Student Worksheet

Activity Instructions

Students will...

You will recognise one way society could adapt to the impacts of changing climates
You will understand different persuasive techniques and how these can be used to argue for and/or against an issue.

Students can...

You can identify and apply various persuasive techniques
You can read and reflect on a news article and formulate your own opinion on an issue
You can write a persuasive letter that expresses your own opinion.

Part A: Read the article by The Conversation below

As bushfire and holiday seasons converge, it may be time to say goodbye to the typical Australian summer holiday

David Bowman, University of Tasmania

For 40 years I have studied bushfires in Australia. It has been my life’s work to try to better understand Australian landscapes and the interaction of humans and landscape fire.

As we contemplate a future where catastrophes like the one currently engulfing Australia become increasingly frequent, there’s an idea to which I keep returning: maybe it’s time to say goodbye to the typical summer Australian holiday.

Perhaps it’s time to rearrange Australian calendar and reschedule the peak holiday period to March or April, instead of December and January.

It’s easy to dismiss this idea as stupid but that’s the nature of adaptation. Things that once seemed absurd will now need serious consideration.

What’s truly absurd is the business-as-usual approach that sees thousands of holidaymakers heading directly into forests and national parks right in the middle of peak bushfire season.

Bushfire evacuees walking down to the beach at Mallacoota to board vessels and be ferried out to HMAS Choules. HELEN FRANK/Royal Australian Navy/AAP

All of the indications are that we are galloping into changing fire regimes. We can certainly see that with what’s occurred in the Australian alps (the snow country in southeastern Australia, near Mount Kosciuszko). There were incredibly intense fires there around the early 2000s and now those areas are re-burning.

To me, as a fire researcher, that’s an astonishing thought.

Yes, there have been very large fires in the past but they weren’t followed up with yet more very large fires a mere 15 years later. Normally, you’d be expecting a gap of 50 or 100 years. So the ecology is telling us that we are seeing the intervals between the fires shrinking. That is a really big warning sign.

And this increasingly frequent fire activity is completely consistent with what climate modelling was suggesting. The whole system is moving to a world that is hotter, drier, and with more frequent fire activity. It’s what was forecast and it’s what is now happening.

Big holidays in peak fire season

One of the great exacerbating factors of this crisis is the fact that it’s occurring in a holiday period. It makes things incredibly difficult for emergency management. The fact is that it would be a lot easier for firefighters to focus on stemming fires if they didn’t also have to manage mass evacuations, and deal with populations that are dispersed and far from home.

Scheduling the major Australian holiday at the same time as bushfire season also makes things extremely difficult for the enterprises that depend on the holiday trade. You need certainty to run a business and timing the major annual Australian holiday period with bushfire season strips certainty away from these business owners.

It’s also really terrible for holidaymakers themselves. People are in desperate need of a break, to spend time with family. Instead of returning to work rested and re-energised, many will be stressed, tired, perhaps even traumatised. (And let’s not forget the firefighters themselves, also denied a break with friends and family over the holidays).

And having the major holiday right in the middle of bushfire season also means that many people are denied a chance to experience national parks, as authorities close them off to reduce risk.

Rural Fire Service personnel at a roadblock near a bushfire in North Nowra, a popular holiday spot 160km south of Sydney. AAP/MICK TSIKAS

Adaptation means change, and change is hard

The old idea was that we can head off the crisis by reducing our emissions through decarbonisation. We had an opportunity to do that and we didn’t take it. We still have to decarbonise but now we also have to adapt.

And the sort of adaptation needed is not just about infrastructure, it’s also about the way we shape our lifestyle, our culture and traditions.

Climate change adaptation will nearly always be met with political, social and cultural resistance. It is not easy. But something like completely rearranging the Australian calendar around increased risks – it’s not even the biggest change required of us.

Some of the other things we are going to have to do will at first seem absurd, will be unbelievably painful economically and will require major adjustments.

There’s going to need to be a systematic change in behaviour and lifestyle as we adapt.

This crisis occurring in peak holiday time is highlighting the fact that the assumptions of normality we have got are being challenged by climate change.

It is confronting, but adaptation also brings with it great benefits – less loss of life, greater certainty and opportunity for businesses and holidaymakers, and smoother handling of fire crises as they emerge.

We need to put some serious thought into what future life will be like under climate change. Perhaps shifting peak holiday season to the cooler months is the place to start.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Part B: Finding The Answer

Step 1.

Use a dictionary or an online dictionary such as: https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/ to find the definitions of the following persuasive techniques. Record your answers in the table below.

Step 2.

Below are some general examples of the persuasive techniques above. Identify the persuasive technique that matches the example given in the space provided.

Cross them off as you go.

Metaphor	Simile	Personification
Alliteration	Repetition	Inclusive language
Anecdote	Hyperbole	Evidence

.

Step 3.

Re-read the article, ‘As bushfires and holiday seasons converge, it may be time to say goodbye to the typical Australian summer holiday’.

Use a dictionary or an online dictionary such as: https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/ to find the definitions of the following words. Record your answers in the space provided:.

Step 4.

Answer the following questions about the article.

Summarise the article in 30 words or less.

Describe the key messages of this article.

What information presented in this article is contentious or disputed by those featured in this article? Provide reasons.

What is the author’s point of view on the content of the article? Provide three pieces of evidence from the article that demonstrate this is their point of view.

Thinking about the content of the article and the author’s opinion, do you agree or disagree with their point of view? Provide three of your own reasons why you either agree or disagree.

Step 5.

Your turn. Can you find some of your own examples of persuasive techniques in the article? These could be techniques from above or others you have previously learnt. Write them into the table when you find them. Aim to find three.

Part C: Putting It All Together

Step 1.

Using the template below, plan a letter that you might write to a family member, a friend, a classmate or a teacher on the topic, ‘Should we change our school and work calendars to fit with changing climatic conditions?’

Reason 1

My first reason I have this contention is because…

What persuasive technique could you use here?

Reason 2

My second reason I have this contention is because…

What persuasive technique could you use here?

Reason 3

My third reason I have this contention is because …

What persuasive technique could you use here?

Reason 4

My fourth reason I have this contention is because …

What persuasive technique could you use here?

Opposing view

What is a reason on the opposite side of yours?

What reasons or evidence of your own can you provide to argue against this reason?

Step 2.

Now write a letter to a friend, classmate or family member. You can type this in a new document using your computer using your planning above.

If you would like some extra support, you can use the letter template below to get you started.

Persuasive Letter Template

Step 3.

Edit your work. Read back through the letter you have just written and check for each of the following things:

Have you created a separate paragraph for each point you are making?
Have you used a variety of sentence lengths and structures?
Can you strengthen any key words using a thesaurus?
Have you included at least three different persuasive techniques from earlier in this lesson (or some you already knew)?

Start A Conversation

Connect and collaborate with classmates.

Send your letter to a classmate. Have them read your letter and highlight the persuasive techniques you used.
If you are familiar with Google Docs you could share it that way to get instant feedback. Make sure you give your friend editing abilities.
Ask them to respond to you by writing their own persuasive letter that addresses your contention and reasons and providing their own contention and reasons.

Taking It Further

Change the audience of your letter to your local politician.

Write: Re-write your letter using more formal language;
Research: Find out who your local member is for either the Senate or the House of Representatives and address the letter to them.
Check: Have someone (a teacher or guardian) check over your letter and then send it to you local member.

Bushfires Wrecked My Holiday!

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