Power Resilience Launch

Overview

In this first lesson of a 12-lesson unit, students are introduced to the ideas of power and resilience using a short multimedia sequence and structured discussion. Students connect these themes to their own experiences, then preview Langston Hughes as an author whose work reflects both struggle and strength.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• identify ideas about power and resilience in a short multimedia text
• describe how characters’ actions and events can show power or resilience
• form an initial opinion about a character or situation and justify it using evidence from the text
• use comprehension strategies to monitor understanding and infer meaning from images, sound and text

Success criteria

Students can:

• explain what “power” and “resilience” mean in their own words using the class examples
• give one piece of evidence from the multimedia (image, quote, sound, or action) to support an opinion
• participate in a respectful discussion using sentence starters and listening skills
• summarise the main idea of the multimedia in 1–2 sentences

Curriculum links

• English Literature: identify and explore ideas, points of view, characters, events and/or issues in literary texts drawn from historical, social and/or cultural contexts (including wide-ranging authors)
• English Literature: identify and explain the ways that characters, settings and events combine to create meaning in narratives
• English Literacy: use comprehension strategies such as visualising, predicting, connecting, summarising, monitoring, questioning and inferring to analyse and summarise information and ideas
• English Literature: form an opinion about characters, settings and events in texts, identifying agreement/differences and justifying responses

Lesson structure (50 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook (multimodal entry). Teacher displays a 60–90 second multimedia sequence (images + music + one short spoken line) and asks: “Where do you notice power? Where do you notice resilience?” Students complete a quick think: write two words or phrases—one for power, one for resilience.

2. 5–15 min · Shared sense-making (visualising + questioning). Teacher replay(s) the sequence once, pausing at two moments to prompt: “What do you see/hear that makes you think that?” and “What might happen next?” Students turn-and-talk, then contribute to a class chart using stems: “I predict…”, “I notice…”, “I infer…”

3. 15–25 min · Group investigation (characters/events meaning). Teacher assigns 5 groups with differentiated roles:

• Visual describers (focus on images/gestures)
• Auditory interpreters (focus on music/voice tone)
• Kinesthetic meaning-makers (use body gestures to show “power” vs “resilience”)
• Text evidence finder (focus on any displayed words/short lines)
• Discussion captain (keeps the group on task and ensures everyone speaks) Students sort evidence cards into two columns: Power / Resilience, then write one sentence: “This shows power/resilience because…”

4. 25–32 min · Opinion formation (justifying with evidence). Teacher models an opinion statement using the evidence from one group: “I think ___ has power/resilience because in the sequence we see/hear ___.” Students choose one moment from the multimedia and complete a “Claim–Evidence–Reason” mini card.

5. 32–40 min · Langston Hughes introduction (preview author). Teacher introduces Langston Hughes briefly: who he was and that his writing often explores strength, dignity, and survival in difficult times. Teacher reads a very short excerpt (or paraphrases a line) and revisits the unit theme: power and resilience. Students do a quick “Connect” task: “Where have you seen something similar—in your life, your community, sport, school, family or stories?”

6. 40–47 min · Discussion circle (agreement/difference). Teacher facilitates a structured discussion using norms (listen, link ideas, ask respectful questions). Prompt: “Which moment shows more power and which shows more resilience? Why might people disagree?” Students participate using stems: “I agree because…”, “I see it differently because…”, “Another possibility is…”

7. 47–50 min · Exit ticket (summarising + monitoring). Students answer two questions:

• “In one sentence, what is power/resilience in this unit?”
• “What evidence from today’s multimedia supports your idea?”

Resources

• Multimedia sequence (projector/speakers) with images, short audio, and one brief spoken or displayed line
• Power/Resilience evidence card set (teacher-made, aligned to the sequence)
• Class chart paper or digital whiteboard: Power / Resilience
• Claim–Evidence–Reason mini cards or worksheet
• Sentence starters/discussion prompts on a display
• Timer visible to students

Assessment

• Formative: observe group sorting for accurate identification of power/resilience evidence
• Formative: review Claim–Evidence–Reason mini cards for justification using text/audio/visual cues
• Exit ticket: check understanding and ability to summarise and support an opinion with evidence

Differentiation

• Visual support: provide icons/colours for Power vs Resilience on evidence cards and on group worksheets
• Auditory support: allow students to work with headphones or a louder audio track during group sorting if needed
• Kinaesthetic option: kinesthetic role is available to all—students can also add a gesture demonstration when explaining their evidence
• Sentence scaffolds: offer three levels of stems (basic, standard, extension) for discussions and the opinion card
• Language support: pre-teach or remind students of key terms (power, resilience, evidence, infer) using short examples from their experiences
• SEN/EAL considerations: allow responses as a short drawing with a caption, or oral recording for the exit ticket if required by support plan
• Challenge: invite advanced students to add a third category label on one card (“resilience through community”, “power through choice”) and explain why