Week 3
Drama - A Property of the Clan by Nick Enright
Lesson 8: Context and Character
Activity 1: Context
Prior to reading, students listen a section of the podcast – Sticks and Stones: The Killing of Leigh Leigh
(Teacher-centred)
Activity 2: Read Aloud
Willing students engage in a reading of the play out loud. They read until page 32.
It is necessary to cultivate a positive learning environment where students feel safe and supported to read this play aloud as it explores complex and confronting themes.
(Teacher-centred and Student-centred)
Activity 3: Character Creative Writing
Based on their reading, students complete a creative writing activity using the following prompt:
You are a classmate of Jared’s who went to the same party but left early. On Monday at school, you see police cars parked outside and see your classmate’s whispering. Create a short story about what happens during the rest of your school day. Explore the theme of mateship and group mentality through the technique of dialogue.
(Student-centred)
Link to Research
Providing students the opportunity to read aloud, project their voice, and embody distinct characters on a page provides students with an authentic performance experience. Gildersleeve's (2019) review of Deep reading: teaching writing in the classroom impacted the teaching strategy of this activity, as students are able to use this fun experience to enhance their critical and emotional understanding of a world that resonates with them.
Success Criteria:
Has the student:
- Understood the content of the podcast to ensure they understand the context of the text?
- Engaged with the reading of the text in an appropriate way?
- Crafted an creative text that explores an original character's perspective utilising the themes of mateship and group mentality through the technique of dialogue?
Learning Outcomes
EST-11-05: composes critical and creative texts for a range of audiences and purpose.
Lesson 9: Character
Activity 1: Read aloud
Willing students engage in a reading of the play out loud.
(Teacher-centred and Student-centred)
Activity 2: Text Analysis and Understanding Character
After students finishing reading the play, allocate them into groups with each assigned a different character. Students analyse the text and find evidence of
- Appearance: What does your character look like?
- Likes: What does your character like to do for fun?
- Motivations: What does your character want? How do they drive the narrative?
- Relationships: What are the character’s relationships with the other character like?
- Influence: How do the other characters view your character?
- Conflicts: What issues or problems does your character face?
- Emotion: How does your character deal with emotions?
(Student-centred)
Activity 3: Casting Call
Students transform their textual analysis into a Casting Call Poster. They imagine they are the director of a new production of Blackrock and have been tasked with casting their character.
- Pictures of potential factors that could play their character.
- Information from the textual analysis.
Once completed, teachers display these posters in the classroom for other groups to view.
(Student-centred)
Link to Research
This lesson focuses on character and how they can relate to the world that students belong to. By displaying completed work, students feel that their writing has meaning, which positively impacts their associations with reading and writing (McKnight & Gannon, 2024).
Success Criteria:
Has the student:
- Engaged with the reading of the text in an appropriate way?
- Analysed the text for evidence of character's traits and personality?
- Worked collaborative with peers to create a casting call poster and made inferences for their character based on textual evidence?
Learning Outcomes
EST-11-01: analyses the ways an author’s choice of language, form and structure shape meaning in texts of different modes and medium.
EST-11-05: composes critical and creative texts for a range of audiences and purposes.
Lesson 10: Recap
Activity 1: Reflection - Formative Assessment Follow-Up
Provide students a copy of each of the three texts studied and a print-out of their initial formative assessment. They spend time considerable time reflecting on the texts as they prepare to complete an extended reflection response to the question:
- “What was your favourite text we have read so far in English and why? Has this impacted your opinion of whether you like to read?”
(Student-centred)
Extension: Critical Comparison
Students answer the following question:
“Compare how the three text forms communicate their ideas, explore complex themes, and engage audiences. Which form did you find the most effective and how did its features influence your reading and writing?”
(Student-centred)
Link to Research
Providing students an opportunity to self-reflect on their formative assessment aims to positively impact student's feelings toward reading and writing. Students are able to monitor their writing by the end of the unit and see how far they have come in their reading journey. These two activities are the proud synthesis of all research that supports this unit of work.
Success Criteria:
Has the student:
- Reflected on their initial judgement of writing?
- Made a critical judgement of what their favourite text was?
- Compared how the texts communicate diverse and relating themes and engage their audiences through unique shapes and forms.
Learning Outcomes
EST-11-02: explains the relationships between texts through context, form and language.
EST-11-05: composes critical and creative texts for a range of audiences and purposes.
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