Activity: Disaster Resilience: Creative Recovery – Arts, Civics & HPE – Years 7 & 8

Quick summary: This lesson contains activities designed to assist in the recovery of communities that have experienced a disaster or traumatic event. There are a number of activities that can be chosen based on the needs of the students. Creative recovery is where students and the community respond to and process disasters using arts and culture.

The lessons in this unit are designed to inform students about natural hazards in the local environment and ways to reduce risk, prepare, respond and recover from a disaster or emergency.

Learning intentions:

• Students understand there are healthy and creative ways to express their emotions
• Students understand they can contribute to positive change in the community
• Students understand they are a part of a community and have social and emotional supports available to them.

21st century skills: 

Australian Curriculum Mapping

Content descriptions: 

Years 7 & 8 Media Arts:

• Experiment with the organisation of ideas to structure stories through media conventions and genres to create points of view in images, sounds and text (ACAMAM066)
• Develop media representations to show familiar or shared social and cultural values and beliefs, including those of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples (ACAMAM067)
• Plan, structure and design media artworks that engage audiences (ACAMAM069)
• Present media artworks for different community and institutional contexts with consideration of ethical and regulatory issues (ACAMAM070)

Year 7 & 8 Visual Arts:

• Experiment with visual arts conventions and techniques, including exploration of techniques used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, to represent a theme, concept or idea in their artwork (ACAVAM118)
• Practise techniques and processes to enhance representation of ideas in their art-making (ACAVAM121)
• Present artwork demonstrating consideration of how the artwork is displayed to enhance the artist’s intention to an audience (ACAVAM122)

Years 7 & 8 Drama:

• Combine the elements of drama in devised and scripted drama to explore and develop issues, ideas and themes (ACADRM040)
• Plan, structure and rehearse drama, exploring ways to communicate and refine dramatic meaning for theatrical effect (ACADRM042)

Years 7 & 8 Health and Physical Education:

• Practise and apply strategies to seek help for themselves or others (ACPPS072)
• Investigate the benefits of relationships and examine their impact on their own and others’ health and wellbeing (ACPPS074)
• Analyse factors that influence emotions, and develop strategies to demonstrate empathy and sensitivity (ACPPS075)
• Evaluate health information and communicate their own and others’ health concerns (ACPPS076)
• Plan and implement strategies for connecting to natural and built environments to promote the health and wellbeing of their communities (ACPPS078)
• Investigate the benefits to individuals and communities of valuing diversity and promoting inclusivity (ACPPS079)

Years 7 & 8 Civics and Citizenship:

• How values, including freedom, respect, inclusion, civility, responsibility, compassion, equality and a ‘fair go’, can promote cohesion within Australian society (ACHCK052)
• Reflect on their role as a citizen in Australia’s democracy (ACHCS060, ACHCS074)

Syllabus outcomes: VAS4.1, VAS4.2, VAS4.3, VAS4.4, VAS4.5, DRAS4.1.1, DRAS4.1.2, DRAS4.1.3, DRAS4.1.4, PDHPE4.2, PDHPE4.3, PDHPE4.8, PDHPE4.9, PDHPE4.11, PDHPE4.13, PDHPE4.14, PDHPE4.16

General capabilities: Literacy, Critical and Creative Thinking, Personal and Social Capability

Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability

Relevant parts of Years 7 & 8 Media Arts achievement standards:

Students evaluate how they and other makers and users of media artworks from different cultures, times and places use genre and media conventions and technical and symbolic elements to make meaning. Students produce representations of social values and points of view in media artworks for particular audiences and contexts. They use genre and media conventions and shape technical and symbolic elements for specific purposes and meaning. They collaborate with others in design and production processes, and control equipment and technologies to achieve their intentions.

Relevant parts of Years 7 & 8 Visual Arts achievement standards:

Students identify and analyse how other artists use visual conventions and viewpoints to communicate ideas and apply this knowledge in their art-making. They explain how an artwork is displayed to enhance its meaning. Students plan their art-making in response to exploration of techniques and processes used in their own and others’ artworks. They demonstrate use of visual conventions, techniques and processes to communicate meaning in their artworks.

Relevant parts of Years 7 & 8 Drama achievement standards:

Students collaborate to devise, interpret and perform drama. They manipulate the elements of drama, narrative and structure to control and communicate meaning. They apply different performance styles and conventions to convey status, relationships and intentions. They use performance skills and design elements to shape and focus theatrical effect for an audience.

Relevant parts of Years 7 & 8 HPE achievement standards:

Students evaluate the impact on the wellbeing of relationships and valuing diversity. They analyse factors that influence emotional responses. They investigate strategies and practices that enhance their own, others’ and community health, safety and wellbeing. Students apply personal and social skills to establish and maintain respectful relationships and promote safety, fair play and inclusivity. They demonstrate skills to make informed decisions, and propose and implement actions that promote their own and others’ health, safety and wellbeing.

Relevant parts of Years 7 & 8 Civics and Citizenship achievement standards:

Students explain the diverse nature of Australian society and identify the importance of shared values in promoting a cohesive society. They consider different points of view on civics and citizenship issues. When planning for action, students take into account multiple perspectives to develop solutions to an issue.

Topic: Climate Change, Social Issues, Sustainability, Health & Wellbeing

This lesson is part of the wider unit of work Disaster Resilience Education – Years 7 & 8.

Time required: Open.

Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium – facilitate activities and provide resources as needed.

Resources required:

• Art equipment
• Device capable of showing video and images to students
• Storyboard Template (optional).

Keywords: creative recovery, disaster, resilience, art, community, emotions, creativity, wellbeing, recovery, coping, grief, connection, therapy, trauma-focused practice

Cool Australia’s curriculum team continually reviews and refines our resources to be in line with changes to the Australian Curriculum.