Teacher instructions

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune in: Key messages and imagery

20 minutes

Find out: Understanding the film

25 minutes

Take action: Interwoven perspectives

5 minutes

Reflection: What have we learnt?

Tune in: Key messages and imagery

Step 1.

Having watched the film together, explain that the class will now try and identify the key messages of Brenda's story. You might encourage students to consider the essential question: 'What are the most important messages that we can take from The Last Daughter? What have we learnt from watching The Last Daughter?'

Step 2.

Direct students to create a mind map or a list that has The Last Daughter or 'Brenda's story' written in the centre. Tell students that the timer will go on for two minutes- in this time, they are to build a mind map that features all the key messages/ideas they got from watching the film.

Step 3.

Set the timer for two minutes. Encourage students to write down as many ideas as they can.

Step 4.

Have students reflect on their mind map. Ask them to select one or two ideas that best represent what they think the film is really about.

Step 5.

Collect responses and add them to the class mind map. This will guide the class's conversation on the film's value, its messaging and how it represents people, events and ideas. This will be returned to in a latter part of the lesson.

Find out: Understanding the film

Note: Before delivering the Find Out and Take Action segments of this lesson, we'd recommend reiterating 'Facilitating safe and respectful discussions' with students from the Teacher Content Information section of this lesson.

Step 1.

Read this excerpt to students:

“Storytelling is the beating heart of Indigenous culture as it is the primary way in which their history has been recorded. Today, the practice of storytelling sustains communities, validates experiences, nurtures relationships and serves as a form of important cultural continuation for Indigenous peoples (Iseke, 2013).

Source: https://www.yarn.com.au/blogs/yarn-in-the-community/the-importance-of-storytelling-within-indigenous-culture

Step 2.

Individually or in pairs, have students answer the following questions (available on the Student Worksheet).

How does the storytelling in The Last Daughter sustain communities? (sustain: strengthen or support physically or mentally)
In which ways does the storytelling in The Last Daughter validate experiences? Whose experiences? (validate: demonstrate or support truth or accuracy)
In which ways does the storytelling in The Last Daughter nurture positive relationships? How?

Step 3.

Facilitate a class discussion where students share their answers to these questions. Have students return to their mind maps (you may choose to refer to the class mind map instead). Ask them if in light of discussing these questions, whether certain topics/issues seem more important than others now. Make a mark (underline, circle etc) to emphasise which ideas/messages stand out more now.

Take action: Interwoven perspectives

Step 1.

Ask students to work in groups. Give each group a focus: Brenda / Nan Brenda / The Ockers (Connie and Mac) / Mark. Using butchers' paper, or an online tool like Canva, have students plot a timeline for each of the different stories present within the film.

eg. Students may create a timeline that depicts Nan Brenda's story. She endured the heartache of having seven of her children forcibly removed from her care, to have them returned. She then helps her adult daughter, Brenda, to reconnect with the Ockers' family, culminating in the two families meeting.

Optional: You might like to further support students by showing them some clips to help jog their memory. The clips included will not allow students to track the entirety of a person's timeline, but should prompt more memories of the film. If you like, you may like to use some of the clips to model what is expected for the activity - watch the clip and then insert the event on a timeline.

Clips to help with plotting the Ockers' timeline of events:

The Last Daughter: Brenda's life with the Ockers' family https://player.vimeo.com/video/814440405?h=251a24c69f

The Last Daughter: Mac and Connie have to give Brenda back https://player.vimeo.com/video/814438622?h=e43d29199e

The Last Daughter: Connie asks about Gary's 'alcoholism' https://player.vimeo.com/video/814148571?h=8b72e6823c

Clips to help with Nan Brenda's timeline of events:

The Last Daughter: There was a knock on the door one day https://player.vimeo.com/video/814180505?h=db36cc1499

The Last Daughter: Nan gets her kids back https://player.vimeo.com/video/814133167?h=a264724b49

The Last Daughter: Brenda asks her mum if she can reconnect with her white family https://player.vimeo.com/video/816817716?h=7f3257b4e1

Clips to help with Brenda's timeline of events

The Last Daughter: Brenda 'had to go back' https://player.vimeo.com/video/814138220?h=6b6be2bb13

The Last Daughter: Brenda's family discovers the 'justification' for the removal of the children https://player.vimeo.com/video/816783824?h=84ff341410

The Last Daughter: Brenda and her mum trace their family tree https://player.vimeo.com/video/816821552?h=e0891f4424

Step 2.

Once students have completed their plot timelines, ask them to share them with the class. Returning to the class mind map from the Tune In segment of the lesson, ask students if there are topics/ messages that are relevant to each person's plot timeline (Brenda's, Marks, Nan Brenda's, the Ockers). Identify them as a class - choose three at a maximum.

Reflection: What have we learnt?

Step 1.

Ask students to return to the essential question of the lesson: 'What are the most important messages that we can take from The Last Daughter? What have we learnt?'

Step 2.

Using your discretion, have students write down either the agreed upon three most important key messages/ideas or allow students to independently choose their own. They may also choose to do this in the Student Worksheet.

Differentiated Learning

We trust that teachers are the best equipped to know how to cater to the diversity in their classes. At Cool Australia, we incorporate a variety of differentiation strategies into each lesson. Firstly, each lesson in this unit appeals to an array of different learning preferences. Learning activities can be completed in a number of different ways - if a student feels more comfortable speaking rather than writing, there are opportunities to accommodate this. In lessons that feature group work or learning stations, we trust that teachers will use their discretion in knowing how to best organise their students in accordance to positive working relationships and ability. Graphic organisers and scaffolds are often included so students can ‘visually think’ and keep a record of their work. While our lessons are designed to be 55 - 60 minutes in length, we trust that teachers will manipulate lesson and segment times according to the needs of their students.

The Last Daughter - Key Messages of the Film

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