Body of Words -- double CD   Beth Spencer Jewell case, 6 pp insert. 19 tracks of spoken word and sound works - stories, poetry and creative non-fiction. Total playing time 2 1/2 hrs. ISBN 0-9752137-0-9

Box of Words -- CD-ROM    Beth Spencer Web-style interface, requires Windows (95 and up) or Mac OSX; a recent web-browser (such as Mozilla, Internet Explorer 6 and beyond, Opera or Safari); and audio player software (such as winamp or realplayer). Jewell case, 4 pp insert. 17 x mp3 tracks from Body of Words, plus 5 x mp3 interviews. 2 interviews playable on a CD player.  Printable PDF versions of all texts and class materials with Adobe Reader provided. ISBN 0-9752137-1-7

 

'A terrific resource. The discussion notes are fresh and I can't wait to do the exercises with a class. Lots of material to build skills and build ways of seeing and analysing writing.' -- Eva Gold, NSW

 

 

 Sample a free mini version of Box of Words,

-- listen to 2 audio tracks and
view texts, background notes,
discussion questions and writing exercises
that you can print out and use in your class

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Read a conversation between Beth Spencer
and teacher & poet Warrick Wynne about this project

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Order a copy for your school or university library.

'Accessible and at the same time richly complex to analyse'.- Graham Williams, UTS

 -- A bus load of tourists on the road to Uluru -
 - growing up with Australian rules football -
 - a montage of a romance novel, a story of adolescence,
and a 1950s dating manual -
- snapshots of being the youngest in a large family -
 - a meditation on love, space and mothering -
  - keeping an eye on 'Big Brother' -
 - the meaning of 'those two little words' for Reconciliation -
- thoughts on writing, appropriation and the dangers of being
a literary magpie -
  - poems about museums, memories and trains --  

'Beth Spencer's work spills out of containers and over boundaries, brimming with ideas and perspectives, social history and popular culture. English students and teachers will find much to work with here: characterisation, setting, imagery, poetry, contemporary issues. The words are carefully wrought but the ideas are often tough and challenging; with the audio versions adding a compelling immediacy, a freshness of voice that is hard to get from a textbook.' -- Warrick Wynne, Senior English teacher, Toorak College, Victoria

 

Body of Words / Box of Words is an innovative new resource for teachers and students of English and creative writing from award-winning writer Beth Spencer.

The Body of Words double CD contains nineteen works that were originally broadcast on ABC-Radio National. This is a collection that defies the usual boundaries, ranging across genre and subject, and powerfully combining voice and sound to create a unique listening experience. A wonderful way to introduce reluctant readers to the magic of words, to jump start the imagination, and to stimulate class discussion on a range of topics. 

  

Beth Spencer has developed a mode of narrative which seems effortlessly to embody complex and intensely mobile ideas. Everything dances; I often use her stories as an illustration of what is possible for writing, and why writing is essential for the development of our culture. One of the most interesting and valuable writers working in Australia.' -- Peter Bishop, Director, Varuna Writers Centre

 

As a companion to this collection, the Box of Words CD-ROM includes:

• full texts and transcripts
• convenient mp3 versions of most of the Body of Words tracks
• background notes
• discussion questions
• writing exercises
• five audio interviews (two also playable on a CD player)
• plus a wealth of other previously published and inter-related material

 For instance, Box of Words also contains: all of Things in a Glass Box (FIP, 1994), all of the critically acclaimed How to Conceive of a Girl (Random House, 1996), and a new collection (essays, stories and poems) called Heart, Mouth.

The CD-ROM features an easy to use web-style interface, with the texts cross-linked, annotated, and searchable by topic. Each can be read on the screen, or printed for more convenient reading or to photocopy for class hand-outs. As such it contains 19 ready-made class plans with printable materials and audio.

'Extremely helpful for exploring different text types for the Listening Outcomes part of the WA curriculum. The students have enjoyed having something different to listen to, and I have appreciated the variety of the audio tracks. A good addition to my classroom tools.' --Tammie Hulland, English and Middle School Teacher, Swan View Senior High, WA

 Designed to add interest and variety to classes, to get students writing, and to foster a strong and creative engagement with texts, this is a resource suitable for a range of teaching styles and strategies, and for students from years 9 to 12 and beyond.

 

A wealth of resource material, tools and models of good writing that any teacher would love to have.' -- Maureen Cann, Kew High, Victoria

 

 

*

 Sample a free mini version
of Box of Words,
-- listen to audio tracks and view texts,
background notes, discussion questions
and writing exercises
that you can print out and use in your class

*

Read a conversation between Beth Spencer
and teacher & poet Warrick Wynne about this project

*

Find out how to Order a copy for your school or university library.
  

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Body & Box of Words info | read an interview about this project | samples | system requirements (faq) 

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