Cultural perspectives in literature | National Library of Australia (NLA)
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Cultural perspectives in literature

Explore how authors, poets and cartoonists reflect culture through storytelling. Aligned to the Australian Curriculum: English for Year 7, this resource uses collection material from the National Library of Australia to examine how creators like Judith Wright, Judy Horacek and Joan Lindsay express cultural perspectives in poetry, literature and cartoons. Through guided activities, students develop skills to interpret and evaluate diverse viewpoints across different forms and contexts.
Year 7 English

About this module

This flexible resource supports inquiry-based learning by helping students interpret, analyse and evaluate cultural perspectives through a variety of activities. Featuring rich sources from the National Library of Australia’s collection, it caters to diverse classroom contexts and learning styles. It also aligns with cross-curriculum priorities, deepening students’ understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures.

Copyright for teachers

You can download all collection materials in this resource for education purposes. For more information, go to copyright for teachers.

Topics in this module

This module has 3 topics:

A black and white portrait photo of an elderly woman with short white, wavy hair wearing a black roll neck jumper and a small floral brooch just below the collar, with her interlaced fingers resting in the foreground.

Jacqueline Mitelman, Portrait of Judith Wright, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-136372491

Poetry by Judith Wright – 'Bora Ring'

Topic

These activities introduce students to the poem Bora Ring, as well as to the poem’s background and author. They also develop students’ understanding of how an author’s perspective can change and enhance the meaning of a text.

Digital Classroom
A black and white portrait photo of a young, freckle faced, smiling woman with very short, wild, fair hair, holding a book open.

Virginia Wallace-Crabbe, Portrait of Judy Horacek, cartoonist, 1997, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-136400722

Cartoons by Judy Horacek

Topic

The term ‘cartoon’ is from the Italian cartone, meaning paper. In the middle ages, it was used to refer to sketches that had been drawn for larger works, such as canvases, frescos, tapestries or mosaics. From the nineteenth century, a cartoon came to mean an amusing illustration in newspapers, magazines or online.

Digital Classroom
A photo of a map of Victoria with pastel colour shaded areas of green, pink, purple, orange and yellow

George Philip & Son, Victoria, 1885, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-232528783

Literature by Joan Lindsay – 'Picnic at Hanging Rock'

Topic

This activity provides students with context and background information about the physical location and cultural environment in which Picnic at Hanging Rock is set.

Digital Classroom

Curriculum links

This resource is aligned to the Australian Curriculum: English for Year 7 students

Poetry: Judith Wright - Bora Ring

  • Literature and context: Identify and explore ideas and viewpoints about events, issues and characters represented in texts drawn from different historical, social and cultural contexts (ACEL1619)
  • Examining literature: Understand, interpret and discuss how language is compressed to produce a dramatic effect in film or drama, and to create layers of meaning in poetry, for example haiku, tankas, couplets, free verse and verse novels (ACELT1623)
  • Creating literature: Create literary texts that adapt stylistic features encountered in other texts, for example narrative viewpoint, structure of stanzas, contrast and juxtaposition (ACELT1625)

Cartoons: Judy Horacek

  • Literature and context: Identify and explore ideas and viewpoints about events, issues and characters represented in texts drawn from different historical, social and cultural contexts (ACEL1619)
  • Responding to literature: Compare the ways that language and images are used to create character, and to influence emotions and opinions in different types of texts (ACELT1621)

Literature: Joan Lindsay - 'Picnic at Hanging Rock'

  • Literature and context: Identify and explore ideas and viewpoints about events, issues and characters represented in texts drawn from different historical, social and cultural contexts (ACEL1619)
  • Responding to literature: Reflect on ideas and opinions about characters, settings and events in literary texts, identifying areas of agreement and difference with others and justifying a point of view (ACEL1620)

Poetry: Judith Wright - Bora Ring

  • Interpreting, analysing, evaluating: Analyse and explain the ways text structures and language features shape meaning and vary according to audience and purpose (ACELY1721)

Cartoons: Judy Horacek

  • Creating texts: Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive texts, selecting aspects of subject matter and particular language, visual, and audio features to convey information and ideas (ACELY1725)

Literature: Joan Lindsay - 'Picnic at Hanging Rock'

  • Creating texts: Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive texts, selecting aspects of subject matter and particular language, visual, and audio features to convey information and ideas (ACELY1725)

Poetry: Judith Wright - Bora Ring

  • Language for interaction: Understand how language is used to evaluate texts and how evaluations about a text can be substantiated by reference to the text and other sources (ACELA1782)

Cartoons: Judy Horacek

  • Expressing and developing ideas: Analyse how point of view is generated in visual texts by means of choices, for example gaze, angle and social distance (ACELA1764)

Literature: Joan Lindsay - 'Picnic at Hanging Rock'

  • Language for interaction: Understand how accents, styles of speech and idioms express and create personal and social identities (ACELA1529)

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Author Kathy Weeden reading and acting out her book 'Phonobet' to children and their parents in the foyer during Enlighten

Kathy Weeden reading her book Phonobet, illustrated by Kim Drane and published by NLA Publishing, at Enlighten at the Library 2024

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Page published: 06 May 2025

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