This documentary, Cast From the Storm, shares the story of a group of teenage refugees who have now made Australia their home and explores their backgrounds and journeys as they embrace life anew.
This isn’t the typical refugee film. This documentary shares the reality of what it means to be a teenager and a displaced person. This is the story of what comes after, and a really great resource to conclude the unit on Refugees. It brings hope. Added to this is the fact that the story is based on teenagers, roughly the same age as this high school class, and this documentary specifically
challenges students to comprehend real-life issues and interact with complex
themes and ideologies on the topic of Refugees surrounding inclusiveness, empathy and overcoming challenges.
Watching a documentary caters to a wide variety of learners. It is a great visual strategy that engage students and helps connect students to the world in very realistic ways through stories.
"Documentaries are emotionally powerful vehicles that can transport students to other cultures and create an awareness of global issues from the inside out through feeling and empathy. When enhanced with written reflection, films help students develop social and emotional learning in ways not available from textbooks or lectures." (Vaughan-Lee, 2015, para. 3).
Differentiation: I'll ensure that I remember to turn on the English subtitles. Having subtitles will greatly help with comprehension, especially for EAL/D students, where they can read what's being spoken, which is necessary to learning any new language. Research has also shown that subtitles can improve comprehension, not just for EAL/D students, but for native English-speaking students as well. The audio may not always be clear, and students might miss out on some words. Viewers are also more engaged when subtitles or captions are simultaneously played with any video forms.
Possible Student Activity:
Written reflections
Make a documentary trailer
References:
Vaughan-Lee, C. (2015). Learning with documentary films: strategies to engage students. Retrieved from: https://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/global_learning/2015/10/learning_with_documentary_films_strategies_to_engage_students.html