Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

20 minutes

Part A: Who Is Adam Goodes?

90 minutes

Part B: Watching The Final Quarter

15 minutes

Part C: Emotional Connections

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions and success criteria

Students will...

be familiar with the context and continued significance of The Final Quarter film
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?

Step 1

Introduce the lesson by asking students if they have heard of Adam Goodes and, if they have, what they know about him. This is a good opportunity to see what they already know about his sporting achievements as well as their understanding of the pride he has in his Aboriginal identity.

Step 2

Explain to students that they will now learn more about who Adam Goodes is and his achievements both on and off the football field.

Provide each student with a copy of the Adam Goodes Profile. As a class read through the information provided about Adam Goodes’ contributions to the AFL and Australian society at large.

As you read through, ensure you stop and clarify information that students may not understand about his sporting achievements, his personal characteristics, his Aboriginal identity and the changes that he wanted to see in Australian society.

Step 3

Once finished reading the profile information, provide the following scenario to students (included on the Student Worksheet).

Imagine you are a filmmaker and you have been asked to make a documentary film about Adam Goodes. To ensure you are the right filmmaker for the job, the production company has asked you to respond to the following question:

What do you think the film should focus on? Why?

Encourage students to refer back to the information in the profile and the discussions already had about him to help choose their focus.

Step 4

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. 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 5

After watching the trailer, facilitate a brief class discussion using the following questions as a guide:

What do you think the film is about?
How does this film trailer make you feel, and how/why?
What key events are highlighted in the trailer?
What do you think the key themes or messages in the film might be?
How do you think it compares to the film that you would make about Adam Goodes?

Themes that students might suggest: AFL, sport, racism, standing up against racism, respect, the media, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues and voices.

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: Emotional connections

Step 1

Ensure all students have a copy of the Student Worksheet. This worksheet includes a list of common emotions. Note that this list is not a definitive list of emotions that students may be feeling but can be used as a starting point to encourage students to identify how they are feeling after viewing the film.

Hurt	Surprised	Miserable	Thrilled
Loved	Jealous	Embarrassed	Worried
Furious	Joyful	Proud	Powerless
Rejected	Ashamed	Tense	Determined
Scared	Unloved	Bored	Lonely
Excited	Amazed	Thankful	Afraid
Disappointed	Hopeful	Uncomfortable	Confused
Shy	Ignored	Anxious	Calm
Frustrated	Relieved	Betrayed	Guilty

(Emotions list adapted from FUSE Department of Education and Training)

Step 2

Explain to students that we all are likely to feel different emotions after watching the film and for different reasons.

Invite students to circle or highlight as many different emotions on their worksheet that they feel when they think about The Final Quarter film.

Step 3

Encourage students to select up to five (5) emotions that best sum up how they feel and write them in the first column of the Emotional Connections table (included below).

Invite students to then think about why they might be feeling this way, and whether there was any particular part of the film that sparked those emotions. Encourage students to write their thoughts in the second and third columns of the Emotional Connections Table (included below).

Emotional Connections Table

Emotion	Why might you be feeling this way?	Was there a key image, quote or moment in the film that sparked this emotion?
Example ANGRY	I don’t think anyone should have to feel like Adam did.	He didn’t even feel safe enough to have a lap of honour at the AFL Grand Final in 2015.

Step 4

Once students have completed their Emotional Connections Table, invite them to write down their strongest feelings on sticky notes (up to three each) and hand them to the teacher.

NOTE: Even though individual students’ emotions will not be identified, it is still important to explain to students that this classroom is a safe space, and there is no right or wrong emotion. 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.

Step 5

Use the sticky notes to group feelings together on the board for all students to see. Use these common emotions to facilitate a discussion about why students might be feeling a particular way.

The following questions could be used to help guide the discussion and ensure students are making connections to the themes of the film:

There are a number of students that feel [insert emotion here]. Why do you think this emotion is common? What parts of the film do you think best show this emotion?
Does this film encourage any positive emotions? Which ones? Which parts of the film do you think makes people feel positive?
This film makes us feel uncomfortable at times. What can we do when we don’t like the emotions that we are feeling? Or the reasons why we are feeling them?
Positive coping strategies can include: taking deep breaths, going for a walk, taking some time out, talking to a trusted adult or friend, investigating your thoughts and replacing them with more helpful thoughts, journaling, drawing, playing an instrument, playing with a pet.

You might like to contact your school’s welfare department to find out if they have a set of Feeling Cards that you can borrow. These resources can assist students in identifying useful and less useful coping strategies.

Reflection

Invite students to look back at the Adam Goodes Profile and ask them to think about what else could be added to his profile since they have watched the film, The Final Quarter.

Encourage students to use the guiding questions (included below) to write a paragraph about Adam Goodes’ legacy.

Adam’s Legacy:

What events/experiences do you think Adam Goodes will be remembered for, and why?
What personal characteristics do you think he will be remembered for, and why?
What things do you think Adam Goodes has positively changed or drawn attention to?

Differentiated Learning

Extension

In Part A - Who is Adam Goodes?, students can conduct further research to find out more information about Adam Goodes before watching the film. This could include specific events and campaigns featured in the film and adding them to the original profile.

Provisions for Learning Support

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 - Safely Viewing The Film

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Summary

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