Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune In: Battle for equality

50 minutes

Find Out: Language matters

30 minutes

Take Action: Use your voice

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions and success criteria

Students will:

examine digital media and work to identify the author's opinion through the author's use of language features.

Students can:

read and understand media texts seeking to persuade
identify and analyse media texts for techniques of persuasion
present their findings orally, with visual support
evaluate the use of sources and quotations, and present an opinion about how an author has supported an idea.

Tune In: Campaigning for equality

Preparation

Watch ‘Trailblazers’ with your students. This documentary will provide background information and set the scene for students for this lesson.

Trailblazers (https://clickv.ie/w/INpy)

Step 1

Show students this short clip from the film:

Trailblazers Clip - 17:35-21:50 (https://clickv.ie/w/nYpy)

This clip covers the context surrounding the Australian Women’s National Football Team’s decision to strike in 2015. At the end of watching, ensure students understand the following points:

The Australian Women’s National Football Team was the most successful football/soccer team Australia had ever had, having just made it to the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
Football Federation Australia had not organised a new collective bargaining agreement for the team after the previous one expired, meaning they were not guaranteed any payment for an upcoming tournament.
The previous agreement left the players earning two-thirds of the minimum wage.

Find Out: Language matters

Step 1

Explain to students that as a result of the player’s decision to strike, there were many articles published in the media. These articles used language to represent the event in different ways based on the writer's perspective. Not all pieces sought to empower the players.

Direct students to the Student Worksheet, where they will find an article, ‘FFA chief Gallop's bitter in another swipe over dispute’ and a transcript, ‘Matildas players say pay dispute is about future of women's sport’.

Step 2

As a class, read through the first article. When you have finished, ask students to highlight five different words, phrases or sentences that they felt sought to disempower the Australian National Women’s Football Team.

Ask students to share some of the words, phrases and sentences they highlighted. You may like to facilitate a brief discussion by asking students to justify their decision to highlight – what made you select that word/phrase/sentence?

Step 3

Ask students to turn to the transcript of the second article and play the audio for them to listen along. (https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/pm/matildas-players-say-pay-dispute-is-about-future/6766508)

When the audio finishes, ask students to highlight five words, phrases or sentences that they felt sought to empower the Australian National Women’s Football Team.

Ask students to share some of the words, phrases and sentences they highlighted. You may like to facilitate a brief discussion by asking students to justify their decision to highlight – what made you select that word/phrase/sentence?

Step 4

Organise students into pairs, and have them turn to the table underneath the two articles in their Student Worksheets. Students should consider the correlating uses of language and what is different between the two – you may like to complete the first few as models on the board (see suggested answers below).

Students should pick up on the fact that Article 1 represents the perspective of David Gallop, and is very dismissive and demeaning of the Australian National Women’s Football Team; whereas Article 2 presents a more sympathetic perspective to their plight.

Language use in Article 1	Language use in Article 2	What is different?
FFA chief Gallop's bitter	bitter industrial dispute	In Article 1, Gallop is characterised as bitter, whereas in Article 2, it is the dispute that is bitter.
another swipe over the dispute	pay dispute	Both articles refer to a ‘dispute’, but Article 2 defines it as a ‘pay dispute’, whereas Article 1 does not. As a result, there is an inference in Article 1 that the disagreement is broader than just pay.
Australia's national women's team pulling out of a United States tour	the team called off its two-match tour	Describing the team ‘pulling out’ has a more negative connotation than them having ‘called off’ the tour – to pull out of something indicates you are unprepared or incapable, whereas calling off a game is more active and suggests a strong decision.
The Matildas… skipped a planned tour	the Matildas downed tools
a largely fruitless boycott	a bold move
we were totally underwhelmed with the fact that we missed an opportunity to play the world champions, the USA	it's one that should probably be respected
Gallop reiterated his views that the women's national team had been dragged into a dispute	an incredibly tough decision to have to make but a necessary one
we were not happy with what happened, particularly some misinformation where indeed even the subject of motherhood got used against us.	it is extremely hard for them to commit to a program and commit to an employer who's not paying a wage.
The Matildas stand to be the biggest beneficiaries of the new four-year, whole-of-game CBA… with the new deal set to make them full-time professional players for the first time.	the dispute is about more than money, it's about the future of women's football in Australia.

Step 5

When students have completed the table, ask them to spend 5-10 minutes reflecting on the questions on their student worksheet:

How is the same event represented differently by the two articles?
How is language used in the articles to empower and disempower the Australian Women’s National Football Teams?
Why are language choices important when it comes to representing an event?

Facilitate a discussion with students about their responses to the above questions. Try to have every student’s voice heard in some way - they have had time to think about their responses, so everyone in the class should have a point of view.

Take Action: Use your voice

Step 1

Tell students that it is now their turn to use their new understanding of the power of language, and their passionate voice, to craft a piece of writing that advocates for a right that does not directly impact themselves. They might like to advocate for animal rights, LGBTQIA+ rights, gender equality or racial equality.

Step 2

Give students time to research their chosen topic, and then encourage them to use the ‘Inverted Pyramid Model of Journalistic Writing’ to help structure their response.

Reflection

Ask students to complete a five-minute free-write on the following prompt:

Why is it important to use your voice?

Digital Media: I Have a Voice

Go to

Summary

Lesson guides and printables

In this lesson