3—Sustainability and activities for Ida’s Story and Blueback
Display the following sustainability diagram.
Diagram by Andrew Sunray CC BY-SA 3.0
Briefly explain Venn diagrams and the meaning of the intersections. Explain how the sustainability concepts, information and relationships are represented visually through the Venn diagram.
Only when a practice is bearable (no harm results), equitable (is fair), and viable (doable) will it be deemed sustainable. To help explain the diagram, use this illustration (.ppt 561 kB) showing how the ‘three pillars of sustainability’ work, using garbage as an environmental focus and issue.
Ida’s Story
Image of Ida from the World Vision video Ida's Story
Ida is a mother of seven, living in Burundi, a country of Africa and one of the world’s poorest nations. She has been provided with a fuel-efficient stove through a World Vision global aid program.
Read the transcript of part of Ida's story. (Explain the term transcript to the students.)
Locate Burundi on the world map and read World Vision's country profile (.pdf 1.1 Mb).
Brainstorm what other activities Ida could do with her time.
View the video of Ida’s Story. Explain that Ida speaks the Kirundi language. View the video a second time and ask the students to take notes from the video that tell about Ida’s lifestyle in Burundi. After watching the video, return to the results of the brainstorming activity and compare and contrast. How does the reality compare with the brainstorm?
- Have students consider the differences between the information in the transcript and the information in the video images. What information does the camera give the viewer that the transcript does not?
- Write a brief description of the lifestyle of Ida and her family and place it on the continuum. Justify the placement.
Provide groups with an electronic or hard copy of the sustainability diagram. Ask students to use what they know about Ida and her stove to annotate the diagram and make a decision about the level of sustainability of her family’s lifestyle. Share the annotated diagrams and discuss them. (See an example of how the diagram might look when annotated.)
Blueback: A fable for all ages
Have students read the novel Blueback: A fable for all ages.
The author Tim Winton is well known for his use of imagery. Imagery is the use of language that helps readers to create pictures in their minds. It includes figures of speech such as simile, metaphor and personification. In Blueback, the author also uses vivid verbs and nouns to draw the reader into the world of his characters.
Ask students to list metaphors, similes, and vivid verbs and nouns, and to mark with sticky notes passages that elicit in them an emotional response.
Use the sketch-to-stretch strategy (visualising a passage of text and interpreting it through drawing) to demonstrate understanding of the passage in Chapter 5 beginning with ‘Birds chattered’ and ending with ‘from the house chimney’. Pay close attention to interpretation of ‘flashed’, ‘groused’ and ‘lifted’. Students may use the strategy for passages they have marked and annotate them with their responses. How does the author use imagery to influence the reader?
Writing activity
Have students write a descriptive passage. Draw upon the lists of similes, metaphors, verbs and nouns to attempt to ‘draw a picture in the mind of the reader’. Exchange passages with partners and use the sketch-to-stretch strategy to evaluate the effectiveness of their writing.
Create Popplets for Blueback, Dora, Costello and Abel. Students collectively create a representation of each character with information gained directly from the text and aspects inferred from the text. Students choose two or more of the characters and use the mind maps to create a short media presentation to present to the class.
Compare the lifestyle of Dora and her family with those on the continuum.
Comparing fiction and factual texts
Read the ‘Fisheries Fact Sheet: Western Blue Groper’ (.pdf 599 kB). Compare the information in the fact sheet with the Blueback popplet. Use information from the novel and fact sheet to mark on a map of Western Australia the possible locations of Longboat Bay and Robbers Head. Discuss ways in which the fact sheet and the novel complement each other.
Return to the continuum and world map. Compare and contrast the two contexts of Ida’s story in Burundi and the story in Blueback set in Western Australia in terms of sustainability, with reference to social, ecological and economic differences.
