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"Laneway Murals" in The Rocks ( More at [] )
 * __Resource 1 __**



**__Description of Resource: __**

Sitauted within The Rocks itself are a series of what have been called "Laneway Murals" that capture actual scenes of what The Rocks looked like in the past. These paintings show differnt dimensions of Sydney's colonial past by higlighting the physical, social and cultural changes that have occured in this area from the early 1900s until now. Images of these murals can be found on the official tourist and information website of The Rocks ([|www.therocks.com]) and with each image of a different mural there is a small caption explaining the time and place that is captured in the mural as well as its present-day location. It is interesting to note that some of the murals depict the past representation of their current location, such as the murals of Harrington St and Gloucester St. Whilst undoubtedly these murals would be an excellent resource to examine in real-life, the images also act as a great resource for comparing the changes that have occured over the last decade in The Rocks, as well as explaining the historical and cultural significance of this area of Sydney. As the murals have attempted to be as historically accurate as possible, they provide a unique insight into Sydney's heritage and give visual evidence pertaining to how life used to be.

**__Relevance to Outcome: __**

The resource is highly relevant to the focus outcome as it demonstrates in a visual format the way that human interaction, as well as other natural forces of change, have altered The Rocks environment over the last century or so. Whilst the murals obviously don't give written explanations as to why and explicitly how these changes have taken place, when compared to current images of the same locations, students will be able to make note of the differences between the past and the present, with the aim of them developing strategies that will preserve the heritage of The Rocks for the future, as per the rich task of our Unit. As part of the Environments strand of the Human Society and Its Environment K-6 Syllabus, students in Stage 2 are expected to learn about the signifiance of heritage-listed sites, both natural and built, and are also expected to understand how changes take place within communities, as explored in the Change and Continuity strand (NSW Board of Studies, 2007, pp. 54-55). Thus this resource acts as an excellent catalyst for students to investigate both of these learning outcomes as they put on their "detective hats" and spend time devising ideas as to how and why the changes have taken place. It is important for students to be able to also identify what aspects of The Rocks have remained the same, which is the case for many of the buildings within The Rocks that are over 100 years old. It would be hoped that by studing this Unit, students would have a greater appreciation and understanding of the history of their city and significant events and people that have shaped it. This resource is an effective stimulus to use in the first lesson of the unit as it immediately draws students' attention to the focus content in an engaging way and will encourage students to begin thinking critically about the history of their city and ways in which it can be preserved.

**__Aspect of Literacy to be Explored: __**

It is no surprise that the main element of literacy to be explored using these Laneway Murals is visual literacy; however, within this, students will also be able to develop their talking and listening skills as they engage in whole-class and small group discussions, as well as their writing skills to formalise their verbal thoughts and expressions. Ross Johnston (2006, p. 519) describes visual literacy as "the making of meaning out of images that...do not always operate as separate to words". This understanding of visual literacy is essential if students are to use these images as a rich resources from which much meaning can be extracted and interpreted. As this resource relates to visual literacy and art, there are certain elements of the visual text that students will need to be able to understand, which of course must first be modelled to them with ongoing support and scaffolding. Students need to be able to describe the murals in terms of colour, shape, form, texture and manipulation when comparing them to current photos of the same areas in order to understand the differences that have taken place. Students are able to wear both their historian and English student hats as they seek out clues from the images referring to its time code, whether the image is naturalistic or surreal and what materials are used. Students will have the opportunity to use appropriate and technical language as they discuss these features with one another and listen to the ideas of their peers that may differ from their own. As outlined in the English K-6 syllabus, as talking and listening are incredibly interrelated it is often difficult to separate the two, however to ensure that meaningful talking and listening is taking place teachers should provide students with explict situations and tasks in which this can occur. Ultimately, as students develop their visual literacy skills through intepreting the murals and comparing them to present-day images, they will be able to understand how visual language can contribute to the narrative of history and allow students to view and understand history from a multidimensional perspective.

**__References: __**

Board of Studies NSW. (2007). //K-6 Human Society and Its Environment syllabus.// Sydney: Author.

Board of Studies NSW. (2007). //K-6 English syllabus//. Sydney: Author.

The Rocks Chamber of Commerce (2011). //Laneway murals.// Retrieved 24 September, 2011 from

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Ross Johnston, R. (2006). Children's literature. In G. Winch, R. Ross Johnston, P. March, L. Ljungdahl & M. Holliday (Eds), //Literacy: Reading, writing and children's literature (3rd Ed.)// (pp. 369-552). South Melbourne: Oxford University Press.