Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

20 minutes – Part A: Understanding How Stories Can Change Minds
120 minutes – Part B: Taking Action – Writing a Story to Change Minds
20 minutes – Reflection

Part A: Understanding How Stories Change Minds

Preparation:

Ensure that you have delivered the previous lesson, Dying to Live: How Stories Can Change Minds before beginning this one to ensure that students have an in-depth understanding of how stories can change minds.

Step 1.

Begin the lesson by asking students to consider what their current view of organ and tissue donation and transplantation is. Invite students to complete the sentence stem below (there is space on the Student Worksheet for them to do so):

“In regards to organ and tissue donation, I think...”

Step 2.

Now invite students to position themselves so that they can see the screen. Introduce the clip by explaining that they are about to watch the story of Woody, who features in the documentary film Dying to Live. The film examines organ and tissue donation and transplantation in Australia through seven different people’s stories.

Watch the following clip as a class:

Dying to Live: Woody's Story (https://youtu.be/NaJUbRT345U)

Step 3.

Once complete, invite students to complete the second sentence stem on the Student Worksheet:

“After watching Woody’s story, I now think...”

Step 4.

You could then invite students to reflect on whether their view changed, and what might have influenced that change (there is space on the Student Worksheet for them to do so).

Next, invite volunteers to share their reflection with the class. Through your discussion, remind students about Paul Zak’s research into how stories change the brain (explored in a previous lesson) by using the dramatic arc. Summarise this part of the lesson by reminding students that stories, when structured a certain way, can change minds.

Optional: Review what students learned about how stories can change minds by re-watching the Empathy, Neurochemistry, and the Dramatic Arc clip from the previous lesson.

Part B: Taking Action – Writing a Story to Change Minds

Step 1.

Explain to students that their challenge now is to take action to reduce the waiting list for people waiting for an organ donation. Advise that they will do this by writing and publishing a story with a set theme – the value of organ and tissue donation. The aim of students' stories will be to change people’s minds about the value of organ and tissue donation and encourage them to register as an organ and tissue donor if they can.

Refocus students on the issue of organ and tissue donation by reminding them of the following:

One organ donor can save or transform the lives of up to 10 people.
About 15% of those on the list will die waiting.
Only 8% of 18–24 year olds are registered to donate their organs.
There are over 1,300 Aussies awaiting an organ.
The majority of Australians (69%) are willing to become organ and tissue donors, but 61% of Australians don’t know or are unsure of the donation decision of their loved ones.
If they do know the donation decision, 93% say they would honour it if the circumstances arose.
Most religions support organ and tissue donation as an act of compassion and generosity. Religious leaders from the Islamic, Hindu, Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist and Greek Orthodox faiths have all acknowledged their support for donation.
You’re never too old (or too young)... almost anyone can be an organ and tissue donor!
While your age and medical history will be considered, you shouldn’t assume you are too old, too young or not healthy enough. It’s best to register just in case.
In Australia the family will always be asked to confirm the donation decisions of the deceased before organ and tissue donation for transplantation can proceed. That’s why it’s so important to #HaveTheChat with your family!

(Source: Dying to Live).

Step 2.

Inform students that once they have planned, drafted and written their stories, they will be published and/or read within the school community to inspire others to take action around the issue of organ and tissue donation in Australia. Inform students that they could write a story that is based on the experiences of a real person or one that is entirely fictional. In both cases, students must ensure that they spend some time researching and building an understanding of the topic so that their story conveys the realities of organ and tissue donation and transplantation. Remind students that they can use the Dying to Live and Donate Life websites as sources of information on the topic.

Step 3.

Invite students to review the Dramatic Arc Factsheet as a reminder of the different stages they should include in their plot to ensure that their stories have the best chance of changing the reader’s mind.

Step 4.

Hand out copies of the Freytag's Pyramid Worksheet. Invite students to use the prompts on the Student Worksheet to help them to plan their story. They are asked to create a character, define the setting and use the dramatic arc to plan the plot of their story.

Step 5.

Once students have finished planning their stories, reinforce the importance of writing descriptively by showing the How to Write Descriptively video below. Next, distribute this Tips and Tricks for a Great Story Factsheet to each student to refer to while drafting their story.

How to Write Descriptively - Nalo Hopkinson (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSoRzTtwgP4)

Step 6.

Allow students time to draft, revise and edit their stories. Encourage students to form pairs to conduct peer-reviews at appropriate times throughout the process. Students could use this Narrative Writing Peer Assessment Rubric to provide feedback to their classmates.

Step 7.

In order for students’ stories to change minds, they must be published and publicly available for others to read and or/hear. This could mean that students submit their stories to a school publication, make their stories available to read on an online platform, or that they print their stories and read them aloud to an audience of their peers, their families and/or local community members.

Students could send their stories to the local newspaper to publish, or get in touch with the local council about options that may be available for students through the council’s own website or contacts within the council.

At the very least, encourage all members of the class to share their story with family at home, and have a conversation about their own intentions relating to organ and tissue donation. Remind students that their family members can go to the Donate Life website and register as a donor, if that is what they wish.

Reflection

Invite students to pair up to conduct a reflection interview with each other, using these two questions as a basis for their discussion:

Where did you encounter struggle today, and what did you do to deal with it?
Is it important to change people’s minds about organ and tissue donation? Justify why you think this.

Students should note down the main points of their discussion in the space provided on the Student Worksheet.

Differentiated learning

Extension – Encourage students to record themselves reading their story aloud, and to create a podcast made up of a number of the class’s stories.

Provisions for Learning Support – Identify students who will need extra help when planning their story, and facilitate a small group-work session so that they are supported at this stage of the story writing process.

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

What did you learn about your teaching today?
What worked well?
What didn't work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

Dying to Live - Writing Stories to Changes Minds

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