***+Resource+2

**Factual Text**

__**Explanation of the Resource **__

Gods & Goddesses of Classical Mythology by Samuel Willard Crompton is a fictional text that provides informative descriptions on the deities of classical Greek mythology. This resource is an interesting and engaging read as it outlines the links between all the key gods and goddesses as well as their origins and is a perfect resource to introduce students to the topic. Each god and goddess has a few pages dedicated to informing the reader on their power or special abilities, family relations and their role in the Greek belief system. The book is a great resource for students as it is easy to read yet introduces them to vocabulary in a simple manner that is cental to their studies on Greek mythology.

__**Relevance to the Outcome **__

The text by Crompton focuses greatly on the gods and goddesses that are central to the Greek mythology and these people’s belief systems which links well with the focus outcome as it describes different viewpoints, ways of living, languages and belief systems in a variety of communities (Board of Studies NSW, 2007, p. 54). This resource can be used as a tool for students to gather information about and explain the significance of these mytholgical figures that were fundamental to the Ancient Greek beliefs. Students also learn to examine the origins of these deities and how they impact the various lifestyles and experiences of Ancient Greek society.

__**Aspect of Literacy Explored **__

This resource is used in consolidation with the Greek gods and goddesses website (see Resource 3) as it prepares students for the writing of Factual Descriptions. Students can use this resource as a guide on how to correctly structure a factual description and the types of information that should be included when writing one. The way in which students can access this information is through the process of reading, which requires them to use the four roles that are involved in the decoding of text; these include the code breaker, text participant, text user and text analyst. It is the responsibility of the teacher to recognise the demands that are placed upon their students as code breakers when learning various subject areas, particularly those that are unfamiliar to them (Santoro, 2004, p. 54). The unit of work on Greek Mythology introduces students to new vocabulary that is not regularly used, therefore students will often be required to decode (read and hear) and encode (write and speak) about these terms and symbols that are specific to the topic or have specific meaning in this context. The text introduces students to the main gods and goddesses central to the Greek belief system, which is not necessarily known by all students, thus the employment of their decoding and encoding skills aids them in their understanding. Teachers should also have an awareness of the knowledge and experiences children draw upon when comprehending text, which is known as the text participant role (Santoro, 2004, p. 55). This role is developed through the text as students learn to organise and clarify the provided information, thus beginning to develop their comprehension of the correct structure and features included in a factual description. These roles help students to become fluent text users who are able to produce and use texts for particular contexts and produce new knowledge, which is extended through their understanding of liguistic strucutres and features of written texts. The final role used in the comprehension of texts is the text analyst which involves students' recognition of texts as having positions and the power to influence readers (Santoro, 2004, pp. 57-58). This last role is represented clearly in the resource as students learn to recognise the way in which the author persuades them to view the mythological stories according to their influences. By developing these four roles, students not only have a wholistic understanding of the text but can use their knowledge in creating their own factual description on Greek gods and goddesses.


 * __Reference List __**


 * Board of Studies NSW (2007). Human Society and its environment k-6 syllabus. Sydney: Author.
 * Crompton, S.W. (1999). Gods & Goddesses of Classical Mythology. Grange Books; Rochester, Kent.
 * Santoro, N. (2004). Using the four resources model across the curriculum In A.Healy & E.Honan Text next: New resources for literacy learning Newtown: PETA pp. 51-67.

 **﻿ ** **Nina Huvanandana **