Introductory activities
This is not presented as a comprehensive or complete list, merely some suggestions as to possible ways to tune into a study of The Jerilderie Letter.
(TEACHERS: Read my short paper (PDF, 79KB), ‘Ned Kelly as the father of modern Australian literature’. This sets out an overall context in which this unit could be delivered.)
- Tapping into prior knowledge (e.g. content, expectations)
- Five Minute Challenge: in up to five minutes, without stopping, students write as much as they can about their prior knowledge of Ned Kelly and his life, recalling any facts, opinions, associations, memories, comments on books they’ve read or movies they’ve seen.
- Watch this video clip, which summarises the arguments over whether Ned Kelly should be considered a hero or a villain. Approx. 6 minutes and a fairly lively stoush! Discussion can ensue regarding which of the arguments presented here is successful.
- Listen to the Redgum song ‘Poor Ned‘; lyrics here.
- Watch Paul Kelly and his band performing ‘Our Sunshine‘. This video clip features text from The Jerilderie Letter. Song lyrics are here.
- Construct a timeline of Ned Kelly’s life, using information from The Australian Dictionary of Biography.
- For oral discussion: Australian novelist Peter Carey used The Jerilderie Letter as inspiration for his novel The True History of the Kelly Gang. He referred to the Letter as being ‘like Ned’s DNA’. What do you think he meant by this?
Group activity
Before reading the text of the Letter, it’s important to understand that it is a dictated oral text. What differences might this make to how the text appears on the page? How is our spoken language different to what we write down?
- With a partner, students should spend five minutes each dictating an event they have participated in recently-a sports event, a school excursion, a family dinner, a social event with friends. They should attempt to tell the whole story, from start to finish, including as many details as possible. Their partner should record what is spoken, word for word. (There may have to be some pauses while the writing partner catches up.)
- Examine the dictated passages: what you do notice about them? They may capture thoughts, rather than sentences; they most likely will not be governed by standard rules of written structure, such as punctuation or conventional grammar.
Personal response on reading the text including such aspects as:
- questions and comments while reading the text
- personal connections with own experience
- identification with characters and situations
- reflection on completion of the text.
Students should keep a journal while reading the Letter and note any words or phrases that they may not be familiar with. Students should also list the key events that Ned refers to and map these against the timeline they completed in the earlier activity: this list might include meeting Isaiah ‘Wild’ Wright, the arrest of Ned Kelly’s mother Ellen (and her subsequent incarceration with a three-month old child), the incident with Constable Fitzpatrick and the shootings at Stringybark Creek.
Note: a comprehensive and well edited version of this journal is required to complete one of the Rich Assessment Tasks for this unit.
Students should note which incidents or characters they encounter in The Jerilderie Letter are referred to in the song ‘Poor Ned’ or the Sunrise debate linked above.
Owing to an absence of consistent punctuation and unconventional grammar (perhaps owing something to contemporary English usage in the 1870s, especially with regard to speech, and the fact that Kelly was not extensively educated in the formal sense), the Letter may be a difficult text to read at first. Suggestions to combat this include focusing on small sections of the text at a time, and/or reading sections of the text aloud.
Teachers may prefer, over a series of lessons, to read the entire text of the Letter, or organise shared readings with groups of students. The suggested reading guide is a useful tool. If teachers decide to read part or all of the Letter aloud, it is strongly recommended that the relevant section of text is thoroughly pre-read first, to become familiar with florid sentence structures (many sentences in the Letter go over a page or longer) and the rhythms that are created as a result.
The Jerilderie Letter: Reading guide
This is intended as a guide in the event that a teacher decides to read The Jerilderie Letter aloud to the class. This is not essential within the context of this unit, but it may be a good way to access the text given its fluid ‘stream of consciousness’ style. It is intended that each reading take no longer than ten minutes. Page numbers are based on the 2012 Text Classics edition, with an introduction by Alex McDermott.
It is recommended that each reading be followed by journal writing using the focus points listed below. Teachers may, on pre-reading the section, devise other similar questions.
First Reading: pp. 1–15
‘Dear Sir . . . Beechworth Pentridge’s dungeons.’
Second Reading: pp. 16–29
‘This is the only charge ever proved … they got a warrant against my brother Dan.’
Third Reading: pp. 29–43
‘And on the 15 April … shooting three troopers in self defence and robbing a bank.’
Note: This section contains the infamous Fitzpatrick incident, which marked Kelly as a wanted man on very spurious grounds (ie. that he shot Fitzpatrick in the wrist).
Fourth Reading:pp. 43–64
‘I would have been rather hot-blooded … who some calls honest gentlemen.’
Note: This section contains Kelly’s account of the shootings at Stringybark Creek and as such may deserve extended study.
Final Reading: pages 64 to the end
‘I would like to know what business … I am a widows son outlawed, and my orders must be obeyed.’
Possible journal focus questions
- Why is the punctuation missing? What effect does this have on how you read The Jerilderie Letter?
- What are the challenges in reading the Letter?
- Ned is often protective of others; see footnote p. 57. Why do you think this is?
- Does anything reported in the Letter justify Ned’s criminal activities?
- What are some of the challenges for historians in trying to piece together the truth about stories like Ned’s?
- Can students recall a time when they were unfairly treated? What happened-and how was it resolved?
- Can students identify an example of an injustice from today’s newspaper? Are there any parallels with Ned’s story? What are they?
- At any point while reading the Letter, do you find yourself sympathising with Ned, or feeling sorry for him? When? Why?
- Upon completing the first reading of the Letter, comment in one paragraph each on:
- your impression of Ned Kelly as he appears in the text
- the historical value of the Letter
- the most interesting thing about the Letter: a character (preferably other than Ned!), an incident, a phrase, an insult, a description.
Outline of key elements of the text
Activities
- Plot: summarise the key events that occur in the course of the Letter. Periods of time in jail, the important characters Ned encounters, and so on. These can be referenced against the timeline of Ned’s life you prepared earlier.
- Character cause and effect: On this graphic organiser (PDF, 89KB) write Ned’s name at the base of the tree and choose five other characters from the Letter. Write their names in each of the other boxes. Does this character have a positive or negative effect on Ned’s life? Why?
- Themes: Through the Letter, Ned wanted to reveal his side of the story and the central theme of the Letter is that he and his family were denied natural justice-and that, for example, the shooting of the three constables at Stringybark Creek happened in self-defence. Find evidence in the Letter, either in the text itself or footnotes, that suggests Ned was unfairly treated.
Synthesising task/activity
Incorporating multimodal resources such as, but not limited to, songs, film clips, images, screenshots of the original handwritten text of The Jerilderie Letter and so on, students should produce a Glog that illustrates the influence both the Letter and Ned Kelly have had on Australian narratives and myth-making.
(ACELA1567) (ACELT1774) (ACELY1776) (EN5-3B) (EN5-6C) (EN5-2A)
Extension task
‘I do not call McIntyre a coward for I reckon he is as game a man as wears the jacket …’ (The Jerilderie Letter, p. 79). With the reference to the events at Stringybark Creek as Ned recalls them, explain in 250-300 words what you think he means by this. Consider that almost every reference to the Victorian Police in the Letter is negative or insulting. Your response should also be grounded in a clear understanding of the usage of the word ‘game’ in this context.
(ACELY1749) (ACELY1750) (ACELY1753) (EN5-8D) (EN5-1A) (EN5-6C)