Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

15 minutes

Part A: Tuning in

20 minutes

Part B: Defining altruism

30 minutes

Part C: Connecting the dots

5 minutes

Reflection

Part A: Tuning in

Step 1

Present and use the PowerPoint presentation: A Fire Inside: Investigating the reasons why humans help and the meaning of altruism to facilitate class discussion and follow the steps below.

Step 2

Start by presenting your class the following quote:

“Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile” - Albert Einstein.

Invite your students to write down their initial thoughts, feelings and questions in response to the quote.

Step 3

Ask students to share their responses and facilitate a brief discussion that allows students to raise questions and offer opinions.

Step 4

Then share with students the definition of ‘altruism’: disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others. (Oxford Languages).

Step 5

Ask students to discuss on their table examples of people who have helped them, or times they have helped others. Ensure students understand that altruism is the unselfish concern for other people (doing things simply out of a desire to help, not because you feel obligated to out of duty or loyalty). It involves acting out of concern for the well-being of other people.

Sometimes, these acts of altruism lead people to jeopardize themselves to help others. These behaviours are often performed unselfishly and the person doesn’t expect the favour to be returned.

Step 6

Tell students that today they will be watching a few clips about people who volunteer. Ask them to brainstorm what character traits they believe volunteers have. Write these on the board.

Consider discussing how volunteers show exceptionally high levels of altruism and introduce how The NSW RFS (Rural Fire Service) is the world’s largest volunteer fire service. They are regular people that sacrifice their lives to help their community. NSW RFS members attend a range of incidents and activities:

Bush and grass fires
House and structure fires
Storm damage
Search and rescue
Motor vehicle accidents
Community education
Bushfire mitigation.

Step 7

Ask students to free-write for 5 minutes: Is helping others a key part of human nature or are only some people ‘naturally helpful’?

Part B: Defining altruism

Step 1

Show students this clip about volunteers from a feature documentary A Fire Inside and ask them to complete the table below:

A Fire Inside: Volunteers (https://vimeo.com/651800213)

Something a character said or did	How it relates to altruism and the act of helping others

Step 2

Show students this clip about RFS from the feature documentary A Fire Inside:

A Fire Inside: RFS (https://vimeo.com/651806702)

Something a character said or did	How it relates to altruism and the act of helping others

Step 3

Show students the clip about the community pantry from the feature documentary A Fire Inside:

A Fire Inside: Community Pantry (https://vimeo.com/651811059)

Something a character said or did	How it relates to altruism and the act of helping others

Step 4

Show students the clip from the feature documentary A Fire Inside about how people from various organisations and communities show and offer help:

A Fire Inside: We Can All Help (https://vimeo.com/651846760)

Something a character said or did	How it relates to altruism and the act of helping others

Part C: Connecting the dots

Step 1

Ask students to brainstorm the following questions in their table groups:

What makes people help others?
What did the altruistic characters in the film have in common?
Why is altruism so important to our society?

Step 2

Have students share their answers with the class or on a shared document.

Step 3

Tell students that they will be writing an essay on one of the below topics and discuss how students could address the theme of altruism throughout the following topics:

Why do people help others? Discuss with reference to the characters in the documentary.
“Somewhere along the way, we must learn that there is nothing greater than to do something for others.” To what extent was this statement true for the characters in the text?
Other (A new topic that the teacher and student have agreed upon).

Ask students to look at the table they have created, conduct some research on altruism and ensure that each paragraph links back to altruism, helping others and the characters in A Fire Inside.

Step 4

You may wish to present the PEEL method or template and show an example of how to write an essay on a character and theme.

Point: Establish what your paragraph is going to be about.
Evidence: Use evidence/examples to develop your argument.
Explain: Explain how your evidence/example supports your point.
Link: Tie the paragraph back to your essay question or topic.

Step 5

Present the criteria to the students and discuss how students can self-assess and ensure they are pleased with their efforts.

Criteria	YES/NO	Suggestions and improvements
Follows a clear essay writing structure such as PEEL
The essay makes a clear argument
The essay includes relevant points to support the main argument
The essay includes relevant and specific examples from the characters in the text
The essay includes clear interpretation of the examples and how they relate to the theme
The essay is well punctuated and grammatically correct.

Reflection

Step 1.

Encourage students to send ask a friend or loved one in person or via text, email, phones call if there is something they can help or support them with.

Ask students to practice this in class and consider specific words they might be able to use that can encourage people to open up and support one another.

For example:

I noticed that you have a lot on your plate at the moment and I was wondering if there is something I can do to help take the pressure off?
I have some free time today, is there something I can help you work through?

Alternatively

Ask students to share on their table their answer to the question:

How could you help someone else today without asking them if they require your help?
Explain why people don't need to ask for help in order for you to help and support them?
How could you help support a person, group, organization or community in need?

Differentiated Learning

Extension - Students could swap their essay with a peer, provide critical feedback and then make revisions.
Provisions for Learning Support - Instead of an essay, students could create a character profile about one of the characters shown in the clip. They could explain who that character was and why they helped people.

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:\

What did you learn about your teaching practice today?
What worked well?
What didn't work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

A Fire Inside - Investigating the reasons why humans help and the meaning of altruism

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