Mini Lecture on Piazza's Communicative Elements

I would suggest that today's literature is becoming more and more complicated and as a result there are more communicative elements in a literary piece than previously. The least complex book would be one that is all text or all pictures. However, most picture books include both illustrations or art and text.

The chart below can be used to analyze different forms of representations related to communicative elements and literacy tasks.

As the definition of literature expands to include graphic novels, E-books, multimedia, videos, dance theater, music, and other forms of representations, the number of representations included in a piece of literature increases until it is becoming more likely than not to have more literature containing greater numbers of representations. More literature is being created with teams of people working to develop each of the different media pieces. Look at the credits at the end of a movie. Which often includes multiple forms of literacy: art, music, dance, performance, film, and text.

If we are to be an informed society and we get 90% of our information from sources, other than the printed word, how can schools, which have curriculums with literacy narrowly defined to reading and writing, claim to be preparing citizens that will be able to make good decisions in a democratic society?

Select a piece of literature and see if the structure of this chart assists your thinking about literature in ways that you haven't previously.

Different Forms of Representation	Elements of a Communicative event	Creator Who sends a message	Message What message or purpose is sent	Medium in Which channel is it sent	Audience to Whom is the Message sent	Setting Where is the message sent - Time, place, and context
Textual Story Literacy Tasks
Inquiry - how ideas are created and responded to How can I say .... in text? or How is the author saying ... in text? There can be multiple answers.
Languaging - symbolic form of of communication How can I use the symbols of text to communicate? or How is the author using the symbols of text to communicate?
Poetry or Aesthetic (apply inquiry and language to create a piece with special conceptual and stylistic elements for a particular purpose and audience) How aesthetically can or has the ideas been communicated with the symbols of text?
Story (apply inquiry and language to create a piece with special conceptual and stylistic elements for a particular purpose and audience) How can or has the ideas and letters, words, phrases, sentences... come together to tell a story?
Information (apply inquiry and language to create a piece with special conceptual and stylistic elements for a particular purpose and audience) What can be learned from the joining of the ideas and textual elements?
Pictures Story Literacy Tasks
Inquiry - how ideas are created and responded to How can I say .... in drawings? or How is the illustrator saying ... in illustrations? There can be multiple answers.
Languaging - symbolic form of of communication How can I use the symbols of art to communicate? or How is the author using the symbols of art to communicate?
Poetry or Aesthetic (apply inquiry and language to create a piece with special conceptual and stylistic elements for a particular purpose and audience) How aesthetically can or has the ideas been communicated with the symbols of art?
Story (apply inquiry and language to create a piece with special conceptual and stylistic elements for a particular purpose and audience) How can or has the ideas and artistic elements come together to tell a story?
Information (apply inquiry and language to create a piece with special conceptual and stylistic elements for a particular purpose and audience) What can be learned from the joining of the ideas and art symbols?

Adapted from: Piazza, Carolyn L. (1999). Multiple forms of literacy: Teaching literacy and the arts. Columbus, Ohio: Merrill. Table 1-1 page 5