The Final Quarter - Back to lesson

Reviewing The Film

Name Class

Teaching Sequence
Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

30 minutes – Part A: Who Is Adam Goodes?

90 minutes – Part B: Watching The Final Quarter
25 minutes – Part C: Reviewing the Film
5 minutes – Reflection

Part A: Who Is Adam Goodes?

OPTION: If students have little to no knowledge of who Adam Goodes is
or any of his achievements, you may choose to complete an alternative
introduction activity which includes showing the video of Adam Goodes’
‘Australian of the Year’ speech and facilitating a class discussion using
suggested discussion questions. Access the Alternative Introduction
Activity.

Step 1.
Introduce the lesson by providing each student with a small pile of sticky
notes and ask them if they have heard of Adam Goodes. Invite students to
write down what they know about him and his life on individual sticky
notes. Encourage students to think about all aspects of his life, including
his sporting achievements, his support for social change and the pride he
has in his Aboriginal identity.

Step 2.
Encourage students to bring their sticky notes up to the board and stick
them next to other notes that have similar information or could be grouped
into a theme. For example, one note might say he played for the Sydney
Swans, another may suggest he was a two time premiership player. These
could be grouped together under the theme of 'AFL player'.

Use this stage of the sticky note activity to observe

what students already know about his sporting
achievements, his support for social change and his
Aboriginal identity, as well as any gaps in their
understanding.

Step 3.
Once all students have had an opportunity to add their sticky notes onto
the board, encourage students to arrange the sticky notes into themes and
label them accordingly.

Using the information provided by the students, invite them to write a brief
description of who Adam Goodes is in the space provided on the Student
Worksheet. The level of detail will depend on how much they already know,
but also on the information shared and the categories that they have
created.

Step 4.
Select some students to share their descriptions with the class and then
facilitate a class discussion using the following prompts as a guide:

How did you learn about Adam Goodes?

What are the most common characteristics that have been shared?
What are some of the events and experiences that have been shared?
Why do you think some events or characteristics are more prevalent
than others?
What else do you think you might like to learn about Adam Goodes?
Why?

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.

Using the discussion themes, characteristics and events as the prompt, ask
the class “Why would you make a film about Adam Goodes?”

Step 5.
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 6.
Provide each student with a copy of the Film Review published in The
Guardian in 2019, titled 'The Final Quarter review - exhilarating Adam
Goodes documentary pulses with urgency'
(https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/may/30/the-final-quarter-
review-exhilarating-adam-goodes-documentary-pulses-with-urgency)

Explain to students that they will now read through the review as a class,
and that they are encouraged to ask questions to clarify information about
the film and the events that it portrays.
Step 7.
After watching the trailer and reading the Guardian review of the film,
invite students to participate in a brief class discussion using the following
questions as a guide:

What do you think are the key themes/messages of the film?

Why do you think the filmmaker created the film?
What questions do you have about the film?
Why is it important to critically engage with film reviews, and to
understand that a given theme can be both represented and responded
to in a diversity of ways?

Themes that students may suggest could include: racism, understanding

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identities and experiences, belonging
and respect, standing up against racism and bullying, truth telling, the
power of the media, critically engaging with the media, actively listening to
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices and perspectives, fostering
reconciliation in Australia.

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: Reviewing The Final Quarter

Step 1.
Provide each student with a copy of the Student Worksheet and invite them
to complete the first part of a Think-Pair-Share by completing the reflection
questions in Column A.

Think-Pair-Share discussion questions:

What do you think/feel after watching the film, and why?

What stood out to you, and why?
What surprised you, and why?
How did the film differ from what you were expecting, and how/why?
What key themes/messages did you notice in the film, and where?

Step 2.
Once students have had time to review their own thoughts about the film,
encourage them to find a partner to share their responses with. This could
be a time to remind students that your classroom is a safe space, and that
there is no right or wrong emotion when responding to the film. 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.

Ask students to note down their partner’s responses in Column B on the

Student Worksheet. These discussions will form the basis for the whole
class discussion.
Step 3.
After each pair has shared their reflections with one another, using the
same questions bring the class together and discuss the film and student
reactions. Facilitate the discussion to highlight the key themes discussed
earlier in the class.

Step 4.
Explain to students that they will now plan their own film review to share
with someone at school, at home or in their community. The review will
explain how they feel about the film, the impact that the film had on them
and how it may impact others.

As a class, plan out the structure of a film review using the simple
headings of Introduction, Body Paragraphs and Conclusion. Invite students
to identify what they think needs to be included in each section.

Use the Film Review Template as a guide to scaffold the

plan and to help students draw out key themes and
ideas of the film.

Step 5.
Film Review Guide: Structure and Key Questions:

INTRODUCTION:
Who is the film about?
What is the film about?
Why was the film created?
How has the film been made?
Whose perspective has the film been created from?
REVIEW (BODY PARAGRAPHS)
What stood out in the film and how/why?
What impact did the use of archival footage have on you as an audience,
and how/why?
What makes the film different/interesting/engaging/important, and
how/why?
What worked well? What didn’t? How/why?
What are the key messages of the film and why are they important?

CONCLUSION
Why would you recommend people see this film?
What kind of learning and action to you think people should engage in
before and after viewing the film? Why?

Reflection
Invite students to go back to their original description of Adam Goodes
completed at the beginning of the class. Using the space provided on the
Student Worksheet, ask students to rewrite their description of him now
that they have seen the film and understand more about the issues that
are important to him. Encourage them to consider which information is
important for people to understand about Adam Goodes’ character,
achievements, and identity.

Differentiated Learning
Extension

In Part C, invite students to use the information in their Film Review

Template to write a formal review of the film to be an assessed piece of
writing.
Students could also identify a person or group that they would like to
share their review with and discuss the importance of sharing Adam’s
story to help others understand the issues and experiences of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Provisions for Learning Support

In Part A, if students are struggling to identify themes in the film or

engage in discussion, consider reviewing Social Themes In The Final
Quarter for ideas.
In Part C, students can be given a copy of the Film Review Template to
work through the suggested questions. Students may also be given the
opportunity to work with small groups of students to identify different
ideas and information that could be included for each section.
Encourage students to list dot point information that they would like to
include in their film review.

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?
These lessons have been created in partnership with

Shark Island Productions