Lesson summary

Students will be immersed in and connect with the documentary film Wild Things. They will engage with the film from critical, emotional, cultural and ethical perspectives and understand some of the backgrounds of the film while also considering the intentions of the filmmaker.

Wild Things follows a new generation of environmental activists that are mobilising against forces more powerful than themselves and saying: enough. Following a year in the footsteps of School Strike 4 Climate, Stop Adani and Save The Tarkine Rainforest, interwoven with a look at historical campaigns, this film is set to show that every action counts and individuals can make a difference. Access the film here.

Learning intentions:

Students will...

understand how to actively view documentary films
consider the importance of context and background when critically considering a documentary film
engage with the Wild Things documentary as the filmmaker intended.

Success criteria:

Students can...

critically analyse a documentary
participate in class and group discussions.

Lesson guides and printables

Lesson details

Australian Curriculum content descriptions:

Year 8 English:

Analyse how the text structures and language features of persuasive texts, including media texts, vary according to the medium and mode of communication (ACELA1543)
Share, reflect on, clarify and evaluate opinions and arguments about aspects of literary texts (ACELT1627)
Use comprehension strategies to interpret and evaluate texts by reflecting on the validity of content and the credibility of sources, including finding evidence in the text for the author’s point of view (ACELY1734)

Year 9 English:

Analyse and explain the use of symbols, icons and myth in still and moving images and how these augment meaning (ACELA1560)
Present an argument about a literary text based on initial impressions and subsequent analysis of the whole text (ACELT1771)
Analyse how the construction and interpretation of texts, including media texts, can be influenced by cultural perspectives and other texts (ACELY1739)
Interpret, analyse and evaluate how different perspectives of issue, event, situation, individuals or groups are constructed to serve specific purposes in texts (ACELY1742)

Year 10 English:

Understand that people’s evaluations of texts are influenced by their value systems, the context and the purpose and mode of communication (ACELA1565)
Compare the purposes, text structures and language features of traditional and contemporary texts in different media (ACELA1566)
Evaluate the impact on audiences of different choices in the representation of still and moving images (ACELA1572)
Reflect on, extend, endorse or refute others’ interpretations of and responses to literature (ACELT1640)
Analyse and evaluate how people, cultures, places, events, objects and concepts are represented in texts, including media texts, through language, structural and/or visual choices (ACELY1749)

Year 8 Geography:

Human causes and effects of landscape degradation (ACHGK051)
Ways of protecting significant landscapes (ACHGK052)

Year 9 Geography:

The perceptions people have of place, and how these influence their connections to different places (ACHGK065)
The effects of the production and consumption of goods on places and environments throughout the world and including a country from North-East Asia (ACHGK068)

Year 10 Geography:

Syllabus outcomes: GE4-1, GE4-2, GE4-3, GE4-5, GE4-7, GE4-8, GE5-2, GE5-3, GE5-4, GE5-8, EN4-1A, EN4-5C, EN4-2A, EN5-1A, EN5-8D, EN5-2A, EN5-7D, EN5-6C, EN5-5C, EN5-8D

General capabilities: Critical and Creative Thinking

Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability OI.3, OI.8, OI.9

Relevant parts of Year 8 Geography achievement standards: Students explain interconnections within environments and between people and places and explain how they change places and environments.

Relevant parts of Year 9 Geography achievement standards: They analyse interconnections between people, places and environments and explain how these interconnections influence people, and change places and environments. Students synthesise data and information to draw reasoned conclusions.

Relevant parts of Year 10 Geography achievement standards: Students identify, analyse and explain significant interconnections between people, places and environments and explain changes that result from these interconnections and their consequences.

This lesson is part of the wider unit of work Wild Things Years 8 to 10

Time required: 105 mins

Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium – facilitate class discussion, lead students in activities

Critically Viewing A Documentary Film Factsheet
Device capable of presenting a video to the class
Student Worksheets – one copy per student

This lesson is designed to build students’ competencies in the following skills:

Communication
Critical thinking

Wild Things follows a new generation of environmental activists that are mobilising against forces more powerful than themselves and saying: enough. Following a year in the footsteps of School Strike 4 Climate, Stop Adani and Save The Tarkine Rainforest, interwoven with a look at historical campaigns, this film is set to show that every action counts and individuals can make a difference. Access the film here.

This lesson has been developed with the support of 360 Degree Films and the Garry White Foundation.

Wild Things - Watching the Film

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Learning intentions:

Students will...

Success criteria:

Students can...

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