Activity Introduction
Quick Summary: This lesson incorporates clips from Blue The Film as learning inspiration. In this finding out lesson, students will use visible thinking routines to respond to a clip exploring the impact of pollution and ghost nets on marine turtles. They will enhance their understanding of poetry and the significance of word choices that communicate meaning in a poem about the life cycle of a sea turtle produced as part of Blue The Film. Students develop their creative skills in selecting language and figurative devices to produce particular meaning and will create their own poem using visual images and factual material as stimulus.
Blue is a feature documentary film charting the drastic decline in the health of our oceans. With more than half of all marine life lost and the expansion of the industrialization of the seas, the film sets out the challenges we are facing and the opportunities for positive change. Blue changes the way we think about our liquid world and inspires the audience to action. Find out how to screen or download the film here. Along with the film is an ambitious global campaign to create advocacy and behaviour change through the #oceanguardian movement. To become an ocean guardian, see the website.
Learning intentions:
- Students learn how figurative language in poetic texts can enhance meaning and influence audiences.
- Students learn how turtles have contributed to the ocean ecosystem and how their existence is threatened by human activities.
21st century skills:
Australian Curriculum Mapping
Content descriptions:
Year 7 English
- Create literary texts that adapt stylistic features encountered in other texts, for example, narrative viewpoint, structure of stanzas, contrast and juxtaposition (ACELT1625)
- 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)
Syllabus outcomes: EN4-6C
General capabilities: Literacy, Critical and Creative Thinking.
Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability OI.7, OI.9.
Relevant parts of Year 7 English achievement standards: Students demonstrate understanding of how the choice of language features, images and vocabulary affects meaning. Students understand how the selection of a variety of language features can influence an audience. They create texts showing how language features and images from other texts can be combined for effect. Students make presentations and contribute actively to class and group discussions, using language features to engage the audience.
Topic: Blue The Film, Ocean Conservation, Water, Sustainability.
Unit of work: Blue The Film – English – Year 7 & 8.
Time required: 90 mins.
Level of teacher scaffolding: Low – lead students in discussion.
Resources required: Student Worksheet – one per student. Device capable of presenting a clip to the class. Ghost Nets Factsheet, Sharks Factsheet, Turtles Factsheet, Fishing Factsheet, Poetic Devices Glossary, A Turtle’s Life Poem, Turtles and Ghost Nets Stimulus Images.
Keywords: Blue The Film, ocean conservation, marine ecosystems, marine turtles, ghost nets, poetic devices.
Cool Australia and Northern Pictures would like to acknowledge the generous contributions of GoodPitch² Australia, Shark Island Institute, Documentary Australia Foundation, The Caledonia Foundation and Screen Australia in the development of these teaching resources.
Cool Australia’s curriculum team continually reviews and refines our resources to be in line with changes to the Australian Curriculum.
© 2017 Northern Pictures and Cool Australia
Teacher preparation
