Teaching Sequence

15 minutes	Part B: Pitch Planning
30 minutes	Part C: Pitch Delivery
10 minutes	Reflection

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

Part A: Activating Prior Knowledge

Step 1.

Begin this lesson by inviting students to share their responses to the following question through a brief class discussion:

What is permaculture?

Recap student understanding by explaining that permaculture is a set of agriculture and social design principles that aim to create a more sustainable society. Permaculture creates designed solutions for how we grow food and animal products, catch and use energy, manage water and build communities.

Step 2.

Now, invite students to move into the working groups they were in during the previous lesson. Groups should then access the design brief created in the previous lesson and to recap on their design by working in their groups to discuss the following:

What idea are did you develop?
What need does this idea address?
How does this idea incorporate the principles and ethics of permaculture?
Is there anything you would like to change about your idea? What could be improved or amended?

Allow groups several minutes to discuss their answers. If necessary, provide students with the time to further discuss or undertake any changes or amendments they want to make to their designs.

You can then explain to students that in this lesson they will be guided through the preparation and delivery of their idea to the school community. This is called a 'pitch'.

Part B: Pitch Planning

Step 1.

Explain that students will need to pitch their design to convince others of its merit and necessity. Explain that a pitch is a quick overview of a project that convinces and interests people who you want involved in a project to find out more about the project. If you would like to show students some great examples of pitches about food, you might consider screening a few FoodBytes project pitches.

Invite students to access the Project Pitch Points on the Student Worksheet. This will give them all the information that they need to create their pitch. By responding to these points, all their project information will be in a clear and usable format. If you have worked through the entire series of these lessons, you will find the students have already created all the information they need and can find it in their workbooks and Student Worksheets.

Step 2.

Allow the groups time to respond to the Project Pitch Points. Check in with the groups as they work in case students have questions about any of the points.

The Pitch Factsheet may also be useful in helping students design and develop their pitches.

Step 3.

Now, invite students to begin scripting their pitches. Explain that students will have two minutes maximum to do their pitches and all members of their group should play a part in their short presentation. If your class needs further instruction, the following pitch structure based around a school's recycling issues can be useful:

Hook: Something relatable and interesting to capture the audience's attention, for example, "Isn't it annoying how much rubbish gets left in our playground after lunch? We have bins and know how to use them but for some reason, there are always plastic wrappers all over the oval by the time the bell rings."
Challenge: Explain the problem that your idea will combat, for example, "Greenpeace says that the average person produces 1.5 tonnes of waste a year. Most of which is single-use plastic and will take thousands of years to break down in our environment."
Solution: Describe your solution, for example, "We propose a simple and effective solution, the school recycle exchange. In the last 10 minutes of lunch and recess, the canteen will give out stamps on loyalty cards. One stamp per recyclable item that you bring in. Fill a card with 30 stamps and get yourself $5 off your next purchase at the canteen."
Ask: What do you need to make your idea a reality, for example, "Council members, we can not do this without your support. Our canteen provides important revenue for our school. But, with your sponsorship of $1000 a year you can help clean up our school, provide more affordable nutritious meals for 200 students every year and we would love to add your branding to every student stamp card, as a show of our gratitude for your kind support. We have been the School Recycle Exchange team, thank you for your time."

Explain to the class that this structure is just a suggestion and if they want to get creative with their pitches this is encouraged.

Invite students to use all the resources available to their groups. If they have artists in their groups get them to create an infographic, if there are students that are awesome at mathematics ask them to create a graph, of if there are musicians they can crate a memorable hook with an opening rap or jingle about the project.

Part C: Pitch Delivery

Step 1.

Set a timer and invite students to pitch their designs to the rest of the class. If you have worked through the full series of 6 lessons, you may wish to expand this activity. You could create a panel of students, teachers and maybe even the principal or community members to listen to each student proposal.

Step 2.

After the pitches, invite each group to set up their proposal around the room.

Differentiation:

If students have pitched to the class, use the' half stay, half walk away' method to facilitate discussion. In this model, half the students in the group stay with their project proposals to further explain it to others. The other half of the group casually visit the other students asking them questions about their project that may have arisen during their pitches.
If your audience extends beyond students in the classroom, invite groups to stay with their projects and to answer any further questions about their project that may have arisen during their pitches.

You could work with your students and audience to select one idea to actually implement in the school.

Step 3.

At the end of this sharing session invite groups to come back together and invite groups to share their experiences of their pitch, including the following questions:

What things about your project did people react positively to and how could you further enhance these elements of the project?
What things about your project did people suggest may need to change and how could you alter these elements of the project?
What parts of other people's projects inspired you and how might you utilise these elements in your project?
How could you take the next step in making your idea a reality?

Part D: Celebrate (OPTIONAL)

With your project complete, it’s time to recognise and celebrate the accomplishments of your students. Take the time to think about the work you've done and to celebrate your success with the community.

An important part of real-world learning is the opportunity for students to present their learning in a public arena. This could mean:

Hosting people from the local community at an exhibition where the process and final products of students’ projects are displayed as posters.
Sharing a newsletter about students’ projects and distributing it to families and community members.
Producing and screening a two-minute film that documents students’ projects.
Planning and creating a presentation to share with the school community at assembly.
Another idea of your choosing.

Students should use this celebration to demonstrate how successful and important student efforts are. Students could also incorporate their ideas for future action into the presentation of their work, and use it as a platform for generating support for future projects.

The main objective is that work (including the process) is presented publicly, thus making it authentic and real.

Reflection

Invite students to complete the following reflection in their groups, recording their responses on the Student Worksheet:

What things about your project did people react positively to and how could you further enhance these elements of the project?
What things about your project did people suggest may need to change and how could you alter these elements of the project?
What parts of other people's projects inspired you and how might you utilise these elements in your project?
How could you take the next step in making your idea a reality?

Differentiated Learning

Extension: Students who finish early can work to create a draft budget for their proposal, considering all the materials and resources they will need in the short term and long term (i.e. what is needed to establish the project and what might be needed annually to sustain the project?). This could also be used as an opportunity to think creatively about how the original proposals could be amended to reduce expenditure by, for example, incorporating more recycled materials or approaching local nurseries for donations.

Provisions for Learning Support: Students who require extra support can work in smaller groups. Instead of planning a new project, they can choose an existing project that they like on the website www.permacultureprinciples.com and plan a way to replicate it in their school.

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

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

Creative Sustainability - Sharing a Permaculture Design

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