Cultural Stories on Screen

Overview

This lesson is designed for Year 6 students in Australia within The Arts: Media Arts curriculum. Over 40 minutes, students will work on an ongoing remote research project with an emphasis on media arts. The project aligns with the following achievement standards: V9.AMD.6.01, V9.AMD.6.02, V9.AMD.6.03, V9.AMD.6.04, and V9.AMD.6.05.

Objective

Students will explore how media languages and technologies are employed in media arts. They will investigate media artworks from various cultures and times to understand their meanings and cultural significance.

Materials

• Access to the internet and digital devices for research
• Notebooks or digital journals for recording findings
• Examples of media arts work (videos, digital stories, advertisements)
• Project presentation tools (e.g., PowerPoint, Google Slides, video editing software)

Lesson Structure

Introduction (5 minutes)

• Begin with a brief discussion on What is Media Arts?
  • Explore students' understanding and past experiences.
  • Explain how media arts tell stories and convey messages through various media languages and technologies.

Activity 1: Exploring Media Technologies (10 minutes)

• Task: Students will split into five groups and vary in research to find a media artwork that resonates with them.
  • Group A: Traditional film media
  • Group B: Animation
  • Group C: Digital journalism or blogs
  • Group D: Advertising media
  • Group E: Indigenous media arts (focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content)
• Ask each group to discuss how the media technologies are used in telling the story in their assigned media form.

Expected Output: Students should note down the media technologies and languages used in at least one example they've found.

Activity 2: Cross-Cultural Communication (15 minutes)

• Task: Each student will pick a media artwork from a different culture or historic context (e.g., a Japanese animation, a historic documentary, Aboriginal digital art), and interpret the communicated ideas and perspectives.
• Discussion Points:
  • How do these works reflect their cultural and historical context?
  • What perspectives are being communicated?
  • How do these artworks help in continuing and revitalising the culture they represent?

Expected Output: Students should write one paragraph identifying ideas and perspectives communicated in each chosen artwork.

Plenary: Presentations and Reflections (10 minutes)

• Each group will choose one member to summarise their research findings and interpretations.
  • Encourage using tools like PowerPoint or a digital journal entry for presentations.
• Discuss responsible media practice, highlighting how artworks should be shared respectfully and acknowledging the cultural origins.

Assessment

• Participation in Group Activity (V9.AMD.6.01): Observed engagement and contribution to discussions in group settings.
• Written Reflection (V9.AMD.6.02, V9.AMD.6.03): Evaluation based on the understanding and description of media artworks across cultures.
• Use of Media Languages (V9.AMD.6.04): Evaluation of the choice and explanation of media technologies in representations.
• Presentation Skills (V9.AMD.6.05): Quality of student presentations, demonstrating learned responsible media practice.

Homework

Students will continue to develop a multimedia project from their research over the course of the term. They will construct a media arts piece that uses learned media languages to communicate a message or story relevant to them, aiming to tell a cultural story with a modern perspective.