Unit title: Freedom in Texts

Year/ Stage: Stage 6 Standard English

Justification

Written in the Texts and Human Experiences Module, “students examine how texts represent
human qualities and emotions associated with, or arising from, these experiences”. This
phrase in the module outline has been the catalyst for the choice of texts and activities that
have been selected and designed. In this sub-unit of work, students engage with texts that
spark relation, and activities that broaden their understanding of different human experiences
through each text’s sense of freedom or lack thereof. I am Malala, written by Malala
Yousufzai herself with Christina Lamb is a memoir that tells the journey of a young female
student who fights for educational rights for all females around the world. Her story of being
shot by the Taliban, and surviving the ordeal enables her to further strengthen her voice and
enables her experience to inspire females around the world. In this novel, photographs of
Malala Yousuzai are included from her childhood, throughout her school life, and post-
Taliban attack. Students analyse the journey of Malala through her own perspective and
engage in discussions about her experience and the photographs included within the novel to
paint a visual picture about her journey. Through this text, students deepen their
understanding of experiences shaping our position in the world.

New Boy is a short film directed by Roddy Doyle which briefly follows the protagonist
Joseph on his first day at a new school. The short film has a great emphasis on angles and
flashbacks which reveal to the audience how Joseph is feeling inside. This text was selected
because it highlights an experience which many individuals can relate to, including migrants
and refugees. Throughout the short film, Joseph continues to have flashback of his life at
school in Africa, and the director has emphasised on these flashbacks through the use of
warm colours, close ups of friendship in the class, and respect for the teacher. The scene
always automatically goes back to the Irish school, which is depicted as dull and isolating, as
the audience feel from Joseph’s point of view. This text represents the human quality of
feeling a lack of belonging and freedom. When one is comfortable in their surroundings, they
feel confident, accepted and free. Students analyse this text through the lens of Joseph,
analysing the background music, contrasting colours and use of different camera angels to
showcase the different emotions that are felt by the various characters. It is a text that enables
students to develop their understanding of individual and collective experiences, this can be
 understood when Joseph and the bully work out their differences naturally. Therefore,
Joseph’s experience from isolated and alone turns to acceptance and freedom.

Caged Birds by famous poet Maya Angelou is a poem that speaks about a bird that is caged
and a bird that is free. It is an effective poem which has many poetic devices that students can
explore when studying freedom within this module. Students compare and contrast, and
compose their own writing using this text as inspiration. Students look at the historical
context of this poem, and begin to think about every experience, event and emotion having
context. This text assists students to look at a short piece of work and draw out its different
techniques and deeper meaning to better understand how it relates to different human
experiences and the fight for freedom.

Week 1

Time Syllabus Outcomes/Content Learning and teaching activities

descriptors (Description of what students will do in class)

0-15 (Students have finished reading I Am Malala).

mins Students volunteer to read aloud the Prologue again
in class to re-cap this section of the book.

15-25 EN12-7: Students engage in class discussion about the themes

mins  analyse and assess the diverse
ways in which creative and
critical texts can represent
human experience, universal
themes and social contexts
25-40 EN12-3:
mins  analyses and uses language
forms, features and structures
of texts and justifies their
appropriateness for purpose,
audience and context and
explains effects on meaning.
40-55 EN12-7:
mins  analyse and assess the impact
of language and structural
choices on shaping own and
others’ perspectives
they have recognised in the Prologue and teacher
notes these ideas on the whiteboard.
Teacher puts up questions about the Prologue on
PowerPoint Presentation. Questions are based around
the connotation and imagery in this section of the
book.
Students pick one paragraph from the Prologue and
next to this paragraph, write 2-3 lines about the
power of the language, looking at
 Imagery
 Emotive language etc.

55-60 EN12-3: Students can offer to share their notes about the
mins  explain the ways text language in the Prologue and how it invokes emotion
structures, language features for the audience.
 and stylistic choices are used in
different types of texts
Homework: Students do a close reading of chapters 8 and 9, writing phrases or lines that stand out to
them in their workbooks.

Week 2

Time Syllabus Outcomes/Content Learning and teaching activities

descriptors (Description of what students will do in class)
0-15 Students watch New Boy in class, taking notes of
mins visual techniques in the short film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdeioVndUhs
15-30 EN12-7: Students read the phrase “students deepen their
mins  analyse, explain and understanding of how texts represent individual and
evaluate the ways ideas, collective human experiences.” They do this by
voices and points of view getting into groups and engaging in think-pair-
are represented for share. Teacher asks, ‘how does this text represent
particular purposes and the human experience of freedom for Joseph?”
effects Each group writes on the whiteboard the themes
that address individual human experiences in New
Boy.
30-45 EN12-3: Students are given questions on PowerPoint
mins  explain the ways text Presentation about techniques and what they are
structures, language showcasing in the short film.
features and stylistic
choices are used in
different types of texts.
45-60 EN12-6: Students look at the scene 2:20mins to 2:50mins.
mins  compare the forms, They write in their books the difference between the
features and structures of Irish school and African school, analysing the
texts from different music, camera angels, colours and emotion and
contexts to draw what these features are communicating to the
conclusions about their audience.
effectiveness in
communicating ideas.
 Week 3

Time Syllabus Outcomes/Content Learning and teaching activities

descriptors (Description of what students will do in class)
0-10 Students begin the lesson by reading Maya
mins Angelou’s Caged Bird.

The class is split up into two groups, one group

reading stanzas 2 and 5 and the other reading 1
and 4, then altogether reading 3 and 6.

10-30 EN12-3: Each student pairs up with a student from the

mins  investigate and use specific opposite side, analysing poetic devises in the
vocabulary, including poem as well as highlighting any part of the poem
evaluative language, to express which stands out. The pairs then list descriptions
shades of meaning, feeling and about the caged bird and free bird.
opinion.
30-50 EN12-3: Students write a poem about the caged bird and a
mins  control language features, text poem about the free bird beside each other. They
structures and stylistic choicesare to utilise poetic devices similar to Caged Bird,
of texts to shape meaning and however students are encouraged to be original.
influence responses. They also think of different places in the world
that would respond differently to the poem.
50-60 EN12-7: Teacher asks students to share their poems and
mins  explain how responses to texts discuss what devices they used in their poems to
vary over time and in different symbolise the caged and free bird. Students also
cultural context. share their opinion of different places in the world
or a different time where the response to the poem
would be different.

Week 4

Time Syllabus Outcomes/Content Learning and teaching activities

descriptors (Description of what students will do in
class)
0-20 EN12-6: Students brainstorm I am Malala and Caged
mins  Explain similarities and Bird as texts with similar themes and
differences between and among contexts. They get into pairs and write down
texts with reference to their the historical context of Maya Angelou’s
context. poem and Malala’s story.
Students share their responses and
classroom discusses how the context of a
text reveals how and why it was written.
20- EN12-8: As instructed in previous class, students
40mins  identify and question cultural arrange their own images on their desks.
assumptions and values in their Students compare their own images to those
own texts and in their responses included in the second set of photos from I
to the texts of others. am Malala. Teacher goes around the
classroom and asks students to share why
they have brought these images and their
significance.
40-60 EN12-5: Students choose one photo of their own and
mins  use the information and ideas one line from Caged Bird to write a short
gathered from a range of texts to story about their image. They refer to:
present perspectives in analytical,  Context of the image
expressive and imaginative ways.  Significance
 Being free or caged