LESSON ONE

CONCEPT STUDY: Good Versus Evil

LESSON FOCUS: The Enemy

Class: Year 7/Stage 4 Time: 60 minutes

Pre-service teacher’s Objectives

It will be paramount for me to make certain that this lesson is both accessible for all
students in the class, whilst challenging and appealing to each individual student. I
believe that the curriculum outcome that has been targeted is appropriate for this
lesson, and that the activities planned will achieve the outcomes. I wish to facilitate
the students’ capabilities to use core English tools (e.g. grammar, vocabulary),
employing them as well as their personal responses and imagination to develop
more understanding of how ‘the enemy’ is constructed.

What is being taught in this lesson?

Students are being taught about the construct of ‘the enemy’ as part of a study
looking at the theme of “good versus evil”. Students will learn in this lesson
definitions for ‘the enemy’, vocabulary associated with ‘the enemy’, and how
‘enemies’ can be constructed in a text (in this case a movie).

Why am I teaching this lesson?

This lesson is specifically designed to meet Outcome 4-1A of the current English K-10
English Syllabus.

How am I teaching this lesson?

This lesson will be taught primarily using a ‘talking space’ approach, as outlined by
Manuel, Gannon, Howie and Sawyer (2009), with material from popular culture (i.e.
“The Incredibles”) to help, as Page states, “make thematic connections, examine
allusions” (2012).

How it relates to your reading in this unit?

Van Haren (2016) notes the importance of both activating prior knowledge (as
posited by Wilhelm) as an effective way of engaging with students. This lesson
endeavours to accomplish this by using familiar examples of an ‘enemy’ drawn from
an animated film clip, and/or from the students’ own sources (as part of their
homework). This aspect of the lesson also relates to Van Haren’s observations on the
agency of the learner.

Outcomes
Outcome 1: Respond to and composes texts for understanding, interpretation,
critical analysis, imaginative expression and pleasure (EN4-1A)
This lesson aims to facilitate the students’ response to texts (in this instance, the
video clip from “The Incredibles”), using the construct of ‘the enemy’ as the locus for
their understanding and interpretative skills. They will also be asked to compose an
original sentence built upon their vocabulary and experiences that articulates
comprehension of the construct of ‘the enemy’.
 Engage personally with texts (see Activity Three)
 Apply increasing knowledge of vocabulary, text structures and language
features to understand the contexts of texts (see Activity Two)
 Identify and discuss main ideas, concepts and points of view in spoken texts
to evaluate qualities (see Activity Three, Homework)

Materials

PowerPoint (see below)

HandOut (see below)

Procedures
Time Organisation Teaching/ learning activities
0-7 Roll call and Teacher
distribution  Teacher ensures students enter classroom in an
of class hand orderly fashion after they have lined up at the door.
out to As the students enter they are asked to collect the
students. hand out which they will use for the course of this
lesson. The roll is called.
Students
 Follow teacher’s instructions
7-25 Individual The Enemy: Definition and Classroom Activity One:
work and Teacher:
classroom  Using a combination of the hand out and
discussion PowerPoint presentation the teacher introduces
the focus point of the thematic examination of
“Good versus Evil”, i.e. “The Enemy”.
 Presents some initial images that either directly or
indirectly refer to an enemy.
 Presents agenda for lesson activities including what
the learning outcomes will be
 Present the dictionary definition for ‘enemy’ and
then conduct a combined literacy activity and
classroom discussion looking at how the students
may have their own (alternate) definition, based on
their own experiences and understandings.
Students:
 Use the information presented in the PowerPoint
slides as well as their handbook to comprehend a
strict dictionary-based definition for ‘enemy’.
 Work individually to compose a sentence that
utilises the definition for ‘enemy’.
 Reflect critically, based on their own experiences
and understanding of the meaning of ‘enemy’ to
then contribute to a classroom discussion on the
 efficacy and relevance of the dictionary definition
25-37 Individual The Enemy: Vocabulary and Comprehension Activity
work and Teacher:
classroom  Using PowerPoint presentation and hand out the
discussion teacher introduces synonyms for ‘the enemy’ to
expand the students’ vocabulary.
 Directs students to individually complete the
comprehension exercise, looking to ensure the
students understand the effects of swapping
words, and in certain instances (e.g. ‘foe’) how the
form (i.e. poetry) can dictate word choice.
 Guide a classroom discussion.
Students
 Review the synonyms listed in the provided
materials and comprehend the vocabulary.
 Correct misquotes with the appropriate synonym
for the word ‘enemy’, with the appropriate
comprehension skills.
 Contribute their corrected quotes to a classroom
discussion.
37-55 Collaborative The Enemy: Mr Incredible and Syndrome – Collaborative
Groupwork Group Study
and Teacher:
classroom  Divide the class into five groups
discussion  Play the video in the PowerPoint slide from the
movie “The Incredibles”, with Syndrome
confronting Mr. Incredible.
 Allocate to each group questions for consideration.
 Lead a class discussion reviewing each groups’
responses.
Students
 Watch the video clip as shown by the teacher
 Work collaboratively in their respective groups to
formulate responses to the questions they have
been asked to consider.
 Use the hand out if necessary to note down their
thoughts, responses.
 Present their responses verbally in a classroom
discussion.
55-60 Revision & Teacher:
Homework  Revision questions on definitions and synonyms for
setting ‘the enemy’.
 Outline homework, advising students to take home
their homework.
Students
 Participate when requested with responses for
questions posed by the teacher
  Retain the lesson hand out for homework

Homework Students are to identify an enemy character from a known

example of prose/poetry/drama/music/comics etc, and
using the hand out as a guide articulate why they have
chosen this figure, their response to him/her/it, and what
potential motivation(s) exist for the character.

Evaluation/ Extension
Students will be given formative assessments throughout the lesson, via
comprehension and compositional activities. For example, students will be asked to
compose an original sentence based on one definition of the word ‘enemy’. In the
video activity one question relates to ‘monologuing’, which will require the students
to identify and understand how this convention works, and hopefully associate it
with other cultural artefacts where this device is used (e.g. Edmund’s speech in ‘King
Lear’).
The homework set for the students after this lesson is aimed to extend their
perception of what constitutes an enemy in (their) known literary and media
contexts, including comprehension and critical analysis of the psychology of their
selected character.

In retrospect
I am not totally satisfied with the synonym activity. Asking the students to replace
the word ‘enemy’ or ‘enemies’ with the correct synonym is perhaps not the best way
to expand or deepen vocabulary.

References

Board of Studies NSW. (2012). English K-10 Syllabus Volume 2: English Years 7-10.
Sydney: Australia. Board of Studies NSW.
Manuel, A. (2009). Talking and Listening for Learning in English. In S. Gannon, M.
Howie and W. Sawyer (Eds.), Charged with Meaning: English (3rd Ed.). (pp.
185-196). Putney, Australia: Phoenix Education.
Moore, B. (Ed.). (1997). The Australian Concise Oxford Dictionary (3rd. Ed.). South
Melbourne: Australia. Oxford University Press.
The Oxford University Press Dictionary of Quotations (2nd Ed.). (1985). London: United
Kingdom. Chancellor Press.
Page, M. A. (2012). Popular culture: The new literacy challenge for English teachers.
English Journal, 102(2), 129-133. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-
com.ezproxy.uws.edu.au/docview/1315167169?accountid=36155
Urdang, L. (1997). Oxford Compact Thesaurus In Clear A-Z Form. Oxford: United
Kingdom. Oxford University Press.
Van Haren, R. (2016). Learner Engagement. in E. Boas and S. Ganzis (Eds.), The Artful
English Teacher. (pp. 40-60). Kensington Gardens. Australia: Australian
Association for Teaching English
Walker, J. (Producer), & Bird, B. (Director). (2004). The Incredibles [Video]. Emoryville,
USA: Pixar Films.
 THE ENEMY
Lesson One

1. Definition Activity
Below are definitions for the word ‘enemy’ in the Australian Concise Oxford
Dictionary

1. A person or group actively opposing or hostile to another

2. A hostile nation or army, especially in war

3. An adversary or opponent

4. A thing that harms or injures

5. Of or belonging to an enemy (e.g. ‘destroyed by enemy action’)

Write a sentence in the space below with the word ‘enemy’ or ‘enemies’ included,
based on one of the dictionary meanings.

(For example, “I’ve always thought of Bill as my enemy, because he supports the
opposition football team.”)

2. Vocabulary Building

Antagonist/Antagonists Foe/Foes
Adversary/Adversaries Nemesis/Nemeses
Competitor/Competitors Opposition
Contender/Contenders Rival/Rivals
Detractor/Detractors Villain/Villains – Villainess/Villainesses

Here are four quotes that have had one of the above synonyms substituted with the
word ‘enemy’ or ‘enemies’. See if you can correct the quote with the original word.
  “Hate traps us by binding us too tightly to our enemy.” – Milan Kundera
(adversary)

 “Over a period of several weeks, the enemies must fight to the death” –
Suzanne Collins (competitor)

 “It is better to arm and strengthen your hero, than to disarm and enfeeble
your enemy.” – Anne Bronte (foe)

 “The measure of any superhero is always his enemy.” – David Lyons (nemesis)

3. Mr. Incredible and Syndrome

Watch the video clip from the movie ‘The Incredibles”, then think about your
response to the question(s) your group has been asked to consider.

 Do you consider Syndrome to be evil? On what evidence do you base this? Is

it just because he is Mr. Incredible’s enemy?

 What is Syndrome’s motivation as Mr. Incredible’s enemy? Does he have

more than one, and if so, why?

 Is Mr. Incredible responsible for creating Syndrome as his enemy? If so, what
were Mr. Incredible’s intentions?

 How important do you think the idea is of ‘respect’ to Syndrome as an enemy

to Mr. Incredible?

 What do you think Syndrome means when he talks about being caught
“monologuing”?

Write down your thoughts here:

Homework
Locate and identify an example of someone or something that you believe is ‘the
enemy’ in one of the following media:

 A story

 A film

 A poem

 A play

 A song or musical

 A comic book

 A television show

When you have done this write one paragraph each answering the following
questions:

1. Why did you choose this ‘enemy’? (For example, he/she/it fits a definition we
discussed today, the character appeals to you, makes you scared, etc)

2. What is the motivation for ‘the enemy’ and how is this demonstrated? (For
example, does he want respect like Syndrome?)

Response One:

Response Two:
LESSON TWO
CONCEPT STUDY: Good Versus Evil
LESSON FOCUS: The Enemy

Class: Year 7/Stage 4 Time: 60 minutes

Pre-service teacher’s Objectives

In this lesson I will be working to expand the students’ awareness of the moral
ambiguities when examining the theme of good versus evil. This is an advanced
conceptual learning, and I want to develop this in stages. Firstly, students will use
their previous work and experiences to map and define an ‘enemy’. Then they will be
presented with divergent and conflicting characterisations of enemies, and asked to
then respond. Through this process the students will hopefully develop
discriminatory and empathic understandings of the nature of “good versus evil”.

What is being taught in this lesson?

In this lesson students are being given the tools to interpret and define the enemy as
a focal point in considering the theme of “good versus evil”, and how this construct
may be morally ambivalent.

Why am I teaching this lesson?

This lesson is specifically designed to meet Outcome 4-7D of the current English K-10
English Syllabus.

How am I teaching this lesson?

This lesson is using the construct of connection, as outlined on the English Textual
Concepts website (2016) to facilitate considerations of the ambiguous nature of what
is an enemy, within the wider theme of “good versus evil”. A collaborative group
work approach combined with classroom discussions is the main methodology for
lesson delivery.

How it relates to your reading in this unit?

Considering this lesson is focused on the students approaching an understanding of
moral ambiguity within the construct of an enemy, and this has associations with
their socialisation as well as their ability to comprehend this challenging idea, it has a
direct correlation to the pedagogical benefits through collaboration as described by
Williams (2016)

Outcomes
Outcome 7: Demonstrate understanding of how texts can express aspects of their
broadening world and their relationships within it (EN4-7D)
This lesson aims to develop the students’ awareness of moral ambiguity and
underlying conflicts, issues and problems inherent with the theme of “good versus
evil”. By developing personal expressions of what an enemy is from their experience,
then juxtaposing these ideas with a consideration of how Germans and Nazis have
been depicted as ‘the enemy’, students will be given a framework to express how
they understand and perceive their (potential) relationship with what they believe is
‘good’ and/or ‘bad’.
 Engage personally with texts (see all activities including homework)
 Develop and apply contextual knowledge (see Nazi and German activity)
 Understand and apply knowledge of language forms and features (see all
activities)

Materials

PowerPoint (see below)

Handout (see below)

Procedures
Time Organisation Teaching/ learning activities
0-7 Roll call and Teacher
distribution  Teacher ensures students enter classroom in an
of class hand orderly fashion after they have lined up at the door.
out to As the students enter they are asked to collect the
students. hand out which they will use for the course of this
lesson. The roll is called.
Students
 Follow teacher’s instructions
7-22 Classroom The Enemy: Homework Discussion:
discussion Teacher:
 Using a combination of the hand out and
PowerPoint presentation the teacher guides the
students to refer back to their homework
 Asks students to present verbally their examples of
an enemy they found in one of the forms of
literature etc, their reasons for choosing the
character, and what they believe is the motivation
of that character
 Draw out students’ identification and/or rejection
of the character
 Look for usage of vocabulary and synonyms
established in previous lesson(s).
Students:
 Verbally present their homework based on
identifying an enemy, discussing their reasons why
the character is an enemy, and the enemy’s
motivations.
22-37 Collaborative The Enemy: Mapping the Enemy
Group work Teacher
and  After assigning students into six groups questions
classroom as to how enemies act, look, think, behave etc are
discussion posed.
 Guide a classroom discussion. Query students as to
 why they have provided their responses, including
looking for textual references (e.g. a character in a
film, book, etc)
Students
 In groups discuss and produce a response to a
question about how enemies act, look, think,
behave etc
 Write their responses down in their hand out
 Present their responses verbally in a classroom
discussion
37-55 Collaborative The Enemy: Nazis and Germans: Mapping and Responses
Groupwork Teacher:
and  Present the images and video showing how
classroom Germans/Nazis have been depicted negatively in
discussion print, images
 Play the video in the PowerPoint slide from the
movie “Generation War”.
 Direct one question each from the revised mapping
document to the groups for their responses
 Lead a class discussion reviewing each group’s
responses, looking for understandings and
expressions of ambiguity, comments on good and
evil, etc.
Students
 View the images and watch the video clip as shown
by the teacher
 Work collaboratively in their respective groups to
formulate responses to the questions they have
been asked to consider.
 Use the hand out if necessary to note down their
thoughts, responses.
 Present their responses verbally in a classroom
discussion.
55-60 Homework Teacher:
setting  Outline homework, advising students to take home
their homework.
Students
 Retain the lesson hand out for homework

Homework Students are to read an extract from Chapter 15 of

“Ender’s War”, where the bugger queen and Ender
communicate. Based on their consideration of the text the
students are to consider the material and discussions from
this lesson, and write their response to prompts about the
bugger queen as an enemy and the morality of the war.
Evaluation/ Extension
The homework activity set from last week will form the first formative assessment,
both in terms of whether it is completed or not, and then how students presented
their responses.
In the following activities (i.e. the mapping exercise and the consideration of the
Germans/Nazis) more formative assessments will be undertaken, ranging from
comprehension of the images and videos, oral presentation and group work
participation.
Students will be challenged to extend their understanding of the lesson by
articulating and/or describing moral ambiguity as an ethical consideration of “good
versus evil”.

In retrospect
It was not as easy as I expected to source appropriate material for a Year 7 class that
used the Nazis as a context for studying the enemy construct in the “good versus
evil” thematic examination. Much of the material I located and considered using was
too graphic or (as in the case of “The Book Thief”) not easily broken down into a
form I could use in the lesson.

References

Benedict, B. (Producer), & Kolditz, S. (Director). (2013). Generation War [Video].

Potsdam, Germany: TeamWorx.
Board of Studies NSW. (2012). English K-10 Syllabus Volume 2: English Years 7-10.
Sydney: Australia. Board of Studies NSW.
Card, O.S. (1997). Ender’s Game. New York: USA. St Martin’s Press.
English Textual Concepts. (2016). Connecting. Retrieved from
http://englishtextualconcepts.nsw.edu.au/content/connecting-0
Williams, L. (2016). Fostering Collaboration. in E. Boas and S. Ganzis (Eds.), The Artful
English Teacher. (pp. 40-60). Kensington Gardens. Australia: Australian
Association for Teaching English
 THE ENEMY
Lesson Two

1. Homework Activity

We will be looking at the examples of ‘the enemy’ you have found for your
homework, and both why you chose that character plus his, her or its motivation.

2. Mapping the Enemy

Let’s map some of the characteristics and features of ‘the enemy’. To guide our
mapping, let’s ask these questions:

 Does an enemy have a particular look or personality that makes them so?

 Can an enemy be ‘the enemy’ without conflict?

 Are enemies always opposed? Can they be on the same side, share certain
traits.

 Can an enemy be good or bad, or both? Why?

 What is more important in being an enemy? Who they are, what they think,
or what they do?

 Are there particular words that spring to mind when you think of an enemy?

Your responses:

3.

The Enemy: Nazis and Germans

Let’s review the images, video and your own understanding of ‘the enemy’ and
discuss what we think in response to these questions:

 Do these Germans look like the enemy? Why do you think this?

 Is it the war that makes these Germans the enemy?

 Do you think these Germans are good or bad? Are they both?

 Are they the enemy because they are German? Because of what they do?
What they think?

 What are your feelings about these Germans? Do you sympathise with them,
hate them, find them confusing?

 What do you think about what an enemy is now having seen this video? Can
you see any parallels in your own experience, in something you’ve read, seen
or heard?

Homework
Read the extract below ‘Ender’s Game’, Chapter 15, where the alien bugger queen
communicates with Ender about how the buggers experienced the war waged
against them by humans. Considering our discussion today write down your thoughts
about whether the buggers were ‘the enemy’ or not, and if they and the war fought
against them was good or evil.
Your responses:
LESSON THREE
CONCEPT STUDY: Good Versus Evil
LESSON FOCUS: The Enemy

Class: Year 7/Stage 4 Time: 60 minutes

Pre-service teacher’s Objectives

This lesson is focused on students engaging in an imaginative and hopefully original
composition that is centred on the character of ‘the enemy’. By doing this I want the
students to develop empathic understanding of a character they are already familiar
with, and compose either a personalised reinterpretation of this character, or use
this as the basis for an entirely new character. They will be encouraged to also
engage with challenging textual forms, constructs, conventions and vocabulary.

What is being taught in this lesson?

In this lesson students are being given the opportunity to create their own
compositions (visual or literary) that interpret and provide meaning to the construct
of ‘the enemy’, based on previous learnings and their own meanings

Why am I teaching this lesson?

This lesson is specifically designed to meet Outcome 4-5C of the current English K-10
English Syllabus.

How am I teaching this lesson?

This lesson again uses classroom discussions as the first segment to reinforce
understanding developed from the past lessons, as well as develop empathic skills
when considering the construct of ‘the enemy’. Then, in the second part of the
lesson the students are given the freedom to experiment and thus reconceptualise or
subvert the meaning of ‘the enemy’.

How it relates to your reading in this unit?

This lesson draws on both the English Textual Concepts site regarding
experimentation, as well as defining a rich and engaging culminating compositional
project (Daly, 2016)

Outcomes
Outcome 1: Think imaginatively, creatively, interpretively and critically about
information, ideas and arguments to respond to and compose texts (EN4-5C)
This lesson aims to give the students the opportunity to interpret and/or reinterpret
previously established constructs of the enemy, based on their own selections, and
use them to create new or contrasting narratives, media or another compositional
artefact. This will require the students to engage with their previously selected
‘enemy’ character, use imaginative texts as a model to possibly subvert or expand
upon their selected character, and compose a text (textual or visual) that will
hopefully express the student’s inventiveness and originality.
 Engage personally with texts (see the homework activity from the previous
lesson)
  Understand and apply knowledge of language forms and features (see
‘Creating the Enemy’ activity
 Respond to and compose texts (see ‘Creating the Enemy’ activity)

Materials

PowerPoint (see below)

Student ICT (if and where required)

Procedures
Time Organisation Teaching/ learning activities
0-5 Roll call and Teacher
introduction  Teacher ensures students enter classroom in an
to lesson orderly fashion after they have lined up at the door.
Teacher then outlines the lesson activities.
Students
 Follow teacher’s instruction.
5-20 Individual The Enemy: Ender’s Game Responses
work and Teacher:
classroom  Teacher reintroduces the homework set from the
discussion previous lesson.
 The teacher asks for selected students to present
their responses to the text and questions set for
homework
 The teacher prompts and maps these responses
and where possible examines the students’
comprehension of, empathy for ‘the enemy’ and
the (potential) moral ambiguity.
Students:
 When selected provide their responses to the text
and questions as set in their homework.
20-30 Instruction The Enemy: Creating the Enemy (Instruction)
from the Teacher
Teacher as  Using PowerPoint presentation to give instructions
to ‘Creating and suggestions on the ‘Creating the Enemy’
the Enemy’ activity
composition  Show Kylo Ren video and briefly discuss the
activity. differences between how the character is created
and perceived, and the subversion of the character
as an evil enemy by parody
 Provide general suggestions and guidelines as to
how to create their composition
Students
 Follow the instructions provided by the teacher re
the activity
 Re-identify the ‘enemy’ they first looked at in their
lesson one homework
25-55 Individual The Enemy: Creating the Enemy (Composing)
composition Teacher
work  Teacher monitors and assist the students on an
individual basis in developing approaches and
composing their new or alternate ‘enemy’
 Facilitate understanding of the forms the students’
composition may take, including structure,
language, vocabulary, format
 Monitor and encourage students’ collaborative and
individual learning practices.
Students
 Compose a text (literary or visual) that either
redefines their chosen ‘enemy’ character, or creates
a new character based on their understanding of
their character and the learnings and conventions
of an enemy character.
 Work both collaboratively and/or individually to
produce this visual or literary artefact.

55-60 Homework Teacher:

setting  Outline homework, advising students to complete
their composition.
Students
 Complete their composition if not finished by the
end of the lesson

Homework Students are to finalise their composition for presentation

in the next lesson.

Evaluation/ Extension
Students will be evaluated during the lesson by their responses to the homework
text and questions, then through the process of composing their written or visual
composition. This evaluation will be completed in the next lesson when the students
will present their composition. It will be necessary in this composition that the
students demonstrate they have developed an ability to apply knowledge and
understanding of the forms, construct, language and meaning of their selected
character and artefact.
Students will be encouraged to create engaging, entertaining and proficient
compositions that are not limited to simple prose or poetic forms. More capable
students may produce videos, mini-dramas, posters, etc.

In retrospect
The ‘Creating an Enemy’ activity was aimed to give the students the opportunity to
both connect with prior learning and create new compositions that enhanced their
understanding of ‘the enemy’. I have endeavoured to give the students the freedom
to both select the characters they have used as the basis for their composition and
the freedom to define the form of their composition. It is possible that I have not
given sufficient scaffolding and/or structural guidance for the activity to be
completed successfully. Also, with the activity taking half the lesson and with final
presentation and assessment not due until the following lesson I have arguably given
the students too much time to complete their work, without timely feedback.

Board of Studies NSW. (2012). English K-10 Syllabus Volume 2: English Years 7-10.
Sydney: Australia. Board of Studies NSW.
English Textual Concepts. (2016). Connecting. Retrieved from
http://englishtextualconcepts.nsw.edu.au/content/connecting-0
Daly, K. (2016). Culminating Projects in English. in E. Boas and S. Ganzis (Eds.), The
Artful English Teacher. (pp. 151-175). Kensington Gardens. Australia:
Australian Association for Teaching English
 Rationale

The three lesson plans planned below are all designed to be taught to a Year Seven
class, examining the theme of “good versus evil”, with the focal point being a
consideration of the construct of ‘the enemy’. As the theme implies a paradigm of
conflict, an examination of who or what constitutes the enemy, how that enemy may
be comprehended in various texts (literary, film, visual, etc) and how we interpret
and react to the enemy are all useful techniques in establishing how the students
understand this theme.
In the three lesson plans the students will be expected to engage with differing text
forms, with an emphasis on their own experiences and background knowledge. This
is informed by the need to make the syllabus and the pedagogy student centred. This
is borne out by an examination of Doecke and McClanaghan’s (2016) summary and
critique of John Dixon.
The selection of multiple texts in differing forms with the students participating in
this process is also informed by the syllabus, which explicitly refers to the required
use of spoken, print, visual, media, multimedia and digital texts (NSW Board of
Studies, 2012) in stage 4 English (as part of the wider syllabus). In the three lesson
plans included in this document students are asked to reflect on the construct of ‘the
enemy’ via text, images and video, and then in a culminating compositional project,
create their own text that may conform to any of the forms previously cited.
A key rationale for planning these lessons with a priority given to class room
discussion is based upon the observations of Jacqueline Manuel (2016). As per her
reflections on the importance of counteracting conditioned passivity and valuing
talking and listening as core work in English, conducting active and engaging
classroom discussions facilitate better learning experiences. Guided by this I have
included in every lesson at least one classroom discussion. For example, in the first
lesson the students will be asked to consider a question posed to their group
reflecting on how the character Syndrome is contextualised as ‘the enemy’. The
students are encouraged to formulate their own responses collaboratively and
present them within the framework of a dialogue between themselves, the teacher
and their class mates.
These lessons have also been informed pedagogically by the benefits of
collaborative learning, as outlined by Lindsay Williams (2016). The lesson plans are all
designed to include at least one of the conditions for best practice collaborative
learning as summarised by Williams. For example, in the second lesson plan the
students are asked, in their groups, to map the construct of ‘the enemy’ based on a
question or questions that they can respond to in exploratory talk (thus teaching the
language of collaboration).
The lesson plans have also been designed to meet one primary syllabus outcome,
with the potential for supplementary or subsidiary outcomes also being targeted and
produced. For example, Lesson Two is designed to meet Outcome 7 as outlined in
the 2012 NSW Board of Studies syllabus. A key point of this lesson plan, with its
consideration of how Nazis and Germans are constructed as ‘the enemy’ is that the
students are asked to “explore and analyse the ways in which (their) personal
experiences and perspectives shape their responses to texts”. With the video extract
taken from ‘Generation War’ (2013), the students are asked to consider their
personal attitudes and understandings to develop a schema of whether ‘the enemy’
can be good, evil or both. However, whilst it is not explicitly articulated it would be
reasonable to expect students to also meet the outcome requirements as described
by outcome EN4-1A.
These lesson plans have also been based on the arguments in favour of using
popular culture that “…allow(s) students to build on their own understandings and
collaborate in meaningful ways that include authentic audiences and consequences,
while encouraging critical and creative thinking through a high degree of complexity”
(Page, 2012). Whilst selecting the material for consideration by the students in these
lessons I have avoided archetypal examples of ‘classical’ literature (for example, the
combat between Achilles and Hector in “The Iliad”), preferring to find content that
may be more familiar and relatable for the students (for example, “The Incredibles”,
“Ender’s Game”). By providing students with the agency to select their own examples
of enemy characters as a basis for their compositional activity I have tried to ensure
that the students inform me what they know and understand, not what I know or
desire them to understand.
Finally, these lesson plans are designed to produce textual connections for the
students, as guided by the information provided via English Textual Concepts website
(2016). The students are expected to connect their own experiences, perspectives
and contexts to the material either presented to them, or selected by them, and
respond to and compose accordingly.

References
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Card, O.S. (1997). Ender’s Game. New York: USA. St Martin’s Press.
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