Inspired by: The Rabbits - Week 6

Inspired by the themes of "The Rabbits" by John Marsden and Shaun Tan, an educational resource challenges students to explore the power of language in shaping perceptions. In one activity, learners are tasked with crafting a manifesto to promote a city, using persuasive language to attract affluent entrepreneurs. The mayor, proud and resolute, employs the maxim 'MIGHT = RIGHT' to underscore the city's attributes of power, control, and order. Students must consider how words like 'influential', 'authoritative', 'commanding', and 'dominating' can be strategically used to create a compelling narrative that 'sells' the city to the desired demographic.

Contrastingly, another activity delves into the creation of atmosphere in narratives. Through the lens of a local's diary entry, the city is painted in starkly different tones—dreary, unwelcoming, and desolate. This personal account stands as the antithesis to the grand manifesto, capturing the essence of a divided community within a now desolate landscape. Further activities encourage students to use expanded noun phrases and emotive language to convey complex information and elicit emotional responses from the reader. The resource prompts critical thinking about the effectiveness of the author's style, the emotions conveyed, and the power of concise language to encapsulate intent. Students are invited to retell the story, focusing on the atmospheric shift throughout the book, using poetic or narrative forms to help readers 'feel' the transformation.