Core Skills Analysis
English: Literature
The student looked for or engaged with Looking for Alibrandi, a coming-of-age novel by Melina Marchetta. Through this activity, the 14-year-old encountered literary ideas such as identity, family relationships, culture, belonging, and adolescence. The activity provided opportunities to consider how a protagonist changes in response to personal and social experiences. It also supported recognition of narrative structure, character development, themes, and the author’s use of perspective.
Cultural Studies
The student explored a story connected with Italian-Australian identity and multicultural life in Australia. The activity encouraged consideration of how family heritage, community expectations, and Australian society can shape a young person’s sense of self. It offered a way to compare different cultural experiences respectfully without assuming that all families or communities are the same. The student could therefore have developed greater awareness of diversity, belonging, and intergenerational perspectives.
Personal and Social Capability
By engaging with a teenage protagonist’s experiences, the student had an opportunity to reflect on emotions, relationships, decision-making, and changing independence. The activity supported empathy by inviting the student to consider viewpoints different from their own. It also created space to think about how communication and family conflict can influence behaviour. These reflections were relevant to the social and emotional experiences of a 14-year-old.
Tips
Tips: Guide the student to keep a character-and-theme journal while reading or locating information about Looking for Alibrandi. They could create a family-and-culture concept map, then compare the novel’s ideas about belonging with a short personal, historical, or media example. For a creative extension, ask them to write a diary entry from another character’s viewpoint or design a playlist whose songs represent key themes, explaining each choice. Finish with a discussion about how authors use fiction to explore real social and emotional issues.
Book Recommendations
- Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta: A coming-of-age novel exploring family, identity, culture, friendship, and belonging in an Italian-Australian community.
- The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by Wai Chim: A contemporary Australian young-adult novel about family, cultural identity, responsibility, and emotional resilience.
- Does My Head Look Big In This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah: A coming-of-age story examining identity, culture, faith, friendship, and belonging in contemporary Australia.
Learning Standards
- Australian Curriculum: English — AC9E8LE01: Supports analysis of how literary texts represent individuals, cultures, places and experiences.
- Australian Curriculum: English — AC9E8LE02: Connects with analysing how authors use plot, characterisation, setting and theme to shape meaning.
- Australian Curriculum: English — AC9E8LY02: Supports creating responses that explain interpretations of literary texts using relevant evidence.
- Australian Curriculum: Personal and Social Capability: Develops self-awareness, empathy, respectful understanding of diverse perspectives, and reflection on relationships.
Try This Next
- Create a character chart tracking Josie’s relationships, challenges, and changes.
- Write a 200-word diary entry from a character’s perspective about belonging.
- Make a theme web linking family, culture, identity, friendship, and independence.
- Write five quiz questions about character, setting, conflict, and theme.