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I think not.
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Approach The unit is based on an approach to teaching and learning that requires the teacher to: * Stimulate students' interest and thought through an introductory activity designed to promote discussion about truth and its various representations. This activity will lead students to consider one of the key questions in the unit: `How does current affairs television construct a version of the truth?' * Provide students with the necessary knowledge and understanding of satire, journalism and current affairs television to ensure a sound base from which they can explore the prescribed text and other additional texts. Page 9 9 Workshop materials LIG 2001 English Q u a l i t y Q u a l i t y T e a c h e r T e a c h e r P r o g r a m P r o g r a m * Examine each episode of Frontline in relation to: the syllabus requirements, key questions of the unit, and how each episode relates to the Elective, Telling the truth . * Promote student reflection upon their own learning processes through utilisation of a learning journal that will form part of the summative assessment task. During the unit appropriate guest speakers will be invited to address the class. This could include a journalist from the local newspaper and/or a producer from Radio National. Topic sequence 1. Telling the truth 2. Satire 3. Journalism 4. Current affairs television 5. Manipulating the truth 6. Constructing the truth 7. Transforming myth to truth 8. Does the end ever justify the means? 9. Whose interests are served? 10. Moral responsibility 11. Bringing it all together Each topic in the unit contains an extensive range of responding and composing activities that teachers will choose or adapt as required, to meet their own students' learning needs. The topic notes provide teachers with: * outcomes addressed * an introduction to the topic * a number of suggestions for responding and composing activities, including key discussion questions * activities and questions for the students' learning journal * stimulus material * a list of additional texts for students to access. Note re: additional material Most of the topics can be accessed through the Internet. We suggest using a search engine with advanced search capabilities, such as ANZWERS, Looksmart, Google, and Ask Jeeves, which allow the user to narrow down their scope of reference. Scenario one of the video, Stage 6 English: Refining classroom practice , shows how the English faculty collaboratively planned the unit. It also features three lessons that are from the topics: ` Telling the truth ' (page 11), `Manipulating the truth' (page 25) and `Constructing the truth' (page 28). Page 10 10 LIG 2001 English Workshop materials Q u a l i t y Q u a l i t y T e a c h e r T e a c h e r P r o g r a m P r o g r a m The learning journal The concept of a reflective learning journal is an integral part of the unit. It is designed to assist students to: * reflect on their own learning * develop self assessment skills within a safe and guided learning environment * recognise and capitalise on personal strengths, while focusing on skills for improvement * become more aware of the experiential nature of learning * experience their writing from many different perspectives to expand ideas, impressions and feelings * perceive information in a variety of contexts and from different points of view * develop their own analogies and metaphors, so that what is learned can be transformed into new ideas and knowledge. Additionally, the learning journal assists the teacher to formatively assess students' ability to: * integrate new information with prior knowledge to form new knowledge * understand new concepts and to explain how the concepts may be applied * develop reflective thinking skills * articulate their ideas in a meaningful way * reflect upon their own learning and the process of learning in general. Students will be required to use their journals as a resource to successfully complete the summative assessment task. Page 11 11 Workshop materials LIG 2001 English Q u a l i t y Q u a l i t y T e a c h e r T e a c h e r P r o g r a m P r o g r a m Topic one: Telling the truth Outcomes A student: H1 demonstrates understanding of how relationships between composer, responder, text and context shape meaning. H2A recognises different ways in which particular texts are valued. H8 articulates and represents own ideas in critical, interpretive and imaginative texts from a range of perspectives. H10 analyses and synthesises information and ideas into sustained and logical argument for a range of purposes, audiences and contexts. Background The teacher should issue the students with a copy of the outcomes being addressed and copies of the relevant sections of the Syllabus and the Prescribed Texts documents. Class time should be allocated to explain the outcomes and to discuss the expectations of this unit and the chosen elective. This unit is about how the media constructs the truth, and how perceptions of events, personalities or situations can be affected by different representations. The aim of this activity is to bring students to an awareness of how the media's construction of the truth affects the individual's perspective and interpretation of the text. Students will complete a task designed to demonstrate how easy it is to construct a version of the truth and how easy it is to manipulate a given truth. Introductory activity Explain that truth is a difficult concept to define and one which is dependent on the individual's context at any given time. Before you begin this unit ask students to articulate and record their ideas on the concept of truth. As they move through this unit their view of truth and what it is may very well change. In the first activity students are divided into pairs and each pair is given an identical picture from a magazine or newspaper. The students will then write a newspaper article based on this picture. Students will then compare their articles and highlight the similarities and differences. Class discussion will centre on how and why their articles were different. Consider the following questions, noting how many different versions of the truth emerged in this activity. Page 12 12 LIG 2001 English Workshop materials Q u a l i t y Q u a l i t y T e a c h e r T e a c h e r P r o g r a m P r o g r a m Discussion questions * What is truth? * Is there such a thing as an absolute truth? * Who or what influences our understanding of truth? * How relative is truth and what is it relative to? * How do we discern the difference between fact and fiction? * How important is the truth? * How do we come to have different interpretations of truth? * How do context, audience and purpose influence different interpretations of the truth? Group activity Students will work on the following activities in small groups. Sample student worksheet According to the Macquarie Dictionary truth is: 1. that which is true; the truth or actual facts of a case 2. a verified or indisputable fact, proposition, principle or the like This is one definition of truth. There may be many others. In groups of three or four seek out as many definitions of truth that you can find, record the definition and its source, identify the context from which that definition comes. Your search may include legal, religious, historical and other sources such as a Dictionary of quotations, as well as the Internet. * Place 1 or 2 of these definitions on the board for the class to consider. Discuss with the class the assumptions that may be behind these definitions. Then pose the following question to the groups. 1. What assumptions are there about `truth' in the definitions you have found? 2. In your group come to an agreed idea of `what truth is'. 3. In your group, consider the truth of the following statement from the perspective of the different people listed. Feminism has brought emancipation to women. a. a 35 year old working mother b. a 50 year old male managing director c. a fifteen year old schoolgirl Identify how you think each of these people would view the truth of the statement and explain why they would come to that conclusion. At the end of the group work each group will report briefly on the outcomes of the discussion. Page 13 13 Workshop materials LIG 2001 English Q u a l i t y Q u a l i t y T e a c h e r T e a c h e r P r o g r a m P r o g r a m Learning journal Throughout this unit students will be required to keep a learning journal to record their ideas of truth and how and why they change. Students will commence their journals at this point by considering the following questions. 1. What is your understanding of truth? 2. Who or what has influenced your understanding of truth at this stage in your life? How have these influenced you? What past experiences did you draw on? 3. What issues has the class/group discussion raised for you about ` telling the truth '? Homework activity: Formative assessment task Telling the truth At this stage students will complete a homework activity which is aimed at determining exactly what they know and what they need to learn in relation to this unit of study.
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