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http://www.abc.net.au/shortstories/stories/s1390788.htm
https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/treasure-of-happy-memories/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85HDu87TGy0
https://vimeo.com/109041102
Lyrics: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/lukasgraham/7years.html
Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHCob76kigA
The concept chosen for this Preliminary Area of Study is Memory. Memory is an integral
qualities. Memory simultaneously inhabits several levels of the social collective and
to explore the duality of memory. The duality being that of having positive memories versus
having negative memories. Whereas memory has the capacity to be taught as a wider more
culturally spanning concept, this unit focuses more on the personal experience of memory.
The nature of memory and their creation, what memory means to us, as well as the way in
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which it shapes people and their perceptions of the world, and lastly, how the idea of
Students are expected, during an Area of Study, to analyse and experiment with meanings
conveyed, shaped, interpreted and reflected in and through texts as well as ways texts are
responded too and the connections between those texts (NESA, 2012). The texts themselves
are representative of peoples memories and the multi-faceted way that people can
experience memories. There is a wide range of modality within the prescribed texts. This is a
deliberate choice in order to allow students to study how meaning is created and conveyed
in different textual forms. Andrew McCallum states [English] must no longer privilege
writing over other forms of communication. Instead, the written word is one available
The first text, Memories Lost by Laura Miller (2005) is chosen to provide a look at the way
that different parties can both handle the negative side of memory as well as the inter-
personal ramifications for memory. The short story is centred on a woman who is suffering
an unspecified type of memory loss, and her interactions with another person. It is to be
used as an introduction piece to the students, and allow them to experiences and explore
the base ideals about what memory can mean to people, and the multiple viewpoints that
can be taken with memory. The protagonist, while having lost their memory, is not in a
negative state. It subverts the idea that losing ones memory is a negative concept, and
while the negativity can be reflected in the visitors words and actions. It has been chosen as
a prescribed text due to its non-traditional representation of memory and memory loss, as
well as its easy to understand nature and the wide range of readings that can be made.
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The second text, Treasure of Happy Memories by Seema Chowdhury, is a poem that focuses
solely on the positive effects of memory. The way that the text shapes our perception of
memory is self-evident, this text is extremely useful in the anthology. It provides the
perception, it reinforces it. This provides lower-end students the chance to have a concrete
understanding of the concept to use in their assessments and their exams. It also allows for
extensive instruction in how literary techniques build meaning and build the concept of
memory in the piece. While not an advanced text, its a necessary text for the start of the
area of study.
The third and fourth text are both short films, one called Memories, the other Touchable
Memories directed by Radoslaw Sienski and Marco Aslan respectively. Both of the films are
focused on the power of memories and how they can affect us as human beings. Visual
literacy and deconstructing visual techniques is an important part of the English curriculum,
and these short films offer the opportunity. The short films have really strong ideas and
memories. The joy and happiness that these memories can contain. This is redoubled in the
second short film Touchable Memories which is focused around a small group of blind
people and their interactions with their own memories. It shifts our perception of what a
memory is to people and what they could be. These texts, while chosen to complement
each other and reinforce the same tropes and themes about memory, are also used to study
The fifth text is the song 7 Years by Lukas Graham. This text has been included in the
anthology due to its persuasive and emotive presentation of memory. The introspective and
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reflective nature of memory presented in the text is another facet of memory that other
texts have not covered. The song is recent enough for the students to recognise and
understand, and will connect them further with the themes in the text. It is also useful as a
vehicle to further study the language techniques that were examined within text two,
References
Bekerman, Z., & Zembylas, Michalinos. (2012). Teaching contested narratives: Identity, memory, and
reconciliation in peace education and beyond. Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Binnenkade, A. (2015). Doing Memory: Teaching as a Discursive Node. Journal of Educational Media,
NSW Education Standards Authority. (2014). NSW Syllabus for the Australian curriculum, English
McCallum, A. (2012). Creativity and Learning in Secondary English. London: Taylor and Francis.
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Lesson One
This lesson is designed to be the one of the first lessons within the Area of Study. It is
formatted as to give the students a board concrete introduction to the concept they will be
studying, as well as different ways that it can be portrayed within texts. The two texts
chosen are Treasure of Happy Memories by Seema Chowdhury and 7 Years by Lukas
Graham (2016). These texts both have a clear creation and understanding of the concept
The lesson starts with the teacher and the students breaking down the idea of Memory on
the whiteboard as a concept mapping activity. This gives the student the opportunity to
explore their previous knowledge on the concept and establish their own perceptions and
ideas. It also allows for the teacher to gauge the level of understanding in the classroom.
This allows the teacher to understand where the gaps of knowledge are in the classroom so
that they can be specifically catered for later in the unit. This is the foundation for the rest
of the unit, and the students can refer to, as well as constantly update the concept map in
their books.
Following this section, the students are to study the lyrics of the song 7 Years without
listening to the actual song. The teacher is to preface this activity by instructing the students
that they will be looking for metaphors, similes and other language techniques within the
text and how they create and manipulate the idea of memory. After deconstructing the
different metaphors and emotive language within the lyrics, the students are asked to
highlight the parts that mean the most, as well as have the most impact. Then they listen to
the song and see if what they highlighted in the text was the same when it was played. The
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key here it to investigate the way that changing the form can change the creation of
memory and the meaning of memory. It is also an exercise in discovering the influence of
Once completing this section. Repeat the process of studying language techniques in the
poem Treasure of Happy Memories using the knowledge gained from deconstructing the
1. Take all the punctuation out of the poem and present it in a plain text format.
2. Ask the students to put their own punctuation in, and underline where they think
3. Then they are to compare their version of the poem with the people next to them.
This is designed to let the students be creative as well as explore the way that texts create
meaning in their own personal way. As there is no official way to read the poem, each
student is correct in their creation and ideas. The texts construction of memory is also very
traditional and clearly demonstrated. This is especially important for the lower-end students
as it gives them something concrete that they can understand at a base level.
By the end of the lesson, the students should begin to understand the way that texts can
shape meaning through their form as well as their features. The students also should be
able to find and extract the way that concept is portrayed within a text, and how the texts
created that concept. This lesson is important within the sequence as it creates the basis for
the skills that will be built upon and used within the rest of the Area of Study.
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Topic area: Area of Study Stage of Learner: Stage 6 / Syllabus Pages: 24 -27
Memory Year 11 Standard
Cross Curriculum themes & General capabilities Explicit subject specific concepts and skills
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Quality Learning Environment 2.1 Explicit quality criteria 2.4 Social Support
This refers to pedagogy that creates classrooms where students and teachers work
productively in an environment clearly focused on learning. Such pedagogy sets high and 2.2 Engagement 2.5 Students self-regulation
explicit expectations and develops positive relationships between teacher and students
2.3 High Expectations 2.6 Student direction
and among students.
How the quality teaching elements you have identified are achieved within the lesson.
1.2 Deep The main part of the lesson focuses on students learning and gaining a deep understanding
Understanding of visual literacy techniques and filmic language. This deep understanding is to be followed
through with continuing lesson and solidified to be used in their HSC
2.2 The chosen resources of the short films with strong, easy to understand messages is
Engagement designed to be engaging with the students, and have them emotional invested and care
about the context and content as well as their own work on the subjects.
3.5 Cultural All students are asked/able to use their previous cultural knowledge and understanding of
Knowledge memory within their own personal context. The lesson itself is based around using the
students understanding of memory and changing it as well as reinforcing it.
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T/S
0-10 As the students enter the class room and take their Teacher: Allow the students to
seats, make sure that all students have done their enter the classroom and while
S
prescribed homework. Their homework was to bring in settling take the roll and answer
an object (can be a photograph) that holds memories any questions.
to them. If the student doesnt have a physical object,
Have the short films loaded on
then imagining and knowing an object will suffice.
their computer and ready to be
Students are to spend the next 5 minutes writing played.
down:
10-30 Start by asking the students to write down anything Teacher: The teacher needs to
that seems important and relevant to memory during have the scaffold questions for the
T/S
their watching of the short film. Provide some students to use in the first section.
scaffolding questions regarding the way that visual
Be familiar with the short film and
techniques can construct meaning as it will be builded
the way that it creates meaning
upon later in the lesson. Then show Memories by
and changes meaning.
Radoslaw Sienski without pausing it or commentating.
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30-50 Once the students have finished half of their Venn Teacher: Check the completed
diagram. Inform them that they are to put their books Venn Diagrams and the
T/S
down and not write anything during the first viewing sentences/paragraph before
on their second short film. Show Touchable Memories students leave the lesson.
once through without any pausing or interrupting.
50-60 The students now should write a few Teacher: Continue to control the
sentences/paragraphs as to how their perceptions and classroom and keep them on-track.
S
ideas have been changed by the short films that they Walking around the classroom and
have studied today. This allows for self-reflection, helping/checking students
consolidation of ideas and an exit slip for the lesson. answers.
Homework: Homework for this lesson is to re-watch the two short films and note any visual literacy
and filmic techniques within them.
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Reflection
What have I learned about the teaching and learning process when preparing this lesson?
During the creation of this lesson, I have really found how easy it is to push the time limits of a
lesson when looking at two texts within one lesson. Originally this lesson was going to include
deconstructing the visual and filmic techniques and how they create meaning but there was not
enough time so it was pushed to homework / next lesson.
4.1: Describing and explaining This is measured through the class discussions wherein the
the effects of a variety of class list visual and filmic literacy techniques used to create
language forms and features, meaning. This is also measured in their Venn diagram
and structures of texts. where these techniques are also included.
2.1 Comparing and This will be measured by the quality of their Venn diagram
contrasting the forms and at the end of the lesson (How filled out it is and what is
features of texts. included in it) as well as their reflection paragraph that is
considered the exit slip.
WHS
What are the key risk issues that may appear for and need to be reduced/eliminated in this lesson?
Using your syllabus and support documents as well as other WHS policy- Outline the key WHS
considerations that are to be applied in this lesson?
I must make sure that all the entries and exits are kept clear in an emergency. Also, that all bags are
tucked underneath the tables to avoid a tripping hazard. It is important to make sure that all the
electronics equipment is in working order and there is small chance of any malfunctions happening.
There is also a need to make sure that all the materials used in class are age-appropriate and
acceptable for the classroom
Resources:
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Lesson 3:
The third lesson is set after both the first two lessons, putting it between the middle and the
end of the Area of Study. This lesson is designed to continue to use the skills that have been
builded upon in the previous lesson with a new form of text, as well as starting to use them
in their own response to a text. The main crux of this lesson is to start to shift and
manipulate the students own perceptions of whether memory is entirely positive and
entirely negative. The text Memories Lost by Laura Miller uses the concept of memory in an
interesting way that the student havent been exposed to. Getting them to study it, as well
as creatively respond to it, forces them to change their own ideas and perceptions.
The lesson starts with the students entering the classroom and taking their seats. The
teacher then instructs them to answer the questions, What are the positives of memory
and what are the negatives of memory. Once the students have answered this question in
their books, ask them to discuss their answers with their table, and then with the class.
Once finished, introduce the students to the text, and then read through the text together
as a class. Once the class has finished reading the text ask them how they feel about the text
and what it said to them about memory. Use the information gleamed from this discussion
Once that section is finished. Ask the students to answer the question Does this text
portray memory in a negative way as positive way. Once the students have answered the
question divide them into groups regarding their answers and have a small
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discussion/debate about the different merits for each side. The point of this is to start the
children down the path that the concept of memory can be fluid and isnt always defined
Following on from this section the students are required to rewrite the story in their own
words, from the other parties (the daughters) perspective. As an extension of the previous
activity, students are asked to present the concept of memory in the story differently to
how they thought it was portrayed in the original text. There is room here for low-end
students to simply retell the story from a different perspective with the same construction
of memory. But it also allows the higher-end student to write a story and construct memory
in a way that they dont necessarily disagree with. The activity should be given a long
amount of time to allow students to respond to the text as well as exploring creating
memory in their own ways. If time remains after this activity, ask students to reflect and
write how they constructed and portrayed meaning in the text through their use of
This lesson is designed to get the students to start responding to texts and it also continues
developing students creative writing abilities. This lesson would be followed by others of
similar natures that include more responding and creative writing, as these skills are
specifically targeted within the syllabus as well as the HSC. It shifts the Area of Study from
simply studying to interacting with and using the concept of memory in their own specific
way.
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