4 Resources Model

Four Literacy Roles/Resources Model by Alan Luke & Peter Freebody

Alan Luke and Peter Freebody argue that to be effective in literacy and reading and writing a range of texts, learners engage in and must be confident in a number of practices.

THESE ROLES OR PRACTICES consist of :

CODE-BREAKER

“How do I crack this code?”

Students use their knowledge to break the code of texts: recognising and using the fundamental features and architecture of written texts including: alphabet, sounds in words, spelling, patterns of sentence structure and text conventions, layout etc

Questions to develop code breaker strategies:

• • What words are interesting?

  • How did you work out the difficult word?

  • What letter/s make that sound?

  • What other words have that sound?

  • What other words have that sound?

  • What other words have a similar meaning?

  • How is the word used in this context?

  • What other words come from the same base word?

  • Is the picture high/low angle, close up/long shot?

  • How would you describe the music/colours in this video/picture? etc

TEXT PARTICIPANT /MEANING MAKER

“What does this mean to me?”

Students use their knowledge of the world, knowledge of vocabulary and knowledge of how language works, to comprehend and compose texts.

Questions to develop text participant strategies:

• • Can you predict what the text is about?

  • What message is the author presenting?

  • Does the text remind you of something that has happened to you?

  • What did you feel as you read the text?

  • What might happen next?

  • What would you do in this situation?

  • What words or phrases give you this idea?

  • What are the main ideas presented?

  • How does the picture make you feel?

  • What other information does the picture give you?

  • Is the character like anyone you know?

  • What are the characters thinking/feeling?

TEXT USER

“What do I do with this text?”

Students understand how language varies according to context, purpose, audience and content, and are able to apply this knowledge. They participate in the meanings of text: understanding and composing meaningful written, visual and spoken texts from within the meaning systems of particular cultures, institutions, families, communities, nation-states and so forth

Questions to develop text user strategies:

• • What text form is this?

  • How do you know?

  • How is this text put together?

  • How can you find information in this text?

  • If you wrote a text like this, what words would you make sure you used?

  • How is this text like others you have read?

  • What is the purpose of this text?

  • If you were going to put this text on the web, what changes would you make?

  • How would the language/structure change if you were to use these ideas in a poem/brochure/poster?

  • How is this text different from/like the last one we read?

TEXT ANALYST

“What does this text do to me?”

Students critically analyse and challenge the way texts are constructed to convey particular ideas and to influence people. They critically analyse and transform texts: understanding and acting on the knowledge that texts are not neutral, that they represent particular views and silence other points of view, influence people’s ideas; and that their designs and discourses can be critiqued and redesigned, in novel and hybrid ways

Questions to develop text analysis strategies:

• • Is this text fair? Do you detect any bias?

  • What would this text be like if the main characters were boys/girls/from a different cultural background?

  • Why do you think the author chose that particular word/phrase/title/illustration?

  • How would this text be different if told in another place or time or point of view?

  • Are there stereotypes in the text?

  • Who is allowed to speak? Who is silent/ced?

  • Who is quoted?

  • What is fact and what is opinion?

  • Who does the text favour or represent?

  • Who does the text reject or silence?