Curriculum Resource

This learning sequence explores the topic of climate change and the Asia region. Students analyse how information about climate change is conveyed using various persuasive approaches.

Engage

1. As a class, view the video entitled Climate Change, Migration and Security in South Asia (below). Divide the class into three groups. Each group is to work together to document their thoughts and ideas on one of the following:
   • facts: record details stated about Who? What? Where? When? Why? and How? (on a world map you may also like to identify each country that is mentioned in the video)
   • opinions: note the opinions presented by speakers and the voice-over
   • persuasive techniques: list the ways used in the video to influence the audience about its message.
   • You may choose to use collaborative software such as Google Docs or PrimaryPad to record your group's thoughts and ideas.
2. Once the group has finished watching the video and recording your observations, share what you've seen, learnt and thought.
3. Now organise yourselves into new groups of three so that each group has a student who has explored facts, opinions or persuasive techniques so that you can share your ideas. Hold an informal discussion using strategies such as pausing, questioning, rephrasing, repeating, summarising, reviewing and asking clarifying questions to reach a group decision about how effective this video was in making its case about climate change, migration and security in South Asia.

Explore

Throughout your life you will be challenged to persuade people. To better understand how different text types (video and text/graphics) can be used, you will explore different resources that take very different approaches to influence their audiences. You will then share what you've learnt with classmates.

Note: Each of the paired resources represent ideas and events in different ways. Your task is to compare the texts to explain the effects of the different approaches in language choices, point of view and persuasive techniques within the text type (text and graphics may use different approaches than video). You should also consider who the target audience is.

1. Divide into two groups (one for the videos category – 24 hours of reality and The human impact of climate change.
2. As you explore your text type, make note of the different strategies that are used to make a point and influence the reader.
3. Once you have finished analysing both examples in either video or text/graphics, partner-up with students who studied the other text type. Hold a discussion and jointly reach a group decision answering both questions below:
   • What are the most effective persuasive techniques for presentations using text and graphics?
   • What are the most effective persuasive techniques for presentations using video?

Reflect

You have now become something of an expert in analysing persuasive presentations and identifying a range of strategies that authors use to influence readers. You have also formed opinions about what's effective in influencing you. Because climate change is a significant event that connects people and places throughout the world, it's worth studying and reflecting upon.

Watch the video entitled Climate change – the scientific debate and reflect on Australia's role in the debate as a neighbour of Asia.

Write a reflective paragraph exploring one or both of these questions:

• What actions do you think Australia should take?
• How might Australia’s actions impact our relations with our Asian neighbours?

You may also like to consider ‘taking action’ and sending your reflections to your local newspaper.

It is recommended that teachers preview websites and videos to ensure they are suitable for their students before they are used in class.

Content accessed via these links is not owned or controlled by Asia Education Foundation and is subject to the terms of use of the associated website.

Related resources

Year 6: We come to Australia

Year 5: Understanding catastrophes

Year 7: Indonesian poetry and translation