Teachers’ Resource: The Olive Tree (El olivo) · PDF filethousand year olive tree that the family uprooted and sold ... ruined by the crisis, her colleague Rafa, 30, her friends

Teachers’ Resource: The Olive Tree (El olivo)

Fourth Level / S3 – S6 – for students of English/MediaCreated by Gary KirkhamDiscovery Film Festival: Sat 22 October – Sun 6 November 2016discoveryfi lmfestival.org.uk

© Dundee Contemporary Arts 2016With support from DCA Cinema and DCA Community & Education Team

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Introduction

Discovery Learning Resources give you exciting classroom activities to enhance Curriculumfor Excellence delivery.

They are created by classroom teachers and education professionals. Each resource aims to:

• support and extend working with film in the classroom

• help prepare teachers for a class visit to a Discovery Film Festival film and to extend the impact of that visit for delivery of CfE

• develop confidence in Moving Image Education approaches and working with 21st Century Literacy / moving image texts

Each resource is free and available to download fromwww.discoveryfilmfestival.org.uk/resources

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The Olive Tree (El olivo)Dir: Iciar BollainSpain 2016 / 1h40mIn Spanish (plus some German and French) with English subtitles

Synopsis

Alma, 20, works in a chicken farm by the village of Canet, in the province of Castellon, on the East coast of Spain. She has a profound connection with her dearly beloved Grandfather despite the fact he has stopped talking years ago. But when he begins to refuse food too Alma becomes obsessed with an idea: the only way to save her Grandfather is to recover the two thousand year olive tree that the family uprooted and sold 12 years ago against his will.

Lying through her teeth, without a plan and even less money, Alma engages her wayward Uncle “Artichoke”, 45, ruined by the crisis, her colleague Rafa, 30, her friends Wiki (Wikipedia) and Adele and a big part of the small community of Canet in an outrageous endeavour: to find and return the olive tree, lost somewhere in Europe, to its rightful spot in the family grove where it has been tended, and in turn, given life, for over 2 millennia.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSAnfJjUg_c(NB: Trailer is Spanish language, with French and German subtitles)

Advisory note: Contains some nudity and offensive language.




Teacher Introduction

This resource pack will be mainly of use to English teachers, although the issues raised could be usefully explored in Social Studies/Geography/Lifeskills classes. S3 classes and above would gain most benefit from the film and associated tasks.

While the E&Os below are obviously aimed at pre-S4 classes, the exercises could also be used by S4 classes to provide evidence for both the Analysis and Evaluation or Creation and Production units for both National 4 and National 5 Level English.

While there are also useful areas which could be explored in relation to National 4 and 5 Media(Analysing Media Content) units (media & society being the most obvious), being unable to view the film or scenes in class is a serious drawback.

The most obvious E&Os are listed after each task. However, there may be more from other curricular areas that could apply, depending on the approach to the task.

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Before the film

This exercise would best be undertaken using cooperative techniques either in pairs or groups, although it could also be undertaken individually by the pupils as a short written task.

• Watch the trailer and look at the image above.

• The film focuses heavily on the very close relationship between Alma and her grandfather, and how the olive tree is special to them both.

• Think of someone from your childhood to whom you felt (or still feel) very close.

• Make some notes on any special places (like the olive tree in the film), tasks (Alma’s grandfather shows her how to grow and care for olive trees), games or songs (Alma and her grandfather play games at the tree, and sing songs together), or any other fact that brings back memories about the person you chose earlier.

• In pairs and groups, discuss these memories and how the relationship with someone from an older generation has helped or affected you.

Teachers’ Notes: This is quite a personal task, and some pupils may not feel that they want to share such information with other pupils – as stated previously, this could be done individually as a written task.

As I listen or watch, I can make notes and organise these to develop thinking, help retain and recall information, explore issues and create new texts, using my own words as appropriate. LIT 3-05a

Having explored and analysed the features of spoken language, I can use these, adopting an appropriate register to suit my purpose and audience. ENG 3-03a

When listening and talking with others for different purposes, I can: communicate information, ideas or opinions, as well as explain processes, concepts or ideas. LIT 3-09a



After the film

Environmental impact

Take a look at the still from the film on the next page – this shows the olive tree in pride of place within the lobby of the fictional company, RRR Energy. The company also use it as their logo.

There is a brief sequence within in the film that shows the scope of RRR Energy’s business investments and interests: open cast and strip mining; power generation and the pollution it generates; industrialised logging of forested areas. The company shows itself to be highly hypocritical in its use of the olive tree for the company logo, considering the negative environmental impact of its actions.

• Individually, or in pairs, research at least four real-world companies who either a) project themselves as environmentally-friendly, or b) are involved in businesses or industries which impact heavily on the environment – like those mentioned above.

• Looking through your research, are any of these companies hypocritical in the way they project their public face? If so, in what ways are they hypocritical? If not, how is the company benefiting the environment?

• Prepare a poster/leaflet/report on the best and the worst of the four companies you investigated, highlighting the positive or negative aspects of each.

Teachers’ notes: The results of this exercise could be presented in traditional written format, or they could be the basis for a presentation.

The most obvious targets for this task are businesses like oil, mining, power or logging companies, but airlines, holiday companies and hedge funds may also provide some interesting results. There are also some suggestions in the ‘Useful Resources’ section.

As I listen or watch, I can use this information for different purposes. LIT 3-04a

To help me develop an informed view, I am learning about the techniques used to influence opinion and how to assess the value of my sources, and I can recognise persuasion. LIT 3-08a

I can consider the impact that layout and presentation will have on my reader, selecting and using a variety of features appropriate to purpose and audience. LIT 3-24a

I can engage and/or influence readers through my use of language, style and tone as appropriate to genre. ENG 3-27a

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Media and society

The film is very good at showing how, today, an individual’s access to media can allow one person, or small groups of people, to project their beliefs or complaints far beyond their own social circle.

• Try to remember all of the ways Alma used media access to help her case for the return of the olive tree.

• Look into the use of these techniques in two real-world campaigns.

• Show how the techniques were effective in magnifying the effect of the campaign involved.

• Were there any negative aspects to the campaigns’ use of the media? If so, what were they?

• Pick a local issue which you think would benefit from such a media campaign, and list what you would do to make it effective, if you were managing the campaign.

Teachers’ notes: While this is could be undertaken as an individual task, it would probably be easier to manage as a pairs/groups task to allow less confident pupils the ability to usefully contribute.

The media techniques used in the film include: email; use of social media to find a contact in Dusseldorf; use of Skype to allow instant communication; use of digital photography to show the progress of the journey; use of social media to set up a page about the campaign; internet research on the company’s website to find out what kind of businesses it was involved in – this led to links to websites from groups who opposed the way it was impacting on the environment; use of social media to set up the demonstration which spilled over into the company HQ.

There are many real-world examples of such campaigns – the Scottish referendum, and the recent EU referendum have given rise to several. There are also many with a much more local focus. (see ‘Useful Resources’)

I can communicate in a clear, expressive way and I am learning to select and organise resources independently. LIT 3-10a

I can make notes and organise them to develop my thinking, help retain and recall information, explore issues and create new texts, using my own words as appropriate. LIT 3-15a

As appropriate to my purpose and type of text, I can punctuate and structure different types of sentences with sufficient accuracy, and arrange these to make meaning clear, showing straightforward relationships between paragraphs. LIT 3-22a



Personal Writing

The film shows the effects of the removal of a key focus from someone’s life – Alma’s grandfather’s decline begins once the tree is removed.

• Have you, or anyone in your family, experienced such a loss? Bear in mind that the ‘key focus’ mentioned above was an object, but it could just as easily be a person or pet.

• Write a short essay explaining the loss, and its effect on the individual(s) involved. OR• Expand your notes made for the discussion prior to seeing the film into a short essay.

Teachers’ notes: This is an individual written task, although it could be adapted to be an oral presentation, which would obviously need some adjustment in the E&Os covered.

By considering the type of text I am creating, I can independently select ideas and relevant information for different purposes, and organise essential information or ideas and any supporting detail in a logical order. I can use suitable vocabulary to communicate effectively with my audience. LIT 3-26a

I can engage and/or influence readers through my use of language, style and tone as appropriate to genre. ENG 3-27a

I can recreate a convincing impression of a personal experience for my reader, sharing my feelings and reactions to the changing circumstances with some attempt at reflection.ENG 3-30a

Having explored the elements which writers use, I can create texts in different genres by integrating the conventions of my chosen genre successfully and by using convincing and appropriate structures. ENG 3-31a



Production information

Produced by Morena Films and The Match FactoryDistributed by Haut et Court (France); Piffl Median (Germany); Seven Films (Greece)Filmed in Bajo Maestrazgo (Spain) and Dusseldorf (Germany).

Director’s/Film’s Facebook page (variety of languages):https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=iciar%20bollain%20el%20olivo

Reviews of the film:https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_olive_tree/

Useful Resources

Pollution and the companies most involved:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/nov/20/90-companies-man-made-glo-bal-warming-emissions-climate-change

http://www.consumerprotect.com/what-are-the-most-polluting-industries-in-the-world/

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/16720-seven-companies-polluting-the-world-with-out-consequences

Most environmentally-friendly companies:

http://www.newsweek.com/green-2016/top-10-green-companies-world-2016

Oldest olive tree:

http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/photos/the-worlds-10-oldest-living-trees/olive-tree-of-vouves#top-desktop

Successful social media campaigns:

http://www.adherecreative.com/blog/top-10-influential-social-media-campaigns-of-2015

http://www.networkshe.co.uk/11-examples-brilliant-social-media-campaigns-worked/

Unsuccessful social media campaigns:

http://realbusiness.co.uk/article/25493-8-best-and-worst-social-media-campaigns/page:1



Evaluating this resource

We hope that you found this resource useful and appropriate.

Please do send us film reviews, letters from your pupils, documentation of classwork and your feedback by e-mailing [email protected]

Would you make a good Discovery Film FestivalCase Study?

We are seeking a number of simple Case Studies in how teachers have used or are using Discovery films in the classroom across Curriculum for Excellence and across the Levels.

Any case studies that we develop would be intended for presentation on GLOW, the Creativity Portal and on Discovery Film Festival websites. We have a simple template to be completed and are keen to have classwork and documentation included.

If you would like to be a Discovery Case Study please e-mail [email protected]

Documents

Teachers’ Resource: The Olive Tree (El olivo) · PDF filethousand year olive tree that the family uprooted and sold ... ruined by the crisis, her colleague Rafa, 30, her friends