Teaching Sequence

30 minutes	Part A: What is Compassion?
35 minutes	Part B: Appreciating Emotive Language
40 minutes	Part C: Found Poetry
15 minutes	Reflection

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

Part A: What is Compassion?

Step 1.

Explain to the class that the focus of this lesson is to gain a better understanding of the concept of 'compassion' and how it may or may not be present in different responses to people seeking asylum. Establish some background to the concept of compassion by showing students the following clips from Chasing Asylum, which include reference to the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention as well as footage from an offshore detention centre. While watching the clips, encourage students to observe and interpret information and begin developing curiosity for future inquiry by noting their responses in the 'See, Think, Wonder' activity on the Student Worksheet. In addition to this, ask students to be prepared to incorporate what they see in the next part of the lesson.

Chasing Asylum Clip 3 (https://vimeo.com/183257809/0c7e6811f5)

Chasing Asylum Clip 5 (https://vimeo.com/183257810/9d6b8fa85e)

Step 2.

After watching the clips, invite students to share their responses. They might recall seeing the son and daughter of Tahira asking about their father, thinking about Tahira’s explanation of what she hopes for, or wondering about the apparent unknowns for which Tahira needs an answer. Students might also refer to the legal and historical explanations of the UN Refugee Convention, the footage from inside the detention centre, the interview footage with the male asylum seeker or Mark Isaacs talking about 'limbo'. While discussing these responses, encourage students to think critically about the content in terms of any emotions or feelings they identified or felt while watching.

Step 3.

Project the slide featuring the two quotes below on the board and ask students to read each. Lead a quick discussion that compares each of the quotes in terms of compassion. (Both quotes have been obtained from here.)

The most humanitarian, the most decent, the most compassionate thing you can do is stop these boats because hundreds, we think 1200 in fact drowned at sea during the flourishing of the people smuggling trade under the former government
Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott in response to United Nations Report Criticising Australia's treatment of asylum seekers in offshore detention.

Australia signed up to the convention against torture 30 years ago. We did so because as a nation we agreed with the important minimum standards of treatment it guaranteed. Yet here we are 30 years on, knowingly breaching those standards and causing serious damage to our reputation.
Human Rights Law Centre Director of Legal Advocacy Daniel Webb in response to the same report.

Invite students to summarise their comparison using a Venn Diagram. This is a useful strategy to help visualise the similarities and differences in the quotes and the meanings they create. Students might refer to compassion as it is used in the first quote and relate it to the footage from the two clips. They might highlight the reference in the second quote about standards of treatment and link it to the footage they saw in the earlier clips.

Step 4.

Explain to students that they now have the opportunity to demonstrate their own understanding of compassion and the ways we can show or experience compassion. Give each student a printed copy of the Compassion - Word Cluster graphic. This word cluster is a graphic organiser that can help students visualise connections between words and concepts, build their vocabulary and distinguish between shades of meaning of similar words and concepts.

Invite students to write the word ‘compassion’ in the centre oval and then consider four synonyms, features or examples of compassion around it (for example: care, kindness, sympathy, pity). In each of the subsequent ovals, students should list further synonyms of each of the words they have added.

To provide inspiration or to extend students' vocabulary, navigate to https://visuwords.com and enter the word 'compassion' or 'compassionate' into the box and see the results. This online resource is an interactive online dictionary and thesaurus that displays the connections between words or concepts. Hovering over an item in the word web will reveal a definition or explanation.

After students have completed their word cluster diagram, ask them to synthesise the understanding of compassion they've developed into a succinct definition - 50 words or less - in the space provided on the Student Worksheet. Ask volunteers to share their definitions and if needed, lead a class discussion about the slight differences in what students have written to highlight the shades of meaning that exist between individuals' interpretations. For example, identify synonyms that students have used and discuss the difference each word makes by swapping them in each definition.

Part B: Appreciating Emotive Language

Step 1.

Introduce the next part of the lesson by explaining to students that language has power. Specific meaning can be conveyed through language; sometimes even one word. Distribute or ask students to access the opinion piece written by David Marr for the Guardian online - David Marr article - Student copy.

Explain to students that David Marr is an Australian writer, essayist and commentator who advocates for the humane treatment of refugees and asylum seekers. This opinion piece was published in conjunction with the release of files about treatment and conditions in the detention centre on Nauru. Explain to students that the article is David Marr’s opinion and they should try to identify the powerful and emotive language he uses to communicate his opinion. Note that this piece does refer to some mature themes/concepts.

Step 2.

Read through the article with the class (this could be through a round-robin process or with volunteers). Pause to explain and discuss with the class any challenging concepts or words that might need defining. Lead these brief discussions to focus on how the language chosen influences readers about the topic. Ask students about the effect of this language, for example: “What comes to mind when you hear the phrase/word/expression…?”

The David Marr article - Teacher copy has some of these key phrases or expressions highlighted already, and can be used to help guide the deconstruction, analysis and discussion with the class.

Hot tip: Depending on the requirements of individual students, it is possible to differentiate by reading extended parts of the text and then referring back, stopping and discussing only a few times. Alternatively, it might be more appropriate to discuss and explain as the class reads through the text. Another option could be to establish reading groups and have students report back after a set amount of time.

Step 3.

After reading and discussing the article, ask students to create a short list of the key phrases, expressions and concepts they found most effective or interesting. Give students copies of the Frayer Model (each student will need three printed Frayer Models) and invite them to select the three most powerful phrases, expressions and concepts from their list and complete the Frayer Model for each.

This model is a useful strategy for building student vocabulary and understanding of concepts. By engaging with the concept and communicating the meaning with a definition, examples, prior knowledge, similar or affiliated concepts and some visual representation, the adapted Frayer Model offers flexibility for the variety of student learning styles and can be completed individually, in pairs, groups or as a class. It can be modelled to the class prior to students completing their own.

After completing the Frayer models, ask volunteers to share one of their responses with the class and facilitate a brief discussion where relevant.

Part C: Found Poetry

Step 1.

Explain to students that the next part of the lesson will involve them creating a poem using an existing text. This style of poetry is 'found' or 'blackout' poetry. Found poetry is like a poetic collage: a poem is created using words and phrases from other texts, rearranged and reordered to communicate a new meaning.

Found poetry is an engaging way for students to interact with poetic forms and devices as it focuses on the effect of vocabulary and expression and doesn't necessarily require students to have expert creative writing skills. Further information about different types of found poetry, as well as online volumes, can be found here.

Step 2.

Show students the example Found Poem produced by Read Write Think from Chang-rae Lee’s essay “Coming Home, Again” (download the Found Poem here). Point out to students how only certain phrases or words have been selected from the original text and sequenced in the poem version.

Explain to students that they will create their own found poetry using original text from the persuasive (opinion) piece written by David Marr for the Guardian online. Students should try to identify the powerful and emotive language Marr uses to communicate his opinion.

Step 3.

Display or provide the following Found Poetry Instructions to the class (also provided on the Student Worksheet). These have been adapted from “Found and Headline Poems” from Getting the Knack: 20 Poetry Writing Exercises by Stephen Dunning and William Stafford and Read Write Think - available here.

Read the opinion piece and look for words and phrases that stand out. Underline the terms that you find particularly powerful, moving, or interesting in relation to an aspect, cause or consequence of compassion.
Make a separate list of the details, words and phrases you underlined, keeping them in the order that you found them. As you go through the opinion piece again, you might add to the original list.
Read your list then delete anything that you think is dull or doesn’t seem right for a poem about compassion. Your original list might be very long, in which case you should try to cut your original list in half.
As you look over the revised list, think about the tone that words and phrases you’ve selected convey. The words should communicate compassion in some way, so ensure that you have words that communicate these emotions and feelings.
You can make minor changes to punctuation or variations to words to make them fit together (such as changing the tense, possessives, plurals, and capitalisations).
Your Found Poem is beginning to take shape! If you feel you absolutely need to add a word to make the poem flow more smoothly, to make sense, to make a stronger point, you may add up to three words of your own. Only three!
Read back over your edited draft again and make any deletions or minor changes. Give your poem a title.
Finalise the poem to enhance the overall effect and construction of meaning about compassion. Copy the words and phrases into your workbook or publish them using a computer. Arrange the words so that they’re poem-like. Pay attention to line breaks, layout, and other elements that will emphasise important words or significant ideas in the poem:
- Read aloud as you arrange the words! Test the possible line breaks by pausing slightly. If it sounds good, it’s probably right.
- Arrange the words so that they make a rhythm that you like. You can space words out so that they are all alone or allruntogether.
- You can also put key words on lines by themselves.
- You can shape the entire poem so that it’s wide or tall or shaped like an object (for example, a heart).
- Emphasise words by playing with bold and italics, different sizes of letters, and so forth.
At the bottom of the poem, indicate that the words in the poem came from an opinion piece by David Marr. For example: From “The Nauru files are raw evidence of torture. Can we look away?” by David Marr.
Proudly display or perform your found poem to the class.

Remind students before they begin that the poem they construct must refer or engage with the concept of compassion in some way. This could be through addressing relevant issues that have been addressed in the lesson or aspects of seeking asylum, such as:

Reasons for fleeing homes
Challenges endured or faced
Conditions in detention centres
Various responses from different members of the community
Emotional toll of seeking asylum
Issues related to children seeking asylum

As students are working through the activity, monitor their progress and encourage some to share their Found Poem with the class (either by displaying or performing it).

Step 4.

Facilitate a poetry reading/performance with the class. As poetry is typically written to be performed, encourage students to ensure that they are attentive to the verbal and non-verbal features of spoken presentations.

Verbal features:
Pronunciation
Phrasing and Pausing
Audibility and Clarity
Volume
Pace Silence

Reflection

Ask students to consider the activities and discussions they have engaged with during the lesson and respond to the following questions.

To what degree do you think compassion is a normal human response to different situations? Give some reasons for your answer.
List three things you would expect to do if you were showing someone compassion.
List three things you would expect to see if someone was showing you compassion.
Explain how important you think compassion is with respect to discussion and treatment of people seeking asylum in Australia.
To what extent do you think language and shades of meaning between similar words can influence audiences' understanding about challenging issues such as refugees and seeking asylum?
How effective can poetry be as a way to engage people with challenging issues? In what ways might it be more effective than an informative text in communicating aspects of the issues?

Extension

Ask students to post their Found Poem to a class padlet page (www.padlet.com) and do a SPECS/SLIMS analysis of someone else's (see the Stories of Fear lesson for more detail). Both can be done anonymously if desired.

OR

Ask students to complete a 'Colour, Symbol, Image' visible thinking routine to synthesise the main ideas in their poem. This involves selecting a colour, a symbol and an image that communicates the essence of their poem. It is an effective way for students to develop their ability to think more abstractly. Students who are comfortable to do so can share their Colour, Symbol, Image reflection with the class.

Assessment

Use the Stories of Chasing Asylum - Assessment Task Lesson so that students can demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the topics and English outcomes explored throughout the unit.

Take Action

Use the Stories of Chasing Asylum - Social Action Lesson so that students can apply their knowledge and design a social action project. Students can raise awareness by organising a screening of the film or take action to promote positive change in their own community.

Stories of Chasing Asylum - Stories Of Compassion

Go to

Summary

Learning intentions:

Students will...

Lesson Guides and Printables

Lesson Details

Skills

Curriculum Mapping

Resources Required

Additional Info

In this lesson