Lockie Leonard for Teachers
Teachers' Notes
The Lockie Leonard for Teachers education resource aims to help upper Primary and lower Secondary students explore the television series Lockie Leonard, based on the original trilogy of books by Western Australian writer Tim Winton. Outlined below are the focus questions for the activities, as well as the key concepts to be developed in the classroom.
Focus question
How does the television series Lockie Leonard help older children and young teenagers explore the issues of transition and adolescence, particularly for males?
Contributing questions
- How do viewers react and respond (aesthetically and ethically) to the characters, events and issues portrayed in Lockie Leonard?
- How does the story of Lockie Leonard contribute to a viewers' understanding of changes and challenges happening in their own lives?
- What techniques are used to: draw the viewer into Lockie Leonard's world; encourage viewers to identify positively or negatively with particular characters; and encourage viewers to accept the view of the world on offer?
- How does the television series compare with the original trilogy of novels by Tim Winton?
- How do older children and young teens use the series as a springboard to their own creative endeavours (stories, interactive digital texts, short films etc.)?
Key concepts to be developed
| Personal Development | English and Media Studies |
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Relationship to the Australian Curriculum
The activities within this resource will assist students to develop a range of educational outcomes in the areas of English, Arts (Media), Health and Physical Education, particularly Personal Development and Values Education.
However, the main focus is on the learning area of English, in particular, this resource focuses on reading and viewing and is useful for enhancing knowledge about and control of language in the following areas:
Reading and Viewing
Year 7
Students have the opportunity to draw on their knowledge of texts and language to clarify meaning. They know that:
- the layout of print and web-based texts influences meaning
- verbs and adjectives express opinions about people, places, events and things
- figurative language, including similes, metaphors and personification, can be used to develop imagery and humour
- visual (e.g. camera angles, shot types), non-verbal (e.g. gestures, facial expressions), spoken (e.g. voice qualities) and auditory language
can be used to add meaning, interest, immediacy and authority to multimedia texts - particular written, visual, spoken and auditory language are chosen to portray characters, places and events in particular ways and to
appeal to different groups
Year 9
Students have the opportunity to draw on their knowledge of texts and language to clarify meaning. They know:
- how adjectives and adverbs express attitudes, evoke emotions and express judgments
- how word choices and symbols may have different connotations
- that imagery is used to establish mood and make feelings or ideas more concrete and powerful
- how camera angles and shot types are used to position readers and viewers
- how sound fades, dissolves, cuts and hyperlinks establish cohesion in texts
- how visual, non-verbal and auditory language are combined to position an audience
Speaking and Listening
Year 7
Students have the opportunity to draw on their knowledge of texts and language to use:
- Non-verbal techniques (e.g. facial expressions, gestures, movement) and spokes techniques (e.g. pace, volume, pronunciation) to
emphasise meaning and to appeal to different audiences
Year 9
Students have the opportunity to draw on their knowledge of texts and language to use:
- evaluative words and phases to influence listeners' viewpoints
- varying pace, pitch, intonation, pronunciation, facial expression, gesture, sound and silence to influence audience
How to use this resource
The activities in this teacher resource package can be used flexibly to suit the educational focus of the teacher, as well as the needs and interests of students. In particular, teachers could choose individual activities or a sequence of related activities pertaining to:
- a close study of the television medium
- a close study of Lockie Leonard itself and its adaptation from the Tim Winton novels
- self-contained topics, including those related to personal development issues
It is not anticipated that students would complete all activities in this package. Instead, teachers will select those that best suit their educational objectives.
For convenience, the activities are organised into four, inter-related strands:
- Strand 1: Storytelling in a Television Series
- Strand 2: Transition and Adolescence
- Strand 3: Identity
- Strand 4: Reacting, Responding and Creating
While work within one strand will enhance work completed in other strands, teachers may focus on an individual strand or choose standalone activities from within a strand. Within each strand, the activities are designed to focus on some individual episodes as well focusing on the relationships and links among episodes. All activities include short video clips from the series, so viewing of the entire series or full episodes is not required.
Finally, each activity contains a discussing and doing component.
- In the 'discussing' component, students will use individual and group talk to come to understandings about the issues and characters
and to explore the significance of those understandings (e.g. for their own lives). - In the 'doing' component, students will use their understandings and explorations in order to do something – for example, perform or tell
a story, create a product, transform some aspect of the series.
Strand 5: Gender Perspectives: A Comparison of Lockie Leonard and Mortified
Also included within the resource is a fifth strand which uses the Lockie Leonard and Mortified television series to explore gender perspectives.
Important: Suitability of content in Lockie Leonard
The television series Lockie Leonard is rated PG. However, teachers should be aware that the series (in common with the original
Tim Winton novels) explores the life of a boy entering puberty and some episodes include references to sexual development issues.
These are handled honestly but sensitively and in a manner appropriate for the target age group. However, it is highly recommended
that teachers preview all episodes and clips to ensure their suitability for use in their own school and community context. If in doubt,
check with your principal or curriculum leader.
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