Blue - Powerful Persuasion on the Plastic Problem

Australian curriculum content descriptions:

Year 10 English:

• Analyse and evaluate how people, cultures, places, events, objects and concepts are represented in texts, including media texts, through language, structural and/or visual choices (ACELY1749).
• Evaluate the impact on audiences of different choices in the representation of still and moving images (ACELA1572).
• Compare the purposes, text structures and language features of traditional and contemporary texts in different media (ACELA1566).

Syllabus outcomes: EN5-1A, EN5-6C, EN5-8D

General capabilities: Literacy, Critical and Creative Thinking

Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability OI.7, OI.9

Relevant parts of Year 10 English achievement standards: Students evaluate how text structures can be used in innovative ways by different authors. They explain how the choice of language features, images and vocabulary contributes to the development of individual style. They listen for ways features within texts can be manipulated to achieve particular effects. Students explain different viewpoints, attitudes and perspectives through the development of cohesive and logical arguments.

Unit of work: Blue The Film – English – Year 9&10

Time required: 90 mins.

Level of teacher scaffolding: High – facilitate class discussion and assess student work.

• Student Worksheet – one per student
• Device capable of presenting a website to the class
• Rhetorical Devices Factsheet (one per student)
• How Do We Combat Our Plastic Addiction? – Transcript (optional)

This lesson is designed to build students’ competencies in the following skills:

• Communication
• Creativity
• Critical thinking
• Global citizenship
• Social skills

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.