Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

30 minutes

Part A: Who Is Adam Goodes?

90 minutes

Part B: Watching The Final Quarter

25 minutes

Part C: Reviewing the Film

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions and success criteria

Students will...

be familiar with the context and continued significance of The Final Quarter film, as well as with the context of race relations and reconciliation in Australia
understand the key themes and purpose of the film
be aware of other people’s reactions to the film
know how to respond constructively to the themes in the film and be sensitive towards the emotional responses of themselves and others
understand that they may have strong reactions to the film and know where to go to find support.

Students can...

recognise the significance of The Final Quarter film within the context of Australia today
identify and describe key characteristics of Adam Goodes
respond constructively and sensitively to the themes in the film
identify and find supports to help understand any information and emotions experienced during or after watching the film.

Part A: Who Is Adam Goodes?

OPTION: If students have little to no knowledge of who Adam Goodes is or any of his achievements, you may choose to complete an alternative introduction activity which includes showing the video of Adam Goodes’ ‘Australian of the Year’ speech and facilitating a class discussion using suggested discussion questions. Access the Alternative Introduction Activity.

Step 1

Introduce the lesson by providing each student with a small pile of sticky notes and ask them if they have heard of Adam Goodes. Invite students to write down what they know about him and his life on individual sticky notes. Encourage students to think about all aspects of his life, including his sporting achievements, his support for social change and the pride he has in his Aboriginal identity.

Step 2

Encourage students to bring their sticky notes up to the board and stick them next to other notes that have similar information or could be grouped into a theme. For example, one note might say he played for the Sydney Swans, another may suggest he was a two time premiership player. These could be grouped together under the theme of 'AFL player'.

Use this stage of the sticky note activity to observe what students already know about his sporting achievements, his support for social change and his Aboriginal identity, as well as any gaps in their understanding.

Step 3

Once all students have had an opportunity to add their sticky notes onto the board, encourage students to arrange the sticky notes into themes and label them accordingly.

Using the information provided by the students, invite them to write a brief description of who Adam Goodes is in the space provided on the Student Worksheet. The level of detail will depend on how much they already know, but also on the information shared and the categories that they have created.

Step 4

Select some students to share their descriptions with the class and then facilitate a class discussion using the following prompts as a guide:

How did you learn about Adam Goodes?
What are the most common characteristics that have been shared?
What are some of the events and experiences that have been shared?
Why do you think some events or characteristics are more prevalent than others?
What else do you think you might like to learn about Adam Goodes? Why?

Explain to students that a film has recently been made using only archival footage and media material from the final years of Adam Goodes’ career called The Final Quarter.

Using the discussion themes, characteristics and events as the prompt, ask the class “Why would you make a film about Adam Goodes?”

Step 5

Ensure all students can see the screen and show the film trailer to the class:

The Final Quarter Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8KJ0_bdUDU)

Step 6

Provide each student with a copy of the Film Review published in The Guardian in 2019, titled 'The Final Quarter review - exhilarating Adam Goodes documentary pulses with urgency'.

Explain to students that they will now read through the review as a class, and that they are encouraged to ask questions to clarify information about the film and the events that it portrays.

Step 7

After watching the trailer and reading the Guardian review of the film, invite students to participate in a brief class discussion using the following questions as a guide:

What do you think are the key themes/messages of the film?
Why do you think the filmmaker created the film?
What questions do you have about the film?
Why is it important to critically engage with film reviews, and to understand that a given theme can be both represented and responded to in a diversity of ways?

Themes that students may suggest could include: racism, understanding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identities and experiences, belonging and respect, standing up against racism and bullying, truth telling, the power of the media, critically engaging with the media, actively listening to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices and perspectives, fostering reconciliation in Australia.

Part B: Watching The Final Quarter

Note: It is important to acknowledge that the topics and themes of the film identified in the previous activities are complex and require an understanding of the truth of Australian history and the impact of this history on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous peoples. Depending on your group of students, you may need to spend time investigating these themes and ideas further to ensure students are prepared and ready to watch the full film.

To help ensure all students are supported in watching and discussing the film, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, it is important to provide a safe and secure environment where all people feel safe to share and communicate personal experiences. Refer to the teacher information on Cultural Safety and Respect for more information.

You may choose to have a discussion with your students to form a mutually agreed list of sharing guidelines or principles to encourage safe and accepting conversations. These guidelines could include:

Own your ideas by using “I think” rather than “you should”
Respect each other by remembering that each person has their own beliefs and values and their own world views, experiences, and opinions
Each person has a right to contribute their ideas so listen politely
Be brave in sharing your ideas, experiences, and opinions
Consider the privacy of your classmates and appreciate that everyone has the right to uphold their privacy. This might mean they don’t want to share their ideas or experiences on an issue
Share feedback in a way that is considerate and positive. Remember to be kind, helpful and specific when providing feedback.

For further information about creating a safe and secure environment, refer to this factsheet: Handling Sensitive Topics and Issues.

Step 1

Explain to students that they will soon be watching The Final Quarter documentary, which explores the events during Adam Goodes’ final three years playing AFL football for the Sydney Swans.

Invite students to arrange themselves so that they are seated where they can see the screen, and remind students that it is not just a football film but a film more about how one person was treated by Australian society and the media for standing up against racism.

Step 2

Watch the film - click here.

Note: You may choose to stop the film at intervals to ensure students are understanding the significance of events, people and reactions during the film. You might like to use these Film Timings and Questions as a guide.

Step 3

At the conclusion of the film, allow students a couple of minutes to openly talk in small groups about the film. This unstructured talk may help students feel more comfortable with the content of the film and the emotions they may be feeling.

Part C: Reviewing The Final Quarter

Step 1

Provide each student with a copy of the Student Worksheet and invite them to complete the first part of a Think-Pair-Share by completing the reflection questions in Column A.

Think-Pair-Share discussion questions:

What do you think/feel after watching the film, and why?
What stood out to you, and why?
What surprised you, and why?
How did the film differ from what you were expecting, and how/why?
What key themes/messages did you notice in the film, and where?

Step 2

Once students have had time to review their own thoughts about the film, encourage them to find a partner to share their responses with. This could be a time to remind students that your classroom is a safe space, and that there is no right or wrong emotion when responding to the film. This may also be a good opportunity to refer back to the agreed list of sharing guidelines or principles to encourage safe and accepting conversations.

Ask students to note down their partner’s responses in Column B on the Student Worksheet. These discussions will form the basis for the whole class discussion.

Step 3

After each pair has shared their reflections with one another, using the same questions bring the class together and discuss the film and student reactions. Facilitate the discussion to highlight the key themes discussed earlier in the class.

Step 4

Explain to students that they will now plan their own film review to share with someone at school, at home or in their community. The review will explain how they feel about the film, the impact that the film had on them and how it may impact others.

As a class, plan out the structure of a film review using the simple headings of Introduction, Body Paragraphs and Conclusion. Invite students to identify what they think needs to be included in each section.

Use the Film Review Template as a guide to scaffold the plan and to help students draw out key themes and ideas of the film.

Step 5

Film Review Guide: Structure and Key Questions:

INTRODUCTION:

Who is the film about?
What is the film about?
Why was the film created?
How has the film been made?
Whose perspective has the film been created from?

REVIEW (BODY PARAGRAPHS)

What stood out in the film and how/why?
What impact did the use of archival footage have on you as an audience, and how/why?
What makes the film different/interesting/engaging/important, and how/why?
What worked well? What didn’t? How/why?
What are the key messages of the film and why are they important?

CONCLUSION

Why would you recommend people see this film?
What kind of learning and action to you think people should engage in before and after viewing the film? Why?

Reflection

Invite students to go back to their original description of Adam Goodes completed at the beginning of the class. Using the space provided on the Student Worksheet, ask students to rewrite their description of him now that they have seen the film and understand more about the issues that are important to him. Encourage them to consider which information is important for people to understand about Adam Goodes’ character, achievements, and identity.

Differentiated learning

Extension

In Part C, invite students to use the information in their Film Review Template to write a formal review of the film to be an assessed piece of writing.
Students could also identify a person or group that they would like to share their review with and discuss the importance of sharing Adam’s story to help others understand the issues and experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Provisions for Learning Support

In Part A, if students are struggling to identify themes in the film or engage in discussion, consider reviewing Social Themes In The Final Quarter for ideas.
In Part C, students can be given a copy of the Film Review Template to work through the suggested questions. Students may also be given the opportunity to work with small groups of students to identify different ideas and information that could be included for each section. Encourage students to list dot point information that they would like to include in their film review.

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?

The Final Quarter - Reviewing The Film

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