Every young person’s ‘place’ looks a little different this year. In the 2020 My Place Competition, the ACTF and ALEA invite students to share what everyday life is like during this time of collective isolation.

We are releasing weekly teaching materials throughout the competition, providing prompts to guide participating educators, students, and families through the writing process.

TUNING INMy Place explores our national history through the eyes of children, focussing on significant events and people over a period of more than 200 years. The My Place book (by Nadia Wheatley and Donna Rawlins) and TV series are ‘time machines’ which take audiences back into Australia’s past.

What makes a period of time or event ‘historically significant’? Why can 2020 be considered significant? What will future historians want to know about the lives of individuals, families, and communities during this time?

If time permits, ask students to share their knowledge of significant events and people in our country’s past. Collaboratively create an Australian history timeline, discussing the inclusion of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

VIEWINGWatch an episode of My Place on ABC Me (Wednesday and Thursday mornings) or iview, or select short clips from the My Place for Teachers website. After viewing, ask students to identify aspects of the episode which reveal the intended historical context. Reflect on and discuss:

• Language (discussion topics, vocabulary, degree of formality)

• Clothing, toys, hobbies, technologies

• The main character’s education

• The range of settings

• How did the main character spend their time? What problem/s did they overcome?

Which aspects of our everyday lives should be incorporated when writing about 2020? What would future generations find interesting or unique to this period? Which unique experiences and perspectives could students include?

WRITINGDocumenting their observations, thoughts, and feelings will help students to craft a compelling picture of life during isolation. Based on their interests and abilities, suggest one or more of the following strategies for students to generate and clarify their ideas.

Journals and diaries

If your students have been journaling about the experience of isolation, ask them to read back through previous entries, highlighting words or phrases that could be incorporated in a creative writing piece.

2020 Competition | Teaching MaterialsWeek 1: Prewriting

5 SENSES CHART Have students create a five-column chart to organise their sensory observations. What can they see, hear, smell, taste, and touch during this time?

REFLECTION QUESTIONS Ask students to respond to the following questions (or create their own prompts to respond to).

• What might people in the future want to know about this time?

• How are you feeling about this time?

• How are you spending your time at home?

• What changes are you noticing in the world around you?

• Which things have remained unchanged?

• What are the challenges and benefits of remote learning?

• Are there any positives about your current lifestyle?

• How are you staying connected to friends, family, and your community?

• What are you grateful for?

• What are you most looking forward to in the future?

PHOTOGRAPHY Have students take digital photos around their homes and neighbourhoods to document recent changes. How are they spending their time? Where are they completing schoolwork? How has the local neighbourhood changed? What has remained the same? Students could also look through digital photos taken over the past few months to compare life before and during isolation. Annotate photos with facts and thoughts.

MIND MAP In the centre of a page, have students write ‘My life in 2020’. Next, draw outward lines for each subheading they will include. For example, family, school, hobbies, feelings, changes. They can dive deeper into each of these subheadings by creating more and more branches for their mind map.

JOURNALISTS’ QUESTIONS Have students ask themselves questions beginning with the following six words can help students clarify their thoughts about life during the pandemic: who, what, where, when, why, how. Have students generate at least one question for each word, then write their responses.

SIX THINKING HATS Students could use Edward de Bono’s strategy to think about their lives with new perspectives.

White hat: Data, facts, known and needed information.

Red hat: Emotions, passion, intuition.

Black hat: Problems, difficulties, negatives.

Yellow hat: Values, benefits, positives.

Green hat: New ideas, creativity, alternatives, inventiveness.

Blue hat: Reflect on and synthesise all viewpoints.

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