Map to Australian Curriculum - Year 4

Australian Curriculum

Meets Standard

Frog’s Princess

Language

Understand that social interactions influence the way people engage with ideas and respond to others for example when exploring and clarifying the ideas of others, summarising their own views and reporting them to a larger group (ACELA1488 - Scootle )

As there are 10 different reaction types a character can respond with, teachers can engage students by using different reactions in certain situations and examining the outcome of their choice. Furthermore, they can relate situations to real life and transfer that interaction knowledge into their daily lives.

Understand differences between the language of opinion and feeling and the language of factual reporting or recording (ACELA1489 - Scootle )

Teachers can utilise Frog’s Princess is an example of characters expressing opinions and feelings.

For example, Princess Emma’s feelings for her kingdom when she says, “I wish for harmony. I want my people to be happy.”

Or, opinion, when Francis hears about Lady Lorelai and Princess Emma’s mother and he responds with, “She’s a strange one.”

Understand how texts vary in complexity and technicality depending on the approach to the topic, the purpose and the intended audience (ACELA1490 - Scootle )

Similar to and building on year 3 strand:

Text structure is unique as it is a script based format or dialogue framed. In addition to the unique text structure from typical narratives, language features  suit the time period and setting.

Students follow the typical stages of a narrative, however, add complexity by switching points of views or revisiting parts of stories from different perspectives.

Understand how texts are made cohesive through the use of linking devices including pronoun reference and text connectives (ACELA1491 - Scootle )

Frog’s Princess incorporates several uses of nouns and pronouns with the formality of the genre and sentence structure. For example, often, nouns are presented like the following, “My father the King of Olden sends greetings to your Highness.”

Furthermore, text connectives are also used in several parts such as:

“Again, Leonard, your foot must point in the direction of the thrust.”

Identify features of online texts that enhance readability including text, navigation, links, graphics and layout (ACELA1793 - Scootle )

Building on year 3:

Although Frog’s Princess isn’t an online text, it features the same navigational tools that online texts and websites use such as, back and forward buttons, site navigation through scene and chapter selection, options, settings and saving your story.

Understand that the meaning of sentences can be enriched through the use of noun groups/phrases and verb groups/phrases and prepositional phrases (ACELA1493 - Scootle )

With support, teachers can use Frog’s Princess as an exemplar text for noun groups and verb groups, as several pieces of dialogue are enriched with adjectives and adverbs to make the script interesting.

e.g. Princess Emma says, “every day the clouds hang lower, the woods draw closer, and Lady Lorelai gains authority.”

Or,

“So that’s your dream? You’re waiting for a chivalrous prince to ride up on a white horse?”

Understand how adverb groups/phrases and prepositional phrases work in different ways to provide circumstantial details about an activity (ACELA1495 - Scootle )

There are several opportunities where prepositional phrases are evident in the story.

For example,

“I’m going to persuade (manner) Ramona and Hilda to help Iron Henry tonight (time)”

Explore the effect of choices when framing an image, placement of elements in the image, and salience on composition of still and moving images in a range of types of texts (ACELA1496 - Scootle )

Each page of Frog’s Princess is a 2D image of a 3D scene.  On top of the background, characters have been placed, and in many instances, moved.

Identify which pages need more movement to clarify the story events.

Design a page to tell the story better, outlining the background features and using circles for where each character would be, and arrows for where they would move.

Incorporate new vocabulary from a range of sources into students’ own texts including vocabulary encountered in research (ACELA1498 - Scootle )

Teachers can engage students by writing a storybook page as prose, incorporating all the dialogue on the page, ncorporating language and vocabulary from this genre.

Read and write a large core of high frequency words including homophones and know how to use context to identify correct spelling (ACELA1780 - Scootle )

Students are exposed to several core high frequency words throughout the story, however, may need instruction to identify homophones.

Another skill developed is the ability to use context clues to solve unfamiliar words. The exposure to these words can be utilised in their writing.

Understand how to use phonic knowledge to read and write multisyllabic words with more complex letter combinations, including a variety of vowel sounds and known prefixes and suffixes (ACELA1828 - Scootle )

Frog’s Princess features a wide range of high frequency words and opportunities for students to read multisyllabic words and complex letter combinations. Specifically, vocabulary that matches the time period of the story.

Literature

Make connections between the ways different authors may represent similar storylines, ideas and relationships (ACELT1602 - Scootle )

A similar text to use is The Frog Prince which has been retold as a Disney movie, in the Frog’s Princess interactive storybook and in many standard fairy tale compilations and in many innovative ways.

Discussion points include: 

Why most stories don’t include the titular character Iron Henry;

Different things that happen in the transformation scene – e.g. Princess to frog;

Different settings e.g. urban contemporary or 1920s Bayou or Medieval. 

Kassel is a real city on the German fairy tale route and Olden (now Oldenborough) is nearer the coast.

Other changes include: the author introduced a witch, and made the witch make the frog knock the ball into the well rather than it being dropped in carelessly; there is a predator in the well so retrieval is dangerous, Iron Henry did not place the bands on himself but instead heroically tried to save the prince who now has a strong motive for turning back into a prince and rescuing Iron Henry, there are two elder sisters to contrast different virtues, and many other changes to the original story.

Discuss literary experiences with others, sharing responses and expressing a point of view (ACELT1603 - Scootle )

Teachers can facilitate discussion in class and in groups by:

Read the storybook in small groups, taking turns to choose what each character says, or taking on the character of the prince/princess.

Save different versions of the storybook, to share and explain choices.

Sharing their point of views on how the story unfolds and about each character.

Use metalanguage to describe the effects of ideas, text structures and language features of literary texts (ACELT1604 - Scootle )

There are several themes within the game where players are presented with enriched descriptions of characters and emotions.

The most notable theme is self-confidence. The princess, Emma, believes she needs a prince to save her kingdom. The prince, Francis, believes he must act brashly to hide how ordinary he is. How do they learn to believe in themselves and do what they need to do?

Discuss how authors and illustrators make stories exciting, moving and absorbing and hold readers’ interest by using various techniques, for example character development and plot tension (ACELT1605 - Scootle )

There are interpersonal conflicts in every scene, handled differently by the different characters.

Suggested activities could be:

Find the hook at the end of every scene and chapter.

Find the conflict between the main characters in every chapter.

Ask:

How does Francis change during the story?  How does Emma change during the story?  (Suggested answers on Joy Everafter website).

Literacy

Identify and explain language features of texts from earlier times and compare with the vocabulary, images, layout and content of contemporary texts (ACELY1686 - Scootle )

Frog’s Princess has an archaic language tone to reflect the Medieval setting.  Unfamiliar language is surrounded by context clues to allow the player to decode words and understand meaning easily.

e.g.:

“Tell me, when you changed into a frog, how did the metamorphosis take place?”

“What?”

“What was it like?”

The frog prince’s fast, informal language contrasts with the slower, wordier language of Kassel, giving a living example of the comparison between texts from earlier times and contemporary text.

Interpret ideas and information in spoken texts and listen for key points in order to carry out tasks and use information to share and extend ideas and information (ACELY1687 - Scootle )

 Frog’s Princess features character voices along with dialogue text which requires students to actively listen for key points to comprehend the text.

Where dialogue is unclear, alternatives may be chosen, which may help explicate the meaning.

As dialogue is selected, selections are saved and students build a storybook.

Use interaction skills such as acknowledging another’s point of view and linking students’ response to the topic, using familiar and new vocabulary and a range of vocal effects such as tone, pace, pitch and volume to speak clearly and coherently (ACELY1688 - Scootle )

Similar to level 3:

Active listening is developed and promoted throughout the interactive storybook through the read-aloud option and as students have options to react in different ways which changes the way the controlled character reacts to situations.

Active listening is also developed as information is passed through voice actors which also exposes students to tone, pace and pitch when reacting and responding to different situations (e.g. the change in tone when an angry response is chosen).

Identify characteristic features used in imaginative, informative and persuasive texts to meet the purpose of the text (ACELY1690 - Scootle )

Frog’s Princess has several evident features of an imaginative text that teachers could use as a mentor text for modelling character development, settings, plot, genre, perspective and a familiar ‘Hero’s Journey’ plot line that players will recognise.

Read different types of texts by combining contextual, semantic, grammatical and phonic knowledge using text processing strategies for example monitoring meaning, cross checking and reviewing (ACELY1691 - Scootle )

Same as level 2 and level 3:

The interactive storybook provides opportunities for players to monitor their reading by comparing to the read-aloud element. Furthermore, as players must click ‘next’ to progress, there is further opportunity to think about their reading, rather than being rushed or pushed to another scene without being ready to move on.

In addition, there are several opportunities for instructional support to focus on developing specific reading strategies. For example, reading after the narrator reads to ensure proper intonation and fluency – or before the narrator to self-monitor and self-correct any miscues. Furthermore, reading along with the narrator (chorus reading) allows for the development of fluency.

Use comprehension strategies to build literal and inferred meaning to expand content knowledge, integrating and linking ideas and analysing and evaluating texts (ACELY1692 - Scootle )

Same as level 2 and level 3:

Whilst reading, students have multiple opportunities to use comprehension strategies to interpret and understand what is happening in the book. Depending on students’ abilities to actively use comprehension strategies whilst reading, a range of strategies can be used.

In addition to students developing their own comprehension strategies, with support, teachers can use the storybook to focus on specific comprehension strategies at various stages of the book.

e.g. making predictions before a student reads (or continues reading), provides tasks that asks students to actively make connections to themselves as they read or prompts students to activate their prior knowledge before reading.

Australian Curriculum

Meets Standard

Frog’s Princess

Analysing, synthesising and evaluating reasoning and procedures element

Assess whether there is adequate reasoning and evidence to justify a claim, conclusion or outcome

As there are several situations where characters make decisions to progress the story, a suggested activity could include using these situations as examples to analyse whether their decisions had adequate reasoning and whether they caused the desired outcome.

e.g.: Decide whether there is enough information to judge whether or not the White Prince and the Black Prince are real. (Answers on Joy Everafter website.)

Australian Curriculum

Meets Standard

Frog’s Princess

Understand relationships

Identify the differences between positive and negative relationships and ways of managing these

The story features interactions that are positive, negative and neutral – throughout the journey, players will have exposure to how certain reactions and behaviours lead to making and keeping friends or pushing away potential friends. This is evident in the initial character development of Francis and how he treats others, particularly the Princess, and how he matures and changes his behaviour by the end of the story.

Furthermore, Emma has several reactions to Francis’s negative attempts to build a relationship by only pursuing a kiss.

The shapeshifter witch symbolises a constant negative force which is easily recognised but really difficult to interact successfully with.

The loving sisters at first symbolise positive relationships but their lack of faith in Emma soon shows they are blocking her.

Make decisions

Identify factors that influence decision making and consider the usefulness of these in making their own decisions

The prince and princess are burdened with parental expectations, public lack of belief in them, conflict with each other, a clever villain, and their own strong moral targets.  Neither make good decisions but they are acting to the best of their ability.

Negotiate and resolve conflict

Identify causes and effects of conflict, and practise different strategies to diffuse or resolve conflict situations

The greatest conflict in the story is at the midpoint when the frog, desperate to transform and rescue his bodyguard Iron Henry, tries to force the princess to kiss him.  The princess throws him against a wall.  Both actions show how damaging interpersonal force is to resolving conflict.

Australian Curriculum

Meets Standard

Frog’s Princess

Interacting and empathising with others

Explain perspectives that differ to expand their understanding of an issue

By choosing from 10 different reactions each time a hero speaks, players have the opportunity to test what it would be like to react differently.  They are exploring their own personalities and witnessing personality changes in others.

To meet the curriculum standard, teachers can have students explain situations from different characters’ viewpoints.

Some scene examples are:

The old King is gruff and knows nothing but tradition.  As King, he will be obeyed.  As King, he will lead his army into battle, even though he knows he will lose his life.

The eldest princess considers herself kind but cannot imagine anyone else is right and cannot empathise with others.  Of Iron Henry, she says, “...When one is crippled, one can’t feel true happiness.”

The second princess judges people on their physical appearance.  “Look at you.  You’re a better man than a frog.”