Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune In: Marine sanctuaries

20 minutes

Find Out: Who is Lucas Handley?

25 minutes

Take Action Writing a short biography

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions

Students will:

understand how biographical texts can be used to communicate individual stories and inspire action among audiences.
comprehend and apply their understanding of how combinations of written language and visual features can shape meaning and position audiences in relation to individual stories and experiences that can inspire action among audiences.

Success criteria

Students can:

describe and explain the language and structural features of biographies, including visual information, providing examples of how they can communicate important information about individuals and their achievements.
use biographical language and text structures to write and edit their own biography of Lucas Handley.

Tune In: Marine sanctuaries

Step 1

Watch the following video with the class and explain that it presents some important information about marine sanctuaries. After watching the video, ask students for any thoughts they have. You could facilitate a brief 'See-Think-Wonder' visible thinking routine (see previous lessons in this unit) and discuss with the class.

Marine sanctuaries (https://vimeo.com/1056609500/dd132507b1)

Distribute the Marine Sanctuaries Factsheet to students. You can project it for the class as well. Briefly read through some of this information, highlighting some of the key features and ways that marine sanctuaries can help protect the ocean.

Step 2

Invite students to complete the 'Connect-Extend-Challenge' visible thinking routine on the Student Worksheet to synthesise their understanding about marine sanctuaries. Point out that they need to think about the connections between new and existing knowledge, how this new information has extended their thinking, and finally any challenges or puzzles they are still wondering about.

Give students time to complete the routine and then encourage volunteers to share their thinking with the group, particularly the extend and challenge phase. You could facilitate any discussion these provoke.

Find Out: Who is Lucas Handley?

Step 1

Inform the class that they will soon be watching and analysing two short videos about Lucas Handley, in which he reflects on his experiences, achievements, challenges, and contributions to marine ecosystems, ocean health, and marine science.

Before watching the videos, revise the nature of biographies (see previous Finding Out lessons in this unit) with the class. Project the Biographical Writing Factsheet. Read through the information with the class and discuss some of the key features of this style of writing.

Step 2

Briefly review the language features of reflective texts and reflections with the class. Project the Reflective Writing Factsheet and/or distribute a copy to students. Read through the information with the class and discuss some of the key features of this style of writing. Point out to students that they will be able to make some notes about each of these while watching (and perhaps re-watching) the video and conducting some further reading.

Introduce the clips by explaining that Lucas Handley is a marine scientist and free diver who has dedicated a significant part of his life to working with marine ecosystems, ocean health and marine science and promoting these issues. Remind students to also look closely at the visual imagery in the clips and how these images enhance the meaning being communicated.

Who is Lucas Handley? (https://vimeo.com/1056608649/e95d8574b1)

Coral Bleach i ng - https://vimeo.com/1056609106/dbf7b8aba7

Step 3

After watching the clips, invite students to complete the biographical information questions and reflective language tables on the Student Worksheet to help them note some of the key information about Lucas Handley. Prompt students by explaining that this information will form the basis of a written biography that includes Lucas Handley’s own self-reflection.

After students have completed the tables, facilitate a brief discussion with the class about the biographical information they have noted. Students might refer to some of Lucas’s motivations or the concerns he expresses about marine health and coral bleaching. Encourage students to think about and identify what they feel is the most interesting aspect of this information before moving to Part C of the lesson.

Take Action: Writing a short biography

Step 1

Project the Valerie Taylor Biography as an example of a biographical text and read through it with the class. While reading through, ask students to identify some of the features of biographies they can identify, such as her accomplishments, overall goal and contributions, as well as the formality of language and use of third person, past and present tense and descriptive language.

Step 2

Invite students to use the space on the Student Worksheet to plan, draft and revise a short biography of 250-300 words about Lucas Handley. They can use the example they have just read to get some ideas of structure. Encourage the class to find some further information through research or from the clip that was watched in the lesson.

Point out that the emphasis of this biographical text should be on using some of the reflective elements from Part B of the lesson, as well as using visual elements to enhance the meaning and engagement level of the text. The images on the Ocean and Coral Stimulus Images could be used, as well as any imagery of the ocean that students can find through online research. Students should also pay close attention to the meaning contributed by visual elements such as layout, font choices, image selection and colour themes.

Remind the class that a good biography draws on something interesting or engaging about the person to ‘hook’ the reader, so they should focus on the aspect of Lucas Handley’s ‘story’ that they find most interesting or that they feel would be most interesting for readers.

Encourage students to complete a self and peer edit of their work using the Editing Checklist. The Lucas Handley Biography might also provide students with some further information to refine their biography during editing.

Step 3

Invite students to display their biographical texts around the room and facilitate a gallery walk by having students quietly and safely walk around reading each other's biography before bringing the class back to identify and discuss some of the key features and content.

Learning extension: Students can enhance their biographies of Lucas Handley, using images and some visual design/creative layout skills to make it a feature biography. These could be printed and displayed around the classroom. Depending on time and resources, students could work in small group to edit together a short video biography of Lucas Handley, or record narration over a PowerPoint presentation.

Reflection

Use the 'Headlines' visible thinking routine to encourage students to succinctly and precisely communicate their own understanding of a key contribution or aspect of Lucas Handley’s life and contribution. Explain to the class that this thinking routine draws on the idea of newspaper-type headlines as a way to sum up and capture the essence of an event, idea, concept, or topic. Ask students to respond to the following question on the Student Worksheet:

If you were to write a headline right now that captured the most important aspect that should be remembered about Lucas Handley and his work with marine ecosystems, ocean health and marine science, what would that headline be?

Blue - 'Lucas Handley' Biographical Writing

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Summary

Learning intentions:

Students will:

Success criteria:

Students can:

Lesson Guides and Printables

Lesson Details

Skills

Curriculum Mapping

Resources Required

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Additional Info

Related Professional Learning

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