About This Resource

Teachers, read this section before incorporating lessons into your classroom teaching.

This learning resource supports students and teachers in Years 7 to 10 to explore the themes in First Day, including gender identity, inclusivity, allyship and leadership. Students will also learn about and reflect on the importance of diverse representation on screen. Read more about the series in the About First Day section.

Getting Started

This resource contains five lessons which explore key themes in First Day series 2: Gender Diversity, Leadership, Allyship, Advocacy and Media Representation. Each lesson includes discussion starters, a relevant First Day clip to view and respond to, and suggested learning tasks to reinforce and demonstrate student understandings.

Written for students in Years 7 and 8 but also suitable for Year 9 and 10 students, lessons could be used to address curriculum content in English, Media Arts, Health and Physical Education, or in a broad range of class inquiries.

The resource will develop students’ knowledge of diversity and inclusion, and ways to enact positive change. It aims to build social justice and cohesion in the classroom and beyond.

Child Safety

Before viewing First Day or using this resource, teachers should be aware that their class may include transgender, gender diverse or gender questioning students, and that this content should be explored sensitively. Students who are not out at school, who have only recently revealed themselves as transgender or recently started transition may be particularly vulnerable. Please be aware that transgender and gender diverse students may find some scenes in the series upsetting, such as those involving judgment or rejection.

It is imperative that transgender and gender diverse students’ privacy is upheld while viewing this series, discussing it, and undertaking the learning tasks in this resource. Teachers may choose to remind students that all peers have the right to privacy, and that private information should never be revealed without consent. By establishing expectations for behaviours and discussion, teachers can minimise the risk of students sharing experiences that make themselves vulnerable or distressed, and the risk of transgender or gender diverse students from being ‘outed’.

Class conversations about gender, identity, and bullying invite a diversity of opinions to be shared, so it is essential that teachers establish a safe and supportive learning environment for all students to engage with this series. Respectful classroom behaviours such as active listening and ‘no put-downs’ will allow students to share their ideas, express their views, ask questions, and learn from each other.

Lessons

Lesson 1: Gender Diversity

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Lesson 2: Leadership

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Lesson 3: Allyship

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Lesson 4: Advocacy

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Lesson 5: Media Representation

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Watch

Select clips are included in this resource. To view full episodes, schools, teachers and educational organisations can purchase a digital download of First Day series 2 from the ACTF Shop. Our education license allows these digital files to be shared with all teacher and student devices on a school’s network.

Overview of Australian Curriculum Links

	Year 7	Year 8
Civics and Citizenship	Knowledge and understanding AC9HC7K05	Knowledge and understanding AC9HC8K05
	Skills AC9HC7S01 AC9HC7S03 AC9HC7S04	Skills AC9HC8S01 AC9HC8S03 AC9HC8S04
Critical and Creative Thinking	Inquiring, Generating, Analysing, Reflecting.
English	Language AC9E7LA01 AC9E7LA03	Language AC9E8LA01 AC9E8LA03
	Literature AC9E7LE01 AC9E7LE02 AC9E7LE03 AC9E7LE04 AC9E7LE05	Literature AC9E8LE01 AC9E8LE02 AC9E8LE03
	Literacy AC9E7LY02 AC9E7LY03 AC9E7LY05 AC9E7LY06	Literacy AC9E8LY02 AC9E8LY03 AC9E8LY05 AC9E8LY06
Ethical Understanding	Understanding ethical concepts and perspectives.
Health and Physical Education	Identities and change AC9HP8P01 AC9HP8P02 AC9HP8P03 AC9HP8P10
	Interacting with others AC9HP8P04 AC9HP8P05
	Making healthy and safe choices AC9HP8P09 AC9HP8P10
Media Arts	Exploring and responding AC9AMA8E01 investigate the ways that media arts concepts are used in media arts works and practices across cultures, times, places and/or other contexts
Personal and Social Capability	Self-awareness, Social awareness, Social management.

Acknowledgements

The ACTF acknowledges and thanks children’s author Jo Hirst for consulting on this resource. Thanks also to First Day Writer / Director Julie Kalceff and Producer Kirsty Stark for their guidance and support.

Feedback

The ACTF would like to better understand how teachers are using our resources in the classroom. We welcome feedback from teachers who have delivered and adapted our resources. Please reach out to education@actf.com.au with questions, comments and suggestions.