Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

30 minutes	Part A: What is Justice?
30 minutes	Part B: Justice and Seeking Asylum
40 minutes	Part C: Analysing News Media texts: Television (The Project)
40 minutes	Part D: Analysing News Media texts: Newspaper Opinion (The Australian)
10 minutes	Reflection

Part A: What is Justice?

Step 1.

Begin the lesson by conducting a 'Think, Pair, Share' routine with the class.

Think Pair Share
Think pair share is a collaborative learning strategy in which students work together to solve a problem or answer a question.
Think - Students independently think about an issue or questions and record their thoughts.
Pair - Students work in pairs to discuss their ideas and record new thoughts.
Share - Students share their thoughts with the whole group or with other pairs to reach consensus.

Write the word ‘JUSTICE’ on the board and ask students to think to themselves and list things that come to mind when they hear or see the word ‘justice’. You could prompt students by asking :

Where have you heard the word used before?
What do you associate with something being ‘just’ or ‘unjust’?
If a legal system is sometimes called a justice system, what do you think this means?

Students can list their responses in the ‘THINK’ section on the table on the Student Worksheet.

Ask students to partner with the person next to them to compare their responses. Encourage students to focus their discussion on justice as a concept and list some examples about where or when they might hear about or use this concept themselves. Indicate to students that they can add any new associations to the ‘PAIR’ section during this time. Encourage each pair to select one thing to share with the class when their time is up.

Bring the class back together and invite each pair to share one thing that they discussed. List some contributions on the board and facilitate a discussion about the variety of responses. Students might respond with such concepts as fair or unfair behaviour or consequences, or even with responses about right and wrong.

Synthesise this discussion with the class by highlighting that justice can be a difficult concept to define or understand, because it is often used in different contexts and it can be difficult to comprehend when you haven’t been affected by it.

Step 2.

Explain to the class that one way to understand justice is to consider the opposite: injustice. By doing this we can see how something we consider normal or just in our own lives does not mean it is just in someone else’s.

Project the following Justice and Injustice images (also available here):

Source: https://interactioninstitute.org/illustrating-equality-vs-equity/

Source: Together Women Rise (togetherwomenrise.org/international-womens-day-womens-equity-vs-equality/)

Explain to students that these are two illustrations can be used to show the difference between justice and injustice by using the idea of equality and equity. Ask students which side of the illustration is more fair and facilitate a brief discussion about the similarities and differences of the illustrations. Students might refer to the help that some of the people need to get something. Another observation might be that one person didn’t need the help to see the game/reach the fruit.

Give students five minutes to look closely at the images and list as many things they can on the Student Worksheet about justice or injustice that they can conclude from observing the illustrations. In a quick discussion, invite students to share some of their conclusions. Students may have concluded that justice is about equity, not equality. Another conclusion might refer to justice being an acknowledgement that not everyone has equal opportunities.

At the end of the discussion, highlight to students the similar and different aspects of justice that have been revealed through their responses.

Step 3.

Invite students to write their own definition or understanding of justice and injustice and how they can impact people’s lives in different contexts. Their definition should be 50 words or less.

Scaffold the task by working as a class to write an example on the board. For example: “Justice is the application of support to help people in need based on their specific needs. It might mean that some people get different or more help than others, and this could be financial or physical resources. Injustice would be not helping these people with what they need.” Encourage students to then extend their own definition.

Remind students that no one definition is correct but that by synthesising their own knowledge and understanding, they can begin processing the concept and apply it more effectively when examining different news media texts in the next phases of the lesson. Encourage volunteers to share their definition with the class and again highlight any similarities or differences. For example, a number of definitions might refer to the concepts of equality and fairness.

ICT extension or differentiation:

Create a class Padlet page and ask students to post their definitions to this page. This can be done anonymously if required.

Part B: Justice and Seeking Asylum

Step 1.

Explain to students that the following two clips are from the documentary Chasing Asylum. Invite students to watch for examples of justice or injustice throughout each.

Foreshadow with students that they will be completing a ‘See, Think, Wonder’ visible thinking routine after watching each clip. This thinking routine encourages students to carefully and thoughtfully observe and interpret information and begin developing curiosity about various issues for future inquiry.

Chasing Asylum Clip 4 (https://vimeo.com/183257818)

After watching the clip, give students a few minutes to start the ‘See, Think, Wonder’ activity on the Student Worksheet. Play the second excerpt and ask students to again consider carefully what they see and hear.

Chasing Asylum Clip 9 (https://vimeo.com/183258008)

After watching the second clip, give students a few minutes to complete the ‘See, Think, Wonder’ activity on the Student Worksheet. Responses can be shared and discussed in a quick class discussion. Students might refer to the perspectives about limbo and the impact of this on mental health, or the impact of limbo on children and the extent to which this is just or unjust.

Step 2.

After considering some of the ‘wonder’ or ‘think’ points from the class, select one that seems to be quite challenging and explain to the class that they are now about to participate in a slightly different version of ‘Tug of War’.

This is a fairness thinking routine that helps students explore the complexities of fairness dilemmas; that is, dilemmas that have complexities on both sides that ‘tug’ at either side of the issue. Students are encouraged to think carefully and reason cautiously about the impact of various factors involved in the given dilemma. This subsequently helps them to appreciate the deeper complexities of fairness situations. It creates a visual representation of the interconnectedness of ideas, and the collaborative thinking and process reflects a dynamic interaction of students’ thoughts in a safe zone of shared inquiry.

If there is not a suitable dilemma from the points generated by students, you could create a dilemma about justice and people seeking asylum, or use the fairness dilemma of keeping children in detention.

Start by presenting the dilemma to the class. This can be done by writing it on the board and drawing a rope underneath it. Explain to the class that each end represents the opposing side of the dilemma. Ask students to think about the perspectives and issues in the clips from Chasing Asylum as well as what they have heard in news media. Students should consider what side each perspective/reason would be on and why.

Invite students to write their justifications on sticky-notes, or take turns to write their justifications in the relevant space around the rope on the whiteboard. Encourage the class to think of things that would ‘tug’ both sides of the dilemma and to write these as well.

Next, stand back and ask students to generate some ‘what if's’. These can be questions, issues, factors or concerns that might need to be explored further to resolve the issue fairly or with justice. Write and/or post these above the rope.

Finally, finish the activity by asking students to reflect in the space provided on the Student Worksheet. They are prompted with:

What new ideas do you have about the dilemma of _________ (e.g. Children in detention?)
Do you still feel the same way about it? Why/Why not?

Part C: Analysing News Media Texts: Television (The Project)

Step 1.

Explain to students that when it comes to people seeking asylum and the associated issues raised, a range of different perspectives are communicated in all forms of news media. Explain that each news media text aims to report news events and issues, but also to position audiences (readers and/or viewers) to think, feel or do something in relation to the issue. This is called audience positioning.

Ask students to reflect on some different perspectives they have heard in the media about people seeking asylum, refugees, Manus Island, Nauru or offshore detention. Students might refer to politicians’ perspectives or soundbites from interviews such as “stop the boats” or “let them stay”, or they might refer to significant people whose prominence means their perspective is often heard; such as specific politicians, journalists or advocates. They might even refer to specific stories or feature articles they’ve seen or read through social media or on television.

Explain to students that whatever the perspective is on the issue, people who write, produce or create news media texts about any issue make specific choices in language, visual elements, sound/music, and structure/sequence in order to represent issues a certain way and shape the meaning that is communicated to the audience.

Step 2.

On the whiteboard, list the following:

Language choices
Visual choices
Aural/sound choices
Structural/sequence choices

Ask students to use the list to guide them to critically view the following clip from The Project (Channel 10). They should think carefully about what is being communicated to them in terms of issues of justice or injustice, people seeking asylum and the people working with them.

Waleed Aly Slams New Immigration Law (https://youtu.be/DmsHasOvJNo)

Step 3.

After watching the clip, give students some time to complete the comprehension and analysis questions on the Student Worksheet to recall and explain some of the choices made in the report to shape meaning.

Facilitate a brief discussion with the class. Work through student responses about the representation of the issues and perspectives about justice that are prevalent in the clip. Highlight the effect that choices have in terms of influence over the meaning produced - for example, the effect/s of the background music at various stages of the clip or the impact of certain words or phrases or repetition used by the presenter (Waleed Aly) and people interviewed.

Part D: Analysing News Media Texts: Newspaper Opinion (The Australian)

Step 1.

Point out that while news media that is broadcast on television can use audio/visual features and verbal/non-verbal choices to shape meaning and communicate perspectives, print media (and its online versions) relies on written language and some still images to communicate perspectives.

List the following headings on the board to activate prior knowledge around language features that can influence readers:

emotive language
persuasive devices
figurative language
modality
poetic devices.

Invite students to open the opinion piece by Chris Kenny from the Australian (Limbo is Nauru’s Real Torture for Asylum-Seekers - Chris Kenny - also available on the Student Worksheet). Students could be provided with a printed copy to annotate as they read, or they could use the URL from the article to access the online version to annotate.

Highlight to students that while reading, they should actively consider what the opinion piece is saying about people seeking asylum and government policy. Students should also be attentive to how issues of justice and/or injustice are represented throughout the piece.

Foreshadow the questions and analysis table on the Student Worksheet and explain that while reading the article, they should be identifying examples of language choices, thinking about the impact they have and how they shape meaning.

Scaffold this activity by reading the opinion piece as a class, stopping where necessary to explain or discuss information, or give students some individual time to read and respond before discussing as a class. After reading the piece, give students some time to complete the comprehension and analysis questions on the Student Worksheet.

Step 2.

Facilitate a brief discussion with the class about issues addressed in the piece and how they were represented by the author. In this discussion, guide students to consider the effect that language choices have in terms of the meaning produced - for example, the effect/s of using emotive language to describe the actions of refugee advocates, the impact of modality on generalisations, or the use of specific vocabulary to define or explain issues.

Reflection

Invite students to reflect on the lesson and their understanding of what justice and injustice means and how it relates to people seeking asylum, offshore detention, and those working within this area. Students can complete their reflection in response to the questions on the Student Worksheet.

How does having a clear understanding of what justice and injustice means shape how you can respond to issues and events surrounding people seeking asylum in Australia?
To what extent do you think news media shapes individuals’ and groups’ understanding of the issues of justice or injustice that are raised by the mandatory offshore detention of people seeking asylum in Australia?
In what ways can audio/visual news media more effectively shape meaning and communicate perspectives about people seeking asylum?
Consider your answer to question 3. What are the advantages, disadvantages, responsibilities and dangers of these choices?
Recall the ‘tug of war’ activity about fairness dilemmas. What measures could various stakeholders (people involved or with a strong interest in the issue) adopt to address some of the challenges raised by offshore detention to develop outcomes that could be considered fair or ‘just’?

Assessment

Use the Stories of Chasing Asylum - Assessment Task Lesson so that students can demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the topics and English outcomes explored throughout the unit.

Take Action

Use the Stories of Chasing Asylum - Social Action Lesson so that students can apply their knowledge and design a social action project. Students can raise awareness by organising a screening of the film or take action to promote positive change in their own community.

Stories of Chasing Asylum - Stories of Justice and Injustice

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