Teaching Sequence

25 minutes	Part A: “What makes us click isn’t a device”
30 minutes	Part B: Applying the message
60 minutes	Part C: Spreading the message for the benefit of others
05 minutes	Reflection

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

Part A: “What makes us click isn’t a device”

Before the lesson, print enough copies of the Chalk-Talk visible thinking tool so that groups of 4-5 to will have a set each. Printing the tool on A3 size paper would be ideal.

Step 1.

Play the Planet Ark National Tree Day promotional video: “What makes us click isn’t a device” to the class.

National Tree Day video - What makes us click isn't a device (https://vimeo.com/173675004)

The message of the video could be amplified by taking your class outdoors for the rest of the lesson. Choose somewhere in the school yard where students can still write and draw - perhaps take a set of clipboards outside with you. Before you go, have a discussion with your class about behaviour protocols and what they expect of themselves and each other so that the class can fully benefit from the change in scenery and stay safe.

Step 2.

Organise students into mixed ability groups, and invite groups to use the Chalk-Talk visible thinking tool to have a silent, written 'conversation' focused on what they noticed in and understood about the “What makes us click isn’t a device” video. This approach supports students to take time to consider their responses, to feel confident to contribute and be able to respond to each other's contributions.

The Chalk-Talk visible thinking tool works best when:

Students write their thoughts down on the paper without chatting for 5-10 minutes.
While students are working, the teacher moves between groups and prompts students to connect ideas on the page, elaborate on other students ideas, comment on what others have written and ask each other to provide more detail (this should all be done in writing, so that the conversation is silent.)
After they have noted their ideas, ask students to spend some time reading the paper to notice what has been written and then have a spoken conversation within their group to discuss any themes that have emerged, as well as any common issues and reactions. You could also ask students to identify anything that surprised them.
Each group then shares 1-2 of the themes, issues and reactions they noted with the rest of the class.

To begin the activity, ask students to move their chairs so that they are sitting in small circles or pods of about 4-5 students. Give each group a set of the Chalk-Talk visible thinking tool print-outs and explain to the class that they can use the tool to explore what they saw in the video. Students are prompted with two questions - they should respond to these one at a time in their groups.

Once students have debriefed what they have written down and noticed during the Chalk-Talk exercise as a group, you could also ask them to consider the process, too. Ask groups to consider how their thinking changed and/or developed during the Chalk Talk activity.

Students are prompted with the following on each sheet:

Write your ideas, thoughts, questions and wonderings on the main message of the clip. What does it want the audience to do differently?
Write your ideas, thoughts, questions and wonderings on how the messages of the clip are communicated. How does the clip ‘show’ its message to the audience?

During the activity, you could prompt student thinking with these questions:

What is the video’s message in relation to our use of devices?
What does the video say about nature?
What links between nature and health are created in the video?
Does the video have a serious tone? If not, what is the ‘tone’ of the clip?
How is humour used to convey the message?
Parody is ‘a humorously exaggerated imitation’. Is this video an example of parody? (The video is a ‘parody’ of a more serious public health message. It looks like a traditional health message video, but delivers its message in a more humorous way.)
What are the people in the video doing that shows the video’s messages?

Part B: Applying the message

Step 1.

Hand each student a copy of the Average daily activities worksheet and explain that they should list the activities that they engage in on an average day. Students then examine the activities they have listed and, using three different colours, indicate whether each activity involves the use of a device and whether it is undertaken indoors or outdoors.

Step 2.

Invite students to assess their average day and consider the amount of time they spend using a device versus the amount of time they spend in nature. Students are asked to respond to these questions in relation to their daily activities (also available on the Average daily activities worksheet):

On average, how many hours a day do you spend using a device?
Do you think you spend enough time in nature?
What is one thing that you could change/swap so that you spend more time outside and in nature?
Think back to the information about the benefits of spending time in nature included in the Planet Ark "What makes us click isn't a device" video, including participating in School Tree Day - how would you benefit from spending more time in nature?

Inform your students that Planet Ark's Schools Tree Day is great way to get out in nature! They could also use the “daily tips’ section of the 30x30 Challenge website for ideas about how to spend more time in nature.

Part C: Spreading the message for the benefit of others

Step 1.

Inform students that they have the opportunity to work in groups to create a short film to encourage more people to spend more time in nature and educate them about the benefits of doing so.

Ask students to think about what they want their audience to do as a result of watching their video. Students could think about how they personally plan on spending more time in nature, and consider how they might share that in an inspiring way via video.
Students should also think about the techniques they will use in their film to grab the attention of their audience. For example, will they use parody and humour? Remind your class of the way that Planet Ark used humour and parody to convey the message in the “What makes us click is not our devices” video.
The film must have a focus on providing strategies to improve people’s health and wellbeing by spending less time on their devices and more time in nature.

Step 2.

Coordinate students to form groups of 3-5. Groups could form based on common ideas or be mixed-ability (in light of the self-directed nature of the project).

Step 3.

Invite students to start thinking about what they want their film to be about and look like. Before beginning this stage of planning, explain to students that the film should focus on conveying ideas and information about the benefits of spending time in nature and may include genres such as animation, humour, comedy, drama and musical. The film can tell a story, be a song or a documentary. A suggested time for the film is 3 minutes.

Give each group some paper and textas. Invite groups to brainstorm ideas for what the film might look like. Ask students to start thinking about how they might engage their audience and what techniques they might use in their message to grab the attention of their audience. For example, will they use humour or music?

Ask each group to select their favourite idea and develop it in more detail, imagining a brief plot or structure and describing the key events or features of the film. Give each group a copy of this Storyboard template - they can use it to map out their ideas and imagine how they will look on the screen. Groups should check that their draft idea flows in a way that makes sense and is conveying a specific message to the audience.

Step 4.

Once they have decided on an idea, groups can start planning their film in more detail. They can use the Student Worksheet to guide their thoughts and record their ideas. Students can use the How to make a short film help sheet to help them understand some of the steps that may need to be taken and the resources required when making a short film.

Step 5.

Once each group has planned their film, they can start to make it! This will include both shooting and post-production. See the How to Make a short film help sheet for more information on these stages. It is recommended that you give students some tight deadlines to work to. This helps students focus on the task in a directed and collaborative way. For example, let students know that they have one period to film and another two periods to edit. The timeline should direct the task ... remind students that their films don’t need to look like a big-screen blockbuster!

Step 6.

After students’ films are finalised, consider holding a viewing session at school. During the screening, students could engage in peer-to-peer assessment by using the Peer film assessment rubric.

Step 7.

Encourage students to share their films! Invite other students, teachers and parents to watch the films. This could even be done by uploading student’s film onto a free video-sharing platform such as Vimeo and sending the links for people to view and comment on. You could also send student's videos to Planet Ark! They want to see how Australian students are making a world of difference with their bright ideas - they can forward files and links of their films to treeday@planetark.org

Reflection

Ask students to reflect on the process of putting together a film as a group. They should think about the challenges they faced both individually and as a group, identify what they did well, and how they could improve their approach in future.

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

What was the message of your short film?
How did you convince your audience of the message?
How do you feel about being able to change people's minds by creating a short film?
What was your favourite part of this lesson?
Describe something you reckon you did pretty well.
Describe something you might do differently next time.
After participating in this lesson, how would you rate your ability to include a specific message in a film?

Extension

Encourage students to think about a person in their life who might benefit from a 'prescription of nature'. They could share the "What makes us click isn't a device" video with that person.

Students could plan their own Planet Ark's School Tree Day event. This could involve your class planning and coordinating the event for other students in the school.

The class could use this Project Planning Tool to plan their event.

A important part of project-based learning is the provision of an opportunity for students to present their learning in a public forum. This celebrates student achievement and learning and could look like a newsletter article or class blog post detailing student's projects.

Schools Tree Day - What makes us click isn't a device (Secondary)

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