Lesson summary
This lesson emphasises student voice and choice and scaffolds the process of increasing their awareness of youth homelessness within the community, identifying a health and wellbeing problem or issue, forming an inquiry question and taking action to address the issue. Students apply the knowledge and understanding they have gained throughout the Finding Out section of this unit to identify and address one of the social issues that lies within the broader issue of youth homelessness. They are given the opportunity to remember the sections of THE OASIS that affected them, then name the health and wellbeing issues that are raised in the documentary. Students frame the issues as questions to be responded to, then help each other to think about an action that could be taken to address the issue. Students then form project groups based on common interests, with a view to planning and delivering a social action project to to enhance health and wellbeing. This is the first of three social action project lessons, all of which provide a framework for developing, planning and carrying out social action.
Key ideas to explore:
- Homelessness is an issue that can be faced by young people.
- The reasons that young people experience homelessness are varied.
- The issue of homelessness is multi-faceted and complicated.
- Students have the ability to make positive change in their own world.
Lesson guides and printables
Lesson details
Curriculum mapping
Australian curriculum content descriptions:
- Plan, implement and critique strategies to enhance health, safety and well being of their communities (ACPPS096)
- Plan and evaluate new and creative interventions that promote their own and others’ connection to community and natural and built environments (ACPPS097)
General capabilities: Critical and creative thinking, Ethical understanding, Literacy, Personal and Social Capability.
Syllabus Outcomes: PDHPE5.6, PDHPE5.7, PDHPE5.8, PDHPE5.9, PDHPE5.14.
Unit of work: The Oasis – HPE
Time required: 90 minutes
Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium – facilitate discussion
Resources required
- Student Worksheet – one copy per student OR computers/tablets to access the online worksheet
- Device capable of presenting websites/videos to the class, access to THE OASIS documentary on Vimeo, Pyramid reflection tool.
Additional Info
This resource has been adapted from ‘Teaching Social Issues Through English’ developed with English Teachers Association NSW and the ‘Youth Homelessness Matters Resource’ developed by Janice Atkin. You can find these resources here.
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