personal, social and academic contexts EAL 12-9 reflects on, assesses and monitors own learning and refines individual and collaborative processes as an independent learner Humanity noun human beings collectively, the quality or condition of being human, human nature, the quality of being humane, kindness, benevolence Explicit teaching writing Wallpaper Activity to collect students’ current understanding about ‘what is means to be human’. On post it notes, students write a question or comment about the focus question. This is then organised into headings in the classroom (for example, potential of humanity, negatives of humanity). Ideas are collated into a large mind map on the board or on butcher paper. This activity leads to the Focus on Writing Personal Reflection. Related text Poem and advertisement – ‘Thrive’ by Phil Wilcox Cut up the lines of the poem and distribute to groups of two to three. Students need to arrange the poem in the chronological order they think the poem is originally ordered in. Students compare their constructed poems with the short clip and consider how the meaning of the poem is altered. Group discussion When in your life do you think you lose ‘magic’? Is ‘magic’ all around you? Draw a table with two headings: magical elements of humanity, dark elements of humanity. Table as many ideas as you can about the good things humans have accomplished and the problems humans have brought upon the world. Extension activity Ethical scenarios about humanity Part of the human condition involves constantly navigating choices, what is morally right and what is ethical. Pose a series of scenarios to students in pairs, who must discuss and rationalise their decisions. Link discussion back to the focus question ‘what does it mean to be human’? leniency, mercy, mercifulness, pity, tenderness, benevolence, charity, generosity, magnanimity Wallpaper Activity ‘Before reading’ activity Text reconstruction, predicting meaning before the reading of the text Key terms morality ethics navigating Talk to contextualise content The teacher illuminates what an ethical scenario means and leads discussion Focus on Writing activity – personal reflection What does it mean to be human? Students compose a personal reflection detailing what being human means to them. In their response, students consider what makes them human and a relevant example of a time when one’s humanity or lack of humanity was demonstrated. ModAHyperlinks.doc Hyperlink 2 ‘Magic of Technology’ Phil Wilcox poem ModAHyperlinks.doc Hyperlink 3
visit Kakuma, Swahili for ‘nowhere’, which is home to 84,000 refugees with 14 different nationalities. This ‘refugee experience’ is taking the participants further and further from their comfort zone; Raquel is visibly upset, Raye adopts a maternal role to comfort her and Rodrick seems excited to explore the experience. Complete the Focus on Writing activity- personal reflection. Extension activity The episode begins with a voice over narration saying: ‘Refugees and asylum seekers are issues that continue to divide a nation… but what do we know of those who risk life and limb to reach these shores?’ How have the first two episodes of Go Back To Where You Came From challenged your preconceived (initial, first) notions (ideas) about refugees? In your answer, refer to your initial understanding and opinions about refugees and asylum seekers and how this has changed or stayed the same. Include examples from the episodes that you think give insight into human motivations and behaviour. vocabulary and/or sentence grammar Key terms: preconceived motivations behaviour EAL 12-4 applies and adapts knowledge into different contexts Research task multimodal presentation Students are issued assessment task notification Begin researching a related text for Multimodal Presentation Research task Multimodal.doc
Jordan What is Jordan like as a place of first refuge for those fleeing persecution? Kenya How has Raye’s perspective about refugees changed from the first episode to the third? Think how Ray e has witnessed the difficulties faced by refugee families. Baghdad, Iraq The US Military have set up a base in Saddam Hussein’s former palace. How do the participants react to being there? Goma, The More than 5 million people have died here in the deadliest conflict since World War II. What does Rodrick realise with a serious conflict after the women celebrate the donation of the Australians? Red Zone, Iraq What is General Buchanan’s account of what is currently happening in Baghdad? Final comments ‘People say it’s not good to let emotions get involved in decisions but I think that’s life. I think life is built on emotions. The emotions I have felt over the last few weeks is human nature.’ – Adam Do you agree or disagree with Adam? Which participant did you think had the most interesting journey? Give reasons why. Extension activity: ’If there is one thing we can all agree on it is that the refugee issue is complex and often, an appreciation of that complexity is missing from public debate in Australia. I hope that because of your experiences over the last 25 days, when you think about refugees and asylum seekers; whether they arrive in Australia by boat or by plane, whether they are chosen from overseas or live in limbo in questions. Students may also read aloud their answers. perspective of the allocated participant. Stakeholder discussion – all members of the class will swap groups so in each new group, there is someone representing the perspective of each participant. Each person will share the participant’s understanding of the refugee situation. Speech – groups will then come together as a Each original group will choose one person to stand up in front of the class and address the situation of refugees from the participant’s perspective. Rebuttal and conclusion – after each group delivers their speech, groups are given 5 minutes to construct a rebuttal and closing argument (time permitting – this could be an extension activity or a follow-up lesson). Another member of the group is chosen to deliver a closing statement to the class from the perspective of their participant.