Teaching Sequence

10 minutes	Introduction
40 minutes	Part A: Childhood, Growing up and Family
30 minutes	Part B: Place
30 minutes	Part C: Memory
10 minutes	Reflection/Homework

Introduction

Hand out a piece of recycled scrap paper to each student and invite them to spend 2 minutes drawing a picture that represents their personal response to the quote:

You could write the quote on the board to maintain student focus during the activity.

Discuss with students that a biography is the representation of someone’s life. The genre is commonly seen as non-fiction as it is based on evidence (writing, memories, images, comments by people who know the person). However, it is important to remember that the evidence is interpreted through the perspective of the biographer, and in the case of the documentary Paul Kelly - Stories of Me, the film maker. You could support the discussion about the nature of interpretation by referring to the different drawings that each student came up with in response to the quote.

Part A: Childhood, Growing up and Family

Step 1.

As a class, watch the start of Paul Kelly - Stories of Me (up to 05:50)

Step 2.

Ask students to rate (by circling on the Student Worksheet) whether they agree/disagree with the following statement: "Paul Kelly's life is influenced by his family's link to singing."

Download and print the poster versions of each of the questions below and stick them on the classroom walls with Blu-Tack. Hand out some sticky notes and invite students to circulate around the room writing their thoughts on separate sticky notes (one thought/question/puzzlement per sticky note) and attaching them to each of the corresponding questions.

Once students have added their sticky notes, ask them to view each other's responses, then to select a classmate's response that they find interesting, intriguing or puzzling and return to their seats.

Step 3.

Invite students to think for 30 seconds about the response they chose and why they selected it. Encourage students to turn to their neighbour and share their thoughts on the response they selected. This is a great activity to get students sharing their opinions and thoughts about childhood and family in a safe and supported way.

Step 4.

Discuss with students the potential for family members to influence the pathway of a person's life, and how this is reflected in the opening scenes of Paul Kelly - Stories of Me. Paul Kelly reflects about his Nonna’s notion of singing, stating, “thinking about singing – all the different ways of singing, and singing for me not just meaning singing but moaning, crying, pleading, praising, whooping, shouting, talking, whispering, calling, cajoling, defying.” What influence do students think that Paul Kelly's Nonna had over his interpretation(s) of singing? As a class, explore this question by completing a Venn Diagram to reflect on the differences and similarities between Paul Kelly's singing and that of his Nonna.

PK Venn Diagram dumb things/opera comparision

Summarise students' ideas by asking them to share the differences and similarities that they found in the singing of each individual - you could create a class Venn diagram that incorporates all ideas contributed.

Step 5.

Ask students to revisit the response they gave in Step 1, and to describe why their response either changed or stayed the same.

Part B: Place

Step 1.

Invite students to view the pictures below (also on the Student Worksheet) that feature the section of Paul Kelly - Stories of Me that explores Kelly's move to Sydney.

Step 2.

Encourage students to consider the different places shown and mentioned in the documentary, how they mark stages in Paul Kelly's life and career and what they bring to his composition and musical success. They could organise their information in the table on the Student Worksheet.

Part C: Memory

Step 1.

In a 1 minute quick writing activity (on a sticky note, or on scrap paper), invite students to put the following statement into their own words: "We make sense of our lives using unreliable memories."

Ask students to share their ideas and in doing so, visit upon the idea that the only way we can make sense of our lives is with the use of memory ... but that even memory is not completely reliable. In looking back over our lives we reinterpret our past experiences of life in the light of present knowledge. Some authors make it clear that they are reinterpreting their lives but others claim they are delivering their life in a seamlessly truthful manner.

Step 2.

Explore the reliability of representing someone else's memory in a biographical text by completing a quick 'Stand Along the Line' opinion sharing activity.

Designate one end of the room as the side students should stand on if they 'agree', and the other side as where they should stand if they 'disagree'.

Ask students to move to the side of the room that represents their thoughts on the statement: "Paul Kelly's memories are represented truthfully in the documentary Paul Kelly - Stories of Me."

Invite a couple of students to share why they chose to stand where they did.

Now, ask students to move to the area that reflects their response to the following statement: "Documentary is a very reliable way to represent somebody's memories."

Once students have formed their view and moved to the end of the room that reflects their view, ask them to form pairs or groups of three with people they are standing near. Invite students to sit in their groups and brainstorm the reasons that they think the way that they do about the statement. It may be useful to write the statement up on the whiteboard to focus students on the requirement of the group task.

Step 3.

Once groups have listed their reasons, ask them to find at least three sections of Paul Kelly - Stories of Me that support their assertions, and then describe them and how they support students' views on the Student Worksheet.

Reflection/Homework

Students illustrate their understanding of the nature of representation in a biographical text by creating a text that represents the pivotal moments of the life of a person they interview or research. They choose a person to find out about - it could be a family member, a classmate, or another person that they have access to. Students should find out about three main events in that person's life and create a text to represent those events and the effect they had upon the person's life.

Students could represent their interviewee's experiences in an informative or expository essay, a photographic essay, a short film, a Prezi presentation, a mind-map or any other way that they choose. The final product should represent pivotal events in the person's life and outline the effect that they have had upon that person.

Finally, students should reflect on the choices that they made in creating the biographical representation. They could note their ideas about the nature of representation and whether they think that it is possible to represent somebody else's life in a manner that is absolutely truthful.

Differentiated Learning

Extension: For Part A, students plan, draft and publish an extended written piece, students consider the rest of Paul Kelly's family and the effect that they have had upon his life and his songs.

For Part B, Step 2: Students could use screenshots of scenes in the documentary as well as explanatory statements to create a Prezi presentation that further explores the influence of 'place' on Paul Kelly's life and career.

Part C, Step 3: Students could write a one-page expository essay that explores the reasons they either agree or disagree with the statement "Documentary is a very reliable way to represent somebody's memories." They should use the evidence from the text to support their assertions.

Provisional Learning Support: For Part A, Step 5: Summarise the class discussion in dot-points on the whiteboard for students to note on their Student Worksheet.

PAUL KELLY - STORIES OF ME - Biography - Part 1

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