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Learning experiences should enable students
to attain a high level of competence in the use of language
for a range of complex and relatively sophisticated purposes.
Students should have the opportunity to show initiative,
creativity and problem-solving skills. |
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©CorelDRAW®9 |
| Philip Drew wrote: |
| Robert
Drewe's short stories
play an important role in challenging the previous
outback myth of Australian identity. The stories
make it clear that Australians live beside the ocean
and this has important consequences.
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- Select the Overarching
Learning Outcomes you want students
to work towards.
- Scan Literature-Based
Learning Ideas
- Browse the list of Focus
Books
- Search the CMIS Resource Bank for
a complete list of related stories:
[Use the Late Adolescence restrictor
to just see titles appropriate for this phase. Some titles
for Early Adolescence may also be suitable.]
- Read Beach
Culture - Related Articles
- Investigate the CMIS Ocean Pathfinder
to find nonfiction print and digital resources to support
the topic across Learning Areas
- Develop your literature-based program.
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Students can:
- Read a selection of novels and
short stories by Western Australian writers
such as Tim Winton, Robert Drewe, Glyn Parry
and Anthony Eaton. Analyse them with reference
to Drew's quotation above.
- Debate why WA authors increasingly
use the ocean/beach as a major theme
- Explore the symbolism and literary
techniques used by two different authors who
incorporate the beach/ocean in their writing.
- Find an Australian poI about
the sea and compare/contrast it to a descriptive
passage from one of the novels or short stories.
- Write a poI or descriptive passage
on the ocean theme
- Investigate the role of the beach/coastal environment in contemporary
Australian fiction.
- Compare the image of Australia
portrayed in a story written prior to 1950 to
that depicted in a contemporary story.
- Discuss the role of the
environment in one of Winton's stories/novels
or in Anthony Eaton's The
Darkness.
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[Some of these titles are for
adult/mature readers and should be read prior to recommending
to students. Titles in orange link to full reviews in
the database]
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DREW, Philip. The Coast Dwellers:
Australians Living on the Edge
Penguin, 1994
ISBN 0 14 024206 6
Nonfiction. Age 16+ In this engaging text, Australian
architectural historian Philip Drew extends his earlier proposition
that Australia is a verandah country to explore the wider significance
of the coastal experience. He looks at Australian architecture,
art, literature and popular media to demonstrate how living
on the edge has influenced our identity.
The chapter, Coast Culture: the World's Most Sensuous Deckchair,
examines how since the 1950s the beach has gained increasing
significance for many Australians as reflected in books such
as Gabrielle Carey and Kathy Lette's Puberty Blues,
Robert Drewe's Bodysurfers and Tim Winton's Land's
Edge.
DREWE, Robert. The Bodysurfers
Penguin, 2001
First published in 1983
Also Available
DREWE, Robert. The Bodysurfers
Read by Davis Tredinnick. 4 audiocassettes
Bolinda Audio, 2001
ISBN 1 74030 346 6
Short Stories. Age 17+ First published in 1983, this
collection of stories has been adapted for film, television,
radio and theatre and is considered by many to be a modern classic.
The writing is accomplished and honest. The deftly crafted stories
remain fresh and are wonderfully atmospheric and sensual. Note
that they are directed at an adult audience and many contain
vivid descriptions of sex, which may not appeal to all readers.
Penguin
Australian Summer Stories 4
Penguin,
2002
Short Stories. Age 16+ This is an interesting variation
on the cultural icon of summer in Australia. The beach becomes
the locus of marital infidelity. Suburban bedrooms become the
place of wakeful midnight contemplation: a gay man re-evaluates
his relation ship; and an older man, with a younger casual lover,
sleeplessly considers what this new relationship with her may
mean, or not mean. There is a sense of true fun in some of these
stories, but for all of them there is a sometimes-uneasy accommodation
of the fact that modern life may no longer be all about days
at the beach, and long-forgotten, innocent pleasures.
The reflections that thread this collection of stories together
focus on the nature of growing up - emotionally, physically
and socially. For many of us, one summer finally leads to our
bumping up against an adult world whose values and rituals we
may not have often understood. Subtextually, they are often
rich and repay a careful reading. Even if they are taken merely
as vignettes of life, they are still rewarding.
However, this collection will not necessarily be to everyone's
taste - particularly Andy Quan's Sleep; its gay theme
may not sit well with certain readers. Others may find the explicit
sexual depiction in Robert Drewe's Baby Oil not to their
taste.
As far as the series is concerned, this latest publication represents
something of an increasing sophistication in the way we think
of Australian identity and the icons around which it is developed.
It is a more mature and varied response than the previous books,
and attempts to present serious issues to the reader for consideration
and, one hopes, thoughtful response.
This is a collection that older, thoughtful adolescent readers
will definitely find both challenging and thought provoking.
The Penguin Book of the Beach
Edited by Robert Drewe
Penguin, 2001
ISBN 0 14 100798 2
First published in 1993 as The Picador Book of the Beach
Short Stories. Age 16+ Twenty-five outstanding
contemporary Australian and international writers including
Gabriel Garcia Márquez, Nadine Gordimer, Ian McEwan,
Helen Garner, David Malouf and Tim Winton provide an insight
into the influence of the beach. In his introduction Drewe states
that he chose these particular stories for more than their
setting;... each of them has the extra dimension of...'deep
down things'. They share a concern with pressing personal, social
and political questions...
EATON, Anthony.
The
Darkness
University of Queensland Press, 2002
Age 13 + This first novel by West Australian, Anthony
Eaton is essentially a drama set in a former whaling community
facing the great southern ocean. Its two main characters, Rohan
and Rachel, are interesting young people, singular types and
both carry mysteries from their past, which deepen as the drama
of the novel reaches a crescendo.
Rohan is a sixteen year old; a happy enough boy, but a loner
with a gift for drawing. He lives with his strict mother and
is troubled by family secrets, which his mother refuses to talk
about, especially those concerning his dead father. Into this
situation comes Rachel, an attractive and enigmatic young lady
with her own secrets. The two become friends and as danger looms
on the horizon, both from humans and the weather, they sail
to a nearby island where they are marooned by a raging storm,
the 'darkness' of the title.
The setting, the blown cliffs, the shifting oceans and an abandoned
whaling station provide a rich atmosphere and an appropriately
menacing background for the developing relationship between
Rachel and Rohan. The setting is convincing and in fact is the
best part of the book. The pace of the narrative is also well
handled and the reader feels genuinely intrigued as to what
is going to happen!
PARRY, Glyn. Sad
Boys
Hodder, 1998
Age 14+ Admit it, teacher-librarians. The scenario for Sad
Boys is fun.
It is based around the adventures of three girls and three guys,
Year 11s let loose at Rotto for a few days. Sharron, Wendy and
Donna arrive by plane and stay at the Lodge, while Rabbit, Jacko
and Ozone arrive by ferry and camp illegally on the beach.
The sun, sand, cops, rain, bikinis and smatterings of local
history might actually make you wistful for the particular Rottnest
that belongs to sweet and sad sixteens on their hormonal hols.
The
Edge of the World: Tim Winton - Author [VHS]
Film Australia, 1997
Age 15+ This documentary about Tim Winton features superb
camera work, fully supporting the development of themes presented.
While the topic is about Tim Winton, the viewer also develops
an understanding of Winton's strong empathy with place in his
writing. The place emphasised is the Kimberley region of Western
Australia. Winton frequently comments on the challenges offered
when people find themselves in unfamiliar and alien surroundings
and reflects on how this theme is developed in his novels.
The Edge of the World further explores the spiritual
forces represented by the environment along with Winton's exploration
of masculinity. The themes explored and the use of this form
of media to represent the attitudes and beliefs of Tim Winton,
can be used in any class exploring the work of Winton.
Detailed Teacher
Notes by Rod and Robyn Quin are available
in pdf form on the Film Australia site.
These notes outline a synopsis of the video, include biographical
details on Tim Winton along with a list of his writing and works
about his writing, plus notes and activities for classroom use.
WINTON, Tim. An Open Swimmer
Penguin, 1998
Age 16+ Winton's first novel, winner of the 1981 Australian
Vogel Award is the story of Jerra and his mate who go camping
and fishing along the coast. It concerns friendship, awakening
sexuality and searching for identity. On the list of texts for
Year 11 English Literature.
NOTE: This story is also available in the following collection
WINTON, Tim. The Collected Shorter Novels of Tim Winton:
An Open Swimmer/ That Eye, The Sky/ In the Winter Dark
Picador, 1995
ISBN 0 330 32555 8
WINTON, Tim. Dirt Music
Picador, 2002
Age 17+ Winton's seventh novel centres around the complex
relationship between three main characters. It is an adult novel
but may engage students who are sophisticated readers interested
in deft characterisation and powerful imagery. The story begins
in fictional White Point, a small fishing community and moves
to Broome and a northern island. Written in vivid prose the
landscape and force of nature pervades the challenging narrative.
Shortlisted for the 2002 Booker Prize
Winner, WA Premier's Book Award 2002
WINTON, Tim. Land's
Edge
Picador, 1997
Age 15+ First published in 1993. This beautiful edition
contains photographs chosen by the author. The book provides
a useful insight into Winton's affinity with the Western Australian
coast.
Beach
Culture: From Bondi to Broome
On Discovernet: Australian Tales
The
Beach
On cultureandrecreation.gov.au
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