Activity Introduction
Quick Summary: This lesson incorporates clips from Blue The Film as learning inspiration. In this lesson students will watch video footage of marine turtles in their natural environment then consider the devices that are used to appeal to audiences. Students will evaluate the effect of these choices on audience understanding about marine turtles, plastic pollution and marine health. Students will understand how audiences are engaged through audio-visual devices to think, feel or do certain things in relation these issues.
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 will understand how language can be used in persuasive ways by appealing to audiences’ emotions and shared experience or understanding about issues.
- Students will understand how significant issues such as ocean change are communicated using language and content that draws from personal and collective experience.
21st century skills:
Australian Curriculum Mapping
Content descriptions:
Year 9 English
- Understand that authors innovate with text structures and language for specific purposes and effects (ACELA1553)
- Explore and reflect on personal understanding of the world and significant human experience gained from interpreting various representations of life matters in texts (ACELT1635)
Syllabus outcomes: EN5-2A, EN5-7D.
General capabilities: Literacy, Critical and Creative Thinking.
Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability.
Relevant parts of Year 9 English achievement standards: Students analyse and explain how images, vocabulary choices and language features distinguish the work of individual authors. They select evidence from texts to analyse and explain how language choices and conventions are used to influence an audience. Students listen for ways texts position an audience. Students understand how to use a variety of language features to create different levels of meaning.
Topic: Blue The Film, Ocean Conservation, Water, Sustainability.
Unit of work: Blue The Film – English – Year 9&10.
Time required: 60 mins.
Level of teacher scaffolding: High – facilitate class discussion and assess student work.
Resources required: Student Worksheet – one per student. Device capable of presenting a website to the class. Turtles and Plastics Stimulus Images, Ghost Nets Factsheet.
Keywords: Blue The Film, ocean conservation, marine ecosystems and wildlife, marine turtles, audience appeals, emotions, imagery, language choices, persuasion, rhetoric.
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
