This is from the study design/VCAA about the ideas that could be considered within this protest focus:
Writing about protest
Explorations of conflict and contest, what it means to protest, the value of protest, the outcomes of protest, personal stories of protest, struggle and war.
Students could explore established figures like Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks and Vida Goldstein, marginalised figures like Pemulwuy and Claudette Colvin, and figures and movements like Greta Thunberg and the BLM protests. Events like massacres in Australia and the Frontier Wars could be explored as expressions of protest – and the attendant tragedy. There could also be explorations of the success and failure of protest – and the prescient protests that gained ground after the original protest had faded. Students could consider individual protest and group protest.
Framework of Ideas/Creating texts general info:
Textual forms
Students can explore a variety of textual forms as appropriate to classroom programs and preference. Textual forms can include but are not limited to short stories, speeches or monologues (with transcripts), essays (comment, opinion, reflective, personal), podcasts (with transcripts), poetry/songs, feature articles (including a series of blog or social media postings) and memoirs and biography.
Audience and context
The concepts of audience and context are key to creating effective and cohesive writing. The writer needs to consider for whom they are writing, under what circumstances, and for what purpose (see below). The questions to consider when thinking about audience and context could include:
· Social connections – how well do I know this audience, and how well do they know me?
· Cultural understanding – does the writer share the same cultural understanding as the audience?
· Power – who holds power, the writer and/or the audience? To what degree?
· Formality/Register – what level of formality would be most appropriate for this audience?
· Mode – how will the audience receive this writing – will they read it or will they listen to it?
· Site – where will this writing appear and where will the audience receive it (including public, private)?
Purpose
The purpose of the text is closely connected with audience and context, but has another dimension – why is the writer creating this text?
The following four verbs offer overviews of purposes students can explore. Students can explore more than one purpose in their writing.
Express: A student writer seeking to express would explore recounts, storytelling and/or narratives of imagination to engage with actions, events, experiences and/or ideas.
Explain: A student writer seeking to explain would explore cause and effect, and possible consequences of actions, events, experiences and/or ideas.
Reflect: A student writer seeking to reflect would explore experiences of personal discovery that shape their understanding of actions, events, experiences and/or ideas.
Argue: A student writer seeking to argue would explore a point of view, would take a stand and propose solutions to convince others of actions, events, experiences and/or ideas.
Mentor texts
The mentor texts provide opportunities for teachers to explore effective and cohesive writing through vocabulary, text structures and language features, and to consider the purpose, context and audience of the texts. Teachers can use the entire mentor text to provide insight into the overall intention and integrity of the text, and can use extracts to unpack the text structures, language features and vocabulary employed by the author, exploring how these elements successfully interweave with the ideas of the text.
Framework of Ideas: Protest - Mentor Texts:
https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2007/apr/27/greatspeeches
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys2FTUmOnIg
https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-on-the-sydney-mardi-gras-march-of-1978-54337
Kurt Vonnegut – Harrison Bergeron
Protest is an invaluable way to speak truth to power. Throughout history, protests have been the driving force behind some of the most powerful social movements, exposing injustice and abuse, demanding accountability and inspiring people to keep hoping for a better future.
Unfortunately, these precious rights are under attack and must be protected from those who are afraid of change and want to keep us divided. Governments and others with power are constantly finding new ways to suppress protest and silence critical voices. Global trends towards the militarization of police, the increase in the misuse of force by police at protests and shrinking civic space mean that it is becoming more difficult to stay safe while making your voice heard.
The ability to protest safely is an issue that intersects with the right to be free from discrimination. People who face inequality and discrimination, based on their age, race, gender identity and many other factors, face even more dangers to their right to protest. It is crucial that everyone can protest safely and without discrimination.
In its flagship campaign, Protect the Protest, Amnesty International is working to expose when the right to protest is being violated and support movements worldwide as they strive for positive change. The campaign calls on governments to send a clear message that protesters should be protected and to remove unnecessary barriers and restrictions to peaceful protest.
Protest and dissent have been a part of Australia’s history since the arrival of the First Fleet. They have shaped many important social and cultural changes within this nation and continue to do so to this day. As a collector of all things important to Australia’s social, cultural, and political history the National Library of Australia has amassed several collections relating to protest and dissent in Australia.
In this research guide you will find tips for researching topics using our collections, information about collection materials and suggestions for other reliable resources. On this page you will find a few tips and hints to help you search our catalogue and Trove.
It is important to note that the number of protests that have occurred on Australian soil is too vast for this guide to cover all of them. The highlights in this guide represent a sample, focusing on movements that the Library has a large amount of supportive material on. If you wish to find out more about a protest that is not listed here, we suggest following up with us through Ask a Librarian.
