Petcha Ketcha

Slide one:
A sense of belonging can arise from connections between people, places and the wider world. It is the feeling of being connected and accepted within one's family and community. Sometimes a sense of belonging requires going on a journey and searching, or other times you can feel rejected and trapped in a place whereby you don’t belong.
Slide two:
The picture book “A place for middle’ by Angela McAllister explores the themes of belonging to family. It shows that even though you are different, you still fit in somewhere. It explores the challenges of finding acceptance and belonging by taking the audience on the central character, middle’s, journey as he searches for his purpose and his place in the world.
Slide three:
A place for middle is a contemporary text that is highly relevant for young children. The purpose of the book is to provide young children with the message that just because you are different or unique; it doesn’t mean you don’t belong or fit in somewhere, and that sometimes you just have to find out where. Sometimes it’s just about realising where you are is where you already belong.
Slide four:
The emotive first person language allows the readers to have a sense of sympathy towards ‘middle’. It takes us on his personal journey for his search for belonging. It allows us to put ourselves in his shoes and see what it feels like to not fit in.
Slide five:
The use repetition of certain words is an important technique for conveying how the Middle feels. The repetition of ‘can’t’ emphasises middles frustration and disappointment of not being able to do certain things. The repetition of the word ‘useful’ indicates the worthlessness that Middle feels and shows a negative sense of belonging.
Slide six:
The poem Municipal Gum by Oodgeroo Noonuccal is a poem which explores the themes of not belonging to place. It conveys the feelings and emotion of the poet about a gum tree in an urban environment. The poem creates a visual metaphor of... [continues]

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