Give up Tomorrow

DocAcademy docacademy.org

1 Key Stage 5 English Language AS and A2: Give Up Tomorrow

Unit Overview This unit is designed to help students create a variety of texts as required for AS and A2 English Language coursework and for examination preparation. By creating such texts themselves, students will gain an increased understanding of the ways in which language is used in a variety of texts and why writ- ers make specific lexical, grammatical, phonological and semantic choices.

The unit could also be used as an introduction to A level Lan- shaping their work with a broader audience and purpose guage study and/or as a bridging unit for transition from AS in mind to A2. • How ideas about the nature and functions of language are created and are linked to social beliefs and values The specification this unit of work is principally aimed at is AQA • How to reflect on and draw conclusions about how lan- English Language Specification A. It could also be use for AQA guage is produced and socially situated Specification B. Aspects relevant and appropriate to OCR and EDEXCEL Specifications are contained here too. Assessment The Assessment Objectives as laid down by the examination NATIONAL CURRICULUM OBJECTIVES boards will underpin all assessments. They are: AS students: • Explore language and representation through analytical AO1 Select and apply a range of linguistic methods to com- and creative work municate relevant knowledge using appropriate terminology • Have the opportunity to explore creative and transac- and coherent, accurate written expression. tional forms of writing AO2 Demonstrate critical understanding of a range of con- • Will develop their understanding of how language cre- cepts and issues related to the construction and analysis of ates meaning in written and spoken modes meanings in spoken and written language, using knowledge of • Will be able to explore how gender, ethnicity, ability, sexu- linguistic approaches ality and social class are represented AO3 Analyse and evaluate the influence of contextual factors • Will see how a writer’s lexical choices can sway opinion on the production and reception of spoken and written lan- and contribute to audience positioning guage, showing knowledge of the key constituents of language AO4 Demonstrate expertise and creativity in the use of English A2 students explore: in a range of different contexts, informed by linguistic study • How and why language changes – influences abroad/ second language speakers These assessment objectives are applicable to all activities. • How English varies globally, regionally and socially • Cultural debates about the nature and significance of language Contents • How to carry out language research on an area of the Lessons One & Two: presentations documentary, of their own choice, and contribute to a Lesson Three: Speeches language debate in a particular form which is aimed at Lesson Four: Interviews a non-specialist linguistic audience. Therefore students Lesson Five: Documentary reviews will seek to communicate their insights and knowledge Lessons Six & Seven: newspaper writing beyond the confines of their own academic community, Lesson Eight: Letters 1 WEBSITE TEACHER'S NOTES www.pacodocu.com

TITLE AND DIRECTOR Give Up Tomorrow by Michael Collins and Marty Syjuco PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS 2 • Paco Larrañaga • Mimi Larrañaga SHORT SYNOPSIS • Margot Larrañaga As a tropical storm beats down on the Philippine island • Sarah de Mas of Cebu, two sisters leave work and never make it home. That same night, hundreds of miles away in Manila on a different island, Paco Larrañaga, 19, is at a party, sur- CLIPS rounded by dozens of reliable witnesses. The missing Clip 1: Introducing Paco women are pretty and innocent Chinese-Filipinos, a group Clip 2: Re-enactment of the Crime that has formed a traditional underclass. Paco, accused Clip 3: Verdict: Two Years After the Arrest of their rapes and murders, is part of a prominent mestizo Clip 4: What Happened to Everyone After the Trial? political clan that includes a former president. Beefy and Clip 5: Paco in Jail and a new President takes Office tough, with a past of petty offenses, he neatly fits the role Clip 6: Appeals to the Supreme Court of privileged thug – and that is how he is cast by a frenzied and The Spanish Media media circus that swarms his arrest and trial, and cheers his Clip 7: The United Nations Human Rights eventual sentence to death by lethal injection. Reflecting Committee takes on the case schisms of race, class, and political power at the core of Clip 8: Paco’s Family Visit the Jail the Philippines’ tumultuous democracy, clashing families, Clip 9: Paco is transferred to a Spanish Prison institutions, and individuals face off to convict or free Paco. Clip 10: The fight for freedom continues Their irreconcilable versions of reality and justice play out in a case that ends a country’s use of capital punishment, Choice of video clips per lesson is at teacher's discretion. yet fails to free an innocent man.

Give Up Tomorrow is not your usual suspense story of a man wrongly accused, and Paco Larrañaga is not your usual hero. But his very lack of facile appeal challenges his society and filmgoers to rely on facts over impressions, evidence over prejudice.

Amnesty International, the government of Spain, Fair Trials International, and the United Nations are unequivocal in the belief that for more than a decade, Paco has been paying with his freedom for a crime he did not commit. Indeed, some 40 people including classmates and teachers from the culinary school he attends – along with photographic evidence – place him hundreds of miles from the grim crime scene.

Rather than simply building an evidentiary case about an individual injustice, the film exposes the roots of this miscarriage to reveal the interconnected complexities that permeate Filipino culture. Unlike the court that Paco faces, Give Up Tomorrow gives a fair trial to the forces and institutions that arbitrate justice with a mix of capriciousness and malice. In a way that is both specific to the Philippines and disquietingly universal, the film exposes a Kafkaesque extravaganza populated by flamboyantly corrupt public officials, drug dealers, cops on the take, and journalists in thrall to and in lonely stance against, a frenzied legal and media circus. It is also an intimate family drama focused on the near mythic struggle of two angry and sorrowful mothers who have dedicated more than a decade to executing or saving one young man.

2 1 Lesson One presentation. Teacher led summary and clips of effective presen- Presentations tations taken from YouTube.

3 Overview ‘Somewhere, somehow, sometime the truth will Activity B come out.’ Students work in small groups initially, towards an effective presentation, deciding upon which aspect ‘The minute you forget about justice in the world, and person of the documentary they will work on. that’s the beginning of the breakdown of society.’ Give out guide entitled Giving a Presentation. In discussion elicit main characteristics needed for an Bearing these two quotations in mind, both taken effective presentation. from the beginning of Give Up Tomorrow, students will produce a presentation on a choice of themes including justice, punishment and corruption of the Activity C law, as presented in the documentary. In addition, Review progress so far. A representative from each students will take one individual from the documen- group will feed back to the whole group. tary and trace that person’s role and the effects of the case on that individual. Whole group discussion in which students will be encouraged to contribute the following about what makes an effective presentation:- Objectives • Present information in a clear, coherent, cogent • To produce a presentation concerning the rep- way resentation of an issue, event or individual with • If using PowerPoint, ensure graphics are appro- a view to working towards AS Representation priate to the topic and serve to enhance and coursework reinforce subject matter • Students to choose an aspect/s of the contro- • Produce slides which are grammatically and versy of Give Up Tomorrow and at least one technically accurate person in the documentary. Students to present • Maintain eye contact with the audience, only it to the class and local university Students’ glancing at their notes Union • Use clear voice, avoid stumbling, be as articu- late as possible, speak slowly, use voice and prosodic and paralinguistic features to convey Starter emphasis and emotion As this is the first lesson of the unit, it would be a good • Be prepared for a question and answer session idea to explore the semantics of the documentary title.

Take suggestions and offer ideas as to what it Plenary means in the documentary. Teacher to write these Reminder of and questions about what groups are on flipchart or whiteboard. Clearly for Paco, in the doing. Offer the opportunity for those individuals documentary, it means keep going, because as who wish to, to branch out alone. he explains, if you decide today that you’ll Give Up Attend to any difficulties. Tomorrow, you’ll never give up. Work on presentations for homework.

Explore grammatically Give Up Tomorrow Equipment needed Further semantic explorations will include:- • Computer access • Cede or dedicate tomorrow to something. • Clips of presentations from • Metaphorical usage. As in tomorrow represent- YouTube (not included) ing the future. Forget about it. Just live for today. • 'Giving a Presentation' guide This is an enforced concept due to the situation.

Activity A Open up a teacher-led discussion on what a presentation is.

Gather ideas about what makes an effective

3 2 Lesson Two

Presentations

4 Overview Preparation of feedback criteria drawn up collaboratively, through discussion by the whole group. Delivery of the presentations incorporating feedback and Question and Answer session at the end of each presentation where each student will act as a critical friend.

Objectives Students to present to the group (and maybe also to a wider audience) their chosen topic and chosen person from Give Up Tomorrow.

Students to be prepared for a question and answer session.

Activity A Feedback criteria preparation - no more than ten in total. Display these on whiteboard/flipchart. • Student presentations followed by Q+A • Students will score each presentation accord- ing to the collaboratively designed feedback criteria

Activity B Each individual student marks the presentations – feedback sheets to be anonymous

Equipment/Resources • Computer access • Paper for students to record feedback scores • Notes • Prompt cards • Visual aids

Assessment By means of feedback sheets and Assessment Objectives for representation coursework at AS.

4 Time to talk Lessons ONE and • Stand up straight and appear confident TWO - ResourceS • Look directly at your audience, have nothing in your hands at this point. Giving a presentation - A checklist • Use the effective opening you have planned by speak- 5 You have been invited to a university Students’ Union to give ing at a suitable volume and at a desirable pace. Be a presentation on Give Up Tomorrow. This presentation will aware of all prosodic features (pace, volume, pitch, be an awareness-raising session about the plight of Paco, stress, tone) and of others unfairly imprisoned around the world. It will be • Repetition may justifiably be used; you are very familiar informative and clips from the documentary will supplement with your material – your audience is not. your presentation. • Consider anecdote, a quotation or an emotive statement • Introduce yourself Before you start • Explain now in as clear a way as possible, the purpose Check all your visuals are ready, accurately written and in of your presentation and justify your reasons the right order. • Outline the structure of your talk if you wish, but be aware that this might lose momentum. Be confident in any decision you make Remember your objectives • Move around if you wish • Who will you be talking to? • Check for EGO – Eyes Glazing Over - and liven things up! • Why are you giving this presentation? • Use discourse markers: "And now", "The next point" • How much background do you need to give? • Avoid speaking when you turn your head to look at visu- • What effect do you want your presentation to have on als. The audience won’t be able to hear you your audience? • Avoid all clichés, hackneyed phrases, slang and col- loquialisms including any attempt to appear pseudo- intellectual or superior in any way Does your presentation progress • Don’t be afraid to pause, but use this device sparingly logically? • Make your ending powerful. What take home message • Have all your resources ready. These will include prompt do you want to give your audience? cards, slides, computer. Have an assistant from the • Be clear that you will be taking questions, then offer that group with you, who will operate the technology so that opportunity to your audience you can concentrate fully on your delivery • During the Q+A be honest if you don’t know the answer, • Be satisfied with the arrangement of the room before be polite if someone tries to put you down and don’t starting. It is important and it does make a difference to enter into hostilities. Avoid the domination of one or two the success of your delivery people • Check that you present yourself in such as way as to • Have a 'More Information' handout ready for people to command respect and attention. You KNOW what this take on leaving means! • Thank your audience • Fill in your self-evaluation sheet • If you’re brave enough, prepare a feedback sheet for your audience to fill in. This need only be very simple, asking if the presentation was clear, audible, interesting and what was best and worst about the presentation

5 Activity B 3 Lesson Three Try out a few paragraphs by delivering speech to group. Group to act as critical friends, making Speeches constructive comments. If possible, record these preliminary attempts; iPhones are very useful here if 6 Overview a video camera is not available To consider the rhetorical devices needed to create an impassioned speech about the injustices of the case of Paco Larrañaga. Activity C • Tighten up on audience and purpose • Prosodic features - Stress, pace, volume, pitch Objectives and tone Use persuasive devices and techniques to create a • Work on the use of pronouns for audience posi- speech tioning. Inclusive pronouns ‘we’ and ‘us’ and ‘ours’ and pronouns which distance ‘they’ and ‘them’ and ‘theirs’ Starter Discussion after teacher-led introduction on what makes a successful speech. Plenary • Recap on the task Teacher analyses speech paragraph as below: • Discuss and iron out difficulties "Barack Obama is represented in the article as a positive force for good and a refreshing change from George Bush. The writer’s focus on the repeti- Equipment needed tion of Obama’s words, ‘Yes we can,’ promotes the • Computer access new President’s positive outlook, achieved by the • Glossary of terms (not included) use of the affirmative ‘yes’, followed by the inclusive • Feedback sheets produced in class pronoun ‘we’ which involves everybody and puts • A train ticket to London’s Speakers’ Corner, the President on the same level as his audience. The Hyde Park use of ‘we’ in this straightforward simple, declarative • YouTube speeches (not included) sentence implies a responsibility which belongs to • Speeches by Neil Kinnock, Barack Obama, all of us. The use of the modal verb ‘can’ denies any Margaret Thatcher, Nelson Mandela and Abra- sense of negativity. The overall suggestion here is ham Lincoln that anything is possible through communal effort."

Development

Activity A Begin to prepare speeches using: • Glossary of terminology • Documentary • Examples of speeches from YouTube, pod- casts, Neil Kinnock/Barack Obama/Margaret Thatcher/Nelson Mandela speeches and one they find themselves. • Worksheet/check list

6 LESSON THREE - RESOURCES

Speech by Neil Kinnock, Leader of the Labour Party, 1984

7 ‘I warn you…’

If Margaret Thatcher is re-elected as prime minister on Thursday, I warn you.

I warn you that you will have pain–when healing and relief depend upon payment.

I warn you that you will have ignorance–when talents are untended and wits are wasted, when learning is a privilege and not a right.

I warn you that you will have poverty–when pensions slip and benefits are whittled away by a government that won’t pay in an economy that can’t pay.

I warn you that you will be cold–when fuel charges are used as a tax system that the rich don’t notice and the poor can’t afford.

I warn you that you must not expect work–when many cannot spend, more will not be able to earn. When they don’t earn, they don’t spend. When they don’t spend, work dies.

I warn you not to go into the streets alone after dark or into the streets in large crowds of protest in the light.

I warn you that you will be quiet–when the curfew of fear and the gibbet of unemployment make you obedient.

I warn you that you will have defence of a sort–with a risk and at a price that passes all understanding.

I warn you that you will be home-bound–when fares and transport bills kill leisure and lock you up.

I warn you that you will borrow less–when credit, loans, mortgages and easy payments are refused to people on your melting income.

If Margaret Thatcher wins on Thursday:

I warn you not to be ordinary. I warn you not to be young.

I warn you not to fall ill. I warn you not to get old.

7 Speech by Barack Obama bled in the history of politics – you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done. Election Victory Speech 4 November, But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs 2008 to – it belongs to you. If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't 8 dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions start with much money or many endorsements. Our cam- the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer. paign was not hatched in the halls of Washington – it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Con- It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and cord and the front porches of Charleston. churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first It was built by working men and women who dug into what time in their lives, because they believed that this time must little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and be different; that their voice could be that difference. twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy; It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the – Americans who sent a message to the world that we have doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more are, and always will be, the United States of America. than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long This is your victory. by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and I know you didn't do this just to win an election and I know bend it once more toward the hope of a better day. you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we cel- It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what ebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, bring are the greatest of our lifetime – two wars, a planet in change has come to America. peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he's fought risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor's bills, or save to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Gov- jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet ernor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward and alliances to repair. to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead. The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who cam- – I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we paigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women will get there. I promise you – we as a people will get there. he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the won't agree with every decision or policy I make as President, United States, Joe Biden. and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking of our family and the love of my life, our nation's next First this nation the only way it's been done in America for two- Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so hundred and twenty-one years – block by block, brick by much, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming brick, calloused hand by calloused hand. with us to the White House. And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not my debt to them is beyond measure. the change we seek – it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist way things were. It cannot happen without you. David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assem-

8 So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work century in America – the heartache and the hope; the strug- harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let gle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's and the people who pressed on with that American creed: that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street Yes we can. suffers – in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one 9 people. At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same parti- out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can. sanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a Party to the White House – a party founded on the values of New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are Yes we can. values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened and determination to heal the divides that have held back the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to great- our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided ness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can. than ours, "We are not enemies, but friends…though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection." She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Bir- And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn – I mingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes we can. your help, and I will be your President too. A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched around radios in the forgotten corners of our world – our sto- her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 ries are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can. this world down – we will defeat you. To those who seek America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But peace and security – we support you. And to all those who there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright – – if our children should live to see the next century; if my tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: have made? democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope. This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This For that is the true genius of America – that America can is our time – to put our people back to work and open doors change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and achieve tomorrow. reaffirm that fundamental truth – that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the the spirit of a people: millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing – Ann Nixon Cooper is Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless 106 years old. the United States of America.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons – because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

9 Speech by Margaret Thatcher through greater efficiency and putting out work to competitive tender. This is privatization at the local level and we need more Conservative Party Conference 1984, of it. after the bombing of the Grand Hotel, Brighton At national level, since the General Election just over a year ago, the Government has denationalized five major enter- 10 The bomb attack on the Grand Hotel early this morning was prises, making a total of thirteen since 1979. Yesterday, you first and foremost an inhuman, undiscriminating attempt to gave Norman Tebbit a standing ovation; today, our thoughts massacre innocent unsuspecting men and women staying are with him and his family. in Brighton for our Conservative Conference. Our first thoughts must at once be for those who died and for those who are now Again and again, denationalization has brought greater moti- in hospital recovering from their injuries. But the bomb attack vation to managers and workforce, higher profits and rising clearly signified more than this. It was an attempt not only to investment, and what is more, many in industry now have a disrupt and terminate our Conference; It was an attempt to crip- share in the firm for which they work. We Conservatives want ple Her Majesty's democratically-elected Government. That is every owner to be an earner and every earner to be an owner. the scale of the outrage in which we have all shared, and the Soon, we shall have the biggest ever act of denationalization fact that we are gathered here now—shocked, but composed with British Telecom and British Airways will follow; and we have and determined—is a sign not only that this attack has failed, not finished yet. There will be more to come in this Parliament. but that all attempts to destroy democracy by terrorism will fail. And just as we have stood by our pledge on denationalization, I should like to express our deep gratitude to the police, fire- it is our pride that despite the recession, we have kept faith with men, ambulancemen, nurses and doctors, to all the emer- 9 million pensioners and moreover, by keeping inflation down, gency services, and to the staff of the hotel; to our ministerial we have protected the value of their savings. As Norman Fowler staff and the Conservative Party staff who stood with us and told the Conference on Wednesday, this Government has not shared the danger. only put more into pensions, but has increased resources for the National Health Service. Our record for last year, to be pub- As Prime Minister and as Leader of the Party, I thank them all lished shortly, will show that the Health Service today is provid- and send our heartfelt sympathy to all those who have suffered. ing more care, more services and more help for the patient And now it must be business as usual. We must go on to discuss than at any stage in its history. That is Conservative care in the things we have talked about during this Conference; one practice. And I think it is further proof of the statement I made in or two matters of foreign affairs; and after that, two subjects I Brighton in this very hall two years ago—perhaps some of you have selected for special consideration—unemployment and remember it—that the National Health Service is safe with us the miners' strike. Now Mr. President and Friends, this performance in the social services could never have been achieved without an efficient This Conservative Conference—superbly chaired, and of and competitive industry to create the wealth we need. Effi- course, our Chairman came on this morning with very little ciency is not the enemy, but the ally, of compassion. sleep and carried on marvelously,—and with excellent contributions from our members, has been an outstanding example In our discussions here, we have spoken of the need for enter- of orderly assembly and free speech. We have debated the prise, profits and the wider distribution of property among all great national and international issues, as well as those which the people. In the Conservative Party, we have no truck with affect the daily lives of our people. We have seen at the rostrum outmoded Marxist doctrine about class warfare. For us, it is not miner and pensioner, nurse and manager, clergyman and stu- who you are, who your family is or where you come from that dent. In Government, we have been fulfilling the promises con- matters. It is what you are and what you can do for our country tained in our election manifesto, which was put to the people that counts. That is our vision. It is a vision worth defending and in a national ballot. we shall defend it. Indeed, this Government will never put the defence of our country at risk. This Government, Mr. President, is reasserting Parliament's ultimate responsibility for controlling the total burden of taxation No-one in their senses wants nuclear weapons for their own on our citizens, whether levied by central or local government, sake, but equally, no responsible prime minister could take the and in the coming session of Parliament we shall introduce leg- colossal gamble of giving up our nuclear defences while our islation which will abolish the GLC and the Metropolitan County greatest potential enemy kept theirs. Councils. Policies which would throw out all American nuclear bases— In the quest for sound local government, we rely on the help bases which, mind you, have been here since the time of Mr. of Conservative councillors. Their task should never be under- Attlee, Mr. Truman and Winston Churchill—would wreck NATO estimated and their virtues should not go unsung. They work and leave us totally isolated from our friends in the United States, hard and conscientiously in the true spirit of service and I pay and friends they are. No nation in history has ever shouldered special tribute to the splendid efforts of Conservative councils a greater burden nor shouldered it more willingly nor more up and down the country in getting better value for money generously than the United States. This Party is pro-American.

10 And we must constantly remind people what the defence And in Europe too, through firmness and determination, we policy of the Opposition Party would mean. Their idea that by have achieved a long-term settlement of Britain's budget con- giving up our nuclear deterrent, we could somehow escape tributions, a fair deal for Britain and for Europe too. And if we the result of a nuclear war elsewhere is nonsense, and it is a had listened to the advice of other party leaders, Britain would delusion to assume that conventional weapons are sufficient not have done half as well. But patient diplomacy and occa- defence against nuclear attack. And do not let anyone slip sionally, I confess, a little impatient diplomacy that did the trick. 11 into the habit of thinking that conventional war in Europe is Also, we have at last begun to curb surplus food production some kind of comfortable option. With a huge array of modern in the Community. Now, we know that for some farmers this weapons held by the Soviet Union, including chemical weap- has meant a painful adjustment and we are very much aware ons in large quantities, it would be a cruel and terrible conflict. of their difficulties. Their work and their success are a great The truth is that possession of the nuclear deterrent has pre- strength to our country. Michael Jopling and his colleagues will vented not only nuclear war but also conventional war and continue to fight to achieve a fair deal for them. to us, peace is precious beyond price. We are the true peace We have also won agreement on the need to keep the Com- party. And the nuclear deterrent has not only kept the peace, munity's spending under proper control. The Community can but it will continue to preserve our independence. Winston now enter on a new chapter and use its energies and influence Churchill's warning is just as true now as when he made it many to play a greater part in world affairs, as an example of what many years ago. He said this: "Once you take the position of democracies can accomplish, as a very powerful trading not being able in any circumstances to defend your rights group and as a strong force for freedom. against aggression, there is no end to the demands that will be made nor to the humiliations that must be accepted." He knew, Now, Mr. President, we had one of the most interesting debates and we must heed his warning. of this Conference on unemployment, which we all agree is the scourge of our times. And yet, Labour's defence policy remains no Polaris, no Cruise missiles in Britain, no United States nuclear bases in Britain, no To have over 3 million people unemployed in this country is Trident, no independent nuclear deterrent. bad enough, even though we share this tragic problem with other nations, but to suggest, as some of our opponents have, There is, I think, just one answer the nation will give. No that we do not care about it is as deeply wounding as it is utterly defence—no Labour Government. false. Do they really think that we do not understand what it means for the family man who cannot find a job, to have to Mr. President, in foreign affairs, this year has seen two major sit at home with a sense of failure and despair? Or that we do diplomatic successes. We have reached a detailed and bind- not understand how hopeless the world must seem to a young ing agreement with China on the future of Hong Kong. It is person who has not yet succeeded in getting his first job? Of an agreement designed to preserve Hong Kong's flourishing course, we know, of course we see, and of course, we care. economy and unique way of life and we believe that it meets However could they say that we welcome unemployment as the needs and wishes of the people of Hong Kong themselves. a political weapon? What better news could there be for any A few weeks ago, the unofficial members of the Executive Government than the news that unemployment is falling and Council of Hong Kong came to see me. We kept in touch with the day cannot come too soon for me. them the whole time and they frequently made journeys to No. 10 Downing Street as the negotiations with China proceeded. Others, while not questioning our sincerity, argue that our We were just about to initial the agreement and we consulted policies will not achieve our objectives. They look back forty them, of course, about its content. Their spokesman said this: years to the post-war period, when we were paused to launch he said that while the agreement did not contain everything a brave new world; a time when we all thought we had the he would have liked, he and his colleagues could neverthe- cure for unemployment. In that confident dawn it seemed that less recommend it to the people of Hong Kong in good con- having won the war, we knew how to win the peace. Keynes science—in good conscience. That means a lot to us. If that is had provided the diagnosis. It was all set out in the 1944 White what the leaders of Hong Kong's own community believe, then Paper on Employment. I bought it then; I have it still. My name we have truly fulfilled the heavy responsibility we feel for their is on the top of it. Margaret H. Roberts. One of my staff took one long-term future. look at it and said: "Good Heavens! I did not know it was as old as that!" That agreement required imagination, skill, hard work and per- severance. In other words, it required Geoffrey Howe.

11 Nelson Mandela’s Speech on His Release The Gettysburg Address – Abraham from Prison 11 February 1990 Lincoln 1863

Friends, comrades and fellow South Africans. Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedi- 12 I greet you all in the name of peace, democracy and free- cated to the proposition that all men are created equal. dom for all. I stand here before you not as a prophet but as Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that a humble servant of you, the people. Your tireless and heroic nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can sacrifices have made it possible for me to be here today. I long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We therefore place the remaining years of my life in your hands. have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting On this day of my release, I extend my sincere and warmest place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might gratitude to the millions of my compatriots and those in every live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. corner of the globe who have campaigned tirelessly for my release. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not conse- crate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living I send special greetings to the people of Cape Town, this and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above city which has been my home for three decades. Your mass our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor marches and other forms of struggle have served as a constant long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what source of strength to all political prisoners. they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus I salute the African National Congress. It has fulfilled our every far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated expectation in its role as leader of the great march to freedom. to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored I salute our President, Comrade Oliver Tambo, for leading the dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they ANC even under the most difficult circumstances. gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this I salute the rank and file members of the ANC. You have sacri- nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and ficed life and limb in the pursuit of the noble cause of our strug- that government of the people, by the people, for the people, gle. I salute combatants of Umkhonto we Sizwe, like Solomon shall not perish from the earth. Mahlangu and Ashley Kriel who have paid the ultimate price for the freedom of all South Africans.

I salute the South African Communist Party for its sterling con- tribution to the struggle for democracy. You have survived 40 years of unrelenting persecution. The memory of great commu- nists like Moses Kotane, Yusuf Dadoo, Bram Fischer and Moses Mabhida will be cherished for generations to come. I salute General Secretary Joe Slovo, one of our finest patriots. We are heartened by the fact that the alliance between ourselves and the Party remains as strong as it always was.

12 Activity C 4 Lesson Four Listing of interview techniques.

Interviews Plenary 13 Overview Summation of necessary protocol for interviews: Working towards effective interview questions to • Prepare your questions and know why you’re write up as an entry into a magazine/newspaper. asking them Produce the interview questions and responses • Be respectful • Remember it’s not about you • Ensure suitability of physical location Objectives • Conversation not confrontation • To produce an interview of one of the people • Avoid looking at notes who feature in the film • Ensure you use six basic questions who, what, • To provide possible answers people in the where, why, when, how documentary might provide • No rambling questions – short, clear and • Role play the interviews focused • Listen. Your interviewee might reveal something totally unexpected Starter • Editing must stay true to the spirit of what you Explanation of the task – to produce an effective heard. Do not misconstrue or take words out of interview and responses. context What do you think makes an effective interview? • Don’t just stick to the script if something comes Teacher led discussion. up. Be prepared for segues and transitions Responses on the whiteboard/flipchart paper. • Keep recording after interview ends officially • Endure awkward silences even though they are counter-intuitive – the end to them can be quite Activity A revealing • Log on to BBC Website College of Journalism • Ask your question, let them give rehearsed http://www.bbc.co.uk/academy/ answer and then just wait a while before you collegeofjournalism repeat your question in a calm but determined • Watch clips of interviews and make notes manner • Other possibilities for watching interviews include Paxman, David Frost, Scott and Bailey clip (TV drama), and Michael Parkinson. Equipment needed In groups, focus specifically on techniques • Computer access interviewers use to elicit information • Whiteboard • Report findings • Flipchart paper • Recording equipment • Resource: Interviewing a Member of the Activity B Authorities • Analyse techniques used • Categorise these techniques • Identify characteristics of an effective interview. Students to decide upon who in Give Up Tomor- row they would like to interview. State reasons why

13 LESSON FOUR - you don’t understand something or that the issue is far too com- RESOURCES plex for someone not on the inside track to understand. This is an attempt to make you feel inferior and therefore unlikely Interviewing a member of the authorities to persist. DO NOT be put off. Stick to the basic when, where, 1. Interview for the benefit of the audience how, why, and who. If your interviewee does become fractious, An interview of this nature should be conducted for the ben- ignore it, don’t let it get to you and persist. 14 efit of the audience. You should be/appear to be balanced, impartial, and accurate in any statistics or facts you use. 4. Don’t be sidetracked or derailed You are not conducting the interview to look clever, but to It is easy for a skilled and practised interviewee to force you unearth the truth. The interview is not about you and your per- onto his/her agenda. Stay sharp and don’t allow this. Some- formance but about how effective you are in uncovering the one who is on the ropes may try this tactic perhaps by being facts for those listening. aggressive. Stay calm and don’t be intimidated.

You are failing a little if you allow yourself to become angry, Steer clear of personal insults and the development of a confrontational or irritated. Keep going, ask the question in dif- slanging match. It may well end up on YouTube and it will be ferent ways, even say to your interviewee that he/she has not laughed at. answered your question. A useful phrase is, ’Thank you for that; very interesting, but can I bring you back to my original ques- 5. Be aware that your interviewee will have a script prepared. tion? Remain polite, but also be dogged. Tenacity will pay off! You too will have your own plan as to what questions you want answers for. Your interviewee will have a point he/she wants to 2. Understand the motivation of your interviewee get across. A sentence may begin, ‘Well that’s a very interesting All those in authority are public servants and have a duty to point but the main issue is… ‘ the public. This includes the judiciary, the police, lawyers and journalists. 6. Though you will have prepared your interview and know what questions you want answers to it is important to keep Be aware of what might get in the way of the truth you are an open mind, otherwise you might miss something that you trying to discover. Examples of what might get in the way of the had not thought of. So don’t be blinkered by your script or you truth include ambition, fear, personal gain, personal interests, might miss something new. party loyalty, ideology. You must try to see through this and cut to the facts of the matter in hand. Bring as much integrity to the 7. Your interviewee will probably want to have the last word, a interview as possible. sound bite. Be generous and allow this to happen.

3. Be precise in your questions and keep them simple. For reasons of their own your interviewee may try to tell you that

14 Activity B 5 Lesson Five In groups of two write three paragraphs of a draft review. Documentary Reviews • Analyse those paragraphs in the form of a com- 15 Overview mentary explaining and justifying language To produce a review of the documentary Give choices. Up Tomorrow with an accompanying analytical commentary. Activity C • Share the drafts with the group Objectives • Discuss problems To write in a review style about the documentary, showing awareness of what the documentary maker is aiming to do. Plenary Summary of findings relating to review writing to be written collaboratively on flipchart paper or Starter whiteboard. What is a review? Teacher led discussion to include For homework students in pairs to make a word doc- considerations of purpose, audience, context and ument glossary of review writing for documentaries. style of review writing. Write the review of Give Up Tomorrow and a full commentary explaining and justifying linguistic choices, for homework Activity A Distribute samples of reviews. Equipment needed • Reading and analysis of reviews of Give Up • Computer access Tomorrow and other documentary reviews as • Whiteboard style guides in groups of two. • Flipchart paper • Gather findings. A spokesperson from each • Review exemplars group to make at least six points of stylistic value, demonstrating clear analysis through use of the analytical sentence, familiar to all – Point Example Effect - PEE

15 LESSON FIVE -

RESOURCES When no support for the charges could be found, a new sus- pect -- an ex-con whose cellmates claimed he was tortured by Give Up Tomorrow cops -- appeared and testified that he reluctantly participated in the crime, implicating all those arrested as ringleaders. By RONNIE SCHEIB During the trial (in the Philippines, by judge and not by jury), 16 A remarkably cogent docu, "Give Up Tomorrow” chronicles the key defense witnesses were not allowed to testify and defense case of a young man wrongly convicted of rape and murder, lawyers were summarily jailed for contempt. exposing a major miscarriage of justice (with Amnesty Intl., Fair Trials Intl. and the U.N. Human Rights Commission unanimously The filmmakers concisely sum up the explosive sociopolitical concurring). The Philippines-set pic depicts a perfect storm of background of the principal players. The Chiongs belong to cronyism, tabloid journalism, public prejudice and corruption the traditionally oppressed Chinese-Malay majority. The girls' that could have happened anywhere, but the specificity of mother, Thelma Chiong (whose sister was longtime secretary to the players' interlocking relationships adds enormously to the President Estrada) mobilized the press and the government in drama. Arousing outrage and disbelief in equal measure, this massive campaigns against Larranaga, whose family belongs Tribeca fest highlight should score strongly with critics and art- to a ruling elite with ties to oppositional political candidates. house auds and flourish in ancillary. The filmmakers savvily stitch together newscasts, tabloid head- Two sisters, Marijoy and Jacqueline Chiong, disappeared lines, TV interviews and other archival materials, along with their in July 1997. Two days later, the body of Marijoy Chiong was own interviews with Larranaga, his parents and his sister, to cap- found blindfolded, handcuffed and beaten. Paco Larranaga ture the incredible media circus that surrounded the case. The and six others were arrested for her rape and murder, although most incredible footage comes from a filmed reconstruction dozens of reputable witnesses and photographic evidence of prosecution testimony, with actors portraying defendants placed Larranaga 300 miles away at the time of the crime. callously brutalizing actresses portraying the Chiong sisters: This inflammatory re-creation was broadcast on national televi- Helmer Michael Collins and producer Marty Syjuco (a distant sion during the trial, before the defense presented its case. The relative of Larranaga's) posit few alternative scenarios about appeal and long aftermath of the trial prove equally melodra- what actually happened; rather, they let the case's multiple matic. Resolution is not forthcoming. discrepancies speak for themselves, chief among them the fact that Marijoy Chiong's father worked for drug lord Peter Lim Docus about abuses of justice abound, but few present compli- and was scheduled to testify against him until his daughters dis- cated events in so concrete, linear and compelling a fashion. appeared. Furthermore, policemen who moonlighted as Lim's bodyguards investigated the murder.

16 A place of rage: two black feminist movement. documentaries Parmar skillfully underscores this through the scenes in which Lola Okolosie from Black Feminists reviews A Place of Rage June Jordan reads her brilliant and arresting work 'Poem about and Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth, two films by documentary My Rights': filmmaker Pratibha Parmar, and considers what contemporary black feminists have learnt from the influential black women Even tonight and I need to take a walk and clear 17 featured my head about this poem about why I can't go out without changing my clothes my shoes Lola Okolosie, 21 April 2012 my body posture my gender identity my age We all know that history is written from a male perspective and my status as a woman alone in the evening/ nowhere is this truer than in the civil rights and black power alone on the streets/alone not being the point/ movements of the 1950s, '60s and '70s America. British film- the point being that I can't do what I want maker Pratibha Parmar's wonderful documentary, A Place of to do with my own body because I am the wrong Rage (1991), vividly stands apart as a defiant critique of this sex the wrong age the wrong skin and 'malewashing'. The film was screened recently during the LLGFF, suppose celebrating its release on DVD which you can pre-order now. Filmed in the early 1990s, the documentary focuses on two civil Parmar allows Jordan's commanding voice and intensely rights activists and feminists Angela Davis and June Jordan who truthful vision to captivate the audience, compelling us to ques- look back on struggles encountered during the civil rights tion how it could be that Jordan struggled to gather support for movement of the '60s and '70s. gay and lesbian rights from those in the anti-racism movement of which she was an integral part. When Jordan states that the While some of you may only have a vague recollection of Davis' "the sanctity of an individual's right to love who I want" is neces- name, hopefully many more will recognise the iconic image sarily "the same issue" as that championed by the anti-racist of a young black woman with resplendent Afro, defiantly rais- activists, she reminds us that racist violence and homophobia ing her fist in the air. Davis is a civil rights activist, philosopher, exist on the same oppressive continuum. writer, academic and one time state branded 'terrorist' on the run. Away from the iconic image, Davis has produced hugely Both documentaries prompt us to continue the difficult work influential works such as Women, Race and Class (1983), which of interrogating how racism, class, gender and sexuality inter- chronicles the ways in which the suffrage movement came to weave with one another to oppress many. supersede the fight for civil rights in America. Although lesser known, June Jordan is a poet, essayist, teacher and feminist, Both women were emphasising the importance of thinking civil rights and LGBT activist. Her powerful use of language is about the various forms of oppression that simultaneously act simply breathtaking and makes the fact that she is little known upon an individual. They were forwarding 'intersectionality' so much more woeful. well before it became something the wider feminist movement embraced - though, arguably, this is still something we struggle Their powerful testimonies are then interspersed with reflections with. by author and activist Alice Walker and postcolonial academic and filmmaker, Trinh T. Minh-ha. The second documentary, Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth (Work in Progress), is another example of the filmmaker's desire to Both Jordan and Davis were forwarding 'intersectionality' well capture "women as [history making] public icons" we cannot before it became something the wider feminist movement afford to lose. embraced. Walker, who is best known for her Pulitzer prize winning The instrumental role women such as Davis, Jordan and Walker, novel, The Colour Purple does not ordinarily appear in public. to name just a few, played within America's recent history Parmar, however, gives us intimate footage of Walker talking would be almost entirely erased, were it not for groundbreak- about growing up poor in the southern state of segregated ing and revisionist works such as this documentary. Indeed, we Georgia as well as her work as a civil rights activist and does see these great women themselves paying homage to black so beautifully. Acting as a counterpoint to Walker's own testi- female role models significant to them, such as Rosa Parks and mony are interviews with notable figures in her life: from former the little known, yet no less important, Fannie Lou Hamer. This husband, Melvyn Leventhal, to Steven Spielberg and Quincy in itself is an act of reclaiming a herstory, forever in danger of Jones who directed and produced, respectively, The Color being erased from 'official' chronicles. Purple (1985). From all these sources, Parmar manages to gain generous contributions to the piece that draws a compelling Crucially, these black feminists were not only interrogating the image of Walker as writer, feminist, activist and woman. ways in which racism and class exploitation were overlapping in the lives of black women, but also went on to emphasise Both documentaries prompt us, both those identifying as the need to pay attention to other forms of oppression, based black feminists and beyond, to continue the difficult work of around gender identity and sexuality, within the black feminist interrogating how racism, class, gender and sexuality (to

17 name a few) interweave with one another to oppress many. politics and become its campaigners. Although they all were They remind us that voicing disapproval about oppressive acts university-educated and some became academics them- committed by members of our own community does not deter selves, the director's emphasis is on their activism rather than us from noticing other forms of oppression and violence. Cru- their academic work, illustrating how the former influenced the cially, these moments of airing our laundry in public take us a latter. Feminism back then seems to have been something that step further towards unpacking the ways in which oppression was lived and for all, the movement allowing for a diversity of 18 can and does operate. experiences and backgrounds that is woefully lacking in the academic materials, conferences and issues it creates and Following A Place of Rage in particular, I was struck and taken focuses upon today. I believe that feminism must still take direc- aback by the magnitude of what these women had achieved. tion from grassroots activism that seeks to address oppression Today black feminists are fortunate enough to stumble across faced by the most vulnerable in our society. the works of these great women on our journey to critically consider our identity as black women. We are only able to As a movement, we often discuss the difficulty of making do so through the writing, activism and political philosophy feminism not solely about white middle class women, of not they have given us. On the other hand, they were formulating "preaching to the converted". Yet very little is done to actively all of the above from scratch, inventing the linguistic register reach women from diverse backgrounds despite the fact that with which to fight their cause, creating the very discourse of it is not necessarily that difficult. At Black Feminists we continue black feminism. Thinking of groundbreaking concepts such to ask ourselves how we can ensure that we are reaching out as 'intersectionality', that - as feminists and, in particular, black to black women from a variety of backgrounds; during Black feminists - we now take for granted, I wonder how without them History Month we facilitated workshops at local libraries. Shar- we could begin to coherently discuss and dissect our reality. ing their experiences of what it is to be black and a woman in today's Britain, the women were time and again struck by how These women were also quick to recognise that the lived invigorating the experience was. The workshop is an example body cannot be experienced and talked about in isolation of how we are seeking to reach women who live the spirit of from the social and political bodies that shape it. Today the feminism but may not, out of reluctance or lack of knowledge, feminist movement is often accused of placing too much of identify themselves as such. Currently, through a summer an emphasis on the academic at the expense of the lived school scheme, we are also looking at how we can engage experiences of women. What feminists such as Davis, Jordan young working class women who are, again, hugely under- and Walker stunningly remind us of is that the force, vigour and represented in our movement. vitality of the movement can only be sustained through a close link with grassroots activism centred on the voices of everyday After both screenings, I left the cinema feeling invigorated by women. This is exemplified by the fact that their own heroes the powerful legacy left to us by black feminists of the '60s, '70s are grassroots civil rights activists such as Fannie Lou Hamer, a and '80s, but also excited about how we today can continue former sharecropper who was unknowingly sterilized as part of the good fight. Both documentaries are excellent examples of Mississippi's state sanctioned move to diminish the number of consciousness raising at its best. I believe that the simplicity of poor blacks in the state. black women sharing their stories - their lived experiences - is still powerful enough to galvanize others into action. Parmar's women did not have to access feminism as the institu- tion, embodied in gender studies, in order to embrace feminist

18 Activity B 6 7 Lessons Six and Students feedback their findings in groups to the Seven class Newspaper Writing 19 Activity C Overview Teacher led pulling together of findings and filling of The lesson examines the difference between news any gaps. Use teacher’s handout model articles and feature articles. Students to understand the linguistic and stylistic features of and differences between news articles and feature articles of broad- Plenary sheet newspapers. Recap of differences between news and feature articles.

Objectives Students to produce a news article and a feature EQUIPMENT/RESOURCES NEEDED article about chosen aspects of Give Up Tomorrow. • News articles (one example included) • Feature articles (one example included) • Flipchart/whiteboard Starter • Teacher to read first paragraph of a broadsheet newspaper article • Teacher to read first paragraph of broadsheet feature article • Individually, students to note the differences • Differences collected and then noted on flipchart/whiteboard by teacher

Development

Activity A • Explanation of task • Distribute news and feature articles. Five of each • In groups, students to identify linguistic features of news and feature articles

19 LeSSOn Six AnD Seven BODy – provides more detail about the event, in particular it - reSOUrCeS answers the questions how and why.

ChArACteriStiCS Of A newS ArtiCLe qUOteS – sometimes articles will include what a person (like heADLine – usually only four or fi ve words. It tries to attract the an eye-witness or an expert) has said. These will be in speech interest of the reader by telling them what the story is about, in marks. 20 a short and interesting way. phOtOgrAph AnD CAptiOn – sometimes articles have a By-Line – who wrote the article. photograph, and a sentence explaining the photograph. Introduction – It will set the scene and summarise the main points of the article: who, what, when, where.

20 21

21 Characteristics of a Feature Article • To Advise • To Persuade Feature articles: • Contain depth of characters and/or issues, offering background information about the subject Leads • Are usually timeless- they are just as acceptable for publi- A successful lead will accomplish three objectives: 22 cation this week or next month • Attract the reader • Provide more detail often including more research • Give the reader the central idea • Provide the reader with an understanding of the writer’s • Lead the reader into the story attitude towards his/her subject matter with the careful use of tone • Provide a forum for ideas, attitudes, reasons, feelings and background Transitions • Good transitions in feature writing mean that one paragraph moves smoothly to the next one • Good transitions work by repeating a word, phrase or idea Subject matter of feature articles that has been used in the paragraph immediately before Feature Articles are usually longer than News Reports and Col- umns and are written about a range of topics including: • Society • Health Endings • Food • The conclusion often connects with an idea that has been • Politics developed in the lead, or it can in some way summarise • Entertainment the main points of the article • Individuals • The conclusion is often structured in the same way as the • The Environment lead as it refers to the angle presented in the introduction. • Sport This technique is referred to as the ‘lead replay’ • Economics • Often at the end of a Feature article the writer will provide • Current Issues relevant information about that subject of the Feature, giving interested readers links to contact groups ‘…opens Their Purpose is: on Thursday’ • To Inform • To Explain • To Analyse

22 Sample Feature Article Rebuilding—slowly Government spending for relief and recovery is nearing $100 The Long Road Home billion, but the pace of rebuilding has been uneven. In some In New Orleans, families struggle to return to normal one year places, such as the Mississippi coast, progress is evident. after Hurricane Katrina. Chakia Boutte, 12, surveys what she has lost in the year since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf The picture is different in New Orleans. Parts of the city look 23 Coast. The playground where she once spent afternoons is as though Katrina passed through one month, rather than one closed. Her block is full of stormwrecked homes, many aban- year, ago. Neighborhoods that were hardest hit by floods, such doned. A pile of charred debris sits in front of what used to be as the Lower Ninth Ward, remain in ruins. The stench of mold Chakia’s house. The home was looted and burned after her and rotting garbage (locals call it “the Katrina smell”) hangs in family evacuated in a rescue boat. the air. Rusted cars and uprooted trees line the streets. Gutted homes bear the scars of Katrina: watermarks and spray-painted “I cried when I saw my house,” she says, remembering the symbols left by search teams. The remnants of people’s lives—a first time she returned home after the storm. “[Looters] took eve- high school volleyball trophy, water-damaged family photos, rything, even my jar of pennies.” a lone sneaker—are strewn about the mostly deserted streets. About half of the former population of 450,000 has returned to Chakia and her cousin Mikia Kirton, 8, have lived in Houston the city. Because few housing options are available, rents have since the storm forced their families to move. The girls dreaded risen an estimated 25 to 30 percent. To encourage more people returning to school this fall. They say other kids sometimes to come back, Louisiana developed a $9 billion hurricane make fun of them. “They say, ‘You used to have a home, now recovery program. However, the federal government only you live in the Astrodome,’” says Mikia. After Hurricane Katrina, recently allocated enough money to fully fund the program. thousands of evacuees had to take shelter at the Houston In July, New Orleans officials announced the Unified New Astrodome. Orleans Plan. It calls for each city neighborhood to devise a rebuilding plan. Those plans will be combined with a citywide After spending time in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, Toye infrastructure plan to create a final rebuilding strategy. Mean- Domino is happy to be starting fifth grade in New Orleans. “We while, the roads are full of potholes, and street signs point in had to travel halfway around the country to get back here,” every direction. Power outages are frequent. Many hospitals, says Toye, 10. “I want to stay here because it’s my hometown.” banks, churches, and grocery stores remain shuttered.

For kids in New Orleans, the start of school is a welcome “We’re recovering slowly,” New Orleans City Councilmember sign of normalcy. One year ago, their lives were forever altered Cynthia Hedge-Morrell says with a sigh. “Like a cancer patient.” by Hurricane Katrina. More than 1,300 people died because of the Aug. 29, 2005, storm. About 770,000 people were displaced Strong roots and evacuees scattered across the country. For those who lived through it, the memories of Hurricane Kat- rina remain fresh. Myeisha recalls being stuck in traffic trying to “New Orleans has changed a lot,” says Myeisha McDaniels, leave New Orleans before the storm. “The wind started blowing. 13, whose family has moved back to the city. “Almost every- The car started shaking. I thought we were going to die.” Even one I knew is gone.” This fall, about 56 of the city’s 128 public now, Myeisha says, “I get scared when it rains.” schools will be open. Officials expected about 30,000 students, down from pre-Katrina enrollment of 60,000. The routine of the Teachers and students draw strength from a poster in the Sophie school day seems to help returning students cope, says Des- B. Wright Charter School office. It shows a storm-damaged tree mond Moore, an English teacher at Harriet Tubman Elementary and includes a quote from the poet George Herbert that reads, School. “The kids are adjusting,” he says. “It really feels normal “Storms make the oak grow deeper roots.” That’s the way many to them to be back in school.” returning New Orleanians say they feel. “We want to think about how we survived, how we overcame,” says Moore, “and how Still, there are challenges. The school doesn’t have Internet we’re overcoming.” access. Even basic supplies, such as textbooks and paper, can be scarce. “It forces you to do a little bit more with less,” says Moore.

23 group - teacher led. 8 Lesson Eight • Careful close reading of a variety of letters in groups of four. Teacher to impose decision as Letters to which one. • Students to analyse the letter and feedback to 24 Overview the whole group. Write a letter highlighting the case of Paco Lar- rañaga to a broadsheet newspaper, an MP or a human rights group e.g. Amnesty International or Activity B Liberty. Plan the letter in draft in groups.

Objectives Plenary To produce a letter outlining the case of Paco Students express any difficulties and these to be Larrañaga. dealt with in class. Within that letter, students to give salient details of the case, ask for the organisation/MP/newspaper to bring the case to national/international attention Homework and campaign for justice. Write the letter

Starter Equipment Discussion of purpose, audience and the conven- • Sample letters from campaigns tions of a formal letter. • Broadsheet newspapers Select a recipient. Suggest MPs, Prime Minister or • Letters to MPs (not included) Human Rights groups, Amnesty International or Lib- • Computer access erty – a letter direct to Shami Chakrabarti. • Whiteboard • Flipchart paper • Samples of letters Activity A • Distribute a variety of letters to use as style models. • Analyse stylistically one of the letters as a whole

24 LESSON EIGHT - RESOURCES

Sample appeal letters

Sample 1: Death Penalty 25 Your Excellency, I extend respectful greetings to you from _____, where I work as a ______. Your Excellency, when individuals commit horrible crimes, some of their rights must be denied for a time. The right to liberty is one example. Other rights, however, can never be denied in any circumstance. The right to life and the right to security of person are two examples. I write today about the case of Mr ______. I am shocked at his cruel act of murder. But as a defender of human rights, I cannot tolerate the denial of his inalienable rights as laid out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I rejoice that your country has committed itself to respecting the rights in the UDHR and trust now that you will turn that commitment into reality with quick action to grant clemency to Mr ______and thus protect his rights to physical integrity and to life. Very sincerely yours,

Sample 2: Death Threats Dear Minister, Much to my dismay, I have received news through Amnesty International that human rights workers, Ms ___ and Mr ___ who work with the _____Group, were subjected to threatening telephone calls on _____, 2005. I would like to encourage you to initiate a full and impartial investigation to determine the source of the calls and to lay charges against those who are responsible for these unlawful actions. Please contact the two human rights activists to determine together how best to protect them from harm. I urge your government to adhere to its obligations to protect all human rights defenders in accordance with international human rights standards. Respectfully and sincerely yours,

Sample 3: Disappearance Dear President, Amnesty International has alerted me to the disappearance of a youth by the name of ______. She was apparently abducted near her home in ______and her family has not heard from her since. It is vital to her safety and the protection of her legal rights that her location is made public. Please find Ms _____ immediately. If she is in detention, please ensure that she has access to a lawyer of her choice. Allow close family members to see her, and provide medical attention for any physical needs she may have. May I have confidence that you will act swiftly to ensure that the legal and physical rights of ______are upheld? Yours Sincerely,