal language and culture.  In particular, they will examine how the experimental form of a visual poem reflects mythology, storytelling and the connection between humans and the landscape. Students will study various visual and written experimental poetic forms. They will learn about the language forms and features of visual poems, including film language and construction, as well as creative processes for creating experimental poetry. They will also undertake a critical study of the expression of mythology, storytelling and landscape in the Tale from the Whale by Nine Spokes Productions, which is an exemplary example of an experimental visual poem. They will also reflect on their own creative processes for creating an experimental visual poem. Students will create a visual poem that represents a connection between the landscape and human experiences, focusing on the way they reflect mythology, storytelling and the landscape.