Blue - Tuning In With Turtles

Australian Curriculum content descriptions:

Year 9 English:

• Understand that authors innovate with text structures and language for specific purposes and effects (ACELA1553)
• Explore and reflect on personal understanding of the world and significant human experience gained from interpreting various representations of life matters in texts (ACELT1635)

Syllabus outcomes: EN5-2A, EN5-7D.

General capabilities: Literacy, Critical and Creative Thinking.

Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability.

Relevant parts of Year 9 English achievement standards: Students analyse and explain how images, vocabulary choices and language features distinguish the work of individual authors. They select evidence from texts to analyse and explain how language choices and conventions are used to influence an audience. Students listen for ways texts position an audience. Students understand how to use a variety of language features to create different levels of meaning.

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

Time required: 60 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
• Turtles and Plastics Stimulus Images
• Ghost Nets Factsheet

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

• Empathy
• Communication
• 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.