Differing perspectives
Summary of task
Students explored two statements by Australian Prime Ministers: Paul Keating’s ‘Redfern Speech’ in 1992 and Kevin Rudd’s ‘Apology’ in 2008. They watched recordings and analysed written transcripts of each speech and considered the speech within its historical context as part of their study of rights and freedoms in Australia. They were then required to choose one of the two speeches and represent it in four different ways: a contemporary news report, a diary entry written by an audience member, a hindsight analysis of the significance of the speech, and a pictorial or visual representation of the speech with an explanation of the chosen image’s relevance. The entire task, including time to explore and analyse each speech, was completed in class over six 50-minute lessons as well as for homework.