Exodus: 11-16 English

Exodus - Doc Academy
Exodus - Doc Academy

Ages

11–16

Duration

Medium (5-11 activities)

This five-lesson series uses short clips from the BBC documentary series Exodus to support the English language assessment objectives for GCSE. Exodus follows English teacher Hassan as he leaves war-torn Syria and attempts to travel to the UK, showcasing the untold story of the migrant crisis. Students practise a range of reading, writing and listening skills, while building their understanding of a critical issue affecting people across the world today. 

Lesson One - Exodus 

Learners are introduced to the migrant crisis and analyse structures that build narrative, whilst considering reasons for migration. 

Learning Objective:

  • Read and respond to an unseen narrative text.

Clip(s) to Use - Clip 1: Introduction

Lesson Two - Meeting Hassan 

Focuses on Hassan, an English teacher from Syria who shares his experience of leaving his country to travel to Europe. Students use his story to develop analysis skills, centred on implied and explicit information. 

Learning Objective: 

  • To engage with texts to elicit explicit and implicit information and distinguish between the two.

Clip(s) to Use - Clip 2: Meeting Hassan, Clip 3: The Journey

Lesson Three - The Journey 

Centres on Hassan's journey from Syria to Europe, focusing on writer's techniques to build suspense, drama and provide clues as to what will happen next in a non-fiction text.  

Learning Objective:

  • To analyse structure and consider the impact on the audience.

Clip(s) to Use - Clip 3: The Journey, Clip 4: Back to Izmir  

Lesson Four - Calais 

Students examine a physical description of the Calais migrant camp and develop their own creative response, demonstrating understanding of a literary imagery as an effective form of communication.  

 Learning Objective: 

  • To plan and write a descriptive piece inspired by Hassan's journey.

Clip(s) to Use - Clip 7: Another Attempt, Clip 8: Calais  

Lesson Five - Responsibility 

Centres on Hassan, and details how his story ends in the documentary series Exodus. Students develop their analysis of unseen texts to compare how writers' ideas and perspectives are conveyed. 

Learning Objective: 

  • To use a variety of sources to compare the information, ideas, attitudes and intentions conveyed by different writers.

Clip(s) to Use - Clip 9: Touchdown, Clip 10: Hassan's BAFTA Speech

This resource includes

Doc Academy

This Resource Supports

  • Citizenship
  • Design and Technology
  • Engineering
  • Geography

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What our educators say

"All of the activities were enjoyed and engaged the children. As a teacher the resources and activities were easy to use and covered a lot of skills. It is a valuable and engaging way to teach and learn literacy. "