Teaching Sequence

10 minutes	Part A: How do I Connect to my World?
30 minutes	Part B: Recalling Connections Between Paul Kelly and his World
30 minutes	Part C: Our Connection to Local Issues
20 minutes	Part D: More About the Issues that Matter to us
30 minutes	Part E: Raising Community Awareness
60 minutes	Part F: Public Display of Learning
10 minutes	Reflection/Homework

Part A: How do I Connect to my World?

Students reflect on how they connect to the different segments of their own lives using this How do I Connect to my World diagram to guide them. They should fill in each of the segments with the people, events, things, etc that they believe influence them at each level.

Influences could include things like: parents, carers, relatives and friends. They could also include local events and institutions such as youth centres, school, influence of rules and laws. Students should consider the way they interact with world events such as wars, famines, changes in leadership of other nations. Encourage students to think about what they see and hear about their world and how it they connect to it.

Part B: Recalling Connections Between Paul Kelly and his World

Step 1.

Remind students about the documentary and their prior learning throughout the unit. Start by modelling the activity. Invite students to arrange themselves so that they are sitting in a large circle, and in the style of a storyteller, recall the parts of Paul Kelly - Stories of Me, as well as the sections of the unit of study that were most memorable for you (this will model what is expected of students in the nest step). You could illustrate the connection Paul Kelly has with each of the systems (as per the diagram in Part A) in his own life, and remind students about the main themes of the documentary (including representation, creativity, social justice, hope, resilience, etc.) Try to create a sense of story for your class.

Step 2.

Ask students to move with their chairs so that they form small circles of 3-4. Each group should think about and tell each other (one at a time using a story-telling style) their recollection of experiences and the stories told throughout Paul Kelly - Stories of Me. Invite students to consider the connection that Paul Kelly has to each segment of the diagram, the change that Paul Kelly created through his music and the impact that he has has upon people's lives through his art.

After their verbal recollection, ask students to summarise their thoughts on the Student Worksheet. They will be prompted with the following:

What is it about Paul Kelly - Stories of Me that you remember the most? Describe the details using the 5Ws: Who, What, Where, When, Why.

Step 3.

Hear from each of the groups about their memories of the documentary, and summarise their recollections on a piece of butcher’s paper (not the whiteboard, as it is advisable that this record of thinking be kept rather than erased) with "The impact of Paul Kelly" written in the middle of the page.

Part C: Our Connection to Local Issues

Note that some of Paul Kelly's music commented on social issues faced by certain groups in society. He connected to this part of his own community through the songs he wrote. This is demonstrated in songs such as "From Little Things Big Things Grow" and "Little Kings" which he wrote about the issue of Aboriginal Land Rights.

This activity aims to connect students' experiences in their community and issues that are identified by students with how they can take action to raise awareness around them.

Step 1.

Remaining in the same groups as the previous step, ask students to think about their local community by having a brief discussion around two questions:

What do we like about our community?
What don't we like about our community?

Ask each group to share their likes and dislikes and record their responses on the whiteboard under the headings "things we like" and "things we don't like"

Step 2.

Ask students to engage in a class brainstorm to identify the social issues that are embedded in the things they like and dislike about their community. On a piece of butcher's paper titled "issues in our community" (so that you can keep it rather than wipe it off the board), make a list of students suggestions. Suggestions could be things like:

young people don't have many things to do in our local community
there are no options for after hours study spaces in our community
young people are finding it difficult to get casual work
not enough people are aware of the services offered by the local library

Part D: More About the Issues that Matter to Us

Step 1.

Invite students to choose an issue they feel passionate about from the brainstormed list and form groups of 3-4 based on the issue they would like to raise awareness around.

Step 2.

Students could then begin to dig deeper into the issue. They can research and frame an awareness-raising campaign that draws the local community's attention to it. You could remind students about how Paul Kelly raises awareness to social issues through some of his songs, for example "From Little Things Big Things Grow" and "Little Kings". Groups should record their answers on the table below which can be found on the Student Worksheet.

The social issue we've identified in our community
Factors that are involved in the social issue - describe the details a little more
How can we find out more about the issue? Who can we ask more about the issue? What can we read? e.g. newspaper reports Where can we find out more information? e.g. has the issue affected other communities? What have/can we observe? e.g. observational research What data exists/can we collect? e.g. surveys
What is the intended impact of our project?
What could we do to raise awareness around the issue?	e.g. songs art newspaper articles/news report/current affairs reports letter to editor protests letter to authorities (such as local council, principal of the school) social media campaign Change.org campaign (online petition to prompt action)

Students should have a list of things that they would like to find out about their chosen issue- you could end the first section of this lesson here and set homework for students to conduct independent research then bring what they have found to the next class. Alternatively, students could undertake research during classtime where you will be available to guide them and check in with the class on a semi-regular basis.

Part E: Raising Community Awareness Project

Step 1.

Invite groups vote to decide on the action that they will take- this could depend on what they have discovered around their chosen issue and the access they have to resources.

Step 2.

Encourage students to use the Project Planning - Our Tips for Success and the table on the Student Worksheet to plan their awareness-raising campaign. They should designate tasks amongst each group member and set deadlines for the completion of each task. The table also asks students to record the process they go through for each step. This aims to encourage students to gather artefacts/pictures/information that they can use to showcase their campaign at the end of the project.

Step 3.

Students then carry out the actions they've planned to raise the awareness of the local community about their selected issue.

Part F: Public Display of Learning

Remember to emphasise that each group member should take responsibility for collecting evidence and artefacts about the work that they put into the project, including drafts of everything they create as part of the project and records of any opportunities they pursue (either successfully or unsuccessfully). The most important thing for students to remember is that the PROCESS of completing the project is really important - perhaps even more than the final product. Students should aim to demonstrate the growth and learning that they experience both personally and as a group as a result of facing the challenges inherent in a project of this type. An important part of real-world learning such as in this project 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 student projects are displayed as posters. It could mean creating a newsletter about students' projects and distributing it to parents and community members. Another option could be producing and screening a two-minute film that documents student's projects. The main objective is that student work (including the process) is presented publicly, thus making it authentic and real.

This exhibition of learning could include an added layer of explanation of the inspiration for the projects - namely the influence of Paul Kelly's songs, the social commentary within them and the awareness that they raised in the Australian population about various social issues.

Reflection/Homework

Students are asked to respond to the following questions on the Student Worksheet:

What is the change that you would like to see as a result of your awareness-raising project?
What are the skills and qualities that you brought to the group during the awareness-raising project?
What are some areas that you need to work on for future projects?
How could you take this project further?

Differentiated Learning

Extension: Encourage students to consider the soft-skills that they are developing throughout the project and write a reflective journal piece at the end of each session spent working on the project.

Provisional Learning Support: Ensure that each student in the class makes a choice about their group members that will increase their chance for success.

PAUL KELLY - STORIES OF ME - Taking Action

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