Dying To Live - How Stories Change Minds

Australian curriculum content descriptions: 

Year 9 English:

• Explore and reflect on personal understanding of the world and significant human experience gained from interpreting various representations of life matters in texts (ACELT1635)
• Investigate and experiment with the use and effect of extended metaphor, metonymy, allegory, icons, myths and symbolism in texts, for example poetry, short films, graphic novels, and plays on similar themes (ACELT1637) 

Year 10 English:

• Evaluate the social, moral and ethical positions represented in texts (ACELT1812)
• Identify, explain and discuss how narrative viewpoint, structure, characterisation and devices including analogy and satire shape different interpretations and responses to a text (ACELT1642) 

Syllabus outcomes: EN5-3B, EN5-4B, EN5-7D, EN5-2A, ENLS-10B, ENLS-14D, ENLS-15D, ENLS-5A, ENLS-6A, ENLS-7A 

General capabilities: Literacy, Ethical understanding

Relevant parts of Year 9 achievement standards: Students evaluate and integrate ideas and information from texts to form their own interpretations. They select evidence from texts to analyse and explain how language choices and conventions are used to influence an audience. They listen for ways texts position an audience.

Relevant parts of Year 10 achievement standards: Students develop and justify their own interpretations of texts. They evaluate other interpretations, analysing the evidence used to support them. They listen for ways features within texts can be manipulated to achieve particular effects.

Unit of work: Dying to Live – English – Year 9 & 10

Time required: 60 mins

Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium – facilitate class discussion

• Student Worksheets – one copy per student
• Device capable of presenting a video to the class
• Seed Discussion Posters – printed
• Article: How Stories Change the Brain – printed, one per student
• Dramatic Arc Factsheet – printed, one per student

• Communication
• Creativity
• Critical thinking
• Empathy

Dying To Live is a documentary feature film examining organ and tissue donation and transplantation in Australia through seven different stories highlighting the social, physical and emotional effects of being on the organ donor waiting list. The film also aims to dispel myths about organ and tissue donation while encouraging family conversations so that family members are aware of their loved ones’ donation intentions. Find out how to screen or view the film here.