Helen Gardiner (Japanese); Carol Kingshott (English); Sarah Ryan (English)

The Spare Room

This transdisciplinary unit was based on the novel The Spare Room by Kathryn Lomer, which deals with the experiences of a Japanese exchange student coming to Tasmania.

The context of school was used as a study focus in this unit with students working in groups to produce a book of their own following the genre adopted in the Magic School Bus series of books.

The unit was rich in texts and was designed to empower students with a better sense of cultural identity and further skills in text composition. The unit included comparisons of school life in both cultures, an exploration of how language is related to culture, a visit from the author and the establishment of voice clip exchanges with a school in Japan.

Essentials connections
Communicating: Being literate

Key concepts: Culture, diversity, values, genre, communication, idioms, customs, traditions
Duration: 10 weeks